STI Spartan 9 mm

tadosan

tadosan

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Hi All,

I am considering getting a STI Spartan 9 mm pistol. I stopped by a local gun store the other day & noticed it among the 1911 guns. I liked the feel of it in my hands & more than anything else, the price. The sales person said that it's going for $750. That's almost half the price of most high end 1911 guns.

As much as I wanted to buy it right there & then, I wanted to research it a bit more before I made a decsion. I am not sure whether it's due to the product being new, or not a lot of people buying it, I didn't find a lot of info on the net except a few forums dedicated to STI.
I would very much appreciate if any one owns this particular pistol & provide me with a feed back.
 
I doubt you will find too many unflattering comments about the STI Spartan. It is generally considered to be the king of the budget 1911's. And it enjoys that reputation for very good reason. You simply will not find a better made, better shooting, more reliable 1911, with the quality of fit and finish that the Spartan has, in its price range. Period.

Many seasoned 1911 shooters are amazed at the accuracy that the Spartan has right out of the box. It is not a finely tunes $3500 full custom gun, but it shoots better than an $800 (or less) 1911 should, and that has won over a lot of shooters.

The reason that STI is able to sell what would otherwise be a $1200 gun for under $800 is that the Spartan is not made at STI's shop in Texas. The Spartan is made for STI, and to STI's specifications, by Armscor in the Philippines.

The frame is an Armscor cast frame (the same one used in Armscor's other high quality budget 1911's such as the Rock Island Armory guns) but unlike other Armscor guns, the slide for the Spartan is forged to STI's specifications. Armscor normally makes their slides using an extruded metal process (whatever that exactly is, I'm not sure but no one ever complains about their RIA slides). All of the internal parts for the Spartans are STI factory parts that are shipped from the USA to Armscor where they are assembled into the Spartans.

Once the Spartans hit the USA, STI factory techs give them a once over for QC and tweak anything that needs tweaking. STI says they rarely ever have to tweak or fix anything on the incoming Spartans. All in all, the Spartan is a fantastic gun for the money and I have yet to see a gun that is its equal in its price range.

Buy one and don't look back. And $750 is a pretty good price too. I'd jump on that for sure.
 
Didn't realise that the spartan came in 9mm. Thought that they were only in 45acp. here is mine. Great gun!
Picture045.jpg

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I bought one in.45 and love it....not as much as my kimber, but it only cost 1/2 as much,i have put about 500 rounds through it in the last 3 weeks with no issues. It even likes cast bullets. The only "problem" if you can call it that is that i'm quite sure that some assembly line worker put the wrong recoil spring in the gun. It is supposed to have a 16 pounder, but i am fairly sure mine was softer than that. I will find out tomorrow when our local pistol expert is working at the gun store. However that is a tuning for your load issue anyway, I put in a 18.5 lb. spring and all is good .
 
Another big Spartan fan here - IMO it is every bit as good as a buds Kimber TLE which cost waaaay more ( tho his TLE does look prettier ! ). I would buy again in a heartbeat.
 
Guys,

Thank you all for your replies & comments & suggestions, specially Krausb. My gut feeling told me that it's a good gun for the price & will definitely get it on the weekend.

In addition to the spartan 9 mil. I will grab GSG 1911 in .22 cal for plinking. For those of you who do not know GSG (German Sporting Gun) is made in Germany. I couldn't help, but stare at amazement at the craftsmanship of this beautiful gun & how well detailed it is made. Currently, it's going for $400 @ Italian Sporting Goods. This particular gun is very similar in looks to the Spartan but more slicker.

Thanks again guys & Cheers,
 
Brocolt said:
will the 22 conversion kit work on the Spartan 9mm like it would on the .45acp model or do I need to change some internal parts?
Click to expand...

The STI .22LR conversion kit is good to go on just about any 1911 frame. Any differences between a 9mm and a .45acp gun will be in the slide (different barrel, recoil spring & extractor) and the conversion kit replaces the entire slide so no worries!
 
tadosan said:
Guys,

Thank you all for your replies & comments & suggestions, specially Krausb. My gut feeling told me that it's a good gun for the price & will definitely get it on the weekend.

In addition to the spartan 9 mil. I will grab GSG 1911 in .22 cal for plinking. For those of you who do not know GSG (German Sporting Gun) is made in Germany. I couldn't help, but stare at amazement at the craftsmanship of this beautiful gun & how well detailed it is made. Currently, it's going for $400 @ Italian Sporting Goods. This particular gun is very similar in looks to the Spartan but more slicker.

Thanks again guys & Cheers,
Click to expand...

its 350 at blue line in poco
 
lil_juiced_coupe said:
its 350 at blue line in poco
Click to expand...

It's 379.00. With the currnet price of gas it might not be worth driveing the distance between Blue Line and italian sports goods that and all the construction work they are doing as well. Depends on were you live. If you want we can also ship the pistol too you it would be 30 for shipping.

Best regards,
Scott
 
I am wondering when STI will make a 4 1/4" barreled Spartan.

In 9x19, at an MSRP of C$790., it'd sell like hotcakes.
 
If you read the latest skinnygram on the STI website it sounds like they have something similair in works right now although it sounds more like a commander sized GI model made with some overseas parts.
 
christofer said:
I bought one in.45 and love it....not as much as my kimber, but it only cost 1/2 as much,i have put about 500 rounds through it in the last 3 weeks with no issues. It even likes cast bullets. The only "problem" if you can call it that is that i'm quite sure that some assembly line worker put the wrong recoil spring in the gun. It is supposed to have a 16 pounder, but i am fairly sure mine was softer than that. I will find out tomorrow when our local pistol expert is working at the gun store. However that is a tuning for your load issue anyway, I put in a 18.5 lb. spring and all is good .
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to say i have no range report comments on the 9mm spartan. I want one because of how much i enjoy my spartan in 45. i can not say enough good about it and no bad other than the chamber is so tight that one must make sure that a sizing crimping die is used when reloading.........It has about 3000 rounds through it and it is finally breaking in.

SPRINGS: in talking with Sean @ freedom ventures he calls the factory spring a "nominal 16 lbs." it is a flimsy P.O.S. (My words, not Sean's) As soon as the spring in my spartan had a good 18 lb Wolf spring put in it would shoot anything and the recoil felt a lot less (because the slide wouldn't bottom out with the 230 gr. balls)
And if the gun comes with a shock buffer, discard it - not needed and they shred up fast. not enough room in the action for one.
 
I just bought an STI Spartan and I cannot say enough good things about it. It ate up all my plated metal jacket bullets (Frontier or AIM Projectiles , I believe) and then gobbled up all the WinClean factory loads. Sights were a little high at 25 meters, but a slight tweak with the Chapman screwdriver sorted that out. Shoots really well now. Damn... this pistol makes me look like a hero! :D

I bought it for $ 799 from Gunnar (CGN handle 7x61) at Armco (one of the board sponsors). Great service, great communication, What else could you ask for!

What a great pistol for the price. I love my Norc 1911's (owned 4 of them) but this pistol takes it to the next level even if it is twice the price. The Armscorp folks in the Phillipines did a great job... The STI folks in Texas did a super job. I'm impressed that this pistol feels and shoots so well out of the box!


Now I have to contact Freedom Ventures from some 9mm 1911 single stack magazines. :)

More detailed report to follow once I get some time....

Cheers,
Barney
 
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