August 25th, 2019
9minute read
Some people cant carry more than a .380.
Physical size is a factor.
So is physical shape, in the sense of both configuration and condition.
Wardrobe required for work or chosen for daily life may be a factor.
It tends to come up short in wound ballistics as well.
Springfield Armory knew that when they came up with their new 911 pistol in .380.
Can this pistol manage that?
Read on in my Springfield 911 review …
Springfield didnt ignore the 9mm fans, though.
It was flat, slim, and easy to shoot straight in spite of its tiny sights.
Colt resurrected that concept with their Government .380 and Mustang series.
At the risk of oversimplification, these were partly resurrected 1903/1908 models, and partly scaled-down 1911 models.
Colt still lists the Mustang in their catalog, and today the concept is increasingly popular.
Others have more or less copied it, notably Browning Arms.
(Why curl down the thumb?
Having discussed the bad news with the .380s power level and slide cycling, lets discuss the good news.
Ability to shoot accurately is thus critical, and trigger pull characteristics are thus critical as well.
Our test sample averaged 8.73 pounds, very consistently, on a Lyman digital trigger pull scale.
Thats the science part.
Now, lets talk about the human factors part.
At least one estimated less than half.
Personally, Id have put it in the six-pound range.
Explanation: the short trigger reach gets more finger onto the trigger.
This in turn gives more leverage.
More leverage equals less effort to press that trigger to the point of the shot.
Dry fire a Springfield Armory 911 in the gun shop and see for yourself.
Youll say, No WAY thats almost nine pounds.
Tiny pocket guns like this one get cut a lot more slack.
Winchesters relatively new PDX-1 95-grain hollow point, however, was the star of the show!
It did, but still not quite to point of aim/point of impact.
Even at seven yards, hits were a bit low.
Its a bank of six eight-inch steel discs.
The 911 carried flat against the thigh, and in pocket carry I found the ambi thumb safety reassuring.
The twin levers are the optimum size, and adjusted perfectly for positive but easy on- and-off.
Some small .380s can have a nasty kick.
It sounds like a cliche, but it really did feel as if I was shooting a .22.
The sights didnt really seem to move on recoil.
The front sight on ours needed to be a tad shorter, though.
In hundreds of rounds with multiple shooters from big to small, we only had one problem.
When I was shooting the plates, I had repeated stoppages, all 12 oclock misfeeds.
Cant put my finger on it.
Overall, the test crew and I liked the little 911 pistol.
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