The 1911 predates the television, antibiotics and Silly Putty.
By modern technological standards, the 1911 handgun should be a dinosaur relegated to a museum and forgotten.
However, some mechanical devices are simply transcendent.
Brownings extraordinary 1911 embodies some kind of ethereal mechanical perfection.
Capitalism drives trends and innovation like lawyers chase money.
Is It Still Relevant?
My wifes grandfather sure thought so.
His name was Eddie.
Hes passed on now, but Eddie was one of my heroes.
He enlisted in 1940 as a homeless out-of-work hobo because the military was a reliable source of food.
He left the U.S. Army in 1945 as a Master Sergeant with a whopping four years service.
Thats because every single person he worked for was killed.
Along the way a1911 pistol was his constant companion.
Unlike most of us today who prattle on incessantly about guns, this guy actually used his.
He always was a man ahead of his time.
Eddie revered the 1911 for its reliability, pointability and knockdown power.
He could get the gun into action quickly and trusted it with his life.
Those same peerless attributes are made thoroughly manifest in the Springfield Armory Stainless Steel 1911 Mil-Spec pistol today.
The forged stainless steel construction keeps the gun essentially impervious to inclement weather and nasty spaces.
This stainless steel hogleg is tougher than you are.
The ejection port is lowered and flared for enhanced performance.
The practical result of this upgrade is that the gun ejects comfortably and reliably out to the right.
For all its simply undeniable magnificence, a G.I.
1911 pistol consistently drops its empties right on top of my head.
The Springfield Armory Stainless Steel 1911 Mil-Spec doesnt.
The blackened fixed combat sights feature three white dot inserts.
sights circa the early 1900s were almost afterthoughts.
There were too small and too nondescript for easy acquisition.
By contrast, these Springfield Armory sorts draw your eyes, especially in a hurry.
The spur hammer is easily accessed should you oughta cock or decock the pistol manually.
The thumb safety is mounted on the left side and perfect.
The slide release is of the G.I.
configuration and left side-only.
The magazine release rides underneath your right thumb as it should.
The gun comes with a single-stack seven-round box magazine.
Springfield Armory mags are as good as they come.
Empty magazines leap free like a bullfrog out of the microwave.
The Springfield Armory Stainless Steel Mil-Spec 1911 is for a particular sort of shooter.
Generations of soldiers, armed citizens and law enforcement officers have safely carried 1911 pistols in Condition 1.
This means the chamber is hot, the hammer is back, and the safety is on.
When I was first issued a 1911 pistol as a soldier this was strictly prohibited.
Eddie told me that was the case back in his day as well.
However, he also said he didnt care.
He told me he placed his 1911 in Condition 1 whenever trouble seemed imminent even back in 1944.
He said he skeletonized his leather G.I.
holster to accommodate the hammer.
He was the only soldier of his era I have ever heard of who did that.
Doing so safely requires training.
However, its not like time on the range is actually work.
Recoil even with thoseheavy 230-gr.
bulletsis not unpleasant, and magazine changes set the standard for everything else.
The crisp single-action trigger is the stuff of dreams.
The gun was naturally reliable with everything I fed it.
Practicalities
The Springfield Armory 1911 Mil-Spec is a big steel gun.
However, the state of the art in carry gear is up to the task.
If ever you have to use a gun for real, this one will reliably do the deed.
The pistol moves quickly, shoots straight and hits like a freight train downrange.
They tell us thatlittle mouse guns pushing super awesome high-tech bullets are nasty enoughto bet your life on.
However, there yet remains something to be said for simple Newtonian Physics.
One half mass times velocity squared translates into raw kinetic energy.
In the rarefied world of combat handgun cartridges, the .45 ACP has plenty of it.
Its classic iron for the Information Age.
see to it you check outMassad Ayoobs review of the Mil-Spec 1911 with a black finish.
Go to forum thread