questions on a new to me 1911...

General Firearms Handguns - 1911
1

Greetings gents…

I just acquired a used springfield 1911 champion trp tactical. I had been long contemplating a 1911 as I had really enjoyed shooting a few of a friends 1911’s. So I did my homework and decided on springfield. I also decided on the 4" slide (champion) as I plan on making this my carry piece. I felt the full size was a little to bulky for my needs, IMO. So I walk into my preffered local shop (cause I was passing right by on errands…you know how that goes) and they have this beautiful trp, exactly what I’m looking for at a great price (about half of retail) The shop owner tells me he took it as a trade from an older gent and it showed no wear at all. I felt confident making the purchase on the spot.

Anyways, enough of the back story and on to my question…

I take her home and decide to field strip 'er as per the manual. This is my first experience with disassembling a 1911 so I was a little thumbsy with the process and trying to go by the book. The manual that came with it was inaccurate, as it didn’t have my setup included. I downloaded a fantastic .pdf from springfield that included my setup, but not under my model. This leads me to the assumption that the piece was modified because there is no barrel bushing, and there is a smooth tipped, hollow centered piece where the guiderod release should be.

The long and short of it is that I pushed the slide rearward and took out the takedown pin and was able to take it apart from there. I then noticed that there is defintely no guiderod, instead there is a shoulder bushing and a recoil spring guide. I though that a guiderod was necessary on a 1911. I’ve included a pic of the setup. Herein lies my questions:

  1. Why would someone use this setup? what are the advantages?
  2. I was a little concered with the way the spring ‘scrunched up’ when compressed during re-assembly…felt like it was wedged in there without a guiderod…can this be problematic, or am I worried about nothing?
  3. What exactly does the ‘tactical’ designation entail? the springfield website didn’t have any info…is this just a marketing thing? The pistol doesn’t even have an accessory rail, how can it be ‘tacticool’ without one!
  4. The slide stop spring is incredibly stiff, depressable only with a punch, any ideas for loosing it up a bit?

I haven’t taken it out to test fire yet, as wally-world is out of 45 acp and I’m waiting for them to restock…the UMC bulk pack for $85 is the best deal in town , IMO, and worth waiting for.

Thanks for any answers you gents might have…

2

Looks like you have a bull barrel no bushing required. I dont own one but accury is supposed to be better and it elimanates a part. Also looks like yo uhave a reverse plug on your recoil spring. I sure if it didnt come from the factory like this the old guy had a match barrel installed to shrink his group size.

Jon

3

WoW… Never seen one like this before, I have a TRP Operator Tactical with a five inch bull barrel and it has a guide rod. It was my under standing that modles with the Bull Barrel have a guide rod however they don’t have barrel bushings.

4

I had a Springfield TRP Operator that didn’t have a barrel bushing. I believe the “conical” shape of the barrel makes it so that it does not require one. This is not a modification. It was a factory feature. Don’t know what to say on the guide rod or lack there of. Mine had a full length guide rod that stuck out when the slide was to the rear.

5

that is a seriously cool find!

never even heard of that.

not sure i would shoot it! :slight_smile:

6

Nice .45 you have there! I like it - simple and uncluttered.

I’ve been carrying a 1911 Govt Model since 1986 and it keeps getting better with age. It’s now more silvery looking than blue, but it’s been a trusty old friend.

7

I might post a picture of the front of it. (ETA: I mean the front of the slide)

It looks like a run of the mill Commander Length, bushingless, standard length guide rod 1911…

Is the magazine inserted empty (I know stupid question) in the gun when you’ve been pressing the slide stop?

I’m not trying to insult you, just get a genuine impression of the gun.

I didn’t know that Springfield offered a Commander Length TRP, the slide seems to have all of the correct markings.

But it’s also marked Brazil very clearly, so this might be a somewhat older model of theirs… I believe they quit sourcing parts from them some time ago.

Does it have tritium 3-dot sights?

That hammer doesn’t look like the typical hammer they employ either.

If those are the factory grips it must be older, as they usually have Springfield’s markings on them.

If I had to guess I’d say it’s a series they probably don’t produce anymore, but from what I can see I have no reason not to believe it’s a legitimate Springfield TRP.

I did some searching, I’d give Springfield a call at,

1-800-680-6866, their hours are 8:30 AM to 4:30 P.M. Central Standard time M-F, and see if you can’t find out more about it… if you’re genuinely concerned.

I also wouldn’t shoot it until you’ve called springfield to make certain it’s in factory condition, so if worst case scenario, you can contact the seller and raise cane if you need to.

I have no reason to not believe that weapon is 100% functional after everything I’ve seen, I have no reason to believe it’s defective, it looks in good shape, minus that one scratch, but I’m not even concerned about that, IMHO.

I’m not trying to spook you, I just figured since you’re curious they could probably tell you more than anyone here.

ETA 2: Also, no you don’t need a Full Length Guide Rod, I don’t use one in mine, and I don’t see the point… enough credible people have said it does nothing to improve accuracy, and I don’t think it adds enough weight up at the front of the gun to reduce muzzle flip like some claim.

I do however believe it complicates disassembly, limiting you to one method of disassembly instead of two for field stripping, (If you wanted to take a bushing off and shoot a recoil plug across the room, that’s your choice, IMHO, ideally you should remove the slide by pulling it back some and aligning the slide stop, but, neither here nor there) and is a two piece component where a one piece used to exist.

8

it’s legitimate.

here’s another:

9

Thanks to all for the kind words on the new 1911, much appreciated.

I was also kinda hopeful for a bull/match barrel as well, but I would think it would have some sort of markings on it to indicate such. This one has a few letter proof stamped on the lower portion of the barrel where the barrel link is located. These stamps are ‘N’ ‘S’ ‘P’ on one side and ‘B’ and a small chevron/triangle shaped mark on the other. It also has 'S.A. 45 Auto on the top of the barrel, where it would show through the ejection port. I think this mark at least is pretty obvious.

I was surfing around and found these parts, as I have them, on the Ed Brown website. Got a few clues there in the item descriptions. Said that these types of plugs may be used in competition guns with compensators attached.

10

Is the magazine inserted empty (I know stupid question) in the gun when you’ve been pressing the slide stop?

Yep, mags out. Thats always my first step before observing the chamber when breaking down any type of firearm, no insult taken. I’ve been doing it that way for years.

Does it have tritium 3-dot sights?

Negative on the tritium. It does have Novak non-adjustable sights on it.

If I had to guess I’d say it’s a series they probably don’t produce anymore, but from what I can see I have no reason not to believe it’s a legitimate Springfield TRP.

I agree that it’s probably an older model, which would suit me just fine. I tend to favor older production of many firearms. I got the vibe when I bought it that it had been sitting in a safe for many years. My gut feeling, combined with the older, non-logo grips, and unusal configuration are pointing to an older production.

Thanks for the thoughtful post. I’m going to take your advice about calling SA as they can shed a bit of light on things per serial number. I definitely won’t be firing it until I get the OK from SA, as the whole configuration has me a bit spooked. If I don’t get anywhere with them, I can always go back to the shop where I got it. Looks like a few opprotunities for them to provide “outstanding customer service” Thanks again, I’ll be sure to post my findings