50,000 (now 88K) rounds and counting: Springfield Operator

[Ned Christiansen]

"Testy" has been acquired!

[JohnK84]

"Testy" has been acquired!

A report to come soon? Pictures? All of the above?

[one]

So looking forward to this!

[Hulkstr8]

"Testy" has been acquired!

Let me know when you do some shooting. I'd make the drive down and hang out a bit. If you want. Either way, I'll still send you an occasional email lol.

[Ned Christiansen]

This testing will be like the rest of my life-- unscheduled and when unexpected time and opportunity find me. And it will be a while, so don't anyone hold their breath.....

[Det-Sog]

Ned, THANK YOU for this thread.

I just picked up my 2nd TRP Operator last week. This one, the full rail with the bushingless bull barrel. Yes, it's a PITA to take down, but is very soft shooting (unlike it's 10mm sister). For the money, these things seem hard to beat. I had to send the 10mm back as it was just too tight and would not feed well. The new .45 is flawless. It fed anything that I ran through it. I can't think of anything that I need to do with it other than enjoy it at the range. Best bang for the buck with a 1911 layman like me.

Someday, I'd like to save up and spring for a retirement WIlson, GC or Night Hawk, but for now this TRP fills the empty hole in the safe. Even for a modern Sig guy like me, EVERY collection needs a 1911 in .45..

[Ned Christiansen]

Well-- as with most brands Springfield has made some imperfect guns but these models sure have a good record.

The Operator has come back for a new safety-- the original finally broke at somewhere over 150K. I would say this is from left-hand use stressing the point where the shaft joins the plate, which otherwise experiences very little stress. I've seen a bunch of broken safeties and I'll bet most were well under 10K rounds.


[img]https://i.imgur.com/7pBFptp.jpg?2[/im

[maximus83]

Well-- as with most brands Springfield has made some imperfect guns but these models sure have a good record.

The Operator has come back for a new safety-- the original finally broke at somewhere over 150K. I would say this is from left-hand use stressing the point where the shaft joins the plate, which otherwise experiences very little stress. I've seen a bunch of broken safeties and I'll bet most were well under 10K rounds.


[img]https://i.imgur.com/7pBFptp.jpg?2[/im

Right on, Springfields are such a great bang-for-the-buck 1911 and a great foundation for semi-custom/modded builds. I've had such great luck with them and even when I had a couple issues in the past (like poor slide-frame fit on a mass production model, and poor ejection pattern on another), their service is better than any place I've ever worked with.

If folks end up replacing the factory ambi safety with an ambi that is more durable, what would you recommend? I have the Wilson ambi tactical on one of mine, it was what Dave Williams suggested at the time and it's been reliable, but a lot of new ambi safeties are available now.

[Ned Christiansen]

This one is getting a Wilson.

[TCB]

3C73EEFD-6F02-4D06-AE63-80DC4E9DF22A.jpg
My Wilson’s safety just broke at the same spot a few days ago at 27,000ish rounds...really glad I had snagged a SA Loaded Operator the day before as a backup and was able to finish the class I was in at the time.