Description

          SPRINGFIELD 1911 RANGE OFFICER

SPRINGFIELD 1911 RANGE OFFICER.

Home on the range — Standing shoulder to shoulder with some of our most legendary pistols, the Range Officer® line began as a popular competition platform and won over 1911 enthusiasts across the country.

At the center, a solid and rugged forged frame and slide give each pistol its life-long durability and strength while classic styling complements modern performance upgrades.

The Range Officer® was such a hit that the family was expanded to include self-defense models. So, if you’re a guy who likes a refined and accurate version of a classic, it looks like this gun has found a hand to hold for a lifetime.

Whether your Range Officer® is intended for bullseyes or bad guys, you’ll appreciate the dependability, precision and quality craftsmanship Springfield Armory builds into each of these fine 1911 pistols.

The Springfield Armory® Range Officer® was developed to offer 1911 enthusiasts an outstanding competition pistol that won’t break the bank.

Featuring finely tuned performance and all the features you need — and none you don’t — the Range Officer® line is the ideal addition to the collection for any 1911 fan.

springfield Armory is one of the top producers of semi-automatics on the 1911 pattern, and the arrival of the Range Officer was greeted enthusiastically.

This is a full-sized 1911, blued steel, chambered in .45 ACP and basically an upgraded Mil-Spec. The frame is forged as is the slide, with both being precision hand-fitted. Both the barrel and bushing are stainless steel and the barrel is of national match quality.

This Target Model’s sights are black the way they should be for easy visibility, consisting of a square notch rear sight matched up with a sloping post front sight.

The front sight is set in a dovetail allowing for easy windage adjustment or even replacement if desired. The rear sight is also in a dovetail, set very low into the slide and is adjustable for both windage and elevation.

Slide to frame fit is just about perfect. The extended trigger is light-weight aluminum with three holes drilled in it and serrations on the front, while the hammer is lightweight and skeletonized. The trigger pull measures 5 3/4 pounds on my test gun.

The grip safety is of the beavertail style with a memory bump and cut-out on top for the hammer. The mainspring housing is original 1911 flat-style and is checkered, while the front strap is smooth.

The whole package is reminiscent of customized military .45s from the middle of the 20th century.

Springfield Armory advertised their new Range Officer as being suitable for competition without any unneeded extras.

It certainly makes a fine self-defense pistol also as it has the most desired attributes in upgrading a 1911, with excellent sights, extended thumb safety and beavertail grip safety. The magazine release also works very easily and positively.

Two things I really appreciate, again this is definitely subjective on my part, is the fact it does not have an ambidextrous safety and the magazine is the old traditional flat bottom style without that funny looking pad on the bottom.

I can understand why some competition shooters want the pad but my competition days are long gone and I will choose form over function in this case.

In the case of the ambidextrous safety if I ever do have to shoot left-handed I do not find it a great disadvantage to have to push the safety off with my left hand.

Shooting the Range Officer proves to be pure pleasure. Outstanding results include the Black Hills 230 grainers; their standard 230-gr. JHP clocks out at 770 fps and puts five shots in 7/8″ while the FMJ version duplicates the muzzle velocity and cuts the group size to 5/8″.

What really intrigues me is the fact the Black Hills 230-gr. round-nosed lead rounds group at just over 1″. Winchesters are very consistent, with the 185-gr.

SPRINGFIELD 1911 RANGE OFFICER

SilverTip, 230 JHP and 230 FMJ all grouping in 1 1/4″. This pistol — and other Range Officers we’ve tested — all shoot like custom match 1911s!