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springfield range officer decent base gun for competition?


AF2010

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My plan so far is to purchase a range officer .45 and have about 700 dollars worth of work done to it. Budget is around 1500 bucks. Are there better options out there other than the STI trojan?

 

Looking forward to your opinions

 

Thanks

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That is a great firearm, but you should check out the Sig Max.  Its a copy of Max Michele jr.'s gun.  I have one and have ran almost 10,000 rnds through it and believe it go be the best out of the box 1911 yet. I have owned Springfield and limber custom 1911's and they just did not come setup near as well.  The Max  same with egw  sear,  Koenig hammer, straight trigger, adjustable h

Bomar  style rear sight, fiber optic front, and a dawson ice magwell. It comes with 2 Wilson legend mags.  All I had to do was lighten the trigger and enjoy for 1200 bucks. And it is uspsa legal.

Edited by StuckinMS
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I have a SIG Max and a Range Officer in .45.  And used to shoot a Trojan. 

Can't go wrong with any of them. I myself found I like the feel of the frame of the Range Officer better than the others. Especially with thin grips which I just found out. Out of all three I'd say the Trojan was fit better all around. I don't mind a little wiggle in the slide to frame but barrel fit and lock up are important to me. 

The Sig I can push the barrel down at lock up. Not a lot but it moves. Not uncommon for production 1911's. Still shoots straighter than I can hold it. 

 I will say Springfield has their sh*t together when it comes to barrel lock up. Tight as hell. At least mine are. My biggest complaint with the Range Officer is no front cocking serrations.  I'll get that changed one day.

 Don't really need $700.00 more into it to make a great gun. 

 

LOK G-10 Grips $50.00

Dawson magwells $95.00

Dawson FO front sight $40.00

Wilson Combat front strap checkering cover $10.00

(It actually works really well)

Brazos Tuned trigger group $155.00

Recoil spring $10.00

 

My 2 cents

 

 

 

 

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56 minutes ago, S&W686 said:

Will you be shooting the gun in CDP Division IDPA or Single Stack USPSA. 

I wish I knew! Haha it would probably help to know ahead of time but unfortunately there is nothing in my area at the moment(small west texas town) We do have a  decent sized gun club that we are trying to persuade to get started in any kind of action shooting... just depends on votes. In the meantime though I just want a good reliable, accurate 1911 with adjustable sights and checkering that I can train with and dedicate to competition. I currently have a Colt combat unit that serves as my range and training gun, and I'm tired of cleaning it every week so it doesn't get me filthy when I carry it. 

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1 hour ago, StuckinMS said:

That is a great firearm, but you should check out the Sig Max.  Its a copy of Max Michele jr.'s gun.  I have one and have ran almost 10,000 rnds through it and believe it go be the best out of the box 1911 yet. I have owned Springfield and limber custom 1911's and they just did not come setup near as well.  The Max  same with egw  sear,  Koenig hammer, straight trigger, adjustable h

Bomar  style rear sight, fiber optic front, and a dawson ice magwell. It comes with 2 Wilson legend mags.  All I had to do was lighten the trigger and enjoy for 1200 bucks. And it is uspsa legal.

Wow!!! I had not heard of it until now. Just looked it up, and I'm extremely pleased with what I'm seeing. That just might be the one

 

Thanks!

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1 hour ago, BASE772 said:

 Don't really need $700.00 more into it to make a great gun. 

 

LOK G-10 Grips $50.00

Dawson magwells $95.00

Dawson FO front sight $40.00

Wilson Combat front strap checkering cover $10.00

(It actually works really well)

Brazos Tuned trigger group $155.00

Recoil spring $10.00

 

Couldn't agree more. This is exactly my setup with 2 differences. I have a strip of Dawson grip tape on the front strap that hasn't lifted a corner once. And this was an earlier gun purchase before I was ruined by lighter triggers so mine is still sporting the original trigger. I will absolutely put a better trigger into it if I decide to put it back in the game rotation. 

 

I will also say the barrel/bushing fit on this gun is superb. The only very mild disappointment for me is the parkerized finish. I've always assumed I'd have this thing hard chromed at some point. On the plus side, it develops character faster than other guns, hehehe.

 

To Sarge's comment -- it does need to be said that the 8 round magazine limit of Single Stack Major is pretty unforgiving. There are still plenty of reasons it might make sense for you to have a 45acp. Just know that there's a reason so many SS shooters have gone Minor for the 10 round capacity. I'm not railing against the rule change, but I do think the advantage clearly goes to the minor guns.

 

Good luck with the purchase!

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I've got almost 1k rounds shot in my 9mm Springfield RO and 500 in the 45 RO without issue. I'll get trigger jobs done eventually but for now with just a lighter recoil spring & hammer spring, Dawon FO front sight & Dawson Ice magwells, they are running verruh well.

 

Point is, unless you really want to tweak on them, Range Officers are good to go with minimal fiddling.

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If I had a $1500 budget, I'd look at one of the Dan Wesson pistols first.  My second choice would be a Springfield RO, Loaded or custom.  Their custom shop can do almost anything you would like to do to a 1911.

 

With the SA pistols you get a forged slide well fit to a forged frame and a match barrel that is fit properly.  That is the basis of a truly fine pistol.  The internals are mostly MIM, so they are going to wear sooner than bar stock or billet parts would, but so what.  Replacing them is easy and inexpensive when necessary.

 

The trigger will suck when you get it from the factory.  It will smooth out after about 500 rounds.  You can replace the ILS system in the mainspring housing with conventional parts for about $15.  If you use an 18lb mainspring or heavier, you don't have to change out the Ti firing pin.  I did that for a buddy's gun and ended up with a nice 3.5 lb trigger.  I did have to adjust the sear spring some.

 

Then you can shoot it as is, or send it out for whatever treatment you like.  You will certainly end up with a gun that is better than a Trojan.

 

My advice is to talk to the Custom Dept. at SA about what you like and see what they have to say.  Another shooting buddy did just that and ended up with a gorgeous 45 1911 with slide lightening cuts and upgraded internals for $1350.

 

If you go for a Sig Max, buy it from a local store that has them in stock.  You want to see how well the slide, frame and barrel are fit before you buy.  Most are really good, but some slip through.

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My 9mm STI Trojan has been flawless out of the box. Can't say the same about my my two (former) SA Range Officers in 45 and 9mm!!! After that I'd never own another SA product no matter how much extra money I'd have to put in it. Bandwidth doesn't have enough room to describe the issues I had with BOTH SA pistols. I don't get it how people are so enamored with these guns? There are two other guys that have ROs at our club and they gave up on theirs as well. Save yourself the headaches and steer clear of SA! Heck, i owned a RIA that ran like a top for half the cost of a SA. Granted it's not an STI but at least it ran.

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Interesting igolf.  My experience has been just the opposite.  The SAs have been so good at one of my clubs, it sparked a buying spree.  Eveyone loves theirs ( a mix of 45 and 9mm, ROs, Loadeds and custom), and there have been zero problems.  The two newest Trojans both broke parts in the first 500 rounds and had to be repaired.  One broke a slide stop.  STI sent a new one.  It didn't fit.  The guy called to complain and was told "you fit it".  After a lot more complaining they told him to send it in.  Instead of doing a proper job, they simply sanded down one side of the bar so the bottom lugs would ride up on it.  No STIs for me!

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15 hours ago, ttolliver said:

Thank you to all that replied. Y'all have been very helpful. the Sig Max seems very close to what I'm looking for but I do think I'd be happier with a RO worked over to be exactly what I want, and might save a few bucks too. 

 

Edited by AF2010
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Every Sig Max I have seen, which hasn't been that many, the rear sight is elevated to a high position leaving an unsightly gap below it.  external extractor too, solution to a non problem in my opinion. I have a Springfield ROOP great pistol and a Springfield Govt model that I bought in 1991 that has been completely worked over. It looks like a TGO 1, but mine was built before that model came out. both have been fine pistols and trouble free.

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I've been using a lightly modified Range Officer in .45 for my Single Stack gun and have been pretty happy with it. You may also want to consider the Competition Ready offerings from Dawson Precision. They have both the Range Officer (around $1,000) and Trojan ($1,500) that look to be within your budget.

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FWIW, I have the SA loaded target in .45. It is basically the RO with an ambi thumb safety.

 

I replaced the front sight with a Dawson F/O, added a Wilson combat MSH/Magwell, and a Wilson (slightly) extended mag release and lighter spring. It is a very capable SS gun, far better than I am. About $150 in upgrades. I'm coming up on 5,000 rounds through it nary a failure. Great gun.

recent copy.jpg

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1 hour ago, Eureka1911 said:

 

recent copy.jpg

Where those front cocking serrations stock? 

For the life of me I can't understand why any company who makes 1911's with the adjustable Bomar style sights doesn't put front cocking serrations on as standard. 

Grabing those rear serrations on an unloaded table starts sucks. That rear blade will take the skin right off. 

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2 hours ago, Eureka1911 said:

FWIW, I have the SA loaded target in .45. It is basically the RO with an ambi thumb safety.

 

I replaced the front sight with a Dawson F/O, added a Wilson combat MSH/Magwell, and a Wilson (slightly) extended mag release and lighter spring. It is a very capable SS gun, far better than I am. About $150 in upgrades. I'm coming up on 5,000 rounds through it nary a failure. Great gun.

recent copy.jpg

That thing is nice looking! Never really cared for stainless guns, but that one changes my mind. Good choice on grip color

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When I first got into competition shooting, I had no one to ask what to buy, had never heard of this site. I started L10 and SS with a Kimber Custom .45 thinking I cannot possibly go wrong. You should have seen my face when attending a USPSA meet and being told a bull barrel is illegal in SS. I have spent a lot of money getting it to run right and converting it to a regular barrel. Finally it is one hell of a gun. At a price I would never tell.

 

As a back up gun I purchased an RO. I personally find it to be lacking in finish, and function out of the box. To be fair we all replace the sights and the trigger group, but it certainly would not be my first choice. I have shot the STI's, a Dan Wesson, a Rock Island, and a double stack STI in .45, plus the new Colts, and did not find anything better. That was until my friend bought the SIG MAX in .40. This pistol out of the box was ready to go as it was, no changes were needed. I feel it is the best out of the box firearm out there. I would buy one in .45 for sure when the time comes.

 

Since I am still shooting L10, (I hear the laughter), my hi cap STI is perfect, and for SS the Kimber million dollar model work great, but if I ever switch to SS, a SIG MAX will be my choice.   

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$700 worth of work on an $800 gun seems pretty silly to me.

 

If I wanted another 45, I would get a dan wesson pm7, and have a competent local smith polish and tune the sear for $50 or so and call it good.

 

I was actually about to do just that but I won a trojan 45 in a raffle, and our competent local smith only charges $25 for a basic trigger job (2 1/2 lb creep-free trigger). Magwell and extended mag release and it is ready for anything. Zero malfunctions in a few thousand rounds including A3 and the oregon stage match.

 

I really like my sti's, but I think with their recent price increase, they trojan is not a great deal anymore. fit and finish and parts quality for the same price are better on the dan wesson.

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53 minutes ago, motosapiens said:

$700 worth of work on an $800 gun seems pretty silly to me.

Heck, I had a $500 G34 that I put that much into. lol

 

But I agree on a 1911. If I wanted a spiffy single stack I would just pay up front for the way I want it.

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On ‎8‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 6:40 PM, BASE772 said:

Where those front cocking serrations stock? 

For the life of me I can't understand why any company who makes 1911's with the adjustable Bomar style sights doesn't put front cocking serrations on as standard. 

Grabing those rear serrations on an unloaded table starts sucks. That rear blade will take the skin right off. 

I think the front serrations are standard.  I have a loaded stainless, and it also has them.

I use a sig max in 45, very nice.  I had a 9mm RO, that was a very good gun too.  I gave it to my nephew for a graduation present :)

Now I have a DW pointman 9, excellent pistol!

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I have a RO in 45 and Sig Max in 40. The RO is a fine 1911 for the money. Mine had a decent trigger from the factory and was very reliable. I prefer the Max over the RO. For the money that thing is ready to rock. I put a Enos trigger bow with a long insert. Other than that it's bone stock.

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