ck1 Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 (edited) Thinking of picking up a Spartan 9mm to use for IDPA ESP (maybe SSTK minor too) and wondering if anyone here has put some serious mileage on one and could share their experiences as far as reliability is concerned (especially when shooting factory ammo, or loads with similar OAL or pf to that, maybe .150ish OAL and 125-130pf)..? I've owned a Trojan 9mm (among others) in the past, and while it was an amazingly accurate and well built gun, it could be quite a headache even after trying both Tripp and Wilson ETM mags, Aftec, and all kinds of different springs and such, as nose-dive jams would show up often enough where I had to let it go in favor of a generally more reliable and easy to deal with CZ Shadow (but weight/parts/expense/availability issues with those is it's own other topic). My experience with the Trojan has shown me that a ramped-barrel is not the necessity for a 9mm 1911 I once thought it was to getting reliability (and to a certain extent, considering how high the Tripp and ETM mags present the rounds to the chamber, I'm thinking no-ramp could even be a plus), and while it was far too finicky for me, when it ran, man oh man, it was nice. Thing is, my times show historically, that when they work (9mm 1911's), that's what I'm fastest (and most accurate) with... So thinking of maybe giving it another whirl as the price for what you get quality-wise with the Spartans is hard to resist. I had many Saturdays ruined when after burning down a few stages, I'd run into a jam/malf that would just kill my time/score for the day and as a consequence I gave up on the 9mm 1911's for a while... but the force is strong with them. I'm looking for info from guys who've put at least a couple thousand through their guns and have run them through several matches, as I've found guns that work fine at the range don't necessarily stay running that way under match conditions. I'm not afraid of tinkering, and I'm well versed in most of it, but I'm wondering if picking one of these up hoping for it to be put into a state where it's truly solid enough to run matches consistently expecting trouble-free performance is really realistic or possible without encountering the usual 9mm 1911 headaches here and there... I've seen posts where guys say theirs run great, but I haven't read anything of guys saying they've made them their gun for matches mentioning their results or performance or anything... Thanks in advance. Edited October 18, 2011 by ck1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-Bros_JLR Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I've ran a few thousand rounds through the 3 Spartans I've been involved with and when running a cmj bullet they've all been extremely reliable. The only times they've had issues is if I've mistakenly loaded a bad piece of brass which is not fault of the gun. I actually have one that I'm thinking of selling that has been all slicked up; if you're interested PM me. It's been used if a few local matches by both my girlfriend and myself and has run flawlessly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodownzero Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Absolutely must use round nose bullets. If you do, it'll run great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWFAN Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Yep! What they said. Round nose bullets, or Lead flatpoints were great for me. 147gr Lead flat nose and 147 CMJ Montana Golds are the only bullets that run 99.999% for me. Using Metalform 10rd mags makes that as close to 100% as you can get. Tripp mags are great, but plan on replacing mag springs very frequently. Montana 124jhp would run most of the time in the Metalform mags, but I wouldnt trust them for a big match. All of the above was experience with an older Dan Wesson (unramped 9mm) and a newer Dan Wesson Ramped 9mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-Bros_JLR Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I could only get the MG 124jhp's to run about 90% through the ones I've had and gave up after trying the 124cmjs....which run 99.99999% of the time using Tripp mags. No issues with the springs in the Tripp mags for me, but I only load them up when I'm going to use them too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ck1 Posted October 18, 2011 Author Share Posted October 18, 2011 Yeah, thinking I'll be sticking to FMJ's. Thanks for the info, keep it coming... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellymc Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 At 2500 rounds my spartian and my eagle both needed new extractors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodownzero Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I wish I could get mine to work with 147 FPs, but I couldn't--but the mags are at Tripp getting checked out. I shot 1,500 rounds in a single weekend in July--no issues!! I love my Spartan. All it needs is the front strap checkered. Ideally, however, it'd have a ramped barrel in 9mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWFAN Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I wish I could get mine to work with 147 FPs, but I couldn't--but the mags are at Tripp getting checked out. I shot 1,500 rounds in a single weekend in July--no issues!! I love my Spartan. All it needs is the front strap checkered. Ideally, however, it'd have a ramped barrel in 9mm. What do you run ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodownzero Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I wish I could get mine to work with 147 FPs, but I couldn't--but the mags are at Tripp getting checked out. I shot 1,500 rounds in a single weekend in July--no issues!! I love my Spartan. All it needs is the front strap checkered. Ideally, however, it'd have a ramped barrel in 9mm. What do you run ? I use Bear Creek 135 grain round nose. I have some 160s too, but I haven't loaded them yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSSOH22 Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 I have about 3k through my Spartan without any big issues. It does not like JHP's, but runs great with 115's and 124's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSSOH22 Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 The only thing i do not care for is the BTGS. Sometimes with an improper draw or SHO shooting, I do not disengage it, but that is because of my hand size Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadoflame Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 i had major FTE issues with steel casing. I shouldnt have been putting that box through the gun anyways, but now i know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philproulx Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 i had some problems with flat nose bullets it was hitting the frame/ramp really hard and got stock there i reshape the frame and put more angle on the barrel ramp itself now it feeds just like my custom 2011 i put anything into the gun and it works i run wilson 10 rounds emt i shoot one mag with 100 gr frangible 115 puff load 124 IPSC production ammo and 147 remington golden sabre it all feeds really glad with my spartan and it is superbly accurate with 115 rainer 5.0 gr longshot puff load but really accurate, i have work the ramp put ambi safety magwell and countour the grip safety it was a bit sharp on the edge lap the slide frame with compund polished the hammer face and inside the slide where the hammer slide total time spended i would say 3 hours cheers philippe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 I really like the Filipino 1911s, but they all seem to have a feed angle that is a little too abrupt. Easy enough to fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XD Niner Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 Mine ate Zero 125 JHP's from the start. It occasionally choked on MG 124 JHP's until around 1K rounds. It now feeds and ejects those reliably as well. I've shot several local matches with the Zero rounds in my Spartan. I've had zero problems with this combination. It is a great gun if you desire 9mm 1911. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roaddog77 Posted December 25, 2011 Share Posted December 25, 2011 My father in law picked up a rock island in 9mm. After a little clean up and polishing I hate to say it performs pretty good for a 300 dollar 1911. All 9mm reloads and I haven't seen it puke on him get. Tbe bozo even ran a overcharge in it and all it did was blew ths mag out and cracked one grip! I wont go there cuz its not the first time. I've got a Spartan and equipment wise I don't feel I have one up on him. I just pray he screwed up another round when shooting against him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreativecid Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 (edited) 10# RS. FP 125g moly had to be loaded short at around 1.119 to function. 147g flat point moly with the aforementioned springs and the 9-round MetalForm mags is not 100% when I decide to get lazy and may limp wrist it. Obviously me, not the gun. My 135g Bear Creek RN has been 100% for many many months. Flawless through thousands of rounds at 1.45-ish. Accurate and inexpensive. Works well with the S&A magwell and a little internal smoothing. Edited December 27, 2011 by kreativecid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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