Springfield EMP 9mm 1911
- Thread starter Boarhunter
- Start date
Boarhunter,
Thanks for the excellent info.
Upon your recommendation, I headed over to Larry's today and fondled the EMP and it is truly a gorgeous weapon. It is lighter than I expected and the fit and finish is comparable to the Kimber, as you previously indicated.
I am considering sticking it back on lay-a-way for X-mas. I may go do that tomorrow as a matter of fact. Larry gave me a great price on it. Said some spoiled burly guy had bought the other of the first 2 he received.
Thanks for the heads up!
Thanks for the excellent info.
Upon your recommendation, I headed over to Larry's today and fondled the EMP and it is truly a gorgeous weapon. It is lighter than I expected and the fit and finish is comparable to the Kimber, as you previously indicated.
I am considering sticking it back on lay-a-way for X-mas. I may go do that tomorrow as a matter of fact. Larry gave me a great price on it. Said some spoiled burly guy had bought the other of the first 2 he received.
Thanks for the heads up!
Boarhunter
New member
smince,
Larry has been a personal burden of mine for 30 years....and I have probably been his burden as well. A relationship most closest friends enjoy, I guess. So, yes, Larry and his guys know me well. I admit to being burly; deny being spoiled; but INSISTED on getting the first EMP in town!
Troy26,
I have fired 300 rounds through mine to date, and continue to be pleased. No bobbles or jams whatsoever the last 200 rounds. Superb accuracy.
I have cleaned the gun once (it is due another cleaning tonight), and the only quirk about the gun in that regard is that disassembly of the guide rod, spring, and barrel require the use of a separate "plastic" bushing that clamps onto the guide rod before disassembly. This holds the spring under tension while you complete the rest of disassembly. Seems all "micro" 1911s require some device of that nature, but the others that allow a paper clip to be used are far more convenient. I might just buy a couple of more bushings to ensure availability when needed.
Boarhunter
Larry has been a personal burden of mine for 30 years....and I have probably been his burden as well. A relationship most closest friends enjoy, I guess. So, yes, Larry and his guys know me well. I admit to being burly; deny being spoiled; but INSISTED on getting the first EMP in town!
Troy26,
I have fired 300 rounds through mine to date, and continue to be pleased. No bobbles or jams whatsoever the last 200 rounds. Superb accuracy.
I have cleaned the gun once (it is due another cleaning tonight), and the only quirk about the gun in that regard is that disassembly of the guide rod, spring, and barrel require the use of a separate "plastic" bushing that clamps onto the guide rod before disassembly. This holds the spring under tension while you complete the rest of disassembly. Seems all "micro" 1911s require some device of that nature, but the others that allow a paper clip to be used are far more convenient. I might just buy a couple of more bushings to ensure availability when needed.
Boarhunter
Uh oh. I hate that little spring tension hole thingy.
Well, yes and no.
I never could get my Kimber disassembled and reassembled for cleaning until I threw away that stupid little piece of metal that is supposed to go in the spring. It is utterly, absolutely useless. Without it I can now reassemble in about 30 seconds. With it I'd still be here from last weekend's range time.
Have you tried reassembling without the tension gizmo? If you do, let us know if it in fact doesn't really need the tool.
Inquiring minds want to know....
Springmom
Well, yes and no.
I never could get my Kimber disassembled and reassembled for cleaning until I threw away that stupid little piece of metal that is supposed to go in the spring. It is utterly, absolutely useless. Without it I can now reassemble in about 30 seconds. With it I'd still be here from last weekend's range time.
Have you tried reassembling without the tension gizmo? If you do, let us know if it in fact doesn't really need the tool.
Inquiring minds want to know....
Springmom
Boarhunter
New member
Springmom,
Yes, I tried to disassemble the gun without the bushing, but without total success. You can easily get the top-end off the gun without the bushing, but the guide rod, spring, and barrel remain firmly in place in the slide. I tugged, pushed, pulled, strained, cursed, etc., etc., but simply could not get them out of the slide without the bushing. And since the bushing was at my office, and the gun and I were at home, the cleaning effort was less than optimal.
Boarhunter
Ps: The moral of the the story is to keep a bushing at the office, at home, in the Jeep, etc.
Yes, I tried to disassemble the gun without the bushing, but without total success. You can easily get the top-end off the gun without the bushing, but the guide rod, spring, and barrel remain firmly in place in the slide. I tugged, pushed, pulled, strained, cursed, etc., etc., but simply could not get them out of the slide without the bushing. And since the bushing was at my office, and the gun and I were at home, the cleaning effort was less than optimal.
Boarhunter
Ps: The moral of the the story is to keep a bushing at the office, at home, in the Jeep, etc.
Don't feel bad. I had to go to the gunshop a couple of weekends ago go get another key to unlock the safety on my shotgun. The guy at the shop had a big bowl full of them. He refused to let me pay him for it, and said "Don't worry about it...people are awalys losin' 'em...that's whay we have so many."
Boarhunter
New member
Troy26,
All of my shooting to date has been Independence 115 gr. full metal jacket (I buy and shoot this stuff satisfactorily by the caseload). Point of aim equals point of impact at all reasonable ranges.
I will run some hollow point stuff through it this week and let you know how it feeds.
Boarhunter
All of my shooting to date has been Independence 115 gr. full metal jacket (I buy and shoot this stuff satisfactorily by the caseload). Point of aim equals point of impact at all reasonable ranges.
I will run some hollow point stuff through it this week and let you know how it feeds.
Boarhunter
Boarhunter
New member
smince,
HA! Not the first time a lawyer has been caught in an apparent inconsistency!
Boarhunter
HA! Not the first time a lawyer has been caught in an apparent inconsistency!
Boarhunter
Your EMP looks like a good candidate for a hammer/grip safety mod like on my Defender:http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209582
That looks like a fun gun. I was wondering if there'd be a new line of compact 1911 9mms. Sure sure, there will be those that scream "blastphemy!", and that's fine, you don't need to buy one. But to those that do appreciate tradition AS WELL AS variety, it's a wonderful thing.
I asked earlier in this thread if I could get some specific measurements of the EMP because it looked like it might be a good replacement for my Walther .380 PP.
It would be nice because of the slightly higher capacity, plus the EMP is 9mm.
However, it ONLY makes sense to me if the EMP were as concealable as my Walther because it's the Walther I grab when "nothing else will do" as far as concealment. I have always loved the "flatness" of the Walther, especially, because it's that which makes it so concealable.
So anyway, I ended up writing to Springfield with my basic request for specs so I could make the comparison between the two, and one of the techs grabbed his caliper and an EMP and sent me what I asked for.
I grabbed my own caliper to make the measurements of my own Walther PP.
I offer these comparisons for those who are interested, especially from the standpoint that a LOT of people own or have owned a Walther PP/PPK/PPKs so these comparisons would mean something to those people since they are somewhat familiar with the Walther.
Without further ado:
Walther Weight - 23oz.
EMP Weight - 23oz.
Identical
Walther (PP) overall length - 6.60"
EMP overall length - 6.60"
These first two specs being identical, are interesting coincidences.
Walther width of slide at widest point - .86"
EMP width of slide at widest point - .92"
(Difference of 1/16" wider for the EMP)
Walther width of grip at widest point - 1.12"
EMP width of grip at widest point - 1.11"
(Difference of just ten thousandths with the EMP being narrower)
Walther distance from bottom of trigger guard down to the bottom
of the grip - 2.00"
EMP - 2.30"
This means that you can get a little more finger on the grip of the EMP,
and I don't think this will affect concealability of the EMP.
Walther Length of slide from tip of barrel to rear of slide - 5.85"
EMP Length of slide from tip of barrel to rear of slide - 5.60"
The EMP being approx. 1/4" shorter in slide length (but note that
the PP Walther is the longest barreled version of the series)
Overall widest width of pistol at it's widest point (whatever that point is).
Walther at safety to other side of slide - 1.00"
EMP at the ambi-dextrous safety levers - 1.43"
Looks like a big difference, but I don't think the ambi-safety levers alone would create much of a problem for concealability.
All in all, it looks like the EMP really might be a good replacement for my Walther in size while allowing me to go to 9mm.
So I've ordered one from Bud's this morning.
If you want one, work fast because they now have only one left in stock.
Carter
It would be nice because of the slightly higher capacity, plus the EMP is 9mm.
However, it ONLY makes sense to me if the EMP were as concealable as my Walther because it's the Walther I grab when "nothing else will do" as far as concealment. I have always loved the "flatness" of the Walther, especially, because it's that which makes it so concealable.
So anyway, I ended up writing to Springfield with my basic request for specs so I could make the comparison between the two, and one of the techs grabbed his caliper and an EMP and sent me what I asked for.
I grabbed my own caliper to make the measurements of my own Walther PP.
I offer these comparisons for those who are interested, especially from the standpoint that a LOT of people own or have owned a Walther PP/PPK/PPKs so these comparisons would mean something to those people since they are somewhat familiar with the Walther.
Without further ado:
Walther Weight - 23oz.
EMP Weight - 23oz.
Identical
Walther (PP) overall length - 6.60"
EMP overall length - 6.60"
These first two specs being identical, are interesting coincidences.
Walther width of slide at widest point - .86"
EMP width of slide at widest point - .92"
(Difference of 1/16" wider for the EMP)
Walther width of grip at widest point - 1.12"
EMP width of grip at widest point - 1.11"
(Difference of just ten thousandths with the EMP being narrower)
Walther distance from bottom of trigger guard down to the bottom
of the grip - 2.00"
EMP - 2.30"
This means that you can get a little more finger on the grip of the EMP,
and I don't think this will affect concealability of the EMP.
Walther Length of slide from tip of barrel to rear of slide - 5.85"
EMP Length of slide from tip of barrel to rear of slide - 5.60"
The EMP being approx. 1/4" shorter in slide length (but note that
the PP Walther is the longest barreled version of the series)
Overall widest width of pistol at it's widest point (whatever that point is).
Walther at safety to other side of slide - 1.00"
EMP at the ambi-dextrous safety levers - 1.43"
Looks like a big difference, but I don't think the ambi-safety levers alone would create much of a problem for concealability.
All in all, it looks like the EMP really might be a good replacement for my Walther in size while allowing me to go to 9mm.
So I've ordered one from Bud's this morning.
If you want one, work fast because they now have only one left in stock.
Carter
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Heh.
Not to sound overly cynical, but I wondered what Springfield was going to do with all the leftover frames from the stillborn .45GAP project; can't just chuck 'em in the dumpster.
My curmudgeonly and skeptical nature gives two-to-one odds against this gun still being a standard Springfield catalog item as of SHOT show '08...
Not to sound overly cynical, but I wondered what Springfield was going to do with all the leftover frames from the stillborn .45GAP project; can't just chuck 'em in the dumpster.
My curmudgeonly and skeptical nature gives two-to-one odds against this gun still being a standard Springfield catalog item as of SHOT show '08...