Jon Grigsby's Springfield Armory "Loaded" Model 1911 in 9mm.

 
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        I chose the 9mm 1911 for steel plate matches because of its lower recoil, excellent trigger pull, good sights from the factory, nice beavertail and the stainless finish.  The gun is very reliable with 115 gr ammo at at least 900 fps.  That is pretty light for 9mm but the brass still ejects about 4 feet.  My match load is 4.4 gr. Winchester 231 behind a Zero 115 gr. FMJ bullet.  OAL is factory.   I full length resize before loading using a Magma Case Master.  This gets rid of any bulge in the case near its base, returning it to new specs.  The brass will drop into a case gauge.  The other nice thing about loading 9mm is it's low cost.  FMJ 9mm projectiles are cheap.  West Coast copper plated 115gr 9mm bullets are $27.50 per 1000.  The Zero's I now load are under $40 per 1000.
        The first modification I did was to replace the main spring with a reduced power mainspring from Wolf Springs, ordered through Brownells.   The trigger pull went from a very acceptable 5.5 lbs to a much lighter 3.5 lbs.   I cut the hammer hooks to .018 and got a very crisp hammer release.  The gun comes from Springfield with an overtravel adjustment screw in the trigger.  There was no means of adjusting the trigger take up.  I drilled and tapped a hole just to the left of the trigger and installed a set screw that contacts the left front edge of the trigger bow in the frame, giving me a way to now adjust the amount of take up the trigger has before it contacts the sear.  Ideally, I find that .10" ( a tenth of and inch) is just right.  A small dab of locktight keeps it from moving from its adjusted position. 
        The next thing to change was the safety.   I have large hands and use a standard IPSC hold, both thumbs along the left side of the gun, the right thumb resting on top of the safety and the left thumb touching the frame in front of the slide stop.  I found that my firm grip with my right thumb rubbing the side of the slide impeded its return to battery, causing a malfunction.   I replaced the standard safety with a Swenson Ambidextrious from Brownells.   It has a large flat thumb guide that keeps your thumb from contacting the slide.  
        The gun was absolutely reliable, right out of the box... but to enhance its smooth feeding from the magazine into the chamber, I polished the feed ramp to a glass smooth finish.  The extractor and ejector worked fine so I left them alone. 
        I mounted an "Aimtech" mount with a Tasco 40 mm PDP5 with the adjustable dot sizes.   I chose the Aimtech mount because it is a non-permanent modification.  I liked the way the gun looked and wanted to return it to a carry-able condition.  The Aimtech mount replaces the right grip panel.  It is held in place by the grip screws and two specially machined screws that replace the mainspring housing pin and the hammer pin.  Be sure not to overtighten the special pin screws as they can squeeze the frame, adding drag to the hammer's movement.  I modified the Aimtech mount by grinding the mount, adding clearance to the ejection port.  I cut the mount off just behind where the Tasco dot mounts to the weaver rail on the Aimtech mount.  This added additional clearance to the ejection port area.  One problem I have seen on my guns and on other guns using the Aimtech mount is the ejected brass can and does sometimes fail to clear the mount and bounces back into the slide.  The brass is pinched between the top of the slide and the back and bottom of the mount.  It is a malfunction that is easily cleared in a few seconds.  Trimming the back of the mount to the scope's rear-most mounting point and opening up the area around the ejection port eliminate this common malfunction.   Be careful not to cut too much from the ejection port area.  You need at least an inch of material to maintain the strength of the mount.  One other thing I addressed with the mount was to radius the rear edge of the mount where the mount comes across the palm of your hand, where the grip panel used to be.  It has a slight bevel but is still uncomfortable to shoot.  Rounding this edge makes the mount feel like the grip panel did in your hand.  I also had to relieve the area where the ambidextrious safety sits above the right grip panel.  I had to make enough clearance for it to work up and down without touching the Aimtech mount.  I also replaced the stock slotted grip screws with a set of hex head stainless grip screws from Wilson.   They look better and allow you to get more torque on the screws.  This is important because the grip screws on the right side hold the Aimtech mount in place.  
        I chose the Tasco PDP5 because it is reliable, it has a large 40mm tube, has an adjustable dot size - you can select between a 4 minute, 8 minute, 12 minute or 16 minute dot.   The numbers mean that at 100 yards, the dot covers either 4, 8, 12, or 16 inches of a target.  The 4 minute dot is great for precision shots.  The 16 minute is great for speed shooting, it is easy to pick up when it is large and bright.   In steel plate matches, a fumble like not being able to immediately find your dot so you can place it on the target will slow you down consciderably. 
        I use Metalform magazines, again from Brownells.  They make the factory magazines for Springfield and getting them from Brownells is cheaper than getting them from Springfield... plus Brownells has great service. 

        What do I have in this gun?   Let's see...

        I did all the modifications myself.   Any good gunsmith could do them for you for a couple hundred bucks.  No special tools were required except for the hammer and sear jig for the trigger job.   The gun works beautifully, looks good, has very little recoil, an excellent trigger, and shoots better than I can see.  I have played around with it at 100 yards hitting steel plates with no problem.  This gun has kept me on top at the King Of The Hill Shoot-off for most of last year and should serve me well for many years to come.

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Last modified: April 07, 2004