Boasting a forged—not cast—slide and frame, the .45 ACP Defenders Series Mil-Spec from Springfield Armory features an exemplary slide-to-frame fit. It also possesses a stainless steel barrel and bushing. The gun is a reasonable facsimile of the U.S. military’s 1911, with some upgrades, including higher-profile sights and honest-to-God wooden grip panels. It has a non-reflective Parkerized finish, and the fit of the thumb and grip safeties is nearly perfect. Springfield uses a steel military trigger, and our test sample’s broke with just 4 pounds of pressure.
Our gun shot to the point of aim with the Aguila and Black Hills 230-grain FMJ rounds, but the Hornady 220-grain FlexLock +P rounds printed about 2 inches high at 25 yards. The groups were nice and round, without any vertical or horizontal stringing, and there were no failures of any kind. The best groups with the Aguila, Black Hills and Hornady loads came in at 2.07, 2.03 and 1.32 inches, respectively, for an average of 1.8 inches.
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Springfield Armory created the Defenders Series for the “value-driven” customer. With a suggested retail price of just $549, the Mil-Spec is one helluva bargain for someone who wants a military-style 1911, or the hobbyist who wants to use the gun as a starting point for a custom project.
