Springfield certainly knows its customers, and it knows that the vast majority of its customers (and really, gun owners in general) aren't interested in competition or being super serious about their shooting. They want a cool looking gun that feels like a solid machine in their hands and works well for their quarterly two boxes of Blazer Brass plinking at cans range trip. And that's fine. Those customers deserve cool looking guns, and the E looks pretty cool. It's not for me, but I'm glad it exists and I'm sure the people who buy it will get their money's worth out of it.
I think I can honestly say after buying this pistol. I wish that I would have bought something more suitable to my needs, however I will get the best performance I can from it. Now it might be the perfect 1911 to customize to my liking, into that Dan Wesson tier. I was told this was competitive with Dan Wesson. I Don't Think So !
@@waynecastleman1363 bro, don't take to heart any of that crap from Dale ross... I've NEVER seen anything like that from DW. And they are all tool steel, perfect fitted and tuned properly.
@@willraven7 Personally haven't heard anything like that about Dan Wesson and sometimes but not often with a Springfield however a bad apple comes off the line at times.
I really appreciate your honest opinion and not just drooling over it. It's nice to finally get a honest review. Thank you for putting things in perspective. Appreciate it
I bought this pistol this week in a impulse mindset, so I've been wrestling with my thoughts on this pistol all week. I've become a little more exceptable to it's design features with your very professional level of knowledge I have learned more about the 1911 fro your video and so purchasing this has been a truly educational experience for me, so I will have something to improve on. Thank you for this awesome video.
I mentally bought that gun and transferred the funds from checking to savings. I'll do that a few more times, then by Christmas, I'll be able to buy a Nighthawk.
Really appreciated your honesty on the new Emissary. I bought one and using your DVD on a Duty 1911 am going to perform the upgrades as you demonstrate in the video. Hopefully, things go as easy as you make them look. Stay tuned.
I purchased this model (chambered for 9mm) as my very first hand gun. I just wanted something to use at the range, and to have at home in case of an emergency. I am not ex-military, nor have I been around guns. I did rent a lot of different guns at the range and I preferred the 1911 model, which is why I chose this gun in a 1911 - 9mm flavor. It was the only one they had chambered in a 1911. I like the gun, but now its made me start looking at the $3000 range 1911 guns. :) Thanks for the video - very informative!
The silent stare with the crickets chirping part had me belly-laughing. Thank you. If only Springfield had enough sense to maybe source their sights from someone with extensive knowledge and experience that also sells such products…
😂👍🏻 SA Custom Shop used to buy sights from me. Factory couldn’t make TRP price point if they bought name brand sights - note that the Novak rears are MIM, made under license, in order to make price point.
Guess I'll mention the trigger on mine. As received from Springfield, the trigger pull was consistent at 5 pounds, 13 ounces. I did a disassembly of the gun and it seemed like it was full of crud. I cleaned all that gunk out, properly lubricated it and installed a Wilson trigger spring. Following that, it now consistently pulls 3 pounds, 10 ounces. Now, I'm sure that a lot of that reduction is due to the spring replacement, but part HAS to because of the crud the gun was full of. It still has more creep than I would like, but at least the pull is smooth. I expect that upgrading the fire control parts will cure my remaining complaints. For now, I'm gonna shoot it and see how I like it. Thanks for this very informative video.
Just bought one at a pawnshop I was skeptic till I heard you’re let’s just say your show love it thanks for all the information I am good with that thank you
"Top of their production line -- in that it has so much window dressing." "MIM small parts and minimal gunsmith time spent on this one." "I've always loved square trigger guards. That's how'd we roll back in the 80s." +1 from me too, when I heard you say that, I immediately calculated you're in your mid 50s in age, just like myself. Appreciated your slide analysis on the beefiness, turns out to be heavier, not ligher as we'd assume. Loved that you mentioned exact sight details - front .140" wide and rear .140" wide in relation to covering an 8" bullseye at 25 yards. The trigger breaks a little over 6 pounds - why? The hammer and sear are metal injection molded (MIM). Cross-pinned MIM ejector. I've watched about six videos on the Emissary - yours is the most detailed, covering things none of the other viewers did. Great Job. PS: This was my first view of your videos - HAD TO click Subscribe. I didn't hear you cover if the trigger is Series 70 or 80 based, but I'll guess 70, meaning no horrid trigger safety, as I don't see the parts on the table at 12:23.
It looks like Springfield let a sentient Guns & Ammo magazine from the 1980s design a gun based on its favorite covers. Then they built it the worst way possible. Square guard, but no checkering. Tri-top, but not lightened. High-viz front sight, but short and wide. Decent rear sight profile, but narrow u-notch with paint on it. Flat trigger, but plastic shoe. Slim grips out of the box, so you need new bushings and hardware to have a decent shooting experience or plunger tube support. Then they named the whole mess after Captain Benjamin Sisko.
Appreciate all the info, I have a hellcat that uses the same sights and they work great for me, but so does a size 13 shoe, different strokes for different folks...😉
I was given this pistol at my local gun store the owner said to me if I show it to you, you'll buy it! Never "ASSUME" ANYTHING! I own many 1911's , many, I looked it over had it in my hand and chuckled, nope not for me. He said it was $1600.00 then I laughed. Picked up my 1943 colt army and left. I have a Sig STX runs circles around this gun. I own a Springfield mil spec and longslide. I am a Springfield fan ,not for this one though. EXCELLENT REVIEW
Surprised the trigger is so heavy. Great review though. Went in depth more than other reviewers. Love the look of this. If somehow California gets rid of their ridiculous handgun roster then this would be on the top of my list. For now I'm eyeing the SA 1911 MC operator.
I think I'd go with the Ronin models and upgrade from there. Also, Springfield's out-of-the-box triggers seem to be all over the place. I have three: a 10mm TRP, a 5-inch Range Officer Elite in 9mm and a compact Range Officer Elite in 9mm. The TRP has the grittiest trigger and is in the 6-lb range, the 5-in RO is 6-lb but clean while the compact is light and crisp.
Without getting mired in the arguments of the purity of the Weaver, it’s what we called our stance and grip in the 80’s…and that’s how most of us shot back when I started IPSC in the mid 80’s.
@@108Performance you came well after Jack and me. It was never thumb over thumb. I still use i The Weaver because arthritis makes triangulating difficult
Smashing review! I'm not even interested in purchasing this pistol; I was merely curious about it. Under those circumstances, I would usually stop watching; especially once I'd heard the negatives. But you were so good with your analysis, I couldn't stop watching.
Thanks Hilton for another outstanding pistol review! Do you have any experience shooting the H&K USP Expert in 9mm? Would it be well suited for competitive action shooting?
I'm not a fan of the nylon trigger, but other than that I like it. I'm confused about the trigger pull weight, though. sootch00 was getting 4lb pulls on his Emissary.
My trigger pull is a pretty consistent 4 - 4.5 lbs. Shoots accurately and flat for follow-up shots. Why bring up the plunger issue, then show what it looks like on a gun with the grips you said would not happen?
Great video! I recently bought this firearm and I do not like the front and rear sight. I wanna get the trijicon hd in the orange front sight but they don’t make the size for this model. What would you recommend ?
I just bought the Springfield Emissary and I was wondering if you think and is possible a nighthawk custom mainspring housing with a magwell will work with a little hand fitting.
I guess it looks cool enough but the whole bull barrel thing, eliminating the ability to strip the pistol without a paper clip or other "tool" just seems weird and impractical. The non-lightening tri-top treatment, meh. From a practical perspective, I've never seen that extended guide rods, bull barrels and the like just don't help reliability but add complexity. Nice vid, Hilton! Keep 'em coming.
Seems Spring field copied two different Night Hawk 1911's and put the features together with out regard for what the features were for. Notably the Delegate and the Tri-Top-Carry. If your going to stoop low enough to copy, at least find out what the features are for! Nice old Gerber fighter back there on the shelf. Well done! Knifemaker
Probably get a Garrison and get WC trigger and get a magwell and call it a day. I basically want the professional look without the professional price tag lol
I can tell by the tenure of your speech and facial expressions that you really did not want to make this video lol! I’m interested in getting one of these 1911’s because I like it’s updated modern features like the rail and tritium front sight. I also like the way it looks and that it’s not overly expensive. I like that you pointed out its flaws because other RU-vidrs seem to be raving about it and it’s good to hear the cons of something and not just the pros. The biggest concern for me in the flaws you pointed out was the part that can make the safety switch get stuck in the up position. How likely is that to happen? It could be a decision maker for me in my wanting one of these.
It needs a fully ramped barrel for hollow points, get rid of the mechanical barrel linkage and plastic trigger shoe ! I guess this was missed in the review ??
If you actually want a .45 ACP 1911 to run with JHP, you DO NOT want a fully ramped barrel. The feed ramp angle is too steep and the ramp depth too shallow. Not sure what mechanical linkage you’re talking about since its link is the same as the other 110 years of 1911s. The plastic trigger shoe is the least offensive of the features.
@@108Performance The tiny ramp on the bull barrel and the tiny ramp inside the frame creates a gap between the two. This causes hang ups when trying to feed hollow points. I never had an issue with my Dan Wesson Fully Ramped 1911s. Mechanical Rivet Links on 1911 barrels are no longer necessary with todays CNC Machining, just look at the Dan Wesson 1911 barrel links.
@@franknapolitano9144 You are describing the GI format 2 pc ramp, that’s how it’s supposed to be, and is not the source of feeding issues. As I already stated, the inherent design of the ramped barrel requires a steeper feed ramp angle and reduced ramp depth. It is easy to have a JHP nose profile strike low and hit the frame below the barrel ramp and stop there. No amount of tap/rack tends to resolve it as the round ends up horizontal. Ball rounds can even suffer a similar fate.
@@108Performance Yes the old style 2 piece ramps, have always been the source of Hollow point hang ups, this is why 1911s traditionally do not like Hollow Pointed ammo. The steeper feed ramp has never been an Issue with my other 1911s in feeding Hollow points or ball ammo.
Frank, I’ve literally driven across the country to attend his courses. He knows what he’s talking about. I used to be an FFL and I thought the Dan Wesson’s were nice guns. If yours is rockin and rollin, that’s awesome!
Im sort of conflicted because I sort of feel your expectations were a little high for the Emissary for what it is - but at the same time, your review made me decide to pass on this one. Lol. Seriously, though, thanks for the review.
Make no mistake it's a beautiful and we'll built pistol, but when you are using a pistol in a professional daily mannor the Emissary is best suited for range time but it can become a top tier pistol if you willing to go with professional parts. Trigger and catch pin would be first to go. But it can be an awesome pistol.
Those sights are very much not to my taste. I prefer a thin front sight and a plain black rear sight with a wide notch. I don't like any visual busyness at the rear slide as I want my eye to be drawn towards the front sight, not the rear, but I've got old eyes so YMMV. I prefer your 10-8 sights. As you point out, that square trigger guard would prevent it from fitting into most of my holsters. I don't care for the style of the slide, as you point out the front slide serrations are not functional as they don't continue down the side of the slide. I'm sure that the texture on the front strap and rear strap are functional, but I don't like the appearance -- again, that's a personal taste thing. A 6 lb trigger? All in all, this gun is a swing-and-a-miss for me. YMMV.
As a shooting enthusiast, and a lover of 1911s in general, I absolutely hate this pistol. I enthusiastically took it out of the box and racked the slide from the front... and failed miserably because the grasping groves don’t really do anything. Moving further back I cut my finger on the razor sharp edge on the top of the ejection port. The sights to me are retarded... The square checkering looks like it belongs on a toy pistol. Put it back in the box, and took out a Dan Wesson Specialist to console myself...
Had this gun in my hand for 20 seconds, handed it right back to.my dealer and laughed! He said it was $1600.00 !!!!!! Not only the price, i didn't lije the pistol at all. Bye bye. Not for me. COLT, SIG STX
Man, what a rip. I can get this gun at my LGS for $1199, and based on this review I just watched, I feel like that is too much. I have Rock Island tactical pistols that are of higher build quality than this.
I wish gun influencers would quit covering Springfield products. I will never buy a product from that company ever again for any reason. After teaming up with the anti gunners they should go bankrupt. It is disgusting how quickly people forget and corporate evil goes ahead full steam . So go ahead and reward companies that attack gun rights and have a nice cup of black rifle coffee without me.
@@108Performance you are one of the most knowledgeable and truly honest reviewers on RU-vid. I appreciate that you tell it like it is. As to @brucewilson77's claim of Springfield's "anti-gun" stance, that's hype and distortion. One needs to look at the facts before boycotting a company.
@@RidersRange , Correct. The overwhelming number of people that take that stance are virtue signaling; and do not know what took place, what the reasoning was behind it, or what the final outcomes were.
Before you call me a liar, do your homework on my industry background, to include the many years of work with Springfield. Also, my digital trigger pull scale calls BS on you since you haven’t handled my personal gun.
Yeah, I’m sure you’re right, especially with all of your personal years of experience and professional years of collaboration with both 10-8 and SA. That entire encyclopedia Hilton wrote on choosing a duty 1911 where he specifically named the SA Professional as top choice was a lie too. And so was SA’s collaboration MORE THAN ONCE where they made TRP grade guns with his sights, small parts and grips straight from the custom shop was a dream. And all of the published content and videos over the year exclaiming the Springfield Custom Shop as one of the best gunsmithing operations in 1911 history was obviously sarcasm. The weight of the trigger not being to your delicate standards, you’re right, must be because he hates a whole fucking brand. Get bent.
Hey, Jay… hows the moisturizer build up on that keyboard? Momz driving you to the arcade this week for more “range time”? Saying Hilton “hates” SA is like saying CNN is a unbiased news source… try breathing through your nose from time to time bro.
Sort of off topic - have you found the 2011's as maintenance intensive as other 1911 's ? That Springfield caught my attention but it just sort of looks ....off . I don't need another expensive project gun when I can buy an out-of-the-box serviceable Glock for $500 - that doesn't need to be fixed every 5K rounds.
Watch my 2011 specific videos. The 2011s (brand name for Staccato, NOT a generic term) are CNC and hand built with all bar stock parts so they are significantly better built than a gun filled with MIM. Better build = less user headaches.
