# Springfield 1911-A1 Accuracy



## gstrong (Sep 4, 2011)

I am new to this forum, so excuse me if this questions seems naive. I went to a local range and rented a Springfield 1911-A1 for target practice. It was a good gun for me and the accuracy was astounding. I went out and bought one similar to, if not exactly like, the one I rented. I went to the range to break it in and was very disappointed in its accuracy. I was sure I was doing everything the same, and the rounds were the same. I suspect that a new gun will be somewhat inaccurate until it is broken in. Is that true? How many rounds would it take for this gun to be broken in?
Thanks for any info.


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## FNISHR (Aug 9, 2011)

Well, you didn't mention which Springfield you bought. Is it possible that you got one with adjustable sights that just need some adjustment?


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## gstrong (Sep 4, 2011)

*Adjustable Sights?*

It is the MILSPEC version. I don't see how one can adjust the sights, and it isn't mentioned in the owner's manual.


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## rgrundy (Jul 16, 2011)

Being a MILSPEC it's not a target pistol but a fighting pistol.


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## gstrong (Sep 4, 2011)

OK, but what does that mean? Is it more/less accurate? The first one I used was VERY accurate!!


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## VAMarine (Dec 25, 2008)

Have you shot the gun from a rest? Before anyone can claim that "this gun is not accurate" it needs to be shot from a rest.

In your initial post, you simply list a Springfield 1911-A1, there are many different "Springfield 1911-A1" models, some more accurate than others, however the MILSPEC is not an inaccurate pistol.



> similar to, if not exactly like


From the above quote from your post, you don't really know what you shot as a rental, a "Range Officer" is similar to a MILSPEC, but that doesn't make it the same.










_Springfield MILSPEC_










_Springfield Range Officer (RO)_
​ When you say it's not accurate, how is it not accurate?

Can you shoot a group with it?

If so, what size group?

At was distance(s) are you shooting?

If you are shooting a good group, is that group high, low, left, right?

Again, have you shot from a rest? Shooting from a rest reduces shooter error and if you want to prove/disprove a gun's mechanical accuracy, you need to do it from a rest.

As for break-in, mechanical accuracy of a pistol will generally not improve with a couple hundred rounds, it's going to be what it's going to be without gunsmith interaction.

Bottom line, you need to shoot the gun from a rest. If the gun fails to produce favorable results from a rest, there are some simple things that can be done to improve the mechanical accuracy of the firearm, the fist and easiest thing is to replace the barrel bushing with one that's a little more snug fitting to the barrel and the slide. Of course, it's it's REALLY inaccurate, IE won't shoot a group from a rest you may want to contact Springfield, but before shipping the gun out it may be beneficial for someone else to test the gun out.


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## FNISHR (Aug 9, 2011)

All of VA's comments are good advice. You know, that's an interesting thing he pointed out. Until you get fairly familiar with these weapons, some of them really do look surprisingly similar at a glance. The MilSpec and the Range Officer are alike, but different. I'd like to have one of each, sometime.


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