.45 Springfield 1911 Range Officer

[Rugerboy50]

Any one own one of these?

Opinions?

Thinking about it as my 1st and probably only 1911.

[A-R]

I compared one of these side-by-side to a STI Spartan at a gun shop (just fondling, no shooting) and decided, if choosing between the two, I'd go with the STI. Just felt better in the hand. The Range Officer is a nice upgrade from the GI/Mil-Spec basic Springfields. But it's still a bit rough around the edges compared to higher end Springfields or STI.

But I'm a complete 1911 rookie, so I could be missing something important that Range Officer offers that STI gun in same price range does not.

[KahrGuy]

Would a Loaded Champion Stainless Steel be one of the higher end Springfield 1911s that you're referring to? I'm considering ordering my 1st 1911.

[sookandy]

I got the Loaded one in stainless as my first 1911. I like it a lot.

[A-R]

Would a Loaded Champion Stainless Steel be one of the higher end Springfield 1911s that you're referring to? I'm considering ordering my 1st 1911.

Yes I'd say the Springfield Loaded models are "better" or "more refined" than the Range Officer ... as far as looks & external feel/ergonomics, on par with STI Spartan and Trojan models.

[OldCannon]

I've actually heard very nice things about the new Ruger 1911. Of course, I own an STI Spartan already, so I'm set