The Springfield Armory Loaded Target 9mm…a Review



I can’t lie…I’m a 1911 fan. I’ve carried them, even in uniform as a police officer, and have shot them for years. However, since then, I have pretty much transitioned to 9mm’s, and mostly Glocks. Now that I’m retired, my options for a 9mm 1911 have narrowed.

That’s because here in California, we are tied to a DOJ Roster of Handguns we can buy from. A Roster, I might add, that has not seen a new semi-automatic pistol added in about 10 years. So as a result, we have missed out on the many new 9mm 1911’s or 2011’s that have come out in that time.

However, there is some good news, Springfield continues to slowly churn out one such pistol that still is on the Roster, the 9mm Stainless Loaded Target, (model # P19134LCA). I have seen these over the years and come close to buying one a time or two. I usually had a more “work related” gun to put my money into so I always passed. However, I finally bit the bullet and put money down on one.

The Gun:

Springfield’s 1911 Loaded Target Stainless 1911 in 9mm is just as you’d expect it. It’s a stainless 1911 with many of the loaded features in their other pistols such as a high-swept beavertail safety, skeletonized commander-style hammer, ambi safety, and slide serrations fore and aft. (The nice surprise is the slide serrations were finer than those on other Loaded models, but gave just as good a grip…). The gun has an adjustable hammer that’s skeletonized.



The pistol also has a fully ramped, match grade, bull-ish barrel, and a full length guide rod. Finally, the gun has target, black, serrated, and adjustable sights in a LPA slide cut. Both the slide and frame are machined from stainless steel. There is a flat mainspring housing that held an internal lock and felt like it was plastic. The front strap was smooth with no undercut to the trigger guard. Checkered wood grips with the Springfield logo finish it out.



The gun comes with two 9-round magazines, and a black nylon gun bag. The gun itself comes in a nondescript cardboard box with the Springfield Armory logo and comes with keys for the internal lock, as well as two allen wrenches. One to adjust the trigger, and another to unscrew the full length guide rod for disassembly.


Fit and Finish

The gun’s stainless is brushed and was without blemish. The gun felt tight, with almost no “jiggle” sound from the gun when shaken. When moving the barrel bushing for disassembly, it moved without tools, but it took some effort so you could tell this was a tightly fitted gun. In the hand, it feels like any other 1911 – which is excellently balanced – a tribute the genius of J.M. Browning.

I found one distinct advantage of the front slide serrations with the lighter recoil spring assembly used on the 9mm version of the 1911. Press checks were amazingly easy. I’ve struggled against the spring tension on some 1911’s, but this was incredibly easy. I also have to put it out there that I prefer the single stack 1911’s vs the more boxy grips of 2011’s…they just fit my hand better.

Before the range

While the sights are well made, I don’t do well with the plain black sights so I tried to use some sight paint. The paint wasn’t cutting it so I went to an old stand by, bright red nail polish, which worked like a charm. I have heard the rear sights are sharp along the edges and that’s 100% correct. I took a file to the edges to break up the sharp points and re-blued them





I also purchased some Wilson Combat 1911 10-round 9mm magazines to go with the gun. I’ve always favored Wilson Combat’s mags, they are truly top notch, and worth every penny, especially if you are betting your life on them.

I totally disassembled the gun and gave it a quick inspection, then oiled it. I’ve always believed a 1911 needs to be well oiled and didn’t want to have the gun hiccup while on the range. The gun itself was bare of any tool marks, and the rear of the receiver was nicely simple, lacking a more modern Schwartz of Series 80 firing pin safety. (Springfield uses a lightweight firing pin and spring weight arrangement to accomplish the same thing…)

To The Range



OK…let’s cut to the chase…the SA 1911 didn’t disappoint. A steel 1911 shooting a 9mm round is understandably mild in recoil and the Loaded Target is absolutely a mild shooter. The lack of recoil impulse made it easy to stay on target.

The gun was 100% reliable with all rounds I used. This included 50 rounds of 115 grain CCI practice and about 200 rounds of CCI Blazer Brass 124 grain. I also ran a batch of 147 grain Federal HST for defensive rounds without a hiccup. I was a little worried since I had heard that the pistol would need heavier bullets for it to run reliably. This info proved to be wrong, the gun was 100% reliable with all the ammo I fed it without even a break in.

The question I know many of you will want to know, how was the accuracy, it is a “Target” model after all. Accuracy was excellent, far more accurate than I am. The 1911 printed a little left for which I adjusted the sights some, but the groups were excellent. The good news is that with the adjustable sights, you can adapt to your shooting, and different loads.



I was able to put 18 rounds into a 2 ½ “ hole at 7 yards. (Hey, I’m not a spring chicken, and neither are my eyes…). At 10 yards it was only marginally bigger. The gun, I’m certain, is far more capable than I am. However, at 25 yards, the sights are basically ok for combat style shooting, but I struggled with a precise sight picture. I would strongly suggest a fiber optic or similar style sight for distance target shooting.

Because I wanted to see how the weapon did for more self-defense style shooting I moved to silhouette targets. The rounds went right as directed, and the gun was completely reliable and accurate enough to be a success in defensive shooting. Low recoil made for quicker follow up shots in case this was needed in real life.



Some of my Wilson Combat magazines struggled to eject reliably, getting stuck about ¼ of an inch out. (I believe this will work itself out with use…). The Springfield armory mags came out smoothly.

Final Thoughts

The Stainless 9mm Loaded Target is absolutely a tack driver. It is reliable, accurate, and is an excellent example of a 9mm 1911 from Springfield. These come out sparingly from Springfield, so if this is something you’re interested in, I’d grab one when you find it. Springfield MSRP is $1,119 but prices here in CA range a little lower from around $1000-$1100.

For a competition or ISPC gun you would be hard pressed to find a better option. With the right mags you can max out your mag capacity at 10 – so you don’t suffer any deficit over a wonder nine. The handling and feel of a 1911 (in my humble opinion) is superior to most striker fired weapons for the art of target shooting. I compared the shooting of the Loaded Stainless to my Glock 34 and they held their ground versus each other. (I’m a little out of practice with the 1911 so I was trying to overcome the deficit there…)



Would I carry this as a defensive weapon. Absolutely, but with an asterisk. First off, this gun is heavy and you may be better suited with a lighter weapon, like the Springfield EMP if you’re set on a 1911. If you’re not, then there are a lot of better options for the non-1911 shooter. (I would add that carrying a 1911 as a defensive weapon means a significant amount of practice and training to master the weapon’s manual of arms…)

Also, the gun needs better combat style sights (night sights or three dot with rounded edges.). These can be had for around $175-$200 from companies like Harrison Designs and Mounting Solutions Plus (MSP). I would love to see Springfield create a combat style sight model for CA as I don’t think a different sight system will affect the gun’s status on the CA Roster.

While those of us here in CA cannot usually get the newer 2011 style guns, the Loaded Target gives us an option that has a lot of potential that can give us the maximum ammo capacity available. That is…if you can find one. Like I said, they are only sporadically made by Springfield, so if this gun is something that piques your interest, you might want to pick it up when you find one.

Specs:

Model: PI9134LCA
Frame and Slide Material: Forged Stainless Steel
Barrel: 5" Forged Stainless Steel, Match Grade, 1:16
Sights: Fully Adjustable Target
Length: 8.6”
Height:5.7”
Weight: 41 oz


https://www.springfield-armory...inless-ca-compliant/

https://www.mountsplus.com/lpa-1911-sights.html

https://shop.harrisoncustom.co...e-officer-lpa-cuts-2

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bcjwriter,

On the other hand, if you WANT adjustable sights, it is the only remaining 9mm in their lineup. I wonder if they will sell them in the Other 49.

My MixMaster A was built with that slide and barrel, swapped onto the Lightweight frame.

I have had a RIA 9mm 1911 for several years and really enjoy shooting it.

Nice review, but this post needs some pics!

I have a regular Loaded Stainless model in .45, which came with fixed combat style sights. The sights were off from the factory, so I contacted Springfield and they sent me a different rear sight. I can't for the life of me remember if it was shooting low or high...but it's dead on now!

It was reliable and accurate out of the box (except that the sights were off), but I couldn't help myself and ended up monkeying with it. I swapped the full-length guide rod for a GI-Style rod and plunger, fitted a single-sided safety, a new EGW forged takedown pin, and an ignition kit from Harrison Designs. I can't say it really shoots any better now than it did right out of the box, but it made it more "my own".

Here's mine with a few of it's "friends".

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
Nice review, but this post needs some pics!

I have a regular Loaded Stainless model in .45, which came with fixed combat style sights. The sights were off from the factory, so I contacted Springfield and they sent me a different rear sight. I can't for the life of me remember if it was shooting low or high...but it's dead on now!

It was reliable and accurate out of the box (except that the sights were off), but I couldn't help myself and ended up monkeying with it. I swapped the full-length guide rod for a GI-Style rod and plunger, fitted a single-sided safety, a new EGW forged takedown pin, and an ignition kit from Harrison Designs. I can't say it really shoots any better now than it did right out of the box, but it made it more "my own".

Here's mine with a few of it's "friends".

I have tried but Imgur won't let me make the photo smaller.

Photos fixed...

Very nice! I do like the slide serrations on yours better...mine are more pronounced and sharp. Even after hitting the edges with a round file, they still shred my holsters.

It's probably a certainty that it's not on that ridiculous California list but I suspect that lyou would find the Ruger SR1911 Lightweight CMD a rather amazing pistol. Note the Ruger magazines are not reliable but Wilson Combat magazines are 100% reliable. Pluses, it's a 1911, it's a good looking 1911, and it's easy on the wrists to shoot. Finally while it's not a featherweight it's a heck of a lot lighter than a full stainless 1911 and wonderful for IWB carry.

Thank for the great review!

One thing puzzles me. In your second photo, slide locked back, the barrel appears to be completely level, parallel to the guide rod. How can that be? I know little about the 1911 platform.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
Thank for the great review!

One thing puzzles me. In your second photo, slide locked back, the barrel appears to be completely level, parallel to the guide rod. How can that be? I know little about the 1911 platform.

Look closely it's not. The barrel is canted up a bit.


Ugh, that solid guid rod makes it a bugger to take apart.
Especially with a compensator. I had one as a race gun.

If it was me, I would get rid of the two piece guide rod.