I apologize for my delay in posting on the forum, I have had a lot of changes in my life over the last six month or so.

That being said I have been shopping for a 1911 with a light rail really didn't mind the caliber.
Don't get me wrong I would have loved it to be in .38 Super however that's never going to happen. So I looked at all the normal models i.e., Kimber, Colt, Springfield, etc then I checked out Nighthawk, Fusion, and one other custom manufacturer. Long story short I ran across the gun with the longest name in history a Springfield Custom 1911 PROFESSIONAL LIGHT RAIL 9MM HANDGUN (PC9119LR). I have also provided the link to it as well in case you are not familiar with them PC9119LR.

I am curious whether or not any of you have any personal experience with their custom shop or the aforementioned handgun. From doing some research online I cannot find a ton of reviews around the gun. Any insight you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

My son has a Springfield MC Operator. He inherited it from his late brother who was a FMF (Fleet Marine Force) Corpsman. Not a Custom Shop offering but still "tweaked" for an active duty member by Springfield by their factory.
I however have 4 Dan Wesson 1911s.
Comparing these it, in my view, is no contest. The Springfield is pretty good but the DWs are better. Go for a Dan Wesson model configured like you want and never look back.

I can attest, too, that a Dan Wesson is a fine 1911 (I had their CCO model for a time).

That said, the Professional line is considered to to be their top-tier 1911, being the gun once used by the FBI. I’ve read that the Professional model may be no more, but don’t hold me to that, I’ve not confirmed it.

I owned a non-railed Pro for a while and found it to indeed be a top-notch gun. If you can secure one (even if used), I suspect it would be a winner for you.

The only reason I let mine go was that I got distracted by a separate, semi-custom 1911 that I considered more of a “must-have” for me than the Pro.

Mine wasn't in 9mm, but this is a review I did a long time ago on my 45. The 9mm won't be built as tight, but my other comments still stand.

https://www.thetruthaboutguns....ofessional-1911/amp/

The fit and finish is an entire level higher then you've likely experienced, but it is a time machine. It is Combat 1911 circa 1995.

I've got an older Professional with rail. Probably near the end of the inclusion of Nowlin barrels. Mine has always served me well. It's a well made gun, but since it's built to spec, some of the whimsy of a "custom shop" gun is lost. I particularly don't care for the included grips or 7 round magazines, but that's all personal preference anyway.

For the money you'd spend on a Pro, there are a lot of decent guns out there. I agree that Dan Wessons are solid as is the Springfield TRP, which is probably 80% of the gun (or more) to most people at half the price. Staccato P would be worth considering, too.

I just bought a Springfield Garrison. On sale for $700. Its been 100% for about 500 rounds so far. I looked at the higher end offerings from Springfield and it seemed the Garrison was the best option in feature and price. No regrets thus far.

Yooper, I also have a Garrison that has been a great 1911 so far, very happy with it. I like it so well that I just picked up a Ronin LW 9mm Commander size, only a few hundred thru it so far but it’s been flawless. I got to check out a couple of Professionals out at Camp Perry during the rifle matches, a couple of the guys at the Springfield store had them, was very impressed with the build quality at that time.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say I don't believe the high end 1911's are worth it. I've shot Ed Brown's, wilson's and I've owned a Les Baer. In my humble opinion, they really didn't shoot any better than my other 1911's have included Springfield Loaded, Springfield Garrision, Ruger SR1911, S&W 1911PD and Dan Wesson Guardian.

When shot from a ransom rest they might do better but when shot from me offhand or on the move, they aren't any better. After the hype of the Les Baer wore off, I was underwhelmed by it. I later sold it and lost about $100 on it which I was ok with.

My current favorite 1911 is my Springfield Garrison in all stainless. My only complaint with it is the standard contrast sights and the info from Springfield and the aftermarket sight manufacturers is confusing as to what to replace them with. They are a Novak style but not a Novak dovetail cut. Springfield has been no help at all.

I've shot a Springfield professional before. It is a well built quality 1911 but prices have crept up there. I probably would do an optic ready Staccato these days in 9mm for the prices Springfield professionals bring.

I used to own a TRP, which was also a very good shooting 1911, but glued ejectors are not confidence inspiring. The TRP isn't in the same category as the professional, and there is a difference having shot both.

My favorite 1911 that I owned was a Wilson Combat CQB. I had to let that one go years ago, but it was slick.

After their aint-gun stunt I refuse to buy Springfield.

quote:

When shot from a ransom rest they might do better but when shot from me offhand or on the move, they aren't any better.

And that right there is the crux of it.

The Professional is a beautiful, well-executed pistol. Mechanically, it may be capable of better accuracy than my "Loaded", but practically speaking, in my hands, I don't imagine you could tell the difference looking at the targets.

If you enjoy owning nice things just for the sake of owning them, you will be pleased with the Professional. But its $3500+ price tag isn't going to magically make you a better shooter than you would be with a $700 Garrison or $1400 Dan Wesson, and I don't imagine it will be any more reliable, either.

I have an older Professional and this TGO1.

The only gun the Springfield Custom makes now is the Pro, which makes me question the validity. I hear reports that the actual Custom shop has closed.

At any rate, those comparing a production SA to a Springfield Custom are comparing two different worlds. They are completely different.

This was built in 2002. It’s as nice as any 1911 I own.

My own personal perspective of SA and their Professional (I think I told at least parts this tale to the forum long ago under my old screenname):

The Professional I originally brought in for a customer (he backed out about 4-6 months in for an example that was then already built and available from a FL dealer) a few years ago was a real beauty when it showed up from SA about 15 months(!?!) after the order was placed...except for the tiny scratch smack in the middle of the right side of the slide. That scratch may have been quite small, but on an otherwise flawlessly finished slide it was still painfully obvious and impossible to ignore, especially given the typical selling price for one of these pistols. I was incensed and thoroughly disappointed that the gun had this flaw that 'slipped' through Springfield's QA process, however superficial it might actually be. I may not have been the one actually buying the gun for themselves, but after all we had to SELL this gun and any discerning buyer or collector isn't usually accepting of such imperfections.

Getting back to the speedy delivery: Springfield had completely surprised me with the gun's fast delivery timeframe. They had initially warned me that they were looking at a 3 1/2 to 4 year turnaround from when the order was placed, which ultimately is what cost us our original customer for the gun. However this accelerated delivery likely had a more annoying and darker reason than just SA finding free time to clear out their backlog of orders, since this gun's arrival actually coincided with the subsequent fallout from their infamous self-profiteering, "non-protest" against the passage of more restrictive gun laws for citizens and gun shops in their home state of Illinois. Apparently SA suddenly and magically found the resources and time to PUMP OUT most if not all of the Professionals and other special order firearms that had been waiting in the ordering queue, quite likely to mitigate and cut the number of possible cancellations as a result of their self-serving political misdeeds.

I've long thought that this was the reason why their QC didn't hold this gun back until its finish was done correctly. It was more important to get the guns shipped so they can get the invoice billings out. See? Another order cancellation averted.

The gun lingered in our display case for nearly a couple of years before it finally sold to a gentleman that had been looking for YEARS for one locally, albeit incentivized with a fairly generous discount on our part thanks to that painful scratch, and with the help of our local SA rep who had heard from another LGS about this customer's long-suffering, previously unsuccessful search.

Moral? I'll be damned if I ever order another Professional into our shop again.

I had one that I carried on-duty back in 2010.

It was an "Operator" model and I actually remember the serial number...CRG3320. It was after they stopped installing the Nowlin barrel.

Fantastic gun. It was more than worth the $2k I paid for it back then. I ran it through a two-day Todd Green class shooting nothing but shitty Wolf steel cased ammo and it ran without a hitch.

I sold it as I buying a house and needed cash more than the gun. I'd love to buy it back if I ever had the chance.

The Professional was the gun spec'ed out by FBI HRT in the late 1990's and was issued to them, and eventually to FBI regional SWAT teams and to US Marshals.

The only complain I have about it was that they didn't "high cut" the front strap. I always found it annoying and it would have made such a difference and would have been easy and cheap when built, but expensive and a pain afterwards to alter.

My plan when I sold CRG3320 was to spec and buy a Springfield Custom Shop guy almost identical to the Pro, but without the rail and with the high cut. Unfortunately, I never got around to it.

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

I have a Springfield Custom Professional non-rail and it is an absolute joy to shoot. It does everything right. Damn accurate too. Never failed to fire. If I could only keep a couple of guns it would be one of them. I put Wilson black grips on it.

Hey everyone thank you for responding to the post

I originally was looking at getting a Dan Wesson Specialist however no one had any in-stock.

I agree that the Staccato is a good choice but I already own one of those.

From doing some research in to the Springfield Armory Custom shop they appear to be closed. Additional from speaking with someone at the Custom shop that pistol doesn't seem to be available any longer. I was unable to get a straight answer on it. So when I inquired about modification their answer was very short as if they are just answering the phone. So I had found a LGS that has multiple SA Custom Shop firearms in-stock.

Apologize for the photo, I'm terrible with a camera.

Just spoke with S/A.
Officially
The custom shop is closed.
But.
There are three fellas still working there that will do minor modifications.

So in case anyone is interested I bought my SA Custom Shop 1911 from a semi LGS, upon opening it the certificate was signed in 2018. He has a couple other custom shop Springfield's there which seem to of been there awhile.

I kick myself every day for the two 1911s I sold and shouldn't have.

Dan Wesson Valor stainless
Springfield Mil-Spec I had Robar redo in NP3

I will get them back one day.

quote:

Originally posted by GroundedCLK:
So in case anyone is interested I bought my SA Custom Shop 1911 from a semi LGS, upon opening it the certificate was signed in 2018. He has a couple other custom shop Springfield's there which seem to of been there awhile.

If you don’t mind me asking, what shop? I pass through NH occasionally and there are a few in the southern part of the state I stop by regularly