One Sweet, Powerful Little Surprise The Range Officer .45 Compact
Shootin’ done, targets measured, data compiled and wrapping up work on the Range Officer 9mm – and another package arrives from Springfield Armory. Oh, my… Were they readin’ my mind? It’s the new Range Officer .45 ACP Compact! A lightweight, cut-down fighting carry 1911! Now this is my meat!
Many of the best elements of the full size Range Officers are present. The 4″ stainless steel bushingless bull barrel is match-grade, as is the long, lightweight speed aluminum trigger, which broke crisp and clean at 5 pounds two ounces. Fine checkering adorns the flat mainspring housing, and the Compact wears the same nicely sculpted beavertail grip safety with prominent memory bump. The slide is forged carbon steel and topped with anti-snag combat sights including a bright fiber-optic rod in the front sight that draws the eye like a magnet.
This brutal beauty wears pretty, nicely checkered Cocobolo double-diamond grips like her big brothers, but they’re shorter because she’s chopped in height – to 5″ – as well as length at 7.5, and weight, down to 28.5 ounces due to her forged aluminum alloy frame. Magazines are 6-rounders, and though the butt is shortened you can still get a full four-fingered grip. And oh, is she agile in the hand!
Just had time for one quick range session before deadline time, but I can tell you, it was a bad day at Black Rock for silhouette targets at gunfighting range. This girl can dance! The bull barrel sure dampened recoil, and I’m certain the grip contributed too. The balance felt just fine to me.
I did shoot some accuracy groups though, with 230-grain Hornady Steel Match HAP, and Black Hills’ 185-grain Barnes Tac-XP +P ammo. Gotta tell you about that: One-handed at ten yards, five shot groups: The best Hornady group measured 1.37″, with four groups averaging 1.59″! The Black Hills load shot a best of 1.43″ and a four-group average of 2.0″. Good enough?
Got my dignity back with this puppy, and it wasn’t even bittersweet. Check out the details on Springfield Armory’s website. Once again, Connor OUT