Springfield’s EMP: The Scaled Down 1911

I like big guns and I cannot lie. But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate luxury in a smaller package.

I usually carry a full-size gun. While some of the pistols I like to tote around might be called “compacts,” they’re not exactly small, unless you consider double-stack 9mm pistols like the Sig Sauer P229 Legion or Beretta PX4 Compact Carry pint-sized. I don’t, and that’s a good thing. I like to carry physically larger guns because I shoot them better and am more confident in my ability to hit targets. The capacity doesn’t suck either.

A couple of years back, I ran across an exception to my self-imposed rule, so I bought it. The pistol was a standard Springfield Armory 1911 EMP. It’s a 1911 design – kind of. While the look and operation are similar, the gun is scaled down. Making a dedicated 9mm (and .40 S&W if you prefer) 1911 wasn’t just an issue of shrinking all the parts by 20 percent or so. Lots of redesigns went into the effort, and it shows. This pistol runs. Like a luxury car where the doors and hood just make that satisfying “click” the EMP operates the same way.

Read the rest: Springfield’s EMP: The Scaled Down 1911