I used to think I was just cursed with bad luck, but maybe not. Of course, perhaps Springfield guns do have a lot of problems
AND I am cursed with bad luck, as the two are not mutually exclusive.
My first Springfield Armory was one of the first run of the "loaded" guns in stainless. It had a trigger pull that was too heavy to measure with any scale my FLG had in his shop. I'm not exaggerating when I say it was over 20 lbs. I'm not sure why I bought it, other than I was 1) desperate for a full size, single stack 1911, and 2) it was only one on the market that wouldn't need a lot of ergonomic work (beavertail, etc.) at the time.
So the trigger pull was easily fixed with some judicious bending of springs, polishing, and lubrication. That didn't bother me because I knew I needed a trigger job anyway. Oddly, it seemd the holes for the pins were not drilled properly, so the sear and hammer only mated fully on one side.
Then the reliability problems started. It would fail to go into battery several times per magazine. Then it would crush brass (lengthwise). Then it would do a variety of other things, including just jam open to the point a hammer was needed. At that point, it was a comedy and a challenge to get it working properly. I can't say why I didn't return it to Springfield for warranty service, other than because I'd had some work done to it (trigger job, etc). before the reliability problems started. It just seemed easier to work on it locally. Anyway, much was done and it's a decent carry gun now after a lot of work. It's not refined or any kind of pleasure to shoot, but it goes bang every time.
The second SA was a two-tone ultra compact I bought from a friend when he needed cash. It worked fine when he owned it, then the first time I shot it when it was mine (during a USPSA match), it choked on every single magazine several times. I still haven't figured out what is wrong with it or why it suddenly went toes-up after it changed ownership. The jury is still out.
The third was a stainless 9mm loaded gun. It was okay for the first couple of magazine, but it had a weird "hitch" when it cycled. Then it started failing to extract. Upon close examination, I saw that the extractor only had one little "tooth" left, and just couldn't do the job. I thought it might have broken while I was shooting it, but it had been
polished and some extra tension had been added so it would extract ... some of the time. That really irritated me, but it was cheaper, faster, and easier to get an STI extractor and fit/tune/polish it myself, than it was to ship the gun back to SA.
Then I learned the big secret. I couldn't keep all of my shots on an IPSC metric target at 20 yards with it. Accuracy was ... poor. Unacceptable. I thought about sending it back, but again that's expensive shipping and time just to wait for something that may or may not get much better. So after a lot of deliberation, I took it to Neil Keller who saw right away the barrel had not been fit properly. He welded the lugs, refit the barrel, and fit a new S-V bushing. Not only was accuracy vastly improved, but it cycled far more smoothely and it was now 100% reliable with the 9-rd SA magazines. Woo-hoo!
Oh, I also forgot about the problem with the magazines getting stuck and the trigger getting stuck in the depressed position. Neil fixed that too... the channels for the trigger bow had not been machined properly.
Anyway, it went from a gun that I could not in good conscience sell to another human to a gun I will not sell because I like it so much.
So ... for three Springfield guns, I've had a lot of trouble with all three, spanning the time from the first of the loaded guns to the last couple of years. I probably should have availed myself of customer service, but it just seemed easier, faster, and more productive to have the problems handled locally.
Curiously, I'd probably buy another Springfield if I need another gun and found a good deal. Perhaps I am a glutton for punishment.
