SPRINGFIELD MC OPERATOR

Springfield's entry in the Marine Corps' quest for a "new" 1911

By Walt Rauch

The Springfield MC Operator with ITI M6X light attached, along with a Polkowski and Kasper-designed knife from CRKT.

The U.S. military adopted the Beretta M9 pistol in the early 1980s with the full intent of replacing the 1911 pistol. This was done with the stated intentions of standardizing the military handgun in a NATO handgun caliber--9x19mm--and giving the small number of military personnel required to be so armed a safer and easier-to-use handgun.

The merits of the choice--a traditional double action for the first shot, then single action thereafter and magazine capacity of 15 rounds of 9x19mm vs. the single-action 1911 holding but seven rounds of .45 ACP in the magazine--continue to be vociferously debated, with neither side giving an inch, save perhaps for agreeing that if the handgun is fired single action (cocked) for the first shot, the accuracy potential is raised.

The other general agreement has been that a bigger, nonexpanded bullet is more effective--i.e., lethal--than a smaller one but with the ancillary cost of additional training needed to maintain proficiency with the heavier recoiling handgun. There has also been the perception that a cocked handgun is somehow more unsafe than a handgun with the hammer lowered on the same loaded chamber.

This, then, has been an interesting debate, but, as with glaciers, once the military establishment began to move, the results were a foregone conclusion: They would have a new, more modern handgun, regardless.

Little noted was that, all along, specialized military units opted to retain the 1911 for they saw it to be the better tool for their missions, which did not include handing out handguns to unskilled users who were guarding motor pools or standing guard at open military bases during peacetime.

The author doing speed drills with the Springfield MC Operator at the Gunsite Academy.

These specialized "operator" units were charged with missions that required them to actively engage threats at close range in confined spaces, such as in urban warfare, hostage rescue and airplane high-jackings as well as nuclear protection and retrieval.

Finally, the 1911 platform was what the men behind the handgun wanted, and, all else being equal, confidence in one's weapon is at least equal to, if not more important than, caliber or action type. These end-users, after working with the pistol, also put forward specific refinements they wished to have on it to enhance their ability to fight with the gun.

Novak tritium night sights are used, along with the Marine Corps-specified ambidextrous thumb safety and beavertail grip safety. The front sight is dovetailed into the slide.

Relatively recently, the U.S. Marine Corps has had a mission shift, or, more properly put, it is now officially recognized as being part of the anti-terrorism effort most publicly addressed by the U.S. Army and U.S. Naval Special Warfare units. As such, they were forced to go to the commercial market for an updated 1911 because their weapons unit, which was building them carefully with limited manpower, could no longer keep up with demand.

This all leads to the proposed "new" USMC 1911, dubbed the MEU (SOC), which stands for "Marine Expeditionary Unit, Special Operations Capable." As I understand it, the MEUs are the USMC's formal designation for its anti-terrorism units, which have a similar mission to those of the U.S. Army and Navy Spec War groups.

The Springfield Loaded Full-Size MC Operator, stock number PX9105ML, incorporates or exceeds all of the Marines' requirements. (As of this writing, however, the ultimate supplier has not been identified.)

The magazine well is beveled, and the ILS gun safety lock is standard.

As I've read on this subject, the Marines want "their" 1911 to include cocking serrations on the slide, fixed front and rear sights, a good level of accuracy but not such that might interfere with reliability, ambidextrous thumb safeties and beavertail grip safety, as well as a long trigger and trigger-pull weight from 4.5 to six pounds (this one had a 5.25-pound trigger). In addition, they want an integral rail on the dustcover for attaching a "gun light" infrared or laser unit, rubber wraparound grips and a Parkerized finish.

The Springfield MC Operator, starting from the top, has Novak tritium night sights, fixed but windage adjustable. (I was not able to determine if night sights were acceptable under the MEU (SOC) requirements of "fixed black sights.")

A Picatinny rail (in government speak, a "platform") is integral with the dustcover, on which I was able to easily mount an ITI M-6 light, as well as the Surefire X200 light. Ambidextrous safeties are installed, as are Pachmayr-brand rubber wraparound grips. (The frontstrap is smooth underneath.) The MC Operator has the requested rounded and skeletonized hammer and "long" trigger, with the almost-obligatory three lightening holes in its body.

As to how the MC Operator fulfills its obligations, I picked up the gun the night before leaving for an XS Sights writers' seminar at the Gunsite Academy in Paulden, Arizona, and simply repacked it, along with a few others to be used at the event.

The MC Operator is consistently accurate, with 2.5-inch groups at 25 yards.

The first morning on the range I borrowed a sample pack of Break Free and, without disassembling the Operator, put a few drops on the barrel, slide rails and barrel locking lugs. I then shot it for the next two days without further attention, firing a good quantity of 230-grain JRN Fiocchi and 170-grain frangible Precision Ammunition using the two seven-round magazines supplied with the gun.

Giles and Ed Stock, our host instructors, had us working out on plates and half-poppers in rapid-fire drills, as well as house-clearing exercises. My only problem was that I was not accustomed to the slightly thicker wraparound grips and frequently failed to fully depress the magazine catch, thus trapping the magazines partway out. Once I figured out the cause, I had no further problems.

I didn't keep count of the number of rounds fired, but we all shot as much as we wanted. I had no malfunctions, and the Novak tritium sights were definitely an asset in the night-fire exercises. (I had XS tritium sights on a Glock Model 17, which I also used, and the XS sights performed equally as well at distances from 25 yards and in on the same targets.)

I was both surprised and not surprised at the Operator's working without malfunction. Springfields have been, uniformly, "good to go" for me right out of the box, but I like the mental comfort of having fired a hundred rounds or so before committing to such an event or a match. I also like to give any new gun a first-time cleaning and lubrication just in case with high-quality oil or grease and find I like grease better if the gun is going to be shot heavily.

It is also worth mentioning that just as Gunsite, being in an arid area, is dry and dusty, so, too, is everyone and every gun after very little time on the ground. I deliberately made no effort to protect the gun or magazines, wearing the gun open in an Alessi rig or storing it the back of Wiley Clapp's cab-over pickup truck. The MC Operator, not being overtightened, worked all the time. (I understand the accuracy requirement of the Marines is four inches at 25 yards with GI ball.)

The Operator has a loaded-chamber indicator, which is required by law in some states.

Back home, my friend Bob Thomsen and I set up at 25 yards at the Lower Providence Rod & Gun Club range and shot for group, using Shoot-N-See targets firing seated over a gun-bag rest. The MC operator was very consistent. I shot Remington 170-grain Disintegrator (frangible), Cor-Bon 230-grain Performance Match and Hornady 185-grain SXT, with all three five-shot groups measuring 2.5 inches across. Bob's efforts varied, with some smaller and some larger groups, but he shot one-handed due to a very disabling shoulder injury.

In review, it must be noted the Springfield MC Operator has two features not specified by the Marines: the ILS mainspring key lock and a loaded-chamber indicator, this latter no more than a slot cut in the top rear of the barrel hood. Both are requirements of a few states that must be on any handguns offered for sale there. I seriously doubt a gun key lock would survive any transition to our military forces, but it is necessary for commercial sales. Otherwise, the Springfield MC Operator is a good representation of what the proposed MEU (SOC) 1911 is going to be--a fighting handgun.