RO Compact (9mm) and Range Report

[Dennis The B]

Last Friday, at a LGS, I saw a Springfield Range Officer Compact chambered in 9mm. For the second time in a couple of weeks, I found a pistol in an "Officer's Model" frame size. That one is a Colt Defender

Today, I got the RO to the range for a real break-in session.

I brought along some surplus 9mm, Federal 115gr, Hornady Critical Defense, and some private label 9mm purchased at a local gun show. I also had the two original factory mags (Check Mate), Metal Form from Midway, and two Colt OEM's.

After trying out the surplus 9mm, I determined that this was probably loaded for a sub gun, and I stopped after noticing some high primers, and a primer which fell out of the mag when I unloaded it. The first clue was that some primers required a manual cocking of the pistol to get the pistol to fire after misfiring at first. This ammo is now out of circulation.

Switching to factory loads resulted in 300 rounds of perfect performance. There were no failures of any type - No FTE, FTFeed, or FTFire. It doesn't make any difference how the ammo is loaded and in what order. It all worked perfectly. It really doesn't matter which magazine is used, because they all worked perfectly.

The first shot was an "X" @ ten yards (Yeah, yeah, I should have quit while I was ahead. ). However, onward and upward. When I held to correct aim, I hit perfectly. The recoil was genuinely mild. The extra one inch over my Colt Defender, is a definite advantage - lower muzzle flip, and a bit less felt recoil. The trigger was very crisp, and broke cleanly, although I don't know the exact pull weight. The front FO sight was extremely bright, and really stood out against the rear.

At the end of the break-in session, I am one happy camper.

I've always been a fan of my LWT Commander in Super .38. I'm still a big fan of the cartridge, and I reload to get excellent performance. That stated, this 9mm is going to be carried and shot.

Money aside, the Springfield RO Compact is a lot of pistol for the money.

Here's a photo of it:

 

[KLYDE]

Thanks for the report. I purchased the 9mm EMP a few weeks ago. Likewise the first range outing produced flawless operation and exceptional accuracy. Been kicking around purchasing the 9mm RO or a TRP.

The EMP uses proprietary special made mags that fit the 9mm cartridge. The gun was then reduced in size around the mag along with a shorter stroke and other changes to optimize function with the 9mm cartridge. May I ask about the RO mags. Are they standard full size .45 ACP with a filler. From reading your post it appears you used just regular .45 mags. Encouraging to hear no hiccups with the RO. It is a beauty. Springfield makes a very nice product.

 

[Dennis The B]

... May I ask about the RO mags. Are they standard full size .45 ACP with a filler. From reading your post it appears you used just regular .45 mags. Encouraging to hear no hiccups with the RO. It is a beauty. Springfield makes a very nice product.

The profile of the Check Mate and Metal Form mags looks to be a standard Officer's model with 8-round capacity. The mag lips look to be a bit narrower, and the followers may be a bit different; not completely sure.

I've read that the followers for 9mm need to be slightly different than .45 ACP.

 

[JaPes]

Thanks for the range report. I've been eyeballing the standard size SRO 9mm. I'm squirreling away credit card rewards points for one.

 

[Valmet]

Glad you're happy with your new RO Compact! I have the standard .45 RO and it is the best shooting 1911 that I've ever fired (it shoots a hell of a lot better than I do)!

 

[Rick_A]

I'm considering getting one myself. It's an impressive gun for the money. There are not a lot of CCO sized guns out there in 9mm.

I have a full sized 1911 in 45, a mid sized CZ in 40, and a compact 1911 in 9mm would really round things out.

 

[Dennis The B]

Glad you're happy with your new RO Compact! I have the standard .45 RO and it is the best shooting 1911 that I've ever fired (it shoots a hell of a lot better than I do)!

As do I. The only thing I did to my full-size RO, was to add a Dawson Precision FO front sight. I only use the gun at the range, so I don't need night sights.

I think there may be something illegal or immoral about having an out-of-the box gun that runs so well, but both my RO's do just that.

 

[KLYDE]

I was comparing the RO Compact against the EMP on Springfields site. Both 5" in height and the RO comes in at 1" longer. RO sports a 4" barrel versus the EMP with 3", so there is the 1". The RO is a couple of ounces heavier probably attributed to the extra inch of barrel and slide. What struck me as strange is that the EMP has 9 round mags and the RO only 8. I saw the RO has a flush mag while the EMP has the small extension for your pinky.

After comparison they are so close in dimensions that a purchase of the RO Compact for me would be a bit redundant. I may take a serious look at the full size model. I do know that if your RO shoots as good as my EMP you have a winner.

 

[H Richard]

I have a RIA Compact 3 1/2" in 9mm that is great. It consistently shoots around a 1 1/2" group at 10 yards. The RIA in both 9mm and 45 are great guns. They are all steel and just a little heavier.