Colt Rail Gun vs. Springfield TRP?

jvencius

Member
Given that (1) I live in America, (2) don't currently own a .45 ACP pistol yet have ~1,500 rounds of said cartridge on the shelf, and (3) lack a 1911 in the safe, I've been kicking around the idea of getting one after I can drop 5 more pounds and earn my SCAR-17. To that end, I've spent some time at various shops and keep coming back to the Springfield TRP and the Colt Rail Gun since they're both full-size, steel frame pieces with an integral rail on the dust cover. Prices are relatively comparable ($50 or so on either side of $1,200) and they seem to be spec'ed more-or-less the same (sights, beavertail, etc) so is there anything significant I'd gain with one model over the other or would I be just as good going with whatever one the LGS has on their shelf when I'm ready to buy.
 

regdudedrtyjob

Regular Member
Do you want/need the rail on your 1911 of choice? If so, the TRP railed version has a bull barrel instead of a regular barrel with the bushing, and also adjustable rear night sights. If not, I would definitely buy the non-railed TRP over the Colt Rail Gun. The trigger on the Rail Gun I tried was terrible, especially for the price. The 8 or so TRP's that came through the Sportsman's Warehouse when I worked there were all super tight and had very nice triggers.

Have you looked at the MC Operator or the new for this year Loaded Operator Black? http://www.springfield-armory.com/products/1911-loaded-45-acp/ The Loaded Operator is basically the MC but in black, with a maxwell.
 

Lane C

Rico and the Man
Staff member
Moderator
jvencius. Do you have a preference of which 1911 platform has either the series 70 or 80 type safety disconnect? That would probably be the main factor between the two blasters at this point.

Both the rail gun and the TRP are quite impressive out of the box. I would recommend a competent GS tune the extractor, polish the feed ramp and check for staking the mechanical safety plunger tube. Sights are easy to sway out, so don't let that be a factor not the initial purchase.

I would dump the stock magazines and stick with either Chip McCormicks or Wilson to name a few.
 

jvencius

Member
I don't really have a preference between Series 70 and Series 80 since I haven't done enough reading on the systems and how they operate to decide if the differences betweethe two are important to me. I've read anecdotally that the Colt a makes a better platform to customize/build on but I'm not sure if that's the road I'll be going down with this pistol since the "maybe I can justify a 1911 now" thought just popped into my head a couple days ago...
 

Caomhin

Member
The latest Springfield Marine Corp Operator is built on the National Match forged frame, has a rail, has front "chai link"-type checkering and a Match stainless steel barrel.

It's essentially a TRP with rail (WITH CONVENTIONAL BARREL BUSHING if that means anything to you) and tritium night sights.

$1250

I was tempted yesterday...
 

AresGear_Jake

Stiffer Is Better
Vendor
I had a Colt Rail Gun that I sent off to Nighthawk for some work. It was ok before, and great after. I did notice that Colt didn't cut the magwell straight across the frontstrap, but it still worked.


- Jake
 

jvencius

Member
I just picked up an unexpected overtime shift covering for a colleague whose kid is sick so I ordered myself a stainless Colt Rail Gun. It's set up pretty well from the factory and the 'smith I'm probably going to send it to plus some folks on here whose opinions I value highly have all said the 1911's coming from Colt nowadays are some of the most consistent/quality they've ever made so that sealed the deal. Now begins the wait for the gun to take a ride from Bud's to my local FFL (should only take a day, 2 tops...) And me to find a free day to go pick it up...
 

Lane C

Rico and the Man
Staff member
Moderator
Nice choice. Where are you going to send it for a tune up?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

jvencius

Member
Most likely it'll be going to Steve Morrison @ MARS Armament, per the recommendation of a bud who KNOWS 1911's and has more than one of Steve's pistols already...
 

Lane C

Rico and the Man
Staff member
Moderator
Good choice. Steve does all of my builds. Great work on service pistols. He is a busy guy, so plan on a wait time. Best advice is get what you need for reliability for service and don't waste time doing all the additional "extras" that don't really matter in a gunfight. That should speed up your process.
 

Lane C

Rico and the Man
Staff member
Moderator
A wait time for Steve to do his thing would be the perfect excuse I need to pick up a Glock 41... ;)
ASk Steve about the "WaTac" build option. He doesn't list it on the site. But he has the specs for it. You may be interested.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

jvencius

Member
I'm pretty sure DB mentioned that setup when I talked to him last week and if it is what I hink it is, it's sounds intriguing for sure.
 
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jvencius

Member
I picked up my new Rail Gun on the way into work yesterday afternoon and was very very pleasantly surprised to see the rail segment is a true 1913-spec rail vs the kinda/sorta but not-really 1913 segment that came on earlier versions of the rail gun. Unless I'm reeeeally missing something, the frame on this Rail Gun is the same (less the Cerakote finish) as Colt uses for the Marine Corps' M45 pistol so while that'll limit holster selection a bit I'll deal with that for, as a bud said yesterday, being able to mount a light and have it actually stay attached vs. being all wobbly like it would be on a non-1913 rail.
 
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