Springfield Armory Range Officer Elite Operator 9mm

[Mmccalip]

I'm new to the 1911 world and am considering the SA RO Elite Operator in 9mm. Anyone have experience with this firearm?

 

[cedartop]

No experience, but for a fairly low dollar 1911 it sure does look nice. Lefty friendly too.

 

[bobby knight]

I have one but haven’t had a chance to shoot it yet. Fit and finish are excellent though.

 

[GregD]

It is a very good pistol . . but get it in a 45ACP.

 

[gregkl]

I don't have the Elite, just the standard RO. Great pistol! It's pretty much all I shoot anymore.

 

[357 Terms]

It is a very good pistol . . but get it in a 45ACP.

Totally agree, 9mm 1911's remind me of 6 cylinder Camaro's.

 

[gregkl]

Buy what you want, not what we think you should own. I have "sold" no less than (3) 9mm 1911's to people who had never shot one, but were curious enough to want to touch off a few rounds with mine.

Springfield Armory should give me a commission.

 

[Mmccalip]

Thanks for the advice! Yeah, I’m perfectly fine with it being chambered in 9, just hoping to find someone with experience with that gun.

 

[Mmccalip]

Ha!

 

[trophyhunter]

I have one and a stainless RO as well and while the fit, finish and accuracy is outstanding on both the stainless RO has a tighter slide to frame fit and same with the barrel and bushing.

I score better with the stainless RO and it gets the nod for accuracy as well plus the rear Bomar style target sight is pretty slick with the front fiber optic. The EL still goes with me to the range every week as my buddy is a lefty and he really loves shooting plates with it otherwise it would be a safe queen.

 

[LCSOSgt11]

The RO Elite series now has the "Black-T" metal finish. A good investment, I should think. I would agree also with the .45 ACP choice in caliber, unless one has literally tons of free 9mm ammunition at their disposal.

 

[Areoflyer09]

Thanks for the advice! Yeah, I’m perfectly fine with it being chambered in 9, just hoping to find someone with experience with that gun.

Not 100% the same gun, but I had the basic 9mm Range Officer. I don’t recall there were ever any issues with it and based on that experience I wouldn’t hesitate to buy one of higher end 9mm ROs. I preferred the 9mm RO to the built .45 RO I had at the same time. Ultimately didn’t keep either of them for more than 8 months, so I can’t give a long term view on their performance.

 

[gregkl]

Not 100% the same gun, but I had the basic 9mm Range Officer. I don’t recall there were ever any issues with it and based on that experience I wouldn’t hesitate to buy one of higher end 9mm ROs. I preferred the 9mm RO to the built .45 RO I had at the same time. Ultimately didn’t keep either of them for more than 8 months, so I can’t give a long term view on their performance.

I have mine for quite some time and have run it for several high round range sessions without cleaning, did a class where it sat out on a table in the pouring rain all afternoon, shot factory rounds, powder puff rounds and through it all, it has functioned great. It's a little loose in the slide(right CM?) but maybe that adds to the dependability, I don't know.

I do know that I have not yet progressed to the point that my abilities surpass the pistol. But then again, that isn't saying much.

The only thing that ever happened was somehow I buggered up the extractor. AllenM put a new one in and it's run fine.

If I had more money and was in to owning multiples of things, I'd buy another one, but I might spring for the Elite Target model since I basically have my RO set up the same way with the exception of the ambi safety. Which at times I kinda would like to have.

I also picked up some Dawson 10 round mags and those have worked great so if I decide to shoot IDPA I can still load to division capacity or whatever they call it.

For me, I just don't see where I am lacking with that pistol. Sweetest trigger, feels oh so right in the hand, dependable and classic good looks to boot! I would probably be shooting my $1300 CZC 75B if I wasn't spoiled by the 1911.

 

[Areoflyer09]

Mine seemed to have the right amount of tightness to not rattle, but loose enough to be not be picky about ammo. I bought mine back when SA was doing the promotion for mags and holster, so I ended up with 6 factory mags and all of them worked without fail. That surprised me given how many people talk about needing mags from different vendors. I expected at least one of the 6 to have problems right away. Overall, I’d buy another SA 1911 without thinking much about it if I wanted another 1911. The RO series are sweethearts, hard to find much bad to say about them.

I wish I could say that I put mine through the paces that gregki has, but 5 months after buying it I got bit by the 10mm bug and the RO went to the range less and less. Sorta sad really, but those pesky Italians got me addicted to Tanfoglios.

 

[gregkl]

Mine seemed to have the right amount of tightness to not rattle, but loose enough to be not be picky about ammo. I bought mine back when SA was doing the promotion for mags and holster, so I ended up with 6 factory mags and all of them worked without fail. That surprised me given how many people talk about needing mags from different vendors. I expected at least one of the 6 to have problems right away. Overall, I’d buy another SA 1911 without thinking much about it if I wanted another 1911. The RO series are sweethearts, hard to find much bad to say about them.

I wish I could say that I put mine through the paces that gregki has, but 5 months after buying it I got bit by the 10mm bug and the RO went to the range less and less. Sorta sad really, but those pesky Italians got me addicted to Tanfoglios.

I have one Dawson mag that won't drop free but other than that the rest, including the SA 9 rounders operate without fail. Some say the 9mm 1911's are finicky. Knock on wood, I haven't had any issues.

But then again, I have heard people talking about how 1911's in general are more finicky than say, a Glock. I wouldn't know about that but I do know this: I'd carry my 1911 and depend on it to save my life if necessary. The only reason I don't carry it is size and weight and if something did go sideways, I'd hate to have to surrender it.

 

[Mmccalip]

Thank you everyone for the input. It sounds like a RO is a dependable firearm.