Starting with what I knew of the pistol from the Marine Corps as detailed in the MEU(SOC) 45 Project, I purchased a pistol that had most of the starting components that I could find. I didn’t want a stainless steel pistol, so I went with the Springfield 1911-A1 Loaded Parkerized 45 ACP pistol.
After examining the pistol, I found a two surprises right off the bat.
The front sight is proprietary. There are no sights available at this time from Novac that will fit into the custom dovetail cut that Springfield utilizes in this model. Not a huge deal since it is Trijicon and the height that I wanted. The firing pin diameter size is also proprietary and not a typical .09″ diameter 45 ACP firing pin. Springfield uses their “standard” .075″ diameter firing pin for this make of pistol.
Due to the wait time on a custom Match Bar-Sto barrel, I ordered it right away. Upon stripping the pistol down, I found that some parts I did not need to order as previously thought. The parts I ended up needing to purchase for my MEU(SOC).45 were:
Grips, barrel with link, pin, bushing, front sight pin, grip screw, slide stop pin, mainspring housing, pin kit complete, hammer, sear, hammer strut, disconnector, firing pin, firing pin spring, grip safety – beavertail, recoil spring plug, recoil spring guide, thumb safety (ambidextrous, wide), shok buffer, spring set, and recoil spring.
The first steps in assembling my MEU(SOC).45 were easy. I was able to switch out the firing pin, firing pin spring, and recoil spring assembly smoothly. I had a gunsmith fit the thumb safety and mainspring housing.
I am choosing to test out the current “stock” grip safety to experience the feel of it versus my purchased one that is grooved.
Here is what my MEU(SOC).45 custom 1911 pistol looked like upon initial firing.
After the first time shooting my MEU(SOC).45, it was apparent that something was wrong since my first four shots were all misfires. The Wolff extra power firing pin spring on the pistol prevented the firing pin from making enough contact with the primer on the bullets although some contact was being made. I ended up switching the firing pin spring with a shorter Colt 1911 “standard” firing pin spring. Once I did this, the firing pin was able to make full contact with the primer. The Wolff extra power springs are made for traditional 1911′s and not a Springfield 1911-A1.
You’ll notice the differences in the sizes of the Wolff spring between Standard, Extra Power and Extra Extra Power.
Neither the Wollf Extra Power or Extra Extra Power were usable in my MEU(SOC).45 pistol. You’ll notice that this is the same standard spring for the Colt 1911 pistols and their assorted variants.
Upon further inspection of my MEU(SOC).45 pistol, I noticed that there another oddity. The firing pin was a “Springfield only” proprietary 1911 part. I went with the Ed Brown .38/9mm/10mm titanium firing pin. You’ll notice the difference in the firing pins between the stock, titanium and heavy duty version. The stock version is on the left.
I first used an Ed Brown .065″ diameter .38/9mm/10mm titanium firing pin in my MEU(SOC).45 due to it’s improvements over the stock version; energy increase in firing pin tip, stronger composition and lighter weight. Here is the “Springfield only” proprietary firing pin and Ed Brown titanium firing pin together with the titanium pin on top.
After many misfires I inspected the rounds and found a very small indent in the primer. You can tell the difference between how hard my pistol is striking the primer versus how hard it should be striking it.
The titanium firing pin ends up being too light to adequately drive enough force into the primer of a round. I swapped it out for the Ed Brown .075″ diameter Heavy Duty 9mm and 38 Super firing pin that is made especially for the Springfield 1911 style pistols. It was noticeably heavier than than the stock firing pin.
The components for the Stainless Steel, Match Target Bar-Sto 45 ACP barrel, link and bushing.
Once fitted, you can clearly see the markings on the barrel.
I installed the memory groove beavertail grip safety.
And I adjusted the trigger pull to around 4.5 pounds.
You can distinctively notice the wide ambidextrous thumb safety….
…..and the wide slide stop. You can also notice the magazine catch lock and with this style of Pachmayr grip, the thumb leads right to it based instinctively off of feel due to the groove in the grip.
The beveled magwell makes magazine loading easy since you can easily find the entry point without moving your eyes from the target.
After shooting a couple hundred rounds and breaking in the new pieces, I shot the pistol at distances of 5, 7, 10 and 15 yards. Here is how my MEU(SOC).45 initially shot:
Here is what my completed custom 1911 Springfield, the MEU(SOC).45 looks like.
Whistle 
Magnesium firestarter 
Sharpening stone
