Gun Tests Grade: A- OUR PICK

$740

Some refer to the Springfield Ronin Operator as a “Retro” gun. If so, the Ronin Operator is reminiscent of high-end custom guns of a generation ago. Custom packages, including good sights, a beavertail grip safety, and a good trigger action, could run one $1000 or more on the customer’s gun. The advent of the Kimber Custom 1911, with its impressive array of features, meant that custom guns had to be better than ever, and so did factory guns, to compete. Colonel Jeff Cooper narrowed the 1911’s needs down in what was called the consensus gun, a general agreement that the 1911 needed good sights, a speed safety, and a good trigger. If you were to play around with exotic bullet styles, then you needed a polished feed ramp. These advantages were eventually codified by the factory.

Springfield Ronin Operator PX9120L 45 ACP

In the meantime, custom 1911 handguns were turned out, and in most cases they were excellent handguns. The appearance of these handguns, with their flashy two-tone finishes, high-profile sights, and custom grips, was distinctive. And the custom guns shot well. Many are still in use. A well-fitted handgun will have less slop. Tighter fitting results in less eccentric wear. Those who came to the decision that the 1911 is the finest defensive handgun available found these handguns from custom shops, such as the Action Works, Novaks and Wilson Combat, to be excellent firearms. But they were costly.

Now many of those features and tight fitting can be had in factory guns, and we were interested to see how the Ronin Operator stacked up. Out of the box, the Ronin featured a well-turned-out blued slide and a brushed-stainless-steel receiver. The sights are modern tactical sights that allow racking the slide on a thick gun belt or boot heel. Springfield refers to these as the Tactical Rack Ledge design. Another good feature was a generous rear notch offering excellent speed of acquisition. The front sight featured a fiber-optic insert. The trigger action was a smooth 4.2 pounds, as good as we have tested on a factory 1911 handgun.

The grips are reminiscent of the Ahrends tactical grips used by many custom 1911 makers. They are half checkered and half smooth. The operating premise is that the grips offer good purchase but would also allow fast shifting of the grip on the move if needed. The grips are thinner than usual as an aid in concealed carry. No need to purchase slim-line grips for this pistol. Most of the raters felt control was fine with the slim grips, but some opined they would have liked standard grips.

The grip safety was a beavertail type. This type of safety is important because it accommodates all shooting styles. Those who cup the palm as they effect a thumbs-forward shooting grip sometimes do not properly depress the grip safety. The memory-groove beavertail eliminates this concern. The grip safety properly releases its grip on the trigger halfway into the safety’s movement. The beavertail was nicely smoothed into the frame.

The slide-lock safety was not a big gas-pedal type, but it extended to a useful degree. More important than the size of the safety was fitting. The indent was tight and crisp. The pistol had serrations on the hammer, slide lock and safety, as well as the rear of the sight. The pistol featured both forward and rear cocking serrations. We used the rear serrations for racking the slide and the front serrations for a press check to determine if the chamber is loaded.

The pistol featured the standard recoil system rather than a full-length guide rod. This makes for easier field stripping. The Ronin was supplied with a single magazine. We feel that a pistol should be delivered with two magazines, but a single magazine seems SOP in modern times. We added a good supply of proven Wilson Combat and Mec-Gar magazines, which were used in all of the pistols during the test.

During the firing tests, the pistol was fired at man-sized-silouette targets at 5, 7, and 10 yards in fast-paced defense drills, including drawing from concealed carry. We used the Jeffrey Custom Leather Range Master for the Commander-length gun and the Jeffrey Custom Leather Professional for the 5-inch guns, available from JeffreyCustomLeather.com. The Professional was an outstanding design for concealed carry, riding close to the body and offering a sharp draw. The Springfield Ronin was fast from leather and fast on target. Like any other Government Model 1911, the pistol doesn’t demonstrate uncomfortable recoil. The sights and trigger make for an excellent combination. We used two loads in firing 100 rounds during the offhand combat stage. The Black Hills Ammunition 200-grain lead semi-wadcutter (LSWC) is a medium-power load designed for economy. We also used the Black Hills Ammunition 230-grain full-metal-jacket (FMJ) load as a measure of control with a full-power charges. We suffered a rather odd malfunction during the first 40 rounds. The cartridge escaped the extractor and was base up in the slide window. As the 1911 slide recoils to the rear and the extractor pulls the cartridge case from the chamber, the magazine is feeding a fresh round to the extractor. The cartridge-case rim is captured by the extractor as the cartridge moves upward. The case is snugged against the breechface. The extractor guides the cartridge onto the feed ramp as the nose bumps across the feed ramp and into the chamber. (The Wilson Combat magazine features a higher feed angle with less bumping.) While we originally marked this failure to feed as a break in malfunction, we later came to believe it was magazine related. Just the same, the Kimber experienced zero break-in malfunctions with the same bunch of magazines. In executing speed loads, the slightly beveled magazine well was a welcome addition to the pistol.

All controls on the Ronin are positive in operation. We liked the sights during speed drills. They are easily acquired in rapid fire. All in, the pistol was a good shooter in fast combat firing.

In accuracy testing from a solid benchrest, we used three loads. These included the Black Hills Ammunition 200-grain LSWC, the Hornady 200-grain XTP, and the Federal 230-grain Gold Dot +P. All were accurate enough for personal defense. The Hornady XTP cut a 1.5-inch group for one effort at 25 yards, but the average was less.

Our Team Said: The Ronin was clearly accurate enough for personal defense. We rated the pistol down a half grade on the single malfunction. Shooter related, break in, or bad luck, this type of malfunction did not occur with the other pistols.

45 ACP Range Data

Value Guide 45 ACP 1911 Handgun Rankings