So John Moses Browning is a genius and all that. Robert checked out the 1903 Colt and loved it. But for most gun guys, Browning’s greatest contribution to the world of firearms will always be the 1911. It’s full-size elegance and extra safety features hits their ballistic sweet spot. Is .45 ACP always necessary? Of course not. Two point five million Glock owners can’t all be wrong. Luckily, those of us who worship at the altar of the 1911 can buy 9mm versions. Yes, but—
A full-size 5” barrel 1911 or even a 4.5” Commander-size 1911 in 9mm leaves you with a lot of extra iron. Kinda like taking a Chevy Big Block and boring it out to 300 cubic inches. So along comes Springfield Armory who unleashes a 1911 chambered in 9mm (you can get .40 S&W too) with a 3” barrel. And according to the company and the specs, the EMP (Enhanced Micro Pistol) is the smallest ‘real’ 1911 ever produced. With that diminutive footprint, chambering 9mm, I thought I found my ideal carry gun. So I bought it . . .
The fit and finish of the EMP is fantastic, right down to the wood grips that are cut on a milling machine. The slide features one of those new fantastic super-coatings that look like aluminum but wears like steel. The frame has been dipped in Springfield Armory’s black hardcoat anodized finish. You would be hard pressed to find the guys at Nighthawk Customs doing better work on the exterior.
And then comes the swag- the nice blue case has foam that is custom fitted to hold the weapon, a cleaning rod, a match-style plastic holster, another holster for magazines, a tool for field-stripping the gun, and couple of top-shelf Mec-Gar magazines. The nine-shot mags are made in the land of Ferrari, proprietary to the EMP. WHich explains why there aren’t any holes for keeping track of the number of bullets loaded.
The EMP has all the 1911 niceties, of course. There’s your extended ambidextrous safety and lightweight trigger, and a beaver-tail grip safety. You also get the same kind of extra that annoys Smith & Wesson purists: Springfield’s Integrated Locking System (ILS). The backstrap mounted key lock freezes the slide and hammer. Does anyone really use these things?
Trijcon nightsights sit atop the EMP. Nothing wrong with that.
The first round I fired through the EMP felt great. I only put one round in the magazine because of the rare chance that the sear on a new 1911 isn’t working right and there is the potential for the gun to runaway on you (i.e. full auto). Squeeze the trigger and bang. Nice. Until I noticed the brass chimney on the top of that beautifully finished aluminum. Motherfucker. Lets try with a mag. I did a little tap-rack, and the next shot had the same problem. Plus the next seven rounds in the mag. I promptly returned to my retailer with my $1200 purchase . . .
Who sent it off to Springfield Armory for repair. You see, I live in one of those communist states that has the serial number of my gun printed on my pistol license. It would be much more of a headache to go back to Police HQ and the ensuing bureaucracy than to deal with Springfield Armory customer service. After all, I was told they are among the best in the business.
At least they lived up to the hype. The dealer took care of all of the shipping details. Springfield returned a tuned pistol with a polished feed ramp. So free Springfield Custom Shop work done on a production model. Bonus!
The next 50 rounds went really smoothly. The EMP is an amazingly accurate weapon. At 25 yards, a carefully-aimed baby 1911 is as accurate as most full-size semis. Beyond that, obviously, not. The recoil is manageable enough to make the EMP a suitable gun for ending a range session, helping to maintain the skills needed to use it effectively.
And then my friend Gene, an NRA instructor, was about to give me a lesson. No more bang. This time, it was the firing pin. I was relieved that Gene was there to attest to the fact that I did nothing to create the problem. Gene handed me his Browning Hi Power. He’d fired 30,000 rounds through it without a hitch. ”Buy this next time you want something in 9mm.” Yeah, next time . . .
Back onboard FedEx for another trip to the state of Blagojevich and Obama and all that delicious Heller fighting. At this point, I was an irate customer and told SA to get the pistol running right or keep the damn thing. It turned out to be a metal burr on the firing pin. I scoured the web for similar problems with other EMPs. Nope. Just my luck.
After the gun returned to my care for the second time, I got busy. I’ve put 500 rounds through the EMP with no more failures. But still, the idea of using the Springfield EMP for an everyday carry gun (why I bought it) still gives me the willies. Perhaps after another 500 rounds at the range I’ll trust my unfaithful companion.
Or maybe not. Maybe John Moses was right when he designed another gun to use the round of the Glocknoscenti. But the EMP is a beauty. Usually this level of fit and finish is reserved for Hollywood Starlets. But just like a Mary-Kate Olsen battling anorexia nervosa, making a 1911 skinny does not necessarily make it good.
If my pistol has to go to Dr. Drew at the clinic in Illinois one more time for treatment, I’ll just disown her on Gunbroker. After all, she ain’t family. She’s only supposed to protect it.
SPECIFICATIONS
Caliber: 9 X 19mm
Magazines: 3 X 9 round, stainless steel with rubber slam pad
Barrel: 3″ stainless steel match grade, fully-supported ramp, bull
Sights: Fixed low-profile combat rear, dovetail front, Tritium three-dot
Trigger: Long aluminium match grade, five to six pounds
Grips: Thinline Covobolo hardwood
Frame: Forged aluminum alloy, black hardcut anodized
Slide: Forged stainless steel, satin finish
Recoil system: Dual spring, full-length guide rod
Height: 5″
Length: 6.5″
Weight (empty): 26 ounces
Price: $1100 to $1200
RATINGS
Style * * * * *
You just are not getting this level of fit and finish at this price point often. To get better you need the big big bucks.
Ergonomics * * * *
Even comes with an ambidextrious safety selector from the factory. It could be a little diminutive if you have large hands.
Reliability *
But lets add an asterisk to this- mine sucked from the get-go but others have had no problem with the pistol. If you get a good one that always goes bang, this is definitely a four-and-a-half star pistol.
Customize This * *
It comes from the factory with everything that you need. So low stars here is a good thing unless you are a hot-rodder at heart.
OVERALL RATING * * *
Beauty is skin deep. Unless it isn’t. God I hope it isn’t.
I’ve had my 9mm EMP for a couple of years now. I have small hands and despise fat grips and long trigger pulls which I didn’t learn until I bought an XDM in 9mm (a Glock-alike) a few years back.
I also have a Trophy Match in 45, and the full size Springer in 9 mm. Despite its way bigger kick, I find the trophy match the easiest for me to shoot accurately. I’m obviously NOT a competition grade shooter but at 30 feet I can generally put 5 rounds inside a baseball sized hole with the 45. Both 9mm’s produce a “grapefruit” size coverage.
I do carry the EMP because of its convenient size and weight. As far as reliability and serviceability of the EMP (now with nearly 1000 rounds) goes: (1) Had a few failures to cleanly eject and feed ESPECIALLY when new and in cold temps (fired 50 rounds last week with (0/0) of that. (2) The little plastic takedown sleeve for the guide rod is a pain to put on and take off (especially when new) (3) the worst problem was the poorly designed ejector which is well known to rotate upward and foul the channel through which it must pass in field stripping and reassembly.
This required me to send the EMP back to Springfield for service (bad) but on the VERY GOOD side, Springfield prepaid return shipping, pinned the ejector, and got the EMP back to me within 3 weeks — WAY better than the horror stories I’ve heard regarding Ruger and Walther. I figure that have that fix in new pistols now.
Thanks for the feedback guys. I pick up my EMP tomorrow, CA waiting period an all. I’m going take home, breakdown, do a ramp job on it, give it a good cleaning, then take it to the range and put a few hundred rounds thru her! In my line of work I can’t afford FTF or any other errors, so I hope I’m one of the lucky ones with no issues.
I’ll let you all know how it goes after some range time.
Thanks for the feedback guys. I pick up my EMP tomorrow, CA waiting period an all. I’m going take home, breakdown, do a ramp job on it, give it a good cleaning, then take it to the range and put a few hundred rounds thru her! In my line of work, I can’t afford FTF or any other errors, so I hope I’m one of the lucky ones with no issues.
I’ll let you all know how it goes after some range time.
Well gents, I just put 400 rounds of federal through my new EMP 9mm. I also cycled 18 rounds of Hornady Critical Defense and 9 rounds of Fiocchi rounds and had no FTF’s! I did polish the ramp after I picked up the EMP yesterday, but the ramp wasn’t bad out of the box. I have to say at 5,10,15 & 25 yards the gun was very accurate. Once I got past 25 yards my groups where not in the 10 ring. They started drifting down and to the left into the 9 & 8 ring, but still on target. You can’t ask for better performance from a 3inch production gun. I’m happy I purchased this gun and look forward to adding it to my CCW.
I was considering the 9mm Kimber Pro carry II and the EMP for my wife, but she has trouble working the slide. The Kimber is stated to require 14 lbs. to work the action. What is the effort for the EMP.Thanks
I believe it’s 5lbs 10 ounces, but could be wrong.
I think that 5lb’s 10oz’s is the trigger pull weight, not the force required to manipulate the slide. It should be around 14lbs to 18lbs, depends on make and model. However, after a 500rd breakin period and cleaning, which is manditory before carring any weapon CCW which your life depends on it! The slide should wear into the frame, thus making it smoother and easier to manipulate. If you get 500rds threw a weapon with no issues, its proven its reliability, I even leave it dirty a few times during breakin, just to see how it will do in real world, but only after cleaning very well when you first receiving it. Never shoot a new firearm before cleaning out the crud from manufacturing and assembly! I was going to buy an EMP 9mm, not so sure now?? A bunch of send backs, not so many, its a great gun….?
I own several other handguns and carried them on and of the job. I purchased the EMP because of its size, weight and I like the 1911 platform. After I picked it up I broke it down, cleaned it and did a ramp job on it. This is a common practice of mine. The next day I took it the range and fired approx 400 rounds thru it. I used 3 different types of ammo, both FMJ’s and HP’s. I had no FTF at all, she functioned flawlessly. It’s a costly gun, but I’m glad I got it. I look forward to carrying it concealed and popping more rounds thru it.
I own several other handguns and carried them on and of the job. I purchased the EMP because of it’s size, weight and I like the 1911 platform. After I picked it up I broke it down, cleaned it and did a ramp job on it. This is a common practice of mine. The next day I took it the range and fired approx 400 rounds thru it. I used 3 different types of ammo, both FMJ’s and HP’s. I had no FTF at all, she functioned flawlessly. It’s a costly gun, but I’m glad I got it. I look forward to carrying it concealed and popping more rounds thru it.
I bought my EMP 9mm last week. I cleaned it, and put 250 rounds of white box through it without one problem!!! Hope this keeps up!
I bought my emp last month and after cleaning headed to the range. 300 rnds. of wwb and 100 of fed. hydra-shok flawlessly. this is my e.d.c. i cant say enough about this pistol…good luck to all.
Just bought one that went back already for SA’s “Reliability Package” and is apparently bug free. Seller says it runs all ammo perfectly. Let’s hope!
Yep…you’re missing something. I had a double stack Para O 1911 that had feeding issues but my other standard Kimber and Colt 1911′s have been flawless after thousands of rounds. The only issue I have with my 1911 style pistols is the mag capacity. Other than this, they are the most reliable and accurate pistols IMO. I can pick up a 1911 without shooting for a year and put all shots almost on top of eachother. I can’t do this with any other pistol I own – H&K USP, SIG, Glock, etc. The 1911 feels like an effortless extension of my hand when shooting. IMO, the 1911 is the best pistol design ever made.