“The pistol that will never die” continues to live a life of its own, as it keeps ahead of the rest of the pack while approaching a century of service. With more companies than you might care to count making Model of 1911-style pistols, even more variations and improvements have been made to the gun — many more.

For those just tuning in, such improvements include advanced fixed and adjustable sights, match grade barrels, speed hammers, tuned extractors, forward slide grooves, extended-ambidextrous thumb safeties, beavertail grip safeties, adjustable triggers, magazine well extensions and dozens of grip styles — the list goes on and on. The 1911 is even offered in sizes its inventor, small arms genius John Moses Browning, never dreamed of, along with wider frames, high capacity magazines and even double action triggers. Then there are the calibers. In addition to its original, timeless .45 ACP chambering, various versions of the pistol can be had in .17, .22, .38, 9mm, 10mm, .40 and .50 caliber. However, it’s the .45 ?ACP cartridge that remains king.

Nonetheless, competition for the Model 1911 has continued to be stiff, not only from conventional new pistols, but those using lightweight polymer frames. A few 1911 pistols even ause synthetic grip frames, but there’s nothing quite as appealing as a 1911 made completely of metal. The question is, what kind of metal? There’re basically four choices; carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium and aircraft alloy.

While the majority of 1911 pistols are made of carbon or stainless steel, weight is a major consideration for many who carry daily. With the cost of titanium increasing at least four times during the past year, we’re left with 7075/T6 aircraft alloy, the lightest of the four yet strong enough to use in the manufacture of the most modern jet fighter planes. Used in the manufacture of many other handguns, it’s become quite popular for use in the frame of the 1911.

Another improvement purposely not mentioned above continues to be incorporated in increasing numbers of autopistols, namely the frame-rail upon which lights and lasers can be mounted. Although there’ve been several rail designs, by far the most prolific is loosely referred to by the nickname “Picatinny” rail after Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey. However, the correct name for this design is M1913 — its military designation.

Located on the front most portion of the frame, the rail extends beyond the triggerguard. With grooves running on each side of the dust cover ?from the front of the triggerguard, this rail system has cross notches to locate and lock the light or laser. One of the first 1911-style pistols to incorporate a M1913 frame rail was that called the Operator from Springfield Armory, Inc.

The first Springfield Operator pistols had dust cover M1913 rails extending all the way to the muzzle. Two versions of the gun were offered, one with fixed sights much like Springfield’s M1911-A1 pistol, and the other packed with custom style features. This latter pistol was called the TRP Operator after the Springfield’s earlier Tactical Response Pistol adopted by the FBI.

Early on in Springfield Operator production, the full-length frame-rail was eliminated, reducing the dust cover/rail portion to roughly the length of a standard 1911 dust cover and also reinstating the flute-like cuts in the forward portion of the slide. Other manufacturers of 1911 style frame-rail pistols have more or less followed suit.

Most folks agree having an integral M1913 frame rail on a 1911 is a good idea. However, with the rail comes increased weight. Sure, extra weight may be beneficial for fast follow-up hits, but it’s a detriment while hanging on your hip.

Operator Weight-Watchers

Although a number of mainstream makers of the 1911 have made pistols with aircraft alloy frames for years, they continued to avoid making such a frame with a rail even though they offered 1911s with steel frame rails. Finally, in 2006, Springfield stepped up to the plate with its new, made in the USA, Lightweight Operator.

Otherwise identical to their all steel operator, the lightweight is a half-pound lighter. The pistol can be had in any color, as long as it’s matte black. The lightweight comes with a Match Grade stainless steel .45 ACP 5” barrel and bushing and a conventional recoil spring system rather than a full-length guide rod. A heavy full-length guide rod in a lightweight pistol would be, well, less than smart. Frankly, any 1911 sold with a full-length guide rod should come with a hacksaw.

The front sight has a tritium dot and on the front sides of the slide are cocking grooves like those at the rear. Edges on entire exterior of the gun are subtly rounded and at the rear of the slide is a Novak-style fixed sight with twin tritium dots.

In addition to being equipped with all the right stuff both inside and out, the Lightweight Operator’s frame-rail is particularly well designed and has three cross notches in order to accommodate virtually any light or laser. What’s more, it’s lockable.

Springfield’s ILS

Located on the upper left of Operator’s flat 20-LPI checkered mainspring housing is the company’s Internal Locking System (ILS). Turned with a special key to block or unblock the mainspring cap from moving (with the hammer down), the ILS can lock the pistol by preventing the hammer from being cocked, although the magazine can be removed or inserted.

With the Operator’s front strap is left smooth and its laser checkered large diamond walnut grips are patterned with the Springfield logo and secured with hex screws. The Lightweight Operator’s finish is a sight to ?behold. It’s, rendered in a soft matte black Armory Coat finish on the steel parts with a hard-anodized frame to match. The fit of the gun is equally impressive with no play between the slide, frame and barrel. Instead of a mechanical firing pin block, Springfield has opted to go with the FBI’s original specifications using a lightweight titanium firing pin with an extra heavy spring to protect the primer should the pistol be dropped on its muzzle while leaping tall buildings — my personal choice too.

Rail-Friendly Lights

Springfield’s frame rail will accept all popular tactical pistol lights and lasers including those from Insight Technology, Streamlight, Laser Devices, LaserMax and SureFire. Most of these were tested on our sample Lightweight Operator and found to work fine.

Holsters made to accommodate 1911 pistols with light rails continue to be developed and are currently available from Bianchi, Blade-Tech, BlackHawk, Safariland and others. When ordering such rigs, the light/laser you intend to use must be specified.

Trigger Time

Not surprisingly, our sample performed flawlessly, as virtually every Springfield Armory product I own tested continues to do. Accuracy from the bench held about 2" or less and wasn’t much over when shooting the pistol standing with a two-hand hold. Even hits on torso-size targets at 100 yards weren’t much of a challenge.
All operations proved smooth and sure including the crisp break of the 4-pound trigger firing several types of factory .45 ACP ammunition. Only the gun’s 18-pound recoil spring and extra heavy mainspring required some muscle to retract the slide unless the hammer was cocked first. Incidentally and somewhat surprisingly, little additional muzzle flip was apparent and fast follow-up shots seemed easy.

Druthers

Although the Springfield Lightweight Operator qualifies for the investment grade category, as a duty pistol there are a couple of things I would opt for. One is a lanyard mount and the other is a set of more aggressive grips such as those from MIL-TAC or Gunner Grips from Strider or Simonich Knives. For 1911s with smooth front straps, Falcon Industries also offers non-slip stick-on panels that won’t come off.

At just 33 ounces, Springfield’s Lightweight Operator has broken the code for a 1911 for all seasons.


Specifications: Springfield Lightweight Operator
Caliber: .45 ACP
Operation: Browning short recoil
Trigger: Single action, 4 lbS
Barrel Length: 5"
Overall Length: 8.625"
Weight: 33 oz
Feed Device: Any 1911 box magazine
Safeties: Thumb safety, grip safety and fail-safe hammer notch
Front Sights: Combat ramp with tritium insert
Rear Sights: “U” notch with 2 tritium dots, drift adjustable for windage
Grips: Checkered walnut
Finish: Matte black “Armory Coat“

More info www.springfield-armory.com