Posted: 11/12/2007 11:00:54 AM EDT
| Does any one have one of these? Tell me what you guys think about them. |
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I don't have one, but my co-worker was looking for his first 1911 and decided to go with a Spartan so I helped order one for him. It really depends on what you are looking for in a 1911. The gun is made in the PI, and then QC checked by STI before shipping. Many of the parts are STI, however some are less-quality pieces. The rear sight is a Bomar knock-off that works just fine. The hinge pin on his gun broke after about 300 rounds, which wasn't unexpected- I told him it would before the first shot, and we simply replaced it with an appropriately sized piece of piano wire and I doubt he will ever have to worry about it again. The front sight is a little too thick for my tastes, but my buddy doesn't seem to mind. The front sight on this copy was also a little too short--short enough that even with the rear sight bottomed out, it was still shooting high. A few passes with a file on the rear sight, however, and it was shooting point of aim. The finish is plain, but functional. Accuracy was completely acceptable. Reliability was spotty when we first started shooting it. Swithching to Wilson #47 mags cured 90% of the problems. The gun still had(s) a reoccurring failure to extract problem in about 1 in 200 rounds, regardless of ammo or magazine. I re-tensioned the extractor, but I believe it could benefit from a decent Ed Brown / Wilson / Aftec extractor. It is not a duty gun, so its not a priority to him right now. The grips were nothing special, and were covered with skateboard tape anyway. The trigger pull was acceptable for a gun in this price range. Slide to frame and barrel to slide fit were all pretty good. Overall, I was impressed with the gun, for the money. As with most 1911s in this price range, it would not be what I would consider 'duty ready' without a bit of work. But if you are looking for a decent plinker or something you want to shoot local matches with--and don't mind replacing little parts as you go--I think it is a good deal. I have heard from a number of other shooters that their Spartans functioned 100% out of the box, had no sight issues, etc. It is an assembly-line gun, and not a bad one at that, especially for the money. |
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i dont have one; a good buddy of mine did get one several months ago it shoots just like any other full size 1911; fit is tight, real tight in comparison to kimbers, SAs, etc the sights are pretty good, but the front sight was a tad canted grips suck--its neither grippy and too smooth; change em reliability wise, its been 100% as far as i know, only a few hundred rnds though it though; mags were WC 47Ds, ammo was WWB and CCI |
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I had one that I sold several months ago to fund another project. It shot good, was reliable and tight. Overall, a nice simple target pistol. Now that STI has raised the price up to the $600 mark, I'd say the guns are getting too expensive to be a good deal. For another $300, you can get a Trojan, which is American made and has some nicer features like STIppling, a mag well and better fit and finish. Also, there are always good deals to be had on used Kimbers and such for around $600. |