Springfield Applegate Special

     Notes: This is a 1911-type pistol designed specifically for point-blank shooting – it has no sights, in fact, and with a snagless hammer and relatively smooth profile, can be drawn quickly.  It also does not fire .45 ACP ammunition, using 9mm Parabellum ammunition instead to allow for greater magazine capacity and greater controllability at short range.  The slide is specially-shaped, however, being flat on top, and the sides slope sharply away; this does allow for some sort of sighting.  The trigger is skeletonized and has a light touch.  The barrel is a beefy bull barrel with a tight twist, but is a full-sized barrel.  The Applegate Special actually has decent range, but aiming is a problem beyond short range.

Springfield Black Stainless

     Notes: Not actually all-black, the Black Stainless is actually finished in stainless steel, with black accents to its frame and slide – such as black stripes in the cocking grooves (which are on the back and front of the slide), and a black curved portion underneath the muzzle around the end of the guide rod, trigger guard, controls, grip safety and spur, hammer, magazine floor plate, bottom of the dust cover, front sight, and grip plates.  This black finish is baked-on Teflon.  It is a light pistol (for a 1911-type weapon), yet full-sized for a 1911-type weapon.  One virtue of the weapon is its ability to digest virtually any sort of ammunition you load into it.  The trigger pull is a bit hard out of the box at 5.75 pounds, but it can be adjusted. Though the Black Stainless is designed more for looks than as a serious weapon, it is nonetheless functional, with 3-dot tritium-inlay sights which are dovetailed, a loaded-chamber indicator, and a beveled magazine well.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This pistol does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Springfield Defender

     Notes: The Defender is a mini-pistol based on the M-1911A1, shrunk down and firing the shorter .45 GAP cartridge.  It is still a fairly heavy pistol for its size, with a carbon steel frame, slide, and barrel.  The .45 GAP cartridge enabled Springfield to make it a bit smaller than a comparable .45 ACP pistol, and the Defender measures only a little over 16 centimeters long.  The magazine is also smaller, as well as the grip.  It is, however, basically a smaller version of the M-1911A1, and has only nine .45 GAP-specific parts.  The shorter .45 GAP cartridge actually makes the Defender more reliable than an M-1911-type weapon with the same barrel length. 

     Twilight 2000 Notes:  This pistol does not exist.

Springfield EMP

     Notes: The EMP (Enhanced Micro-Pistol) was introduced in late 2007 as one of Springfield’s newest subcompact pistols.  It is quite the small weapon and quite light in weight, yet includes many of the features of Springfield’s larger and more expensive pistols.

     The frame of the EMP is of light alloy, while the slide and most of the operating parts are of steel (the slide is made of stainless steel).  Most of the exterior is given a matte black finish, with the slide, hammer, and trigger having a dull matte metal finish.  The grip plates are of fancy (though thin) wood, also with a matte black finish.  Controls are ambidextrous, and the trigger is skeletonized and adjustable for overtravel and pull weight.  The grip safety has a bump to ensure its actuation.  The short 3.15-inch barrel is a flared bull barrel with no bushing necessary; the ejection port is lowered and enlarged.  The magazine well is beveled to aid in loading. The sights are low profile types; they have tritium inlays, and the rear sight is adjustable.  Currently, only 9mm Parabellum, .45 ACP, and .45 GAP versions are available, but Springfield says a .40 Smith & Wesson version is being developed and should appear some time in 2008.  Those with large hands may find the grip a bit small, but otherwise the EMP appears to be an excellent backup and self-defense weapon.

Springfield M-1911A1

     Notes: Springfield was always one of the companies building the M-1911A1; however, in the 1980s, they decided to make a number of variants of the basic design.  There is, of course, the basic M-1911A1; except for the decreased weight and an available 8-round magazine, it is identical to the Colt M-1911A1.  (It is also known as the M-1911A1 MIL-SPEC version.) An M-1911A1 Service Model is also made, which is basically an M-1911A1 MIL-SPEC built to a higher standard, and with extras such as a lowered and flared ejection port, Pearce grip plates, a Delta lightweight hammer, a beveled magazine well, and ambidextrous safety.  (It is identical to the MIL-SPEC for game purposes.)  Springfield also chambered the M-1911A1 for 9mm Parabellum and .38 Super, using 9-round magazines.  A “Longslide” model was also produced, using a 6-inch barrel.  Another notable model is the Champion MIL-SPEC; this version is a compact model with a shorter barrel, but can use only 7-round magazines.  (The Compact MIL-SPEC is an even smaller version of the Champion MIL-SPEC.)  The PDP Factory Comp has an extended barrel with porting to help reduce barrel climb.  The M-1911A1 Stainless is a version brought out in 1990 which has a stainless steel frame and slide; it is somewhat heavier than the standard Springfield M-1911A1, and has a triple-dot sight.  The M-1911A1 Stainless Compact is, of course, a smaller version of the Stainless.   The M-1911 TRP (Tactical Response Pistol) was introduced in 1998; it is basically a Springfield M-1911A1 with a lot of extra gadgets and tuned for extra accuracy; modifications include a Novak combat sight, polished extractor, a match barrel and bushing, speed trigger (light touch), and an ambidextrous safety after 1999.  The Hi-Cap Factory Comp is a “race gun” version of the M-1911A1; it has a muzzle brake, Bo-Mar micrometer rear sights, and a slide that has cocking ribs on the front and rear of the slide.  The Bi-Tone Service Lightweight is a rather new development; this version uses an aluminum-alloy frame finished in blue, a matte stainless steel slide (hence the “Bi-Tone” moniker), checkered cocobolo grip plates, and a backstrap with vertical cuts to improve grip.  The front and rear sights are Novak night sights, with tritium inserts.  The Bi-Tone Service Lightweight is sold with 7-round magazines, but can also accept 8 and 9-round Springfield M-1911 .45 ACP magazines.  The lack of a checkered frontstrap is a slight problem, especially with such a light .45 ACP, but easily remedied with aftermarket appliqué texturing.

     Of course, the standard M-1911A1 is by far the most common of these pistols. 

     In 2011, Springfield introduced the E-Series of M-1911s. These have a number of improvements, both ergonomic and aesthetic.  The frontstraps are finely checkered to improve grip, and the grips themselves have a “fish scale” pattern to further improve grip.  These are lighter than the standard 1911s, due to their scandium frames.  The cocking grooves have the same fish scale pattern as the grip plates, and are deeper than standard M-1911 cocking grooves.  Three E-series pistols are produced: two types of full-sized pistol, and one commander-sized pistol.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The Hi-Cap Factory Comp, 1911 TRP, E-Series, and Bi-Tone Service Lightweight do not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Springfield Micro-Compact

     Notes: This is one of the smallest versions of the M-1911 ever built, only a little larger than the Defender shown above.  Nonetheless, it fires full-sized .45 ACP ammunition and is surprisingly heavy.  The Micro-Compact has an ambidextrous safety, extended beavertail grip safety, and low-profile Novak 3-dot sights with tritium inlays.  The pistol is finished with a stainless steel slide and black anodized frame, with Cocobolo grip plates.  There is a short rail under the barrel for tactical lights or laser aiming modules; however, this rail is very small, considering the small size of the Micro-Compact. 

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This pistol does not exist.

Springfield Omega

     Notes: By the mid-1980s, it looked as if the 10mm Colt Auto round was going to fade away after the collapse of the Bren Ten pistol.  However, Colt’s Delta Elite pistol (introduced in 1987) gave the 10mm Colt Auto round a sort of life extension, and Springfield decided in 1988 to design a pistol around the 10mm round, calling it the Omega.  Sales of the Omega were never anything to write home about, and by 1991, production had ceased.

     Externally, the Omega looked like a typical 1911-based pistol; in fact, Springfield even sold some kits usable to convert 1911-type pistols into Omega-type pistols.  Internally, the Omega was quite different; it is only partly-based on the Browning-type action used by 1911-type pistols.  The Omega uses a cam-type locking system instead of the swinging-link Browning-type locking; this also made a very different slide necessary (with tracks cut in for the cam action as well as being heavier in general) as well as a squared-off barrel block.  The Omega also uses dual extractors; at first this was a means of increasing extraction reliability, but it also allowed the use of the aforementioned kit as well as kits to convert the Omega to use other rounds.

     The Omega is otherwise a rather large and heavy pistol.  Barrels offered were either 5 or 6 inches long, and could be had ported or unported (with the exception of the .38 Super variant, which was not produced with ported barrels).  Construction is largely of steel, with the grips being wrap-around rubber Pachmayr Signature grips.  The rear sight is fully adjustable for windage and elevation; unfortunately, though they allow for rapid target acquisition, they have no features for night use.  (A minor variant, the Omega Match, has far better micrometer-adjustable sights with luminous inlays, but is otherwise identical to the Omega with a 6-inch ported barrel for game purposes.)  Due to its construction, the Omega balances quite well, with enough weight at the muzzle to help fight barrel climb.  Workmanship of the Omega was regarded as being on par with some of the best of the 1911-type pistols, and the unusual operation greatly improved reliability as well as locking and unlocking speed.

     In the end, the Omega suffered the same fate as many 10mm pistols – it had a lot of difficulty competing with pistols firing the then-new .40 Smith & Wesson round.  Production stopped in 1991, and the Omega is today rather hard to find.

Springfield Operator

     Notes: By the time of Operation Iraqi Freedom, certain US special operations forces (specific parties unknown) were faced with a problem.  They did not like the M-9, and did not want to give their M-1911A1s, but the M-1911A1s were worn to the point that they no longer suited the needs of troops like special operations personnel.  They therefore went to Springfield Armory and asked them to build a new batch of M-1911A1s, with a few features added in.  Springfield already had what they needed, however, in the guise of the Springfield Operator.  The Operator has a short MIL-STD-1913 rail under the barrel, Pachmayr grips, and the removal of the checkering from the front strap. (The rear strap is still checkered, but in finer detail.)  The rear sights are Novak tritium sights, and dovetailed for removal if necessary. A chamber-loaded indicator has been added.  The magazine has a slightly larger capacity with an extension for the little finger, but it can accept standard M-1911A1 magazines.

     Recently, Springfield decided to sell the Operator commercially.  There are minor differences between the military and civilian versions of the Operator: the grips have standard checkering, the guide rod is full-length, the MIL-STD-1913 is somewhat shorter, and there are a few other minor differences, primarily in finish (the military versions finished are with a green Armor-Kote frame and black Armor-Kote slide).  The two are identical for game purposes.

     In 2005, Springfield began making a compact version of the Operator, the Micro-Compact Operator.  This is the Operator with a short 3-inch barrel and the alterations necessary for this shorter length.  The Micro-Compact Operator also has an aluminum-alloy frame which is grooved for use with the XML Mini-Light or other such accessories with similar interfaces.

     In late 2006, Springfield made a lighter version of the full-sized Operator.  Naturally, it is called the Lightweight Operator.  The frame is of 7075-T6 aircraft-quality aluminum alloy, the slide of lighter steel, but the barrel is match-grade and of stainless steel.  Under the dust cover is a MIL-STD-1913 rail, the sights are of the three-dot type and have tritium inlays, and the grip plated is diamond-checkered with a laser-engraved Springfield logo.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This weapon does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Springfield P-9 Factory Comp

     Notes: This pistol, introduced in 1993, is basically a version of the Czech CZ-75 pistol fitted with a large muzzle brake, extended barrel, and chambered for two additional rounds.  The P-9 Factory Comp also has a micrometer rear sight.  Production stopped in 1995, due to poor sales.

Springfield Bureau Model SWAT Pistol

     Notes: Originally known as the Professional Model, and later as the Bureau Model, this variant of the M-1911A1 was designed in response to an FBI requirement for a pistol for their regional SWAT teams.  The primary requirement was a weapon which was accurate, hard-hitting, and with a minimum life of 50,000 rounds before an overhaul was necessary.  The Bureau Model uses a hand-fitted slide and frame, a polished feed ramp, a throated barrel, a special trigger unit which is tuned and requires only 4 pounds of pressure for firing, a lowered and flared ejection port, an improved and tuned extractor, a hand-fitted grip safety, hand-fitted ambidextrous manual safety, beveled magazine well, and special checkering for the grip, frontstrap, backstrap, and cocking grooves.  The components of each Bureau Model pistol are given a serial number to ensure that they are not accidentally mixed up with parts of other Bureau Model pistols.  The finish of the Bureau is in a proprietary process called Black-T, which is highly wear-resistant and requires almost no lubrication.  Standard 1911-type magazines may be used, but the Bureau Model is normally issued to FBI personnel with special Metalform magazines which are quick to load and easy to slide into the weapon.  The sights are variants of the Novak Lo-Mount sights, which are fully adjustable in the rear and have tritium inlays.

     A variant of the Bureau Model was recently chosen by the FBI’s HRT as one of its sidearms and CQB weapons -- the Custom Professional Light Rail.  Balance was improved by shortening the dust cover, and adding a MIL-STD-1913 rail underneath.  The forward slide serrations were removed.  A new Smith & Alexander beveled combat magazine well was used, easing reloads.  A lanyard loop was added.  The barrel is a match-grade barrel from Nowlin; it is not fully supported, since the HRT felt that it had no need to use +P ammunition.  The standard heavy guide rod was omitted, both to save weight and to allow the users to disassemble the weapon without tools.  The sights are Novak Low Mount sights with 3-dot tritium inlays.  The trigger is of aluminum, and is both adjustable and of match quality.  The magazine release is extended to further speed reloads.  The frontstrap, backstrap, and magazine well are all finely checkered.  The entire weapon is finished in matte black.  The HRT use a custom holster from Safariland with this pistol; this holster allows its use with a SureFire X200 tactical light attached to the accessory rail. The Custom Professional Light Rail may use standard 1911-type magazines, the magazines designed for the Professional Model, and special double-stack magazines.

     The Bureau Model (but not the Custom Professional Light Rail) is also available to civilians, but not under that name.  For civilian sales (to avoid confusion as well as to remove any idea that the FBI endorses the civilian version), the Bureau Model is called the Professional Model, but is otherwise identical to the FBI’s Bureau Model.  To add to the confusion, some of these were sold to civilians early on – still stamped with the name “Bureau Model.”  These weapons are of particular interest to firearms collectors.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The Custom Professional Light Rail does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline; the Professional and Bureau Models are extremely rare.

Springfield Trophy Match

     Notes:  This high-quality pistol is a much-modified M-1911A1.  The primary changes are in quality of construction; tolerances are far closer than those of a standard M-1911, and the handgrips and finish are of much better quality.  Adjustable match rear sights are fitted.  It should be noted that the Trophy Match is not meant to be a combat weapon; using it as such on a regular basis would abuse the close tolerances too much.  It is a competition pistol.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This weapon does not exist.

Springfield V-16

     Notes: This is basically a longslide version of the Springfield version of the M-1911A1, built out of stainless steel.  The barrel is ported to help fight the recoil of the higher power the ammunition develops in the longer barrel.  At first, Springfield manufactured both .45 ACP and .45 Super versions of the V-16; some copyright violation problems developed over the .45 Super ammunition, and Springfield discontinued those pistols.  (They are therefore quite rare.)  The V-16 has a problem in that there are a lot of exposed sharp edges that snag clothing without even trying.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The copyright violations never cropped up, but the rarity of the ammunition itself limited production of the .45 Super version.

Springfield XD

     Notes:  The XD (eXtreme Duty) is a polymer-framed subcompact pistol for close self-defense and backup.  The XD started out as nothing more than the Croatian HS-2000 pistol imported for sale by Springfield, but Springfield made so many modifications and improvements to the design that it deserves an entry in its own right.  It is a typical 21^st century subcompact design.

     The XD has a Micro-Lite rail under the front of the frame for a small flashlight or laser pointer.  The XD has numerous safeties to make it safe for novices to carry.  The controls are ambidextrous.  The XD Service and Tactical are full-sized versions of the XD; the Tactical uses a full-length 5-inch barrel, and the Service has a Commander-length 4-inch barrel.  The polymer frame and stainless steel slide may be colored black, OD Green, or Bi-Tone with a black or OD Green frame and a brushed stainless steel slide. The XD series is also available with Trijicon sights (adjustable at the rear and dovetailed at the front) or Heinie Tritium Slant Pro sights (adjustable at the rear, dovetailed at the front, with tritium inserts).  Another special model of the XD, the XD V-10, is a version of the XD Service with compensator ports cut into the muzzle and front of the barrel to further lessen the recoil of the weapon. Two compact versions of the standard XD are also available – the Compact, also with a 4-inch barrel but with a shorter grip, and the XD Subcompact, with a 3-inch barrel. It should be noted that while the 9mm Parabellum version of the XD Subcompact can use a 15-round magazine, when this magazine is used in the XD Compact, it will protrude quite a bit from the bottom of the grip.

     The XD Tactical was chambered for the new .45 GAP (Glock Automatic Pistol) cartridge in 2004.  In the XD, the .45 GAP very nearly replicates the .45 ACP in performance.  In 2005, the XD Service was chambered for the .45 GAP. In early 2006, the XD Service model was chambered for .45 ACP; a .45 ACP chambering for the Tactical was offered in late 2006, followed by .45 ACP chamberings for the Compact and Subcompact in 2007.  Also in 2006, new high-capacity magazines were introduced for several models of the XD.

     Of course, it was inevitable that the Springfield Custom Shop would want to get its hands on the XD and see what it could do with the pistol, and in 2005, they did.  In 2006, the XD emerged from the Custom Shop as the XD Custom Pro.  Based on the XD Tactical, the Custom Pro is designed for a wide variety of shooters who need high performance from their pistols – ranging from police SRT teams and military special operations to competition shooters.  Improvements include a low-mount Bo-Mar fully-adjustable sight, dovetailed in; a Dawson Precision blade front sight with a fiberoptic insert; and a National Match-grade barrel, 4 or 5 inches long and hand-fitted (this may be replaced with a Bar-Sto heavy match barrel at the buyer’s option).  The rear of the grip frame is reshaped to allow the high-hand grip which is used by most professional shooters, and a beavertail has been added to help the shooter control recoil and barrel flip as well as spread out the recoil force.  The grip frame has been given a special textured finish to ensure a positive grip, even in bad weather or sweaty hands.  The magazine release has been extended, and the magazine well beveled and widened into a funnel to allow quicker reloads.  Most of the internal mechanism’s parts are polished and hand-fitted.  The trigger is exceptional, being match-quality, has virtually no overtravel, and a short reset distance.  Springfield says the trigger pull is 3.5-4 pounds, but most shooters say the pull feels lighter than that, due to the tuning of the trigger mechanism.  The polymer frame keeps its black color, but the slide is stainless steel finished with matte Armory Kote Teflon.

     The newest version of the XD is the XD^M, which has improved ergonomics and an intermediate-length 4.5-inch barrel.  The frame is the same size as the standard XD, but the grip and grip angle are more ergonomic and the XD^M also comes with three interchangeable backstraps to customize the grip shape and size to the shooter’s hand. The XD^M can also take larger magazines than other versions of the XD (except for the .45 ACP version). The trigger is known for being a bit creepy, and it is a bit short, though follow-up shots are quick and crisp.  Sights are fixed and 3-dot, and are dovetailed into the slide. The newest version is the XD^M 3.8, a version of the standard XD Compact with a 3.8-inch barrel.  Note that the .45 ACP version of the XD^M 3.8 is not expected to be available until the first quarter of 2011.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This is a very rare weapon in the Twilight 2000 timeline.  The XD Tactical and Service chambered for .45 GAP do not exist, and the .45 ACP chamberings were never built.  The XD Custom Pro is likewise non-existent.  The XD V-10 is not available as a factory-made weapon.  High capacity magazines were, however, quickly designed shortly before the November Nuclear Strikes, and a remarkable number of them were available considering the short time they were in production.  Most of these magazines were, however, made from standard steel instead of the stainless steel magazines that are standard for real-world XDs. The XD^M does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.