Category Archives: Springfield Armory

Stock Exchange

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Stock Exchange

Investing in Springfield Armory’s M1 Carbine

By Dennis Adler

Plastic or wood, the Springfield Armory M1 in any stock is a highly accurate blowback action semiautomatic air rifle. With an average velocity close to 400 fps (anywhere from 387 fps to 426 fps) I was comfortable shooting the 17.75 inch barrel length M1 Carbine at 10 meters. To get a sense of the gun’s true accuracy at that competitive range, I shot it from a bench rest using a Hyskore gun rest. My best 10-shot group with Umarex Precision steel BBs measured 0.56 inches with either seven or eight rounds inside one ragged hole measuring 0.437 inches.

Today, May 18th, is Armed Forces Day, which was established by President Harry S. Truman after WWII as a day to pay special tribute to the men and women of America’s Armed Forces. Traditionally celebrated on the third Saturday in May, the first official Armed Forces Day took place on May 20, 1950 and next year will mark the event’s 70th anniversary. While Armed Forces Day events usually last an entire week it always kicks off on a Saturday. For WWII, Korean War and early Vietnam era veterans, the M1 Carbine and its variations were the most familiar arms in use, aside from the Colt Model 1911A1 pistol. The M1 was referred to as a “light rifle” and was originally designed for the military by the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. It was based on a design by Ed Browning (John M. Browning’s brother) and originally known as the “Caliber .30 M2 Browning Military Rifle. That fact is somewhat of a footnote because the telling of the M1 story has always focused mostly around the improved firing mechanism used by Winchester, which was developed by David Marshall Williams, better known today as “Carbine Williams” and famously considered the creator of the M1 Carbine. While he did a lot of the work with Winchester’s design team, the M1 Carbine was a Winchester and Browning design, combined with the gas piston system invented by Williams. His design, which used the exhaust gases from the fired cartridge to power the piston running a rotating bolt and operating rod to eject the spent shell casing and load a fresh round from the magazine, is pretty much the heart of the M1 and why it is often regarded as his design. To commemorate the M1, Springfield Armory offers its new CO2 model, which is a very accurate reproduction of the WWII guns, with a magazine fed blowback action and, as my initial test of this gun revealed, it is also very accurate downrange, putting a dime-sized cluster of overlapping hits on target at 10 meters. read more

Double Sneak Preview

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Double Sneak Preview

Blowback action models from Sig Sauer and Springfield Armory

By Dennis Adler

This could be the shape of things to come, the Sig Sauer P365 and Springfield Armory XDM 3.8, blowback action CO2 models in the Compact category with self-contained CO2 BB magazines and total authenticity to their centerfire counterparts. These are perfect understudies for CCW training.

These two CO2 models are about to write a new chapter in blowback action air pistol history. The Sig Sauer P365, due out this summer, and the Springfield Armory XDM 3.8, now available for Pre Order (follow this link), are both Compact pistols with self-contained CO2 BB magazines and 1:1 accuracy of design. The significance of this is that there have never been Compact blowback action models with self-contained CO2 BB magazines that are spot-on understudies for their centerfire counterparts. The Sig and Springfield establish a new category for authenticity and training with a full function compact air pistol. That isn’t to say there are no Compact CO2 models, but up until now you either had to live with a separate CO2 chamber in the grip and a stick magazine, like the fine Walther PPS and PPSM2, or a self-contained CO2 BB model like the Makarov, which has an exposed CO2 seating key at the base of the magazine. This totally blows the authenticity of the gun, and a Makarov is hardly a modern CCW training gun, though it is a classic. read more

My favorite CO2 air pistol of all time Part 2

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My favorite CO2 air pistol of all time Part 2

And what makes it special

By Dennis Adler

The Maschinenpistole 40 or MP40 was one of the big hits from Umarex in 2017.
The CO2 version of the full auto 9mm WWII submachine gun allows semi-auto fire as well as full auto, making it much more CO2 and BB friendly. The self-contained CO2 BB magazines use a pair of 12 gram CO2 cartridges. It doesn’t hurt accuracy, either.

When you have a veritable history of American and European firearms recreated today in .177 caliber BB and 4.5mm pellet firing airguns, everything from selective fire pistols like the Mini Uzi, Broomhandle Mauser Model 712 and WWII German MP40, to state-of-the-art semi-autos like the Glock 17 and legendary guns from the American West, like the Colt Peacemaker, finding one gun that raises the bar or hits your “must have” list, is like going to a premier firearms auction with the determination that no matter how many guns catch your eye, you are only going home with one. And so we begin Part 2 back in 2017. read more

Springfield Armory M1 Carbine Part 3

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Springfield Armory M1 Carbine Part 3

An American Military Classic

By Dennis Adler

Troops training with the M1 Carbine had the most advanced weapon American soldiers had ever used. These are Type 1 models c.1942. Also note the soldier in the background practicing with a Colt 1911A1.

One of the true requisites for a firearm being deemed a classic design is that no matter how old it is, no matter how many firearms are regarded as superior in design or capability, it is still being manufactured to this day. Reproductions of firearms from the past are similar validations, but with the M1 Carbine, like the Colt Model 1911A1, the design is still being used and current models still manufactured. How this relates to CO2 models is much the same; today we have Colt Peacemakers, multiple versions of the Colt Model 1911, and now, the beginning of M1 CO2 models. And yes, that raises the question “are there other versions forthcoming?” Perhaps, given that there were different variations of the original M1 Carbine. read more

Springfield Armory M1 Carbine Part 2

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Springfield Armory M1 Carbine Part 2

An American Military Classic

By Dennis Adler

At 4.9 pounds, Springfield was able to come within 9.6 ounces of the military M1 Carbine which weighed 5.5 pounds (as light at 5.2 pounds). Of course that is with the plastic stock CO2 model vs. hardwood on the actual M1 stocks.

Why a Springfield Armory M1 CO2 Carbine and not an M14? Considering that Springfield Armory builds the M14, that is an even better question. The answer is simply that the M1 Carbine is an historic WWII firearm, the M14 is not. One reason Springfield builds the M14 today is that it was developed at the original Springfield Armory with the legendary John Garand. The M14 is essentially a modernized select-fire M1 Garand with a detachable magazine. The M2 Carbine (with a 30-round magazine) was a select fire version of the M1 Carbine developed in 1944 and used toward the end of WWII and again in Korea and during the early years of the Vietnam War. WWII M1 models were also converted to M2 variations with a kit (“Kit, Carbine, T17”) developed at the Inland Division of GM, which built the greatest number of M1 Carbines. read more

Springfield Armory M1 Carbine Part 1

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Springfield Armory M1 Carbine Part 1

An American Military Classic

By Dennis Adler

If there is one thing Springfield Armory knows how to build it is the M1 and M14 Carbine. With 45 years of practice the company has turned its skills toward a CO2 model that encompasses the key features of the WWII era M1 Carbine in a magazine fed, blowback action model.

Ask 100 people what the most famous military rifle in American history is and you will hear M16 more than any other, and from a technical point, in terms of numbers produced, model variations, years in service and the number of manufacturers, they’re probably right. Ask the same question of 100 military arms collectors and you’ll get a lot of different answers, very few of which, if any, will be the M16. The M1 Garand and M1 Carbine will be among the majority, and for good reason; the M1 Carbine served the U.S military in WWII, Korea and throughout the first years of the Vietnam War. It is a part of U.S. military history in ways that the M16 can never be. read more

First Test: Springfield XDM CO2 Part 4

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First Test: Springfield XDM CO2 Part 4

Point of Aim

By Dennis Adler

Green means go and with the LaserMax Spartan green laser you can go for the tight groups at POA with the Springfield Armory XDM 4.5 CO2 model.

There is little more that I can say about the new Air Venturi Springfield Armory XDM 4.5 that will help better define it as the new benchmark in blowback action CO2 air pistols. Yes, there are blowback action CO2 models that have higher average velocity, but another 25 to 50 fps isn’t going to make a significant difference when the cost of that higher velocity is a loss in hands-on performance. While there are certainly other CO2 models that are as realistic in their overall design as the Springfield, they can only make that claim from the left side of the gun, the right side of the slide and frame have white lettering and manufacturing marks that instantly defines them as air pistols, even the very best of them (except the Umarex Glock 17). Only the Springfield has achieved near 100 percent authenticity in every category of comparison to its centerfire counterpart. Why not 100 percent? Because no matter how brilliantly disguised the manual safety is, the fact that it has a manual safety in the first place, is a departure from the centerfire pistol design. It is a strange point of contention but the requirements of CO2 semi-auto air pistol manufacturing require a manual safety be added if the design of the centerfire gun it is based upon does not incorporate one. The XDM CO2 model has managed to comply without any other compromises and close enough in my book compared to every other blowback action model currently offered today. read more