The new Range Officer Champion is a flexible, compact, alloy-framed 1911. (Photo: Springfield Armory)
Springfield Armory is now shipping its new Range Officer Champion pistols. These alloy-framed 1911s are up to the task no matter what job is called for, whether it’s concealed-carry, home defense or, as you might have guessed, practice time at the range.
The Range Officer Champion is the last of Springfield’s new products for 2015 announced to-date. The company announced a wide spread of new pistols and rifles this year and have been quick to get them to the market.
The Range Officer Champion is a lightweight Commander-style chambered for .45 ACP in a compact package that can be carried all day long. Similar to the Champion Operator, the R.O. Champion has a 4-inch stainless steel match-grade barrel with a fully-supported feed ramp.
The slide is cut for Novak-pattern sights and comes with a low-profile rear and fiber-optic front sight. The sights are designed not to catch on the draw for carrying concealed and the finish is sure to hold up for a long time with its hard-anodized frame and parkerized slide.
Owing to its compact alloy frame and shorter slide the Champion weighs in at just 30 ounces without having to sacrifice much in terms of barrel length or capacity, for a 1911. Every Range Officer Champion comes with two seven-round magazines and engraved and checkered cocobolo grips.
It is in all other ways a modern 1911 with it’s enlarged and flared ejection port, elongated beavertail grip safety that has a memory button, medium-length skeletonized trigger that’s adjustable for overtravel, combat hammer and bushingless barrel assembly.
The Champion is priced in-line with other alloy-framed Springfield 1911s and should have a street price around $900, which is pretty competitive as far as Lightweight Commander 1911s go. About the only thing that would make the gun more appealing would be a bobbed frame, a feature that’s in strong demand today.
Still, this pistol is appealing for its clean looks and versatility. It really is a 1911 for all purposes. There aren’t very many alloy-framed 1911s for less than $1,000 and that means there’s plenty of room for the Champion.
Springfield Champion Operator. (Photo: SA)
But the Springfield Lightweight Champion Operator that may give the Range Officer Champion a run for its money as far as versatility is concerned.
While it has many of the same features as the Range Officer the Lightweight Champion Operator comes equipped with a railed dust cover that can be used to host a laser sight or weapon light for home defense, and it has night sights which are better suited for concealed-carry than the fiber optic sights on the Range Officer.
But in the end it’s hard to miss the Range Officer Champion’s drawing power. It’s compact, light, sleek and contemporary. If you’re in the market for a 1911 that can take on any role than put the new Range Officer Champion on your wishlist.
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