Springfield Armory Ronin AOS
First Impressions
No surprise to anyone who knows me, I’m awfully fond of the 1911 design and the 45 ACP cartridge. Today I took possession of a brand new Springfield Armory Ronin in 45 ACP, it’s also AOS… More on that in a bit…
Retail price was just under $900 - and it’s a lot of 1911 at that price point. Mine is a full size 5” all-steel 1911, built in the USA. The frame and slide are both forged, the barrel is hammer forged, this gun is built tough. The grip safety has a “memory bump” which is welcome and familiar to me. The sights are big and bold. The rear sight is contoured to assist with racking the rear slide and is high enough to be useful with many red-dot optics as well. The front sight features a bold fiber optic insert which gathers light to provide a better aimpoint.
The colors elicit memories of many custom 1911’s, but this is a production model. The stainless frame contrasts nicely with the blued slide and everything is set off by the wooden grips which are half-checkered and feature the Springfield Armory crossed cannon logo. The front strap is smooth, but not slick. The backstrap is checkered. Serrations adorn the front and rear portions of the blued slide. Hammer is skeletonized and the thumb safety is oversize. This is a good looking 1911 meant for hard use.
Minutes after taking possession of it at Big Boys Gun Shop and Range in Mustang Oklahoma I took it to their excellent 25 yard indoor range for a 50 round introductory shooting session. CCI 230 grain Blazer Brass was today’s ammo choice. After taking up the slack, the trigger had a crisp release. The thumb safety snicked off with a firm click, but activating the safety was a bit softer. All of today’s shooting was done at 7 yards with a two-handed grip from the modern isosceles position.
Thirty of the first 50 rounds are in this group. The pistol is capable of better, my old eyes are having a tough time focusing on the sights. I had only one fail to feed, when I nursed the slide home instead of letting it just slam home. My fault, not a fault of the Ronin.
Onto the AOS feature. That’s short for Agency Optics System. The Ronin’s slide is cut for a red-dot optic! Plates can be purchased from Springfield to accommodate all the popular red-dot (or green dot if you prefer) sights. Simply replace the standard sight with the optics plate of your choice and add the optic.
Yes, the addition of a dot optic disturbs the classic aesthetics of this handsome 1911. However the stats are profound… I’ve seen statistics that reveal most officers with iron sighted pistols have about a 30% hit rate in actual gunfights vs 90% hit rates when using dot optics on their duty sidearms. That makes the use of optics an obvious choice. I know that my old eyes very much appreciate dot-type optics on handguns and that I was faster and more accurate when I first tried handgun dot-optics roughly twenty years ago.
I’ve used and owned many 1911’s over the decades. This one is likely the best production 1911 I’ve ever used. It’s a keeper and there will be more stories featuring it.
I’m a Marine Corps veteran and a retired law enforcement SWAT officer and firearms instructor. This year I’m celebrating 45 years with the 45 1911. Follow my videos on Ultimate Reloader and here for handloading and shooting tips. Shoot well.
Guy