- 1911s, still popular, in fact Rob I think they're,
more popular than they've ever been.
- More popular than ever.
- It's crazy, I mean, you probably don't even have an idea
how many 1911s Springfield Armory makes.
- No idea.
Over the years I can't even guess,
it has to be hundreds of thousands.
- Okay, and you don't even know
how many models you have right now.
- Nobody does, nobody even in the marketing department
knows for certain how many different sorts there are.
- Well we have two here.
- Uh-hm, these are cool too, cause these are all Operators.
- [Tom] Operators, okay, mine's black, yours is green.
What's the difference?
- [Rob] Well, subtleties.
This is the MC Operator and it has a different set of grips
than the LBO does.
And the LBO, the Loaded Black Operator, gets a Magwell,
whereas this does not have one.
- [Tom] Okay.
- [Rob] On top of that, other than the finish colors,
we get the Octogrip.
Whereas this is smooth on the front, so yes it's
a smooth operator (laughs) I had to throw that in,
thank you very much.
The front of the MC Operator has the Octogrip,
which is basically, it's a compromise grip.
If you put sharp checkering on there Tom,
a lot of people don't like it.
- Right.
- They don't like how it tears up their clothing
when they carry the gun, they don't like the way
it tears up their hands. - [Tom] Right.
- But a smooth gun, a lot of people don't like the smooth,
they want a little, some texturing on it.
So we've come up with a grip that is
kind of a compromise in-between.
It'll keep it from movin' around in recoil,
but doesn't hurt your hands.
- Okay, full size gun?
- Yes, they are both five inch guns, they both have
bushings in it, serrations on the front.
They're both loaded package.
- [Tom] Okay.
[Rob] - Loaded package gets you the high,
sorry the low profile night-sights. - [Tom] Right.
- So they're tritium night-sights.
It has an ambidextrous safety to take care of you lefties
when you want to shoot a pistol lefty,
even though you don't most of the time.
And a rail?
- Uh-huh, it has an accessory rail
which is the Operator part.
So you can put lights, and lasers,
or whatever you want to put on there.
- Okay, so the Operator, we've got plain front?
- Uh-hmm.
- And the serrated Octo--
- Octogrip.
- Octogrip, eight rounds in this one, seven in that one?
- Uh-hm.
Now you can switch the magazines but we have to use
a longer magazine out of the box because of the Magwell.
Cause the standard flush fitting magazine
wouldn't stick out.
- [Tom] There you go.
- [Rob] That's the only differences.
- More great 1911s from Springfield.
- So Rob either way these are both really tricked out 1911s.
- They really are, fundamentally the difference between
the two is that the MC Operator
has the Octogrip on the front.
The LB Operator has a smooth front strap
and has a Magwell attached to it.
- And that's really just a preference thing.
- Yeah, it's which one you like and we can't make
everybody happy so we offer different variants
with all the options.
But what really makes an Operator an Operator
is the light rail.
- That's right.
- And not just from the fact that you can
put a laser or some sort of accessory on it,
- [Ryan] There's actually some shooting advantages.
- It adds a bit of weight to the frame.
It actually adds a little fore-weight bias,
it makes the gun kick a little bit less.
And I think that weigh-forward in the gun
really helps with point-ability
when you're shootin' quickly.
- And you know it's funny cause most will people think,
"A rail I get to put a light on it."
But it actually makes you a better shooter.
- I shoot, I actually shoot light-rail frames on my guns
in competition, even though I'm not
putting accessories on them.
- Really.
- [Rob] Uh hm, just for the weight.
- Alright, well let's shoot 'em.
- Let's see how it works.
- Alright you wanna go first?
- Yeah, we've got some targets set up there.
Let's see if I can hit any of 'em.
(gunshots)
- I think you hit all of 'em.
- I got 'em all, your turn.
- Alright.
(gunshots)
Yeah, nice.
- You know what?
All full sized 1911s are awesome.
When you add that Octogrip that's on that gun,
it doesn't slip in your hand.
I actually really notice it.
People that don't like the serrations,
that's cool for them, but I like it.
- I prefer the stippling, let's me hold onto the gun.
- Right, get a little bit better grip,
cause I'm about the performance.
- There you go, Operators from Springfield Armory.