EMP Comments anyone?

[graycrait]

Can someone who has shoot many 100's of rounds, better would be several 1000's of rounds through an EMP 9mm, tell me about the pistol?

Having shot many types of 9mms and owning 5 right now, I can't figure out why I would need an EMP. But a federal pistolero friend of mine thinks I should check them out. I've had two 9mm full-size 1911s before and none now. But I am sort of intrigued by the EMP.

Craig in Clarksville

[RWF]

we have 2, buy it, the best shooting little we have owned. we have about 1K rounds the guns. and shoot them in IDPA from time to stay in practice with our carry gun

[PackinMama]

I only have about 500-600 rounds through mine, and it took 200 or so to break it in and get it running smooth......but the last 300-400 rds. have been flawless. However, that is only with FMJ's. When I tried HP's, they would hang up on the feed ramp and jam. It will shoot FMJ's all day long and do it amazingly accurately for a 3" barrel.....but the problem is with shooting HP's.

I am not alone with this problem either. I've talked to several people on here that are experiencing the same thing. My plan is to eventually call Springfield and have them take the gun back and polish the feed ramp. Hopefully that will fix the problem. I realise that if I try several types of HP's that I might be able to find one that it likes.....but after spending over a grand on a pistol, I do not feel that I should be limited in my choice of HP's.

That being said, I LOVE my EMP. It shoots so smooth and it's incredibly accurate. It's a pleasure to carry too.....very lightweight and no sharp edges to hang on anything, and the Trijicon sights are excellent. If you get one, just know that you WILL need to shoot a good 200 rds. through it before it will be broken in. During that initail 200 rds. you will experience multiple problems.....jams, slide not locking back on last round, casings hitting you in the head......but don't give up!!! Somewhere around that 200 rd. mark, the gun will almost magically start running perfectly for you....at least with FMJ's anyway.

I have complete faith in Springfield that they will fix the HP problem for me. I've just been so busy that I haven't even called them about it yet. I plan to very soon though.

[Guest That Guy]

Honestly, I don't much care for them. However, I have heard very good things about the accuracy and longevity of them. One day, one may find its way in to my vault.

[Guest BEARMAN]

I only have about 500-600 rounds through mine, and it took 200 or so to break it in and get it running smooth......but the last 300-400 rds. have been flawless. However, that is only with FMJ's. When I tried HP's, they would hang up on the feed ramp and jam. It will shoot FMJ's all day long and do it amazingly accurately for a 3" barrel.....but the problem is with shooting HP's.

I have complete faith in Springfield that they will fix the HP problem for me. I've just been so busy that I haven't even called them about it yet. I plan to very soon though.

PackinMama, have you fed it Hornady Critical Defense ammo yet?

Had the very same problem with my Kimber Ultra CDP 3" .45 acp, and it feeds the Hornady CD ammo flawlessly.

Just wondering, and it might save you the hassel of sending it back to SA.

Bearman

[PackinMama]

PackinMama, have you fed it Hornady Critical Defense ammo yet?

Had the very same problem with my Kimber Ultra CDP 3" .45 acp, and it feeds the Hornady CD ammo flawlessly.

Just wondering, and it might save you the hassel of sending it back to SA.

Bearman

No, I haven't. It might feed those....and I'd guess that it would probably feed Corbon Powerballs really well because of their design. My thing is that I don't want to (or feel that I should) be limited to one or two types of self defense ammo in my EMP. My $500 Glocks will shoot anything I put in them without fail.....why shouldn't my $1000+ EMP be able to do the same thing? If this is the case, Springfield should be required to place a warning on all EMP's stating that it will only feed certain types/brands of ammo.

I don't really carry it much anyway, and hardly ever in the summer. I think I'd rather just go ahead and send it back to Springfield and have them go over it for me. I think a really good polishing of the feed ramp would do wonders. I'd try it myself, but I really don't know what I'm doing and I don't want to screw anything up.....or void my lifetime warranty.

[towerclimber37]

Mine ate anything I fed it! Crappy ammo, ball, hollow point, it didn't seem to matter what I gave it, it when pow every time I pulled the trigger.

Once you break it in, it's an incredibly accurate and reliable pistol.

it DOES take a break in period though. It has fairly tight tolerances when it comes out of the factory.

I traded mine, with another pistol for a rifle that I've wanted for a long time though.

I will definitely get another. they're very compact and darned good shooters!

[deerslayer]

I'm probably one of the others PackinMama mentioned. After running about 600 flawless rounds of FMJ through mine, I decided it was time to try some HPs. Mine does the same thing that hers does--HPs plug against the feed ramp. I initially tried Remington Golden Sabers and Federal 9BP. The gun now has ~900 rounds through it. Springfield sent me a label and it's on the way back.

Otherwise, I love the gun. I really want to eventually make this my main carry gun. I'm being patient with it--I knew that a 3" 1911 could be a drama queen. I was actually surprised that it fed the first 600 with no problems.

[Guest BEARMAN]

When you get it back, deerslayer, also lube the feed ramp with some Militec 1 lubricant. Heat it into the metal with a blow drier on hot for a few minuets. Do this after each range shoot, and eventually it will bond into the feed ramp, and make it a "dry" lubricant.

This is the same lubricant the military in the middle east use on their weapons, for the most part.

It sure made a difference on my Kimber Ultra CDP, 3"

[PackinMama]

When you get it back, deerslayer, also lube the feed ramp with some Militec 1 lubricant. Heat it into the metal with a blow drier on hot for a few minuets. Do this after each range shoot, and eventually it will bond into the feed ramp, and make it a "dry" lubricant.

This is the same lubricant the military in the middle east use on their weapons, for the most part.

It sure made a difference on my Kimber Ultra CDP, 3"

That's some good advice Bearman! I've heard great things about that Milspec 1. Would you happen to have a good link for purchasing some?

[Guest BEARMAN]

That's some good advice Bearman! I've heard great things about that Milspec 1. Would you happen to have a good link for purchasing some?

Try this, PackinMama...MILITEC-1 - The ONLY all-purpose synthetic metal conditioner and gun oil

I think that is where I purchased mine.

[deerslayer]

Thanks for the tip Bear, I'll have to pick up some.

[Guest friesepferd]

I have a Kimber Ultra Aegis II. Its pretty much the exact same thing as the EMP, just made by kimber first

There are a few slight changes (ambi safety vs not, diff mags). Both these guns are highly reliable. Unlike most other 9mm 1911s, these guns were completely designed to shoot the 9mm. They are very accurate for a 3" and fun to shoot. The thin 1911 profile was very important for me for a carry gun and this one has been just perfect.

I dont even know how many rounds I have down range with mine... Id say thousands though. I have never had any problems with the gun at all.

My only failures was with a bad batch of ammo that I made up. It was most certainly the ammo, and not the gun.

[GKar]

I have the EMP in the .40 cal flavor. Had a short break-in period, with the only major problem being one mag that would not lock slide back when enpty. Called SA, they sent me 2 more with no questions. Never had any problem with JHP rounds - but the majority of those have been Win Ranger SXTs, which I've never had hang in either gun I've tried them in (.45 in a Micro-Compact, and the .40s in this one). Otherwise, very reliable (up over 1000 rounds thru each), and quite accurate.

[deerslayer]

Got my EMP back from Springfield this week. The invoice says they recut the barrel ramp, polished the ramp, and polished the throat. Haven't shot it yet. I'm kicking myself for forgetting to take pics of it before I shipped it. Here are a few pics of what I got back:

Edited July 17, 2010 by deerslayer

[Mad_Squirrell]

Heck that seems like half the problem right there just looking at that steep angle on the feed ramp makes me wonder how it feeds anything but ball ammo .It would have to be a mighty slick surface for stuff with a flat nose to feed .Not knocking the gun I've been drooling over the emp's for quite a while.

My point is see the taper of the bullet on the 1st and 3rd rounds? I bet those two would have more trouble feeding than the 2nd and 4th . With that steep of a ramp. The angle of the bullet entering the breech would have the flat edge of the bullet meeting the barrel's breech sharp edge. if you see what I mean.

BTW round # 1 is remington .#2 is corbon,#3 speer gold dot ,#4 Hornady critical defense.(I know that the rounds are .38spl but the point is the bullet shape )

Edited July 17, 2010 by Mad_Squirrell

[deerslayer]

Well, almost everyone else raves about how their EMP feeds anything. I'll know more tomorrow morning. I'm loving my new lack of case support. A few Austrian guns I have don't have mountains of case support, and they all run like small-block Chevys.

Oddly enough, before I sent it back, it ran better with Remington 124 Golden Saber than with anything else (excluding FMJ). The GS is similar to #3 in your lineup. Go figure.

Edited July 17, 2010 by deerslayer

[Mad_Squirrell]

It wouldn't need any case support if the rounds angle coming out of the magazine is at a perfect alignment with the barrel. It's all about angles .with the short action of the gun the angles are crucial .With these precision tools a couple of thousandths can make all the difference.

BTW I have a Croatian variety that runs in much the same way.

[deerslayer]

I don't think I've ever seen a semi-auto handgun that lined up the bullet perfectly with the barrel. How is the action any shorter than any other 9mm? Not picking at you or anything, but the EMP was designed for 9mm/.40 OAL. FWIW, the feed ramp angle does look awfully steep to me too, but I've seen feed ramps on other makes that look crazy but work well.

The Croatian versions do seem to run well, from what I've seen.

[Mad_Squirrell]

Oh yeah Im not trying to be pissy either. I'm merely stating that some JHP rounds are almost completely flat with no cone shape. with the feed ramp at that sharp of an angle I can see why some ammo would have a difficulty feeding ......

See the cone shape in the bullet of the federal hydra-shock Vs the corbon

do you see the difference the hydra shock is more flat nosed and shorter while the corbon is more tapered .Less of a flat surface on the nose to "catch".

And i'll take my beer in Corona or Heineken.

[PackinMama]

Deerslayer, Springfield sure got that gun back to you fast! That's good news. I need to send my EMP back to them, but things have just been really crazy around here with my son out of school. Please let me know how it runs for you when you get a chance to put some HP's through it. You can get a good idea of how it will feed by just loading up the mag and cycling through it yourself. Mine hangs up on almost every round of Federal HP's when I do that.

When you sent yours in I figured they would just polish the feed ramp and then send it back. They must have done some measuring and found that it was off a little or something. It'll be interesting to see how the new cut works! I'll get some pics of mine before I send it to them to compare the difference.

[deerslayer]

Took about 4 weeks. They sent me a FedEx label, and shipped it back FedEx, all on their dime.

This morning, I ran 100 Hornady Critical Defense 115 and 100 Federal 9BP 115 HP and it ran flawlessly. I also chronographed everything. The CDs averaged about 1040-1050 and the 9BPs about 1100. Out of my 5" Trojan, the CDs averaged 1140 or so and the 9BPs about 1200. I was surprised that the CDs were that mild. I was also surprised that 2" less barrel meant a 100fps loss. Also, the EMP is noticably louder than the Trojan with the same ammo.

I don't think the feedramp was off, I think it's just too steep. Other folks send theirs back and Springfield does the same thing. Makes me wonder why they don't add a couple steps to their barrel-building process. As you can see in the pics, I lost some case support, which is fine with me. Less case support = more reliability. I've always thought the Glocks-don't-have-enough-case-support-and-you-will-die-as-a-result argument is hogwash.

With ~1100 rounds through the gun, accuracy seems to be tightening up.

Now I need to get rid of that pesky rear sight. The gap is too narrow and I hate dots on the rear. I'm also in the market for an IWB holster. Thanks to Springfield, however, the gun is ready to carry.

[PackinMama]

Well I finally got my EMP shipped back to Springfield. In the note I enclosed with the gun, along with the hp feeding problem, I also complained about the amount of pre-travel that the trigger has. When cocked, it moves about 2mm before I feel any resistance. We'll see if they do anything about that for me......I'm hoping for a nice complimentary trigger job.

I'll let you know what happens. I took some "before" pics of the barrel and I'll post them along with some "after" pics when I get it back.

[PackinMama]

I got my EMP back from Springfield a few days ago. They didn't do exactly what they did to DeerSlayer's EMP. On mine, the invoice says that they "reamed the chamber and polished the feed ramp." I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, but I did load some mags with some Hydra Shoks (same stuff that jammed on me last time) and hand fed three mags full through the gun. The rounds seemed to slide right up the feed ramp nice and smooth and ejected without a problem. When I tried this before, they'd jam every single time.

I am curious as to why they did two different things with DeerSlayer's and my EMP. Any thoughts about this? Also, they told me that "the pre-travel was normal for a 1911." They said they could do a trigger job for $100 plus $30 shipping (which is irritating because they were already shipping it back to me at no cost!) but that it "wouldn't help with pre-travel at all." They said it would help it to have a crisper and cleaner break, but the amount of pre-travel would be the same. I told them to forget it, I can live with the trigger as is. I think it breaks just fine.....I just don't like all the pre-travel. Is there no way to take up the pre-travel??

I'll post some before and after pics this weekend when I have more time. I'm hoping to shoot it sometime in the next day or two as well......we'll see what happens.