The EMP® line captured audiences with ideal concealed carry proportions in a slim single-stack design, silky-smooth short action, and enhanced ergonomic features. This series is set apart from the competition by the reduced dimensions of the grip frame. Due to it being designed originally around the 9mm cartridge, Springfield’s engineers were able to reduce the diameter and front-to-rear dimensions of the grip frame by 0.26 and 0.14 inches, respectively. This is immediately evident when you pick up an EMP®, especially when you factor in the extra-thin G-10 grip panels. Compressing the traditional 1911 .45ACP grip to fit the 9mm and .40 caliber cartridges takes more than you might think. In fact, nine different components were redesigned to produce the EMP®, including the frame, slide, extractor, trigger bow, trigger mechanism, firing pin, firing pin spring, plunger tube and spring.
What makes this particular version of the EMP popular is its concealed carry contour design. The heel and mainspring housing of this EMP’s grip frame have been rounded off, making the pistol more concealable because it removes the part of the grip that tends to print through clothing. A contoured grip is typically a custom feature and adding this to an existing pistol can cost as much as $225. However, Springfield offers a production contour for half the price.
In addition to the concealed carry contour, this pistol has all of the same premium features and enhancements you’ve come to love from the EMP product line. The satin finish 416 stainless steel slide has rear cocking serrations and a 3-dot sight system which employs a red fiber optic in front and a low profile white dot sight in back. The 4? stainless steel, match-grade bushing-less bull barrel incorporates a fully supported ramp.
Unlike the 9mm version’s aluminum alloy frame, the .40 S&W sports a carbon steel frame finished in Black-T® – the same treatment specified on the Springfield Armory 1911s built for the FBI’s SWAT and Hostage Rescue Teams. The frame’s frontstraps and main spring housing are both treated with an aggressive Posi-Lock™ golf ball dimple texturing. Coupled with thin-line G10 panels featuring the same texture provides a grip designed to provide maximum comfort and control. An ambidextrous thumb safety makes it southpaw friendly too.
Specifications:
Caliber
.40Sw
Recoil System
Flat Wire w/ Full Length Guide Rod
Sights
Fiber Optic Front & Low Profile Combat Rear
Weight (With Empty Magazine)
37 oz
Height
5.5"
Slide
Forged Stainless Steel, Satin Finish
Barrel
4" Stainless Steel Match Grade, Full Supported Ramp, Bull; 1:16 LH; 6-Groove
Length
7.5"
Grip Type
G-10
Frame
Forged Carbon Steel w/ Concealed Carry Contour, Black-T® Finish
Magazines
3 - 8 Round, Blued
Js120717
The information below comes from our Gun Caliber Dictionary and is for
general reference only. It does not describe the specifications of this
particular item.
Designed by Winchester and introduced by Winchester and Smith & Wesson in 1990, the 40 S&W was designed as a "compromise" semiautomatic pistol cartridge that would offer more performance than the 9mm Luger (9x19)…but would produce less recoil and allow higher magazine capacity than the 45 ACP. Few compromises in the firearms world have ever worked as well. From a manufacturing standpoint many pistols designed for the 9mm could be re-engineered to handle the larger cartridge; in a short time it has become a standard issue in the law enforcement community. Using a .400-inch bullet of from 135 to 180 grains from a .850-inch cae, the .40 S&W produces up to 1205 fps, and although recoil is greater than the 9mm, it is easier to shoot than the 45 ACP, and its greater velocity and smaller bullet diameter aid penetration.
—
Craig Boddington
