Welcome everyone to the 145th edition of ‘Hot Gat or Fudd Crap?’, one of our many series here on TFB. If you’re new to the series, this is where we look at the most obscure firearms that are actually for sale and ask the question – is this Gat a sweet deal or only has a Fudd appeal?  Each week the TFB staff weighs in with their thoughts, but readers get the final say in the poll at the bottom of each article.

In our last edition, our poll showed that you, the readers, decided the converted recoilless rifle was fudd crap. 

HGFC – Shameless or Self Destructive? — Poll Results

At this time the original auction has ended without the .50 BMG recoilless selling.  Luckily, the item has been relisted for those in need of a converted 57mm recoilless rifle.  We hope this item finds its way to a new home in the near future. 

In this week’s edition of HGFC, we look at a Springfield 1911-A2 S.A.S.S. chambered in .308 Win. As is tradition, this rifle chambered gat is currently up for sale on GunBroker with a Starting Bid of $600 and No Reserve. 

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP?

1911 Earth Quaker or Wrist Breaker?

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? 1911 Earth Quaker or Wrist Breaker?

Let’s see what the Staff had to say about this week’s offering:

“What kind of deep fat Kentucky Fried F&#k is this?” – Luke C.

“I’d shoot it.” – Nick C.

“Shattered wrists and tinnitus, my favorite combination” – Ben F.

“Springfield will personally pay you $500 never to mention this firearm again” – Rusty S.

“Two World Wa… umm, hmm… Seriously though. I’m going with warm gat!” – Doug E

“The Springfield product manager who decided to merge the 1911 and M1A product lines was never seen again” – Daniel Y

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? 1911 Earth Quaker or Wrist Breaker?

Selling this extra-long gat is GunBroker seller LangaraArms, located in Franklin PA.  Let’s see what they had to say about this strange break-action 1911.  

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? 1911 Earth Quaker or Wrist Breaker?

Penny Auction No Reserve 0.01 Start! Springfield Armory Model 1911-A2 single shot pistol in .308 WIN. It was developed in the 1990s for hunting purposes. This sits on what looks to be and Argentine Sistema Colt frame. It is serialized on the inside of the barrel channel. 15″ barrel with ramped blade front sight and adjustable u-notch rear. Barrel assembly has its original parkerized finish. Frame has a blued finish. Checkered plastic grips. CONDITION: Frame has a gray patina, with some spotting of cleaned surface rust. Slide assembly is very good with light wear. Grips have a few handling marks. Bore is shiny with crisp rifling. A very interesting gun for the range or your collection. 

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? 1911 Earth Quaker or Wrist Breaker?

The Springfield Armory Single Shot (S.A.S.S.) was produced from 1990 to 1992.  Designed around the 1911 frame, this was designed to be a swappable slide that would allow the shooter to swap to larger calibers and then swap the pistol back to its original configuration.  It appears these were sold as both kits and complete pistols.

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? 1911 Earth Quaker or Wrist Breaker?

The peculiar-looking tab sticking out from the bottom of the mag well is used to break the gun open.  You’d pull back on the finger groove to open the break-action mechanism and load a fresh round.  It certainly would not be the fastest gun to reload, but hey, if it works.

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? 1911 Earth Quaker or Wrist Breaker?

It is a simple idea that seemingly went nowhere.  Familiar controls seem appealing at first, until you consider that this is where the luxury ends. These were aimed at hunters but came in a wide variety of chambering ranging from .22LR all the way up to .358 Win.  I have never felt enough grip on 1911 that made me think “Yeah, I’d like to try this, but shooting a centerfire rifle cartridge”.  Needless to say, this experiment seemingly went nowhere as these were only produced for two years.  Still, it remains an interesting idea.  Seemingly reborn in recent years with the advent of some new revolutionary AR-15 cartridge being launched almost quarterly.

The 1911-A2 S.A.S.S. is an interesting piece of history that may have been ahead of its time.  While this particular pistol seems to be in rough shape, it has attracted the attention of bidders already.  Does this mean this 1911-A2 worth it for historical value or maybe even hunting potential?  Or are we bearing witness to a piece of history that is just better off forgotten?  As always, I leave it up to you, the readers, to decide.

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? 1911 Earth Quaker or Wrist Breaker?

What do you think?  Is this Springfield 1911-A2 S.A.S.S. a Hot Gat or an early 90’s example of premium Fudd Crap?  Be sure to let us know in the comments below, and cast your vote to let us know if this Springfield Armory Model 1911-A2 SASS .308 Win is a Hot Gat or Fudd Crap: