Regular 1911s in 9mm differ from .45 auto models in the extractor, thickness of the firing pin (though some .45s use the 9mm variety), thickness/position/length of the ejector, the barrel has a different hood width, that the slide has to fit to, the slide's breechface is different, obviously the magazines... and I'm sure I'm forgetting something.
The EMP also has a frame and slide that have been shortened length-wise, something that affects the size of a lot of other parts: firing pin, extractor, ejector, trigger, magazine, and others. This makes the gun a bit smaller, which helps in a small gun, and, theoretically, a better fit to the shorter 9mm round... though Springfield doesn't seem to think this is a good enough reason for it to be worth modifying its 5" barrelled 1911s in 9mm.
Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.
M. Setter
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