Need advice on potential trade

[wford]

Hi, I was just offered a trade and want to get some input from the community here on whether or not it's good. I put up a tikka t3 lite stainless .300 winmag with a redfield revolution 4-12 on it with dnz mount and a limbsaver. The guy offered me in trade a stainless gold cup i think he said 1987, and he claims it's in good condition but hard to break down for some reason. He also claims the barrel is titanium and made by les baer. I looked at trading for one of these before but I couldn't get the guy to bite. He just said it's a gold cup, but I dont know how to tell if it's a national match or a trophy. Assuming everything is in good condition, would this be a good trade? Anything I should watch out for? I'm not too well versed in 1911's, I had a para hi cap but sold it rather quickly.

 

[primalmu]

Honestly, he's already admitted it has a problem, so I'd steer well clear of it.

 

[rcmodel]

No such thing as a titanium barrel.

Might have a titanium firing pin though.

It's probably hard to break down because it has a full-length guide-rod in it, and he don't know how to take it down.

rc

 

[Reloadron]

The best start is the serial number on the receiver. 1987 makes it a Series 80 gun. Get familiar with images of the slide markings for the Gold Cup, a Google will bring up plenty of examples.
Before I consider any Colt MKIV pistol I take it down to parade rest before the deal and if the gun is hard to take down I want to know why. People love to tinker with these things and in some cases that is fine but all too often Bubba tried to improve a fine pistol and botched it up. Get a handle on what good clean Series 80 specimens are selling for and decide the worth of your rifle. A Les Baer barrel be it titanium (never heard of) or whatever alloy is of little or no added value if the barrel was incorrectly fitted. The same is true for all possibly added parts. Again, a NM slide will be marked National Match, just make sure the serial number on the receiver is correct.

Personally I lean towards the Series 70 guns but the Series 80 guns shoot fine as long as Bubba hasn't done any modifications incorrectly.

Just My Take
Ron

 

[jmorris]

I bought one back then, they were $536 new. I see them selling for over $1000 used these days, not sure why.

 

[Reloadron]

I bought one back then, they were $536 new. I see them selling for over $1000 used these days, not sure why.

Absolutely! During the early and mid 90s I was buying Colt Government Mk. IV Series 80 Gold Cup guns for around $600 in stainless and selling them new for around $700. Today I see the same series 80 Gold Cup gun selling for around $1,200. A blued Series 70 gun runs around $1,200 with the Series 70 Gold Cup guns running over $1,500 for a minty one.

A new Colt O1970A1CS Series 70 7+1 45ACP 5, the new version of the old series 70 guns in blue runs about $950 to a grand so go figure.

Then too, look at the prices on many of the older S&W and Colt revolvers.

Ron

 

[jmorris]

Then too, look at the prices on many of the older S&W and Colt revolvers.

Absolutely, my Python has gained a lot more value than the GC has.

 

[Sunray]

Absolutely no Les Baer Ti barrels.
Wouldn't put any money on it, but I doubt there was such a thing as a SS Gold Cup made in 1987 either. No Trophy's until 1997 at all.
A Para hi cap isn't a Gold Cup or a Colt. Ain't the same thing.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

The fact that he's saying that the gun has things that don't even exist, I'd steer clear of trading anything with him.

If you want a 1911, sell the gun and go buy one.

 

[bannockburn]

I wouldn't make the trade mainly because there seems to be a lot of confusion coming from the other party as to just what kind of Gold Cup he actually has. Pass on this one.

 

[wford]

he said it's a gold cup national match and the barrel is a les baer something or another. The gun looks really nice but the pics were shaky.

 

[mtlucas0311]

The only real value any Gold Cup has is to collectors. They happen to be a fickle bunch and want things in pristine condition with the box etc. So if he's already told you it has a different barrel, collectors won't be interested, they just aren't that rare. You really don't see any on the line in the hands of somebody who's actually competitive unless its been significantly modified, which washes away any collector value. It's pry a $600-$700 pistol, assuming the person who fitted the barrel did a quality job. I agree with the gentleman who said to simply sell your rifle and buy what you want. Just be sure you know what you want, something collectable or an accurate match grade gun, because they're not usually the same pistol.

Regards,
Mike

 

[Reloadron]

he said it's a gold cup national match and the barrel is a les baer something or another. The gun looks really nice but the pics were shaky.

I have to agree with the others in that if you want a good and sweet 1911 type gun sell your rifle and shop wisely. Before getting a used and modified Colt Gold Cup or any similar gun for that matter do some due diligence homework and understand what you want and if any gun you consider has been modified and how. It's good that you came here asking questions as to the trade. The gun being offered may in fact be a good deal but short of seeing the gun and handling the gun I doubt anyone here will tell you make the trade. You could end up with a pig in a poke which is why I wouldn't say make the deal.

For what it's worth the Series 80 Gold Cup National Match was made in a stainless version 1986 through 1996. From 1997 forward the naming was Gold Cup Trophy. So what he told you as to year could well be correct. Without seeing the gun and taking the gun down I just can't suggest you make the trade. If you know someone familiar with these guns I would have them go over the gun. That's the best I can tell you.

Ron