Indeed!
Hank said:
The question is about a BONE-STOCK Colt being King . . . and yet some of those who seem to agree say "Except I'd swap this part out" or "Need to polish that" . . . BONE-STOCK indeed
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I think the man's implication was directed more toward stock configuration...without bells and whistles. Ducktail grip safeties...
Full-length guide rods...Special sights...3-pound (and under) triggers,
and other fanciful stuff that we all agree can be very nice...but not
really necessary. Drjones, correct me if I'm wrong.
An upgrade to a better extractor or slidestop...maybe a little attention to
detail that mass-production doesn't allow for...Small things that make the
pistol more reliable, like polishing tool marks and puttin' a little magic
on an extractor...a bit of the ol' spit and polish on the barrel throat, et al,
aren't really considered to be modifications, but rather a thinking man's
practice of seeing to the things that might possibly save him from a trip
down the Highway of no Return some cold, dark night.
I've got Wilson Bulletproof extractors in all my pistols that I didn't have
enough GI extractors for...with my own brand of tweak applied...I've
also retro-fitted steel sears in place of any MIM units that I've run across.
A few little tricks of the trade applied to the feeding cycle, and some
Wolff 11-pound magazine springs top off the package provides me with
reliability that is actually boring. Do I consider my pistols to be
"Bone Stock"? Yep..Sure do. No difference in upgrading a part than in
replacing a worn or broken part. The gun is still stock. If the camshaft in
your car's engine wears out, and you replace it with an aftermarket
camshaft that has the same lift, duration, overlap and lobe centers as
the OEM camshaft...the only difference being that it is made of more durable stuff... is your engine stock? Yep. Buy a set of Z-rated tires
to replace the V-rated tires, and the car is still stock. It's just safer at
highway speeds than it was. More reliable.
Liken it, if you will, to having your car gone over before takin' a coast-to-coast road trip instead of just takin' off with blind faith as your co-pilot.
As for Colt's warranty department, I've never had a problem with having
a defective part replaced...ever. Most of the time, I get an apology for the
inconvenience, and my part delivered Overnight or Priority Mail. It might
have somethin' to do with me sayin' Good morning folks! How ya'll doin'
this fine day? Grandma used to tell me somethin' about catchin' more flies
with honey than with vinegar. I think the old gal mighta been onto somethin'.
Ya'll take care now...Y'hear?
Tuner