Anyone else here think a bone-stock Colt is the king of 1911s?

[HankB]

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.

I've seen 'way too much variability in Colt's pistols to proclaim them King of anything.

*Gold Cups with gritty, creepy triggers that break at 8 or 10 pounds.

*Government model Jammamatics that won't feed hardball.

*Commanders with cracked frames.

All backed by the company's factory NON service to NOT fix defects.

I'll concede you may get a good Colt . . . I've heard too many rumors of them to simply deny their existence . . . but I do believe you have better odds of getting a good .45 by buying something else.

 

[Trigger]

Yeeooweeee......

I think you just pee'd in my cornflakes!

Get ready for the fire....

Don't be blaspheming my 1911's....


(I'm kidding of course....)

OK, if you don't like Colt then Springfield will have to share the throne then.

 

[Sean Smith]

HankB, how long ago was your last Colt made?

 

[1911Tuner]

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
--------------------------------


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

 

[HankB]

HankB, how long ago was your last Colt made?

My last - and I DO mean last - was a Mk IV Series 70 Jammamatic that, oh, must've been made in the mid to late 70's. More than the pistol itself, it was Colt's inability or unwillingness to honor that worthless piece of paper they called a "warranty" which soured me on them forever.

HOWEVER, I'm not basing my opinion solely on my experiences of a quarter century ago. I've seen, handled, and shot much more recent examples of Colt 1911's (including the Gold Cup with the 8-10 pound trigger) and haven't been impressed.

Some I've looked at actually looked decent . . . but too many were not.

 

[Dr.Rob]

My Government model was made in 1919.

Still pretty slick.

 

[Dobe]

Colt is possibly responsible for the phrase "reliability package" and the cottage industry that first spoke that term in relation to 1911's. Kimber made the words "Series II" equate to poor quality, and Springfield has generated its own host of bad press.

Perhaps there is no king of the hill, at least no permenant king. Companies go up and down in quality control depending upon the current CEO of a company and economy. "Cheaper is better" seems to be the battle cry of the corporate commando.

Harley Davidson is enjoying a hay-day now. The quality is up, as well as the Harley mystique. Does anyone remember when Harley was owned by AMF? I believe the adage was buy two, one to ride and one for parts.

I would own a Kimber, Colt, or Springfield. All three are quality made firearms. To me what comes with that 1911 for the price has determined which of those brands I have purchased.

Dobe

 

[Sean Smith]

My last - and I DO mean last - was a Mk IV Series 70 Jammamatic that, oh, must've been made in the mid to late 70's.

Well, in that case you are certainly an expert on what they are selling in 2004.

 

[Greg Bell]

Sean Smith,

 

[HankB]

Well, in that case you are certainly an expert on what they are selling in 2004

Gee, I thought I wrote that I've seen, handled, and shot more recent examples . . . checking back . . . yep, I DID write that.

When I observe recently manufactured and still troublesome Colts in other shooters' hands, when I actually try them and experience 8-10 lb gritty trigger in Colt's top target guns, well, I'm not going to buy one of these myself.

 

[Sean Smith]

recently manufactured

That's pretty vague, especially since you think a gun made in the 1970s is a representative sample to use to bash on Colt. Are we talking about guns made in the last decade?

 

[HankB]

. . . you think a gun made in the 1970s is a representative sample to use to bash on Colt.

Oh, for crying out loud - reread my post - or are you just trying to jerk my chain?

I explicitly said I was NOT basing my opinion solely on my experiences of a quarter century ago, but more recent examples, as well . . . jeez.

If I have to spell it out, yeah, that means the last decade . . . including some 21st Century Colts. (21st Century - that's just since 01/01/01. Recent enough?)

If you want serial numbers and exact dates of manufacture -

 

[Sean Smith]

Oh, for crying out loud - reread my post - or are you just trying to jerk my chain?

Mostly the latter.

Recent enough?

Actually, not necessarily. Colt didn't even introduce their major improvements to the 01991 line (the "New Roll Mark" or NRM guns) until the end of 2001, and they weren't widely available until into 2002.

Comparing them side-by-side, I saw:

Tasteful markings on slide instead of huge "COLT M1991A1TM" stamping
Nice polish blue job on NRM vs. coarse sandblasting all over
Aluminum trigger in place of plastic trigger, pull about 2 lbs lighter in NRM gun
Rosewood grips in place of ugly rubber ones
Slide to frame fit smoother in NRM gun
Better barrel-slide-bushing fit on NRM gun

 

[Dobe]

Actually, not necessarily. Colt didn't even introduce their major improvements to the 01991 line (the "New Roll Mark" or NRM guns) until the end of 2001, and they weren't widely available until into 2002.

This is my point on brand name buying. What is quality this year wasn't last year, and may not be next year. Kimber, Colt, Springfield all make, have made, and probably will manufacture again quality 1911's.

 

[ajacobs]

Pigpen:

Colt MK-4 series 70.

You might already know but the IV is not roman numerals they are letters in a tribute to a colt employee whos last name was Ivy, first name Mark I believe.

 

[9x19]

If that's true, Colt should feel doubly shamed for some of the stuff they sent out so marked!

 

[tex_n_cal]

I just bought Series 80 Colt #6 this past Saturday, and expect to buy more.

I enjoy tuning mine, but the 1991A1's really don't need much to make them first class defensive weapons. I just bought a Bomar sighted top end, which I will fit to the newest one, and swap out when I feel like shooting paper.

 

[BluesBear]

You might already know but the IV is not roman numerals they are letters in a tribute to a colt employee whos last name was Ivy, first name Mark I believe.

ROFLMAO

So what are the last names of Mark III and Mark V?




You weren't actually trying to be serious with the Mark Ivy fairy tale were you?

 

[ajacobs]

You weren't actually trying to be serious with the Mark Ivy fairy tale were you?

I was waiting for someone to catch that. It is a long running rumor, And is even posted on m.1911.org as being the case but I don't think there is any proof that it is true, I like you doubt it becuase the trooper revolver series having mK2 and MK3. What colt model is a MK5?

 

[NewShooter78]

When mine was still stock, the trigger pull was fine, it went bang every time I pulled the trigger, and it was pretty darn accurate. I didn't have problems with ball or hollow points. The only thing that got me was the hammer bite on my beefy hands.

Here's the first 3 mags downrange when my Series-80 was just out of the box.

 

[silent one]

I heard that guys name was poison IVY, and it got so bad that Colt had to let him go. Last I heard, he was in China working for Norinco.

Sorry. I couldn't help myself.

Good luck, and be safe.


SILENT ONE