Are Colt's Dark Days Over?

[SpaceCowboy]

Yeah, we all know the 1911 was adopted in 1911. Hence the name, model of 1911.

As far as crafting goes, very few firearms are "crafted" today and colt is not among them. As far as manufacturing technology goes, the issue seems to be machined by hand or machined by computer. The computer seems to make less mistakes in the manufacturing process. And I don't think colts are all that hands on anymore are they? Handmade? Like a Korth or C. Sharps? Colt's are better than most, but not as good as some. There are better 1911's out there than Colt. As for there "dark days" being over. Don't count on it.

 

[HankB]

Or is it the fact that Colts are being made the 'way they used to make em" by hand....

It wasn't so very long ago that the running joke was that guns like the Python had to be entirely handfitted . . . Colt's antiquated, worn-out tooling was such that interchangeable parts were little more than a memory.

Hopefully, they've taken some of the money from their military contracts and invested in some modern machine tools.

 

[countertop]

Do they make the BEST 1911 these days, I would bet the farm that they do not. Are they nice? Yes. But they are not the best today. The older ones are some of the finest I have seen. But their new 1911's have failed to impress me.

What would you consider older? Anything pre 1983? Pre series 70?