Colt series 70 Firing System

[vintage68]

As a newbie to Colts, can someone explain the Colt Series 70 Firing System to me? Where does the term come from, how is it different, is it better or worse than earlier or later systems, etc.

Thanks

 

[Walkalong]

Series 70 "system" is no system at all. It is stock GI without the dreaded fireing pin block later built into the Series 80 guns.

Most would consider it better. I know I do.

 

[Jim Watson]

To amplify a bit, Series 70 refers only to the "Accurizor" collet type barrel bushing that Colt adopted in 1970 and carried through into the 1980s.

As Walkalong says, the Series 70 "firing system" is no different from what the gun came out with in 1911. Internet Usage has mutated the language so that the Colt trademark for the bushing has been taken to mean anything that looks like a 1911 without a firing pin block.

I prefer the standard system, fewer bits to install and risk getting out of order. You are no doubt somewhat safer from inadvertent discharges with the Series 80 firing pin obstruction.

 

[vintage68]

I used the term "system" because that's what is used in the current Colt catalog and on their website:

http://www.coltsmfg.com/cmci/1911WWI.asp

 

[The Bushmaster]

I like my Series 80...To what does the firing pin block deter from the weapon over the series 70?

My Colt Series 80 .45 ACP ( bought new in 1990) has been somewhat customized and has a trigger that nets me compliment after compliment. And never fails to send them down range...

 

[Phil DeGraves]

I like my Series 80...To what does the firing pin block deter from the weapon over the series 70?

As it was explained to me a long time ago, the Series 70 could be discharged if there was a round in the chamber and the gun was dropped on its muzzle from about 30 feet. The Series 80 system prevented it. Apparently, there were some military parachutists that had AD's when they hit the ground with a round in the chamber of their 70 Series pistols. Both work fine. The purists always said the 80 system was junk, but, although slightly more complex, manufacturing wise, they work just fine. I have both.

 

[alistaire]

When the Series 70 came out, there was a special bushing to make the pistol slightly more accurate; otherwise the firing system was the same as in WW1 and WWII. Today Series 70 means the WW1 and WWII system without the firing pin block added in the Series 80 AND without the special bushing (which tended to break). It is somewhat easier to strip the slide of a Series 70 because it does not have the 2 parts that make up the block (in the slide).

 

[BlindJustice]

TO answer the question,

Let's see,

ELements of the firing system
Given you have something to shoot, right?
Cartrdige chambered
THUMB Safety OFF,
\ GRIP Safety properly depressed/gripped.
This, simply put, connects the trigger
with the releawse of the hammer strut
that gets everything going...
Hammer has to be cocked - it's a single action

Trigger - twin arms go back around the magazine
and they are connected witht he drawbar or rear of the
trigger.

Mainspring Housing - duh, houses a coil spring 'Main"
spring in a vertical space - the MS Cup is atop the Main
Spring and connects to the hammer strut,
Trigger relase and hammer strut acts upon the sear
Hammer released and strikes the exposed rear of the
firing pin, the firing pin is hurled forward, hits the primer
and the firing pin spring returns the firing pin into position
for the next shot.

Oh, and there's a leaf spring that acts as the trigger return
to firing position as well.

Anything I get wrong guys, correct me...

Now then the link refers to the -re*intro of the
WWI 1911, which is in addition to the
WWII 1911A! & 70 Series 1911s.

From outward appearances Colt has done well in
creating models that resembe past models however
I read that in order to simplify production and
replacement parts, Colt makes all current slides
innards the same, they just don't put in the parts
of the 80 series firing 'shwartz" safety system.

Note: for the O.P. the 80 Series with it's firing
pin block - the block is removed via an action with the
trigger and the block being lowerd and disengaging
by clearing a notch in the firing pin.

Randall

 

[1911Tuner]

To what does the firing pin block deter from the weapon over the series 70?

When the Series 80 system is right, it works very well, and you don't even know it's there...at least not until you detail strip it.

The problem is that sometimes it doesn't work so well, and when it doesn't...the gun doesn't go bang.

Some few others work very well for a long time...and then one day, the gun doesn't go bang.

The quick'ndirty way to keep a check on it is to strip the slide every so often and inspect the plunger. It has an hourglass shape, and when all is well...it's smooth and clean. If there's a problem with the timing of the system...a technical way of saying that the plunger lever isn't providing enough lift to completely get the plunger out of the firing pin's path...you'll notice a roughness that appears to be splines on the plunger's circumference. Don't ignore it.

Colt makes all current slides
innards the same, they just don't put in the parts
of the 80 series firing 'shwartz" safety system.

The Colt Series 80 system is very different from the Swartz system which was tried and abandoned in the 30s. Overall, the Series 80 system is more reliable...though not without its own set of occasional glitches.

For my money...for a carry gun...I opt for the original design. The Series 80 system only makes the gun more drop-safe, and adds nothing of any real practical advantage to safe carry in Condition One over the original design. As long as you swap out the firing pin spring say...oh...every 10,000 rounds or so...you can drop it to your heart's content without a problem.

I like things simple. More simple means fewer things to go haywire at the worst possible time.

Or, another way...

The more gadgets it's got, the more Murphy it gets.

And, yes. I carry all my non-Series 80 pistols in Condition One 99.9% of the time, and have done so for years. Still got all my toes, and both legs work fine.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Whew 1911tuner. I sure have been lucky then. I bought this Colt .45 ACP in 1989. It's been modified except the extractor, firing pin and firing pin block. According to my reloading log it has sent over 10,000 rounds down range without a hic-up. But thanks for the information on the wear point to check on the plunger. I'll do that the next time I do a complete disassembly...

 

[1911Tuner]

I sure have been lucky then. I bought this Colt .45 ACP in 1989

Most of the earlier ones were like that. I bought two of the first 1991A1s that saw 75,000 rounds each without a hitch...with the Series 80 parts intact and functional.
I removed'em when I rebuilt and refitted the gun.

A third one was sold to a friend who shot the gun long and hard with zero problems. He died and left the pistol to his son who is carrying on the tradition.

A NRM 0991A1 built in 2001 started giving problems within 2,000 rounds. Since it was to be a range beater like the older ones...I removed the parts in it as well.

 

[BlindJustice]

1911Tuner, thanks for the clarification.

Question: How, if any, is the S&W 1911 Firing
Pin Block different than the Colt 80 Series?

Randall

 

[Jim Watson]

The SW1911 firing pin obstruction works off the grip safety instead of the trigger as in the Colt.

So does the Kimber's but the linkages are not the same.

 

[Walkalong]

Usage has mutated the language so that the Colt trademark for the bushing has been taken to mean anything that looks like a 1911 without a firing pin block

Yes it has, as I just learned. I did not realize it referred to the bushing.

I too have a Series 80 Colt that I love, but it has the block removed and is a range only gun.

 

[1911Tuner]

The SW1911 firing pin obstruction works off the grip safety instead of the trigger as in the Colt.

So does the Kimber's but the linkages are not the same.

Correct. They're both variations of the original Swartz system. Oddly, Canada's 1911 clone offering utilizes a variant of the Series 80 system, as does the Sig. Not having seen one yet, and not being familiar with the Kahr Auto Ordnance reissue...but I believe that one also houses a Series 80-type system.