MarineTech
Member
Finally had the chance last week to get my new Series 70 to the range. In short, it's a runner. 100 rounds of S&B 230gr. FMJ and 100 rounds of Win White Box 230gr. FMJ have put it on its way to being broken in.
Here's a few things that I noted in the session.
- The 7 round Colt mags that came with the gun were more reliable that the Wilson 8 rounders that I had. The Colts ran without a single bobble. The Wilsons developed a few feed problems along the way. In one case, I had the last round in the magazine somehow eject itself completely out of the gun without being chambered. Also, the 1 stovepipe I had was also with a Wilson magazine. Looks like I'll be picking up some Wilson 7 rounders to replace the 8 rounders that I have. 1 extra round is not worth malfunctions.
- Accuracy was much better than expected. The gun is fitted well and is tight. The sights work well and are easily discernable and easy to focus on. Best group overall was with the S&B and can be seen in the attached picture. That was at 25 yards offhand. I'll have to take it back out with some better ammo and bench rest it to see how it'll perform.
- Ejection pattern has me a bit worried. Most casings were ejected up and back at an angle about 7 inches to the right of my right shoulder. However, I caught about 15 - 20 casings on my baseball cap and safety glasses. Also, the ejection port is beating the living heck out of my brass. Both of these issues are negligable though as I've intended from the get-go to send the pistol off to have the ejection port lowered and flared and to have the ejector and extractor replaced with Wilson or Brown versions. I'm also probably going to get the gun refinished. Colt did an excellent job on the deep blue job. It's absolutely beautiful. The problem is I find that I'm babying it. I find that I'm meticulously wiping fingerprints and smudges off the gun. Not most desirable situation for a workhorse gun. I'll probably look at getting a Black T finish put on or possibly even have it parkerized.
Overall, I'm very satisfied. It was rather more expensive than I had hoped for, but it's a quality gun. Having grown up shooting my grandfather's military 1911A1 has left me with "all the right moves" for this series 70. I actually prefer the normal grip safety, short trigger, and spur hammer. I may have the thumb safety and slide lock replaced with slightly larger models, but both are perfectly functional as is.
I think I've got myself a winner.
Here's a few things that I noted in the session.
- The 7 round Colt mags that came with the gun were more reliable that the Wilson 8 rounders that I had. The Colts ran without a single bobble. The Wilsons developed a few feed problems along the way. In one case, I had the last round in the magazine somehow eject itself completely out of the gun without being chambered. Also, the 1 stovepipe I had was also with a Wilson magazine. Looks like I'll be picking up some Wilson 7 rounders to replace the 8 rounders that I have. 1 extra round is not worth malfunctions.
- Accuracy was much better than expected. The gun is fitted well and is tight. The sights work well and are easily discernable and easy to focus on. Best group overall was with the S&B and can be seen in the attached picture. That was at 25 yards offhand. I'll have to take it back out with some better ammo and bench rest it to see how it'll perform.
- Ejection pattern has me a bit worried. Most casings were ejected up and back at an angle about 7 inches to the right of my right shoulder. However, I caught about 15 - 20 casings on my baseball cap and safety glasses. Also, the ejection port is beating the living heck out of my brass. Both of these issues are negligable though as I've intended from the get-go to send the pistol off to have the ejection port lowered and flared and to have the ejector and extractor replaced with Wilson or Brown versions. I'm also probably going to get the gun refinished. Colt did an excellent job on the deep blue job. It's absolutely beautiful. The problem is I find that I'm babying it. I find that I'm meticulously wiping fingerprints and smudges off the gun. Not most desirable situation for a workhorse gun. I'll probably look at getting a Black T finish put on or possibly even have it parkerized.
Overall, I'm very satisfied. It was rather more expensive than I had hoped for, but it's a quality gun. Having grown up shooting my grandfather's military 1911A1 has left me with "all the right moves" for this series 70. I actually prefer the normal grip safety, short trigger, and spur hammer. I may have the thumb safety and slide lock replaced with slightly larger models, but both are perfectly functional as is.
I think I've got myself a winner.
