No COLT hate here . . .

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My Colt series 70 model "O" i bought 6 years ago brand new is absolutely awesome. Perfect fit and finish, beautiful Royal Blue finish. Accurate as any stock 1911 ive ever fired. I also own a Springfield, and its just fine. My Colt is better IMO.
Colt did pump out millions of 1911s in probably hundreds of different flavors from 2000s on, and im sure there are some I possibly wouldnt like.
 
Meh, have had a bunch of Colt 1911s, and still have some in all three sizes. Come trade-in time, a Colt is always Colt, and thus a better deal.
Two went back for issues, and they came back promptly, and fixed.
Had a GI Springer a couple years ago; put real GI grips on it, and it looked and ran fine. Traded it when I had to have a G43.
If you really need a basic 1911, the recently imported Turk ones are really great; nice fit and parked finish, clean trigger.
Moon
 
I have a bunch of 1911's, from an Auto Ordinance 1911 to a Colt National Match to a Springfield 1911 to a couple SIG 1911's. Cartridges range from 9x19 and 38/45 Clerke to 40 S&W to 45 ACP. I've assembled three 1911 frames to complete pistols.

While not good good customer service from the manufacturer, I've been able to make all of my purchase guns reliable with a little bit of TLC. My Auto Ordinance 45 ACP 1911 is one of the most reliable 45 ACP 1911's that I have. My home built 1911's are next but other purchased 1911's are not far behind.

I shoot mostly 230 RN bullets in my 45 ACP guns and stay away from designer 45 caliber HP bullets. I figure, if the bullet starts out at .45"diameter, why worry about expansion any larger.

It might take a little effort to make a 1911 reliable. If that is not what you want to do get a a plastic Glock or S&W M&P and be happy..
 
cfullgraf said:
I shoot mostly 230 RN bullets in my 45 ACP guns and stay away from designer 45 caliber HP bullets. I figure, if the bullet starts out at .45"diameter, why worry about expansion any larger.
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Agreed, but my issues with Colts have been shooting RN.

It might take a little effort to make a 1911 reliable. If that is not what you want to do get a a plastic Glock or S&W M&P and be happy..
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I don't think it is as simple as that. My Taurus, DW, and Les Baer 1911s, have been great, Colt and RIA have not. I had a Colt Mustang .380 that ran perfect and my Glock .380 is picky about how you grip it. I saw a kid at the range last week having regular Glock jams, maybe because of his grip.
 
Colt 1911s are just like Harley Davidsons. They built good ones and they built some really terrible ones. You have to know what you're looking at when you buy. Having worked on both Colt and Springfield 1911s about ten years I would take a Springfield over a Colt any day. The older Springfields built by IMBEL in Brasil were very very consistent and in spec. IMBEL builds some pretty complex military small arms. I haven't worked on many current production guns and I don't know who is forging their frames and slides anymore (and they won't say). I have seen a number of Colt frames where the sear and hammer pin holes were mislocated and not parallel to each other. To do a trigger job you had to find a long sear and stone the sear nose at an angle to make it mate to the hammer. That's not acceptable to me. I never saw a Springfield like that.
 
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Drail said:
Colt 1911s are just like Harley Davidsons. They built good ones and they built some really terrible ones. You have to know what you're looking at when you buy.
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Unfortunately with the shortage it is next to impossible to see a gun in person before you buy.

Having worked on both Colt and Springfield 1911s about ten years I would take a Springfield over a Colt any day. The older Springfields built by IMBEL in Brasil were very very consistent and in spec. IMBEL builds some pretty complex military small arms. I haven't worked on many current production guns and I don't know who is forging their frames and slides anymore (and they won't say). I have seen a number of Colt frames where the sear and hammer pin holes were mislocated and not parallel to each other. To do a trigger job you had to find a long sear and stone the sear nose at an angle to make it mate to the hammer. That's not acceptable to me. I never saw a Springfield like that.
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So the newer Springfields aren't as good?
 
Back in the day, a 1911 often needed some fine tuning & machining to make it work the way it should be or the way you want it to be. Custom work costs $, how much do you want to spend?

The Colt Series 80 Bullseye gun that EGW built years ago back when they still built guns, was an OEM slide & frame, and then everything else was perfectly fitted custom parts. Still the best shooting pistol I can remember shooting.
 
The last colt I bought was a Aluminum Frame Pony from back in the late 90's. One of three I had at one time. All were flawless with regards for functioning with any decent ammo. All shot to point of aim as far back as 15 or so yards. More comfortable than any of the smaller plastic .380's which anyone with large hands has a problem with.

Also smaller and lighter than my old stand by a Walther PPK/s in .380
 
I've been thru a bunch of 1911s over the years and have only had a couple problem children.
I think Colts, Springers and Rugers are the best under 1K 1911s.
Only one I steer friends away from are Kimbers
 
Old Dog said:
Was waiting for this. And I've never had one that didn't work. I believe I've owned at least sixteen (probably a couple/three more I've forgotten about).
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I've never understood responses like this to problem guns. It's like a guy saying he has prostate cancer, and another guy says he doesn't have prostate cancer.
 
Paul7 said:
I've never understood responses like this to problem guns. It's like a guy saying he has prostate cancer, and another guy says he doesn't have prostate cancer.
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Hardly an apt comparison.

But, if that's how you choose to view my response, have at it.

Is this not a discussion forum?
 
Go pick up one of their new pythons and tell me Colt doesn’t know how to make guns anymore.

They are better made than the originals. Their 1911s have never been better in terms of fit and function go. They are constantly changing finishing techniques to keep up with market trends.

And I’m sorry but if it doesn’t have the Rampant Colt on the slide then it isn’t a Colt and it’s just a copy.
 
JCooperfan1911 said:
Go pick up one of their new pythons and tell me Colt doesn’t know how to make guns anymore.

They are better made than the originals.
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Really, the bluing and cratered lettering of today's 1911s are better than the originals? I'll keep my original Python.

Their 1911s have never been better in terms of fit and function go. They are constantly changing finishing techniques to keep up with market trends.
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Sorry, that has not been my experience. The most recent one still doesn't function right, even after four months at Colt, and the FO front sight fell off when I shot it after getting it back to see if it worked. Terrible customer service, have been trying since Monday to get someone to answer their phone with no luck, and no response to an email either. What do I do next, file a complaint with the BBB? Their service has really gone downhill since they got rid of Brent there.
 
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Old Dog said:
Hardly an apt comparison.

But, if that's how you choose to view my response, have at it.

Is this not a discussion forum?
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Yes, not sure why you object to my part in the discussion. It is a very apt comparison, when someone has problems in a recent Colt sample of two, it is irrelevant what someone else's experience has been. I am not a Colt hater, I have about a dozen Colt revolvers including a SAA (their recent SAAs have been very good) and a few of the great pre-war examples, but from my experience their recent 1911s have been problematic (see the OP) and their customer service is garbage. It seems to be hit or miss whether you get a good one or not.
 
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Paul7 said:
I've never understood responses like this to problem guns. It's like a guy saying he has prostate cancer, and another guy says he doesn't have prostate cancer.
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I'm sure that's true sometimes but a lot of times it seems more like the fat guy that wonders why he doesn't lose weight cause he drinks diet coke with his double 1/4 pounder and extra large fries.
The I had "the guy" do a fluff n buff or my fave "the reliability package" on my brand new 1911 and still have problems.
 
mavracer said:
I'm sure that's true sometimes but a lot of times it seems more like the fat guy that wonders why he doesn't lose weight cause he drinks diet coke with his double 1/4 pounder and extra large fries.
The I had "the guy" do a fluff n buff or my fave "the reliability package" on my brand new 1911 and still have problems.
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That's my problem with these comments, they insinuate the problem gun isn't really a problem, the owner is, kind of like blaming the victim. I've been shooting guns 50 years and currently own about 25, last time I counted. Put the Colt kool-aid down, people. I appreciate their history as much as anyone, but Colt's 1911s today are simply OK mid-level choices. You want to argue they were worse in the '80s, I'll agree.
 
I have had good luck with Colt 1911's. I have also had good luck with Kimber and Wilson. But that is an exceedingly small sample size compared to all guns sold.
 
Paul7 said:
Yes, not sure why you object to my part in the discussion.
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Just countering your experience with mine, in the interest of fairness and objectivity. I don't object to anyone's "part in the discussion" but it's so common that someone states in any thread about one brand that their only experience, usually with a small sample size, is extremely negative. I simply noted that I have not had this issue with this particular maker, and (having completed a recent inventory and gone over my purchase/sales/trades records) I've actually owned 18 Colt 1911s (currently have only four, tried to get out of 1911s a few years back, unsuccessfully) since the latter part of the 1970s. But then, I've also owned six Springfield Armory 1911s, five Kimbers, one Baer, one Wilson, one Ed Brown and two Dan Wessons over the years (one could reasonably conclude I like 1911s)

Paul7 said:
when someone has problems in a recent Colt sample of two, it is irrelevant what someone else's experience has been.
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Irrelevant? Seriously? It's irrelevant when many other people note that they have experience with significantly larger sample sizes, over a period of years, and mention their experience?

For anyone with no experience with Colt, or someone sitting on the fence, you're saying that bringing up positive experiences is irrelevant? Why do we even bother "discussing" any products, then?

No Kool-Aide here, just because my experience doesn't match yours. And no one insinuated your problems were operator-induced.

But seriously, contracting a (possibly terminal) illness or disease is not an appropriate comparison to willfully choosing to purchase a consumer product that proves to be defective.

You may want to seek another analogy.
 
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No Colt hate, and my 2¢ worth. My last Springfield, a new Loaded Target, had issues. My last two Colts, a new Gold Cup Trophy and SCG, both went back to Colt for warranty work.

I like Colts, trained with, and carried one every working day for years, was an O-Frame armorer, etc. Some report they only buy Colts because anything else is just a copy, implying anything else is inferior. Yea, sure. FWIW, I've owned probably more than my share of new Cots since about '70. But I realize that just because Colts bear that revered name, doesn't mean they are automatically superior guns, or even good guns. While some of mine have been very good guns, I've had problems with too many Colts over the past 50 years to take for granted a new Colt will be either reliable or accurate/precise.

All that being said, If there was a particular new Colt that appealed to me, I'd likely still take a chance, fingers crossed, and buy;)
 
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