I finally purchased my first 1911

[Quarterbore]

I have been looking at 1911s for a few months and I have spent a lot of time on the forums here trying to figure out what I really needed or wanted. Well, this week I was out and about and I stopped by one of my favorite stops and they had this little gem.













Well, as luck had it there were no 1911 experts in the shop and when I asked what they could tell me about it I got the "Well, it was made by Colt in CT and it is a model 1911 designed by..." So, I cut that conversation off and asked if there was a real 1911 expert in the shop as I need much more detailed help...

When the person informed me they knew as much as anybody I called a buddy and he talked me through what to look for...

This gun is TIGHT there is very little wear on the barrel and no real marks on the gun. It looks like some monkey replaced the rear sight at some point and they didn't have the proper punches but the marks are not all that bad. It has the scratch were the pin is removed but otherwise this is a very nice looking Colt.

The trigger is raw perfection... mind you I am a Glock guy and I have five Glocks to my name so in that context anything is an improvement but this trigger is really crisp and lite.

Oh yea, I forgot to give the price. When I first saw it the price tag was upside down and I really expected to see an $800 price or more but they flipped over the tag and it was $595! Well, I own my first 1911. The gun was purchased new back in June 1989 for $649.95 and I am the second owner.

I think I did OK but like I said I am new to 1911s. Following are two pics of the only marks on the gun:





I am a 1911 newbe so I welcome any advide about what may have been changed or doesn't look right. Just the same, I am dying to get to shoot her a bit (this afternoon I hope) and as long as she runs that is all that really matters...

[prebancolt]

Congratulations on a good deal!!! It looks very nice. I own 4 1911s, 1 Colt Commander in 9mm, 2 loaded Springfields, and a Kimber Custom Compact. The Kimber has the smoothest slide/frame fit and trigger pull. That being said, I have short fingers and I really like the extended safety and slide release that I have on my Springfields. They all are great guns.

I've owned 3 Glocks and I just can't get used to the grip angle. After shooting the 1911s a lot, I kept pointing the Glocks at the sky. They're all gone now. Unless YOU feel the need for the bobbed hammer, longer beavertail grip safety, extended safety and slide releases, or the humped mainspring housing, I would keep everything as it is.

You'll be happy with that purchase!

I'm guessing a 1911 newbie owned that gun. After putting slide release scratches like that on my first one, I found a better way of just jamming the slide release in and forcing it past the detent.

J

[Quarterbore]

Yea, this has not been shot much...

I managed to take her to the range and I put about 200-rds through her. I managed to get chewed on with that rat tail safety (I think that is the proper name for the stadard grip safety) and it chewed up my hand pretty good. I also kept getting popped in the face with the brass

I understand that the Gold Cup National Match came with a lighter recoil spring and that I should replace it with a 20-pound spring and that might help the brass issue some.

I am also considering sending this to Wilson and have them install the beavertail and comander trigger as this really did bite by the time I was done shooting.

As for the Glock vs 1911, at this point I still do prefer shooting the Glock but the trigger in this 1911 is darned near as nice as what I have in my bolt guns which is really saying something. I would never want my Glocks this lite and crisp but man is it a new experience for a Glock guy to shoot something like this.

[prebancolt]

The Wolf springs are pretty good. Find a load that you will be shooting most of the time, and then order a spring to fit that load. I shoot (or used to) a lot of light loads, so I didn't have problems with the brass in my face.

As far as the beavertail safety, you won't regret that mod. I have small hands, so I don't have that many problems with the slide "biting" me......'course both the Springfields came with the beavertail.

[tp555]

A colt made 45 is always nice.The only thing with the gold cup is the trigger
cut in the frame is bigger then stock. I am working from memory so I'm not 100% sure about this.The 80 series has the extra lawyer parts that I don't care for.What can you do? Here's some ideas. Longer trigger and wide grip safety.You make a recoil spring guide.Machine the sides of the trigger to reduce weight and reduce hammer hang time.If you want to go combat, get a combat commander slide. Then stock bbls can be threaded for a comp on the end.The commander has a faster cycle. Useful if your doing bowling pin matches or timed
events. Extended ejector gets brass out of your face.You can get hard core and make your own recoil springs using piano wire. Basically you can go target or combat route. What you have is tweaked for target. I'd get another slide to go combat route. Have fun. regards.

[Greywuuf]

you can always cut down some 45 win mag or neck ream some .308 brass and stoke the load up and do like I do ... it just flings the brass over your head out into the parking lot behind you!

and just FYI I "think" the "standard" spring rate on a gvmt model is 18 lbs, unless it is broke in real good I doubt it would even cycle reliable with a 20 lb spring... wolf makes em about any way you could want them, I have a 28lb spring on hand just in case I wanna get froggy with some very interesting handloads ( don't try this at home it can be very painful and expensive... it was a little research project I was running)

seriously ...shoot it some and settle on a type/brand of ammo you like match the spring to that and just enjoy it. a 1911 is a grand old sidearm and quite the fun way to spend an afternoon.