Series 70 Colt Competition Pistol

[Robinson]

It's hard to believe that CNC checkering would add a lot to the cost if the machining cell and routine is well designed.

Let's say it adds $100 to the cost of the gun (getting it done as a custom job will cost significantly more than that). That would be enough for some folks to choose another maker's pistol such as the Range Officer over the CCP. I'm just saying that Colt's choice of features on the CCP were made with the goal of hitting a specific price point.

[Robinson]

The only thing with this is that unless you want the giant M45 railed frame, one has to pay $1800 to get a factory checkered Series 80 Colt (SCG).

Honestly, the new Gold Cup Trophy looks to be exactly the sort of 1911 that Colt should be offering in the 21st century and, as it's a Gold Cup, it makes perfect sense it's a Series 70 offering. That said, if they could just offer something with the same checkering and magwell, but in Series 80 for those of us heretics who actually like a FPB, that would be fantastic. The likelihood of that happening is pretty slim though.

Yes at this point the only choice for a S80 gun with front strap checkering and a magwell is the SCG. What you're looking for pretty much describes my S80 CCP with a Fusion Firearms magwell installed. You can't have it.

[StraitR]

Can anyone reference the last time a S70 1911 discharged from being negligently or accidentally dropped? I'm curious why the best 1911 manufacturers and custom shops still produce S70 guns if they're as dangerous as the internet would lead you to believe. In my world, "a good trigger" does not supplant safety, so I'm trying to figure out if this is a legit issue or one of those unfounded subjects the internet likes to talk about. Drop safe is a thing, I get it, but has it, and does it, continue to happen with S70 1911's, that is the question.

There are pages and pages of Google results filled with forum discussions, blog posts, articles, and testing the drop safety of S70 1911's, yet I've not found an actual instance of it happening unintentionally. Frankly, just the difficulty I've had finding a documented instance tells me something, if not everything, but maybe someone here has had better luck searching or has been privy to it happening.

This is not a "see, you're all ninnies for wanting a S80 gun" setup. As most know, I carry a S70, so I'm genuinely interested. I'm just perplexed by the amount of internet discussion this topic gets vs my inability to find legit examples.

[Robinson]

Many manufacturers have gone to using titanium firing pins in their 1911s. I think Colt started shipping their Series 70 guns with titanium pins back in 2004 or so. This should mitigate much of the risk associated with guns not equipped with a firing pin block firing when dropped on the muzzle.

About the only other benefit to the S80 system is that it could in some narrow circumstances prevent the gun from firing in the case of a parts failure in the fire control system. Maybe.

[Matt O]

Can anyone reference the last time a S70 1911 discharged from being negligently or accidentally dropped? I'm curious why the best 1911 manufacturers and custom shops still produce S70 guns if they're as dangerous as the internet would lead you to believe. In my world, "a good trigger" does not supplant safety, so I'm trying to figure out if this is a legit issue or one of those unfounded subjects the internet likes to talk about. Drop safe is a thing, I get it, but has it, and does it, continue to happen with S70 1911's, that is the question.

There are pages and pages of Google results filled with forum discussions, blog posts, articles, and testing the drop safety of S70 1911's, yet I've not found an actual instance of it happening unintentionally. Frankly, just the difficulty I've had finding a documented instance tells me something, if not everything, but maybe someone here has had better luck searching or has been privy to it happening.

This is not a "see, you're all ninnies for wanting a S80 gun" setup. As most know, I carry a S70, so I'm genuinely interested. I'm just perplexed by the amount of internet discussion this topic gets vs my inability to find legit examples.

It's a good and valid question. I could be wrong, but my guess would be that people just aren't dropping their 1911's that much.

That said, as far as I can tell it has been proven in controlled experiments that drop safe for a S70 (in its various firing pin permutations) only means drop safe in certain situations.

[That Guy]

Can anyone reference the last time a S70 1911 discharged from being negligently or accidentally dropped?

From what I recall reading, on the Internet, where all information is 100% correct, the demand for a firing pin safety came from U.S. DoD after some pistols had discharged during helicopter crashes. So the incidents which resulted in the invention of Series 80 guns were a bit more... dynamic... than simply dropping the gun.

Not too many folks are likely to end up in a helicopter crash. But then, going 140km/h on a highway and rolling your car might shake the people and their guns inside that vehicle somewhat, too.

I am no expert, but I imagine if I were setting up a carry 1911 I would prefer it to have a firing pin safety of some kind. But then I tend to be a bit more cautious bloke than most, it seems.

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[JAD]

Same, I think the merits of the FPB outweigh any (perceived?) impact it has on the trigger pull. More importantly, however, I just wish Colt would stop offering pistols with un-checkered front straps.

Not everyone prefers checkering.

[Matt O]

Not everyone prefers checkering.

[JTQ]

... the demand for a firing pin safety came from U.S. DoD after some pistols had discharged during helicopter crashes. So the incidents which resulted in the invention of Series 80 guns were a bit more... dynamic... than simply dropping the gun.

Note, the Swartz firing pin safety was developed in the late 1930's, before helicopters. It may have been dynamic drops that caused the development, but the problem was identified long before lawyers became the driving force in firearm design or helicopters.

[JHC]

Can anyone reference the last time a S70 1911 discharged from being negligently or accidentally dropped? I'm curious why the best 1911 manufacturers and custom shops still produce S70 guns if they're as dangerous as the internet would lead you to believe. In my world, "a good trigger" does not supplant safety, so I'm trying to figure out if this is a legit issue or one of those unfounded subjects the internet likes to talk about. Drop safe is a thing, I get it, but has it, and does it, continue to happen with S70 1911's, that is the question.

There are pages and pages of Google results filled with forum discussions, blog posts, articles, and testing the drop safety of S70 1911's, yet I've not found an actual instance of it happening unintentionally. Frankly, just the difficulty I've had finding a documented instance tells me something, if not everything, but maybe someone here has had better luck searching or has been privy to it happening.

This is not a "see, you're all ninnies for wanting a S80 gun" setup. As most know, I carry a S70, so I'm genuinely interested. I'm just perplexed by the amount of internet discussion this topic gets vs my inability to find legit examples.

Way back years ago when the S80 vs not issue was more fresh a 1911 aficionado and LEO on one of the forums said while sprinting to some LE situation his rapidly reholstered on safe 1911 didn't get secured fully and flew out, landed on a hard tile or cement floor and fired. This is FAR from a vetted and documented example. I get that. But to your question, this was the only case of I can recall being personally attested to over the years. FWIW. Prolly not that much.