I love Colt. However these days there are more negative reports on the forums than positive. And my sample size of 3 Colts that MSRP >$1300 is disheartening to say the least. I hope they can get these out the door with good QC. It seems they are trying to make new models which is nice, however i'm still slightly leery.Originally Posted by Robinson
An old gunsmith, very close to the early years (late 60's) of modern gunsmithing, said that Colt used to give the NM moniker to barrels that were cut with fresh tooling. When new cutters were installed, the first batch of barrels were deemed NM, and the later barrels were "standard", and the chambers and rifling were cut with "worn" tooling. The company he worked for were OEM suppliers for Colt and other early custom 1911 brands
Guess Colt didn't waste time ensuring a traditional two-tone was still available...
Colt Competition 70 Series Pistol O1070CCS-TT, 45 Automatic Colt Pistol ACP, 5", Gray G10 Grips, Two-Tone Finish, 8 Rd
Last edited by JSGlock34; 05-17-2018 at 06:00 PM.
"When the phone rang, Parker was in the garage, killing a man."
My example of one .38 super Colt bought late 2012 has been great. Working on it's 3rd 2000 round challenge right now. Honestly, after the 2k challenge I kept doing them because I could just shoot it and put it away, call me lazy I've treated it like a Glock/lawnmower since. It has modest modifications: light polish of the breach face and feed ramp, FO front sight/10-8 NM rear, Wilson flatwire recoil spring, Harrison thumb safety and Cerocote finish. All the internals are stock Colt.
I really like the these new offerings and I am very interested in the Commander 9mm.
Is .38 super more reliable than 9mm in a 1911?
.38 Super can be more reliable in a 1911-pattern pistol compared to 9x19 due to the longer OAL of the former. There is a bit of a feeding issue with the semi-rimmed case of the .38 Super. That is why there are rimless variants of the .38 Super. I find the 9x23 to be the most reliable 9mm round in the 1911-pattern pistol.
I bought my first two Colt 1911’s last year, and they’re top notch! I have pistol OCD, and any little thing out of place bothers me, and these have been 100% flawless, and dead accurate at 25 yards. One’s a Lightweight Commander, and the other a Wiley Clapp Lightweight Commander, bothin .45 acp. I sold my Springfields, and a Ruger SR1911 full size, but have a Ruger Lightweight CMD in both .45 and 9mm. Last month I bought a SS S&W E Series in .45, and it’s been flawless for over 500 rounds. The Rugers are easily the tightest fitting of the bunch, followed by the S&W, and the Colts are decently fitted. The S&W has an extremely crisp trigger, while the Colts don’t have a distinct break. They break well, and at 4lbs. The Rugers are somewhere in between.
I have too many pistols...lol https://youtu.be/0UtcMUISWJ4 https://youtu.be/lobEHb6BOdI There have been more additions since those videos, and I don’t even know what I have now.
It is my understanding that it is but I don't have a 9mm version for comparison. As already stated it has an OAL better suited to the 1911 action but the 9mm versions have been making big advances in reliability. I have experienced no malfunctions I can attribute to the semi-rim of the .38SA cartridge, but as always use quality magazines. Mine doesn't like one particular brand whose name escapes me now. I use MecGar for training and Wilson, Tripp 10 rounders for match or occasional carry. After much experimentation with ammo [I reload] I have found that my example runs well, dirty or clean and shoots accurately out to 50m using a good medium speed powder and a 124gr. FMJ bullet loaded to a velocity between 1100 and 1200fps. I use a combination of Enos slide glide grease and oil and I run it wet.
I agree about big advances in 9MM reliability. I've had three Kimbers, two Dan Wessons and an STI chambered in 9MM. They were all reliable with any factory or reloaded ammo I used. My current 38 Super Kimber, with an extra barrel in 9MM, has been just as boringly reliable as the other 1911 9MMs I've mentioned. At this point, I have to believe that manufacturers of 1911 type 9MM pistols, and manufacturers of magazines for those pistols, have figured out 9MM reliability in the 1911. From reports I've read, even the 9MM Colts, with their unramped barrels, are reliable when chambered in 9MM. That was unfortunately not the case with 9MM Colts I had years ago
Last edited by Rock185; 05-20-2018 at 04:05 AM.
I've found my two 9mm STI single stacks (Duty One 4.0 and Shadow 3.25") and former Dan Wesson Guardian to be utterly 100% reliable with Wilson ETM, Dawson Precision, and Metalform magazines. The Duty One and Guardian is/was less reliable with my Chip Mccormick and mecgar magazines (ironically and against all "conventional 1911 wisdom," which as far as I can tell is largely just a bunch of old guys bloviating on the internet, the 3" gun will run any ammo from any magazine I own and has proven to be the most reliable gun I own, glocks included).
My observation is the Wilson, Dawson, and Metalform magazines all share some common characteristics. There is a spacer in the rear of the mag along the "spine", moving the round towards the chamber and seemingly alleviating OAL issues. There is also a "feed ramp" in the front of the magazine that prevents the round being fed from nose diving, which is one of the most common 1911 malfunctions in any caliber. My magazines that don't work 100% in my guns are missing either or both of these features and I have them segregated from the pack. I am standardizing on the ETMs as they are in the 100% reliability group while also being the only mag to ensure last round slide lock in my guns every single time.
Last edited by ChaseN; 05-27-2018 at 03:31 PM.
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