1911 Talk (formerly Colt Government Talk)Everything about 1911 model pistols and their derivatives and knock-offs! Get advice about the Colt Government pistols, post items about your experience with these pistols and accessories for these pistols.
Colt or junk? Really? Colt has a decades old history of labor and q.c. problems and has just about been out of business a number of times. Do they even make mass produced products for consumers now? I never see any new Colts at a store. Mine had stuff like plastic triggers and recoil spring guides that had to be replaced. (They are both from the early '90s) and as far as fit and finish could best be described as "ok". I bought mine back when used ones were more of a bargain and because I wanted the original name, but had no illusions about the quality.
__________________
Joe R
A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.” Proverbs 22:3
Still on the lookout for a Colt w/o a firing pin safety in .45acp. Hard to find a nice used one.
My current 1911 family - Clockwise, L to R Ruger SR 1911, Colt Govt. 22 LR, Sig-Sauer 1911-22, Springfield Armory Mil-Spec 45 acp, and center, Kimber 1st model Ultra Carry .45acp.
I have 1911 pistols made by Colt, Wilson Combat, Springfield Armory and Kimber. All of them have been reliable and accurate pistols. I don't expect my less expensive models to perform as well as my more expensive models. I've never fired a 1911 that I didn't like!
The Colt name goes a long way with folks. I never have owned a 1911, but now that I am getting older I want one. And I want a Colt.
Having said that, I hear nothing but good about the Rugers, and cost a lot less then a Colt.
FWIW, I've had Colts, Springfields, Remington R1's, and those new Regents from Turkey. All have worked and worked well, though the Regent needed some TLC out of the box to fix a couple of issues (weak recoil spring and clocking extractor). Springfield is a little flaky in that the front sight tenon is an "in between" size (Colt has narrow tenon and wide tenon, with GI guns being narrow tenon). If its not a Colt its not junk, so long as they didn't deviate from the grand original 1911 design. Most 1911 function problems I've seen are due to going too far afield from John M Browning's masterpiece design, or the use of no-name junk magazines.
Get a 1911. You'll love it for a lot of things that don't show up on paper if you're like me. When you grip it, its like shaking hands with John Wayne - its heavy, a part of yesteryear. If you like tradition you'll love a 1911. I've had some guns where non-shooters handle 'em and ask "is this real - it's so light and plastic it can't be real!" No one has ever done that with one of my 1911's. Pull the mag, clear the chamber and hand it to someone. They know its real.
If you have the $$$ get a Colt by all means. I just took delivery on one of the new Colt Combat Commanders yesterday and its a sweet piece. There is a bit more plastic (mainspring housing, trigger) than I remember from my old MKIV Series '70's but that's life. Its a quality piece and I can't wait to get to the range to try 'er out. Those wood grips straight from the factory are gorgeous!
You'll be mighty pleased with a Colt is my guess. And if $$ is tight, there's nothing wrong with a non-Colt 1911 so long as it stayed true to the original.
The Colt name goes a long way with folks. I never have owned a 1911, but now that I am getting older I want one. And I want a Colt.
Having said that, I hear nothing but good about the Rugers, and cost a lot less then a Colt.
Hi snowbird, I started this thread with the outrageous title just to draw some interest. As previously said, if money is the limiting constraint, get a good lower cost 1911 if just used for self defense and target practice. However, if you have the cash, there isn't anything nicer to have, fondle, shoot, and own than a real Colt 1911. Many years ago I purchased a new Colt 1873 SAA and even with owning a nice collection of other revolvers and pistols, the Colt SAA is my most favorite handgun. The quality and history is great, but mostly, it's a Colt. The older you get, the more you will appreciate fine firearms. Fine firearms appreciate with time, an investment for your heirs.
Hi snowbird, I started this thread with the outrageous title just to draw some interest. As previously said, if money is the limiting constraint, get a good lower cost 1911 if just used for self defense and target practice. However, if you have the cash, there isn't anything nicer to have, fondle, shoot, and own than a real Colt 1911. Many years ago I purchased a new Colt 1873 SAA and even with owning a nice collection of other revolvers and pistols, the Colt SAA is my most favorite handgun. The quality and history is great, but mostly, it's a Colt. The older you get, the more you will appreciate fine firearms. Fine firearms appreciate with time, an investment for your heirs.
Regards,
Richard
+1000! What he said!
Nice to see you're a SAA fan too, ssb73q. I sincerely regret selling my beloved Colt 1873 SAA (first gen) something like 20 years ago when rent money was scarce and I was out of work. After I take care of that Security Six I've got laid away, its the next big project to save for, probably 2014 time frame at this rate. I figure that even obozo won't dare go confiscatory on those, though he'd like to.
What was your favorite bbl length? I had the 4-3/4" and found the balance to be just about perfect, but have been tempted by the 5-1/2".
Hi Grumpy, I have the 4-3/4" barrel Colt .45LC SAA. I fitted a .45 ACP cylinder that adds some versatility and investment value to the Colt. The short barrel allows for a fast draw. A good western holster rig transports the Colt SAA and user back to earlier days faster than any Star Trek transporter ever could.
For the cash poor historical handgun hobbyist, one can sometimes find the .44 1858 Remington or 1860 Army on sale for ~$170 at Cabelas. I bought 5 in the last year, 5-1/2" & 8" barrels. IMO there's no more fun than shooting steel with a black powder revolver. A conversion cylinder allows using those pistols with .45LC. What's nice about black powder revolvers is that most states consider them as antiques where there are no firearm regulations. Cabelas ships them directly UPS. Since I live in the Socialists Republic of New York State and fire them, they must be on my permit to be legal.
While I love fondling and shooting my Colt SAA, shooting the cap and ball revolvers is a hoot. The quality of the current crop of cap and ball revolvers is almost as good as the Colt SAA that costs 7 times more. .45LC conversion cylinders adds some versatility and fun to the 1858s, but they cost more than the revolver, ~$230.
Hi Grumpy, I have the 4-3/4" barrel Colt .45LC SAA. I fitted a .45 ACP cylinder that adds some versatility and investment value to the Colt. The short barrel allows for a fast draw. A good western holster rig transports the Colt SAA and user back to earlier days faster than any Star Trek transporter ever could.
For the cash poor historical handgun hobbyist, one can sometimes find the .44 1858 Remington or 1860 Army on sale for ~$170 at Cabelas. I bought 5 in the last year, 5-1/2" & 8" barrels. IMO there's no more fun than shooting steel with a black powder revolver. A conversion cylinder allows using those pistols with .45LC. What's nice about black powder revolvers is that most states consider them as antiques where there are no firearm regulations. Cabelas ships them directly UPS. Since I live in the Socialists Republic of New York State and fire them, they must be on my permit to be legal.
While I love fondling and shooting my Colt SAA, shooting the cap and ball revolvers is a hoot. The quality of the current crop of cap and ball revolvers is almost as good as the Colt SAA that costs 7 times more. .45LC conversion cylinders adds some versatility and fun to the 1858s, but they cost more than the revolver, ~$230.
Regards,
Richard
Thanks much for the info ssb73q. Sorry, my bad that it went OT!
'Course we can look at this as the first chapter in the 1911 story, so its not really OT - after all, it was dis-satisfaction with the .38 LC revolvers in the Moro rebellion that caused some US troops to get re-issued SAA's on an emergency basis and for the Army brass to insist on a new .45 caliber that would work as well as the old .45 Colt. Otherwise our beloved .45 ACP M1911 would probably be a .38 ACP M1911....
So we can credit the SAA with being a part of what would become the .45 M1911, that big beautiful .45 slug moving at modest velocities.
I love my Colt 1991, I've had Ed Cameron do most of the work on it and it rock's. Bought My son a Remington R1 Enhanced and was surprized at how well it shoot's The R1 did well at the Gunsight test , I was surprized.
1Likes
Linear Mode
