Kinda Colt

pyscodog

Active member
We had a swap meet at the club this week end. Small turnout but as expected. Nothing seems to be happening at our club these days aside from the grass growing. But, a guy had a 1911 setting on his table. It was old and had quite a bit of the blueing off. Just not real pretty but seemed solid. It had a Colt slide but had an Essex frame. From what little research I did, seems a lot of old Colts ended up this way. No one even seem to notice the old pistol. I asked what he wanted and he said he really didn't know. He said it shot good and did everything it was supposed to. Things were winding down and he was packing up so I approached him again. I asked again and he said make an offer. I offered $300 thinking he would turn it down but he didn't. So I got an old war horse. Thinking maybe I would get it spruced up a little then flip it but wanted to shoot it first. I took it out today and I don't know who put it together but that thing will shoot. No problems what so ever and it just stacked cheap S&B hard ball ammo on top of each other. Evidently they knew what they were doing. Now I'm thinking forget the sprucing up and just let it be in the shape its in. It took a lot of years to get where its at.
 
Sometimes you get lucky with an old one like that. Here is my 1943 Colt which is marked "Property of US Army" and two magazines of 230 gr. Winchester ball at 7 yards. Interestingly that old Colt eats Winchester Ranger T 230 gr. hollowpoints like a fat kid with a Twix bar.

 
Mine say Model of 1911 U.S. Army. It also has some dates on the other side. The sights are a tad small but they work and its dead on the money at 10yds. It actually hit where I was aiming. LOL imagine that!!

P.S. I did get the Glock figured out. Shoots a little low but at least its in the center.
 
Took you long enough to get a 1911.
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Joking aside, for years, I never liked the 1911. Never qualified well with them but figured it was just the rattle traps we were issued. Ended up swapping for a couple more A1's that were not worn out and neither one shot any better than the issued pistols, so they went down the road. Was definitely not a 1911 fan.

Then I picked up an old 1911 and what a difference without the arched mainspring housing. Amazing, the difference it made!

Regards,
hm
 
I had one years ago. It was a "parts gun". Mostly junk parts. It was terrible. Then when Taurus came out with their 1911, I bought one of those. It was actually a pretty nice pistol with lots of custom features. And it shot pretty good to. Not really being a pistol guy but seemed to always have one, I kinda leaned toward Glocks and the M&P line. But it seems pistols never stayed around long. I love my rifles and enjoy shooting them but the pistol bug is biting me lately and its fun and different.
 
Put 50 rounds through the pistol today, not a lot but all I had. I'm lovin' that old 1911 more every time I shoot it. Poor new Glock just sets at home. It may get traded for a newer version 1911. I like being able to hit things with a pistol. I guess if there is a "con" about my 1911, the sights are small and really hard for my old eyes but even then it still hits center mass and a pretty tight group. I'm really not worried about tight groups as much as hitting in the center of my target. I don't think this pistol was ever meant as a target pistol.
 
Now you're gettin' smart; trading a Glock in on a 1911.
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Just yankin' yer chain. Never owned (or even fired) a Glock.
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Is your old colt a 1911 or the 1911A1 w/arched housing? I never could hit anything with the A1, but finally picked up an old 1911 and haven't found anything that shoots as well for me.

Regards,
hm
 
To be honest, I don't know. Seems its a little mix of both. Its an Essex frame but has the arched housing. But a friend looked at it and says its the 1911. Its really just a parts gun truth be told but it shoots really good and functions like it should. I only paid $300 for it so I can't complain. Other than its not pretty and fancy there's really nothing to complain about. Well, yes there is, the trigger sucks. But it works. LOL!!
 
Hey, that's all that counts.

Don't know why but the A1's to me are like the Glock to you. I never could shoot the issued A1's and laid it off to the fact that they were all well worn "company clunkers" but later found that they just don't fit! Even bought a couple of very nice A1's but also gave them up as a bad choice. Once I picked up the first flat mainspring housing (1911) it was a whole new ball game.
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Regards,
hm
 
My trigger is the only complaint I have. It has some take up then fires but it is the short version and I really have to pull on it. I may swap it out for the long version. I think it would make trigger pull better for my hands. I'm just learning the 1911 so its baby steps.
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogMy trigger is the only complaint I have. It has some take up then fires but it is the short version and I really have to pull on it. I may swap it out for the long version. I think it would make trigger pull better for my hands. I'm just learning the 1911 so its baby steps.

I've owned both officer and full size 1911's and I don't think you'll find any difference in trigger placement in either the commander or offiecer's model. The commander features standard grip, w/shorter bbl and the officer's grip has one round shorter grip w/even shorter bbl.

The officer's model is a bit easier to conceal, and somewhat lighter than the standard model, but full size 1911 not all that hard to conceal w/good leather, especially in cooler weather.

Commander, Defender & Officer Model 1911

While I never experience an issue, a friend, who was our local police dept. armorer put a bit of doubt in my mind about the reliability of the recoil spring plug on the officer model, which, if the detent on the plug were to fail at a critical moment, it could release the shorter, stiffer spring. Failure of the plug at a critical time would be very compromising. IDK, but I always preferred the full size model.

If you want to get in some productive dry firing your 1911, all it takes is a wooden pencil w/a good eraser. "Shooting" to reduce group size is really beneficial. Just hold pistol about 1/2" or so from target and have at it.

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Experiment with target size and in a 45 I found a couple of o'rings on the pencil seemed to help group size a bit. Hey, good way to spend a rainy afternoon.
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Regards,
hm
 
Well, I did something I said I wasn't going to do. I had the 1911 refurbished. A guy at the gunshow does Cerakote and I talked to him quite a while. He said 1911's were his favorites and I would be amazed at how it looked when I got it back. And he was right. I gave it to him on Saturday and got it back Friday afternoon and its awesome. The slide and all the pins and safety and slide lock were done in graphite black and the frame in stone gray. I will be putting G10 black and gray grips on it tomorrow. He wasn't the cheapest but he stands behind his work. Now I'm going to need a holster that looks as good as this pistol.

I know, pictures. I have never figured it out here. I loose patience and just give up. Sucks being computer challenged.
 
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