Took an old friend out of the stable today ...

Old Dog

The original is, in my book, still The King.

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It was back when I was just getting into guns, shooting, and hunting. There was the Colt Government...and not much of anything else. Yeah there was Star and Llama but they were few and far between and Springfield Armory wasn't even in the 1911 picture back then. At some gun shops you had to get on a waiting list to see about getting the next one to come in. Your best bet was looking for a used one as new Governments were really hard to come by then .

I hadn't had a new Colt Government in quite some time and then about eight or nine years ago I decided I wanted a new range toy and it had to be a 1911. Went to a very well stocked gun shop where the owner really knows his stuff about 1911s and asked him his opinion on a decent gun for around $800. He showed me some less expensive guns then he took a couple of Colt Governments out of the display case. He said he had seen a lot of marginal stuff coming from Colt for so many years but these new guns were being built to a higher level of workmanship and he liked what he was seeing. Close tolerances, tight (but not too tight), barrel to slide fit and slide to frame fit, along with a very impressive overall fit and finish.

I bought a Lightweight Government Model as I liked the way it balanced in my hand then I came back a week later and picked up a standard Government Model, both in .45 ACP. Both guns have been great so far been and a fine testament to how they use to be made.

Long live the King!

Old Dog said:

Although, for some reason, the sights seem to have shrunk considerably over the past forty years.

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Yeah, sights tend to do that, even good ones. They're made of metal. I had to replace my gold wedding ring 8 or 10 years back. I had a heck of a time getting my original ring off my finger because it had shrunk so much over forty some odd years.

Sorry, double post.

Sorry, TRIPPLE post.

Sorry again. I don't know what's going on.

My gunbelt has shrunk

Watching tons of Magnum PI as a kid, there were two things I wanted out of life- a Ferrari 308 and a 1911.

Since then, I havent had the best luck with 1911s, my first two (SA and Imbel) were jam-o-matics. I spent a good 10 years or so before taking the plunge again with a LNIB '67 Colt. Not a match gun perhaps, but so far no malfs.

Still need a 308 (though I have worked on and driven them). On the other hand, a Testarossa would go nicely with with my Miami Vice M645.....

NIGHTLORD40K

About the closest I'm ever going to get to a Ferrari is if I head on over to the Dollar Store and by the Matchbox version!



And sorry to further disillusion you but chances are that the 1911 you saw on "Magnum P.I." was probably a Star. They were found to be much reliable using blanks than a Colt 1911!

bannockburn said:

NIGHTLORD40K

About the closest I'm ever going to get to a Ferrari is if I head on over to the Dollar Store and by the Matchbox version!

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And sorry to further disillusion you but chances are that the 1911 you saw on "Magnum P.I." was probably a Star. They were found to be much reliable using blanks than a Colt 1911!

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The Magnum gun is in the NRA museum now. It is a real Colt, but in 9mm due to the blank firing issues with .45s. If you watch closely, you can see him clearly loading magazines with 9mm rounds, but they always refer to it as a .45.

NIGHTLORD40K

The Magnum gun is in the NRA museum now. It is a real Colt, but in 9mm due to the blank firing issues with .45s. If you watch closely, you can see him clearly loading magazines with 9mm rounds, but they always refer to it as a .45.

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Good to know! A quick Google search turned up a Star Model B 9mm. being used in the Kevin Costner movie, "The Untouchables".

A real beaut!

I'm one of those heretics who vastly prefers a few modern touches on my 1911s, extended beaver tail, long trigger, extended safeties, Ed Brown bobtail on a carry gun, GOOD SIGHTS .

Heck I even have one in 9mm.

Edit:. Oh, the flared and lowered ejection port. Bending my brass in half makes my reloading brass vulture heart cry

Had my real Series 70 out the other day.
Not stock, really strange sight installation but pre-beaver tail. I am not prone to hammer bite but it felt a little odd til I settled in with a few shots.

Jim Watson

I am not prone to hammer bite but it felt a little odd til I settled in with a few shots.

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Never had a problem with hammer bite on a Colt Government, even with the slightly abbreviated grip safety of the older Colt Combat Commander that I have. I did fit a stainless beaver tail onto it once just to see what the hoopla was all about but I didn't care for the way it felt in my hand so I put the original one back on and left it just like it was.

And then there is the 1903.

One of my 1903s, this one made in 1920.



No hammer bite with them, ever.

I always keep this one in the stable as a point of reference. It is a tack driver in its stock condition. I did swap the grips.

Never had a real colt. One day I will join you. I had a copy by Thompson that was fair. But the weight and lack of a running horse made me get rid of it

I agree, those sights do seem to shrink over the years. I no longer have any 1911 pistols with stock sights. I do take out one of my old friend Colts once in a while though.

Yep, there's just something proper about a Government Model, and in my book it has to be a real by-gosh Colt. My story is I wanted a 1911 for the longest time, and I really wanted a Colt. But Colt didn't make a pistol that was *quite* what I had in mind. I had enough experience with the big .45 Automatics to know I wanted modern sights, a lowered and flared ejection port, a beavertail grip safety with speed bump or similar treatment, an extended thumb safety and a GI guide rod assembly. Oh, and no forward cocking serrations, PLEASE! I was afraid I was going to have to buy a base Colt, then sink a lot of money and time getting what I wanted out of it. And then Colt came out with the Series 70 Competition Model, and the deal was done.

Here are a couple shots of my blued .45 ACP Colt Competition Model. Yes, it shoots as good as it looks:





And did somebody say 1903s too?



Also, I hope I'm not the only one here young enough to think of Avenged Sevenfold's "Hail to the King" reading this thread. (Sorry, if you're over 40 and don't like modern rock music, I wouldn't recommend looking it up... )

wanderinwalker said:

Yep, there's just something proper about a Government Model, and in my book it has to be a real by-gosh Colt. My story is I wanted a 1911 for the longest time, and I really wanted a Colt. But Colt didn't make a pistol that was *quite* what I had in mind. I had enough experience with the big .45 Automatics to know I wanted modern sights, a lowered and flared ejection port, a beavertail grip safety with speed bump or similar treatment, an extended thumb safety and a GI guide rod assembly. Oh, and no forward cocking serrations, PLEASE! I was afraid I was going to have to buy a base Colt, then sink a lot of money and time getting what I wanted out of it. And then Colt came out with the Series 70 Competition Model, and the deal was done.

Here are a couple shots of my blued .45 ACP Colt Competition Model. Yes, it shoots as good as it looks:

View attachment 875697

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And did somebody say 1903s too?

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Also, I hope I'm not the only one here young enough to think of Avenged Sevenfold's "Hail to the King" reading this thread. (Sorry, if you're over 40 and don't like modern rock music, I wouldn't recommend looking it up... )

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I generally think most Colt options are overpriced (relative to quality and feature set) in today's market, with the exception of the the Competition and Wiley Clapp options, though with how cheap Dan Wesson Valor's can be found for still, even those are a bit over priced, in my opinion.

JR24 said:

I generally think most Colt options are overpriced (relative to quality and feature set) in today's market, with the exception of the the Competition and Wiley Clapp options, though with how cheap Dan Wesson Valor's can be found for still, even those are a bit over priced, in my opinion.

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Not to derail Old Dog's thread, but I don't entirely agree on most of this.

Dan Wessons are great guns, in my opinion, but I wouldn't buy one sight-unseen any sooner than I would buy a Colt without being able to handle it. The last 2 Dan Wessons I handled required BOTH of my thumbs to engage the thumb safeties. My brother had a Pointman Major in .45 ACP that was a solid shooter but picky about ammo and magazines.

Wait, I can hear "but Colt doesn't offer front strap checkering/forward cocking serrations/uses Series 80 triggers/only gives buyers one magazine/can be used as a razor with rhe sharp edges/etc..." I happen to like a smooth front strap, I expect my Colt to draw blood if I'm not paying attention and I know I'm not the only Colt buyer who expects this. And this is why Colt makes what they make. (OK, the one mag per new gun these days is cheap, but I use 7-rd Wilson 47s anyway.) Also, my Colt has been infinitely more reliable than my brother's Dan Wesson or Kimber were, actually about as reliable as the Glock 19 I had.

Now Colt does have some issues out of the box too. Their grip safeties have been kind of loose in my experience, thumb safety fitting may be inconsistent gun to gun, and I know of at least 1 Lightweight Commander sent back by the dealer due to finish issues.

However, at the end of the day, a Colt is still a Colt, and that has value too. As evidenced by this thread!

wanderinwalker said:

Not to derail Old Dog's thread, but I don't entirely agree on most of this.

Dan Wessons are great guns, in my opinion, but I wouldn't buy one sight-unseen any sooner than I would buy a Colt without being able to handle it. The last 2 Dan Wessons I handled required BOTH of my thumbs to engage the thumb safeties. My brother had a Pointman Major in .45 ACP that was a solid shooter but picky about ammo and magazines.

Wait, I can hear "but Colt doesn't offer front strap checkering/forward cocking serrations/uses Series 80 triggers/only gives buyers one magazine/can be used as a razor with rhe sharp edges/etc..." I happen to like a smooth front strap, I expect my Colt to draw blood if I'm not paying attention and I know I'm not the only Colt buyer who expects this. And this is why Colt makes what they make. (OK, the one mag per new gun these days is cheap, but I use 7-rd Wilson 47s anyway.) Also, my Colt has been infinitely more reliable than my brother's Dan Wesson or Kimber were, actually about as reliable as the Glock 19 I had.

Now Colt does have some issues out of the box too. Their grip safeties have been kind of loose in my experience, thumb safety fitting may be inconsistent gun to gun, and I know of at least 1 Lightweight Commander sent back by the dealer due to finish issues.

However, at the end of the day, a Colt is still a Colt, and that has value too. As evidenced by this thread!

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Agree on the derail, and that's just my opinion. I've owned a Series 70 and Gold Cup that were fine, but didn't end up staying in my collection. I don't find a Pony on my slide as value in itself and all my various 1911s have been fully reliable, even the Kimbers.

But I'll not derail any further.