Does anyone actually like S80 1911's?

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thedriver101

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Hey guys, first post here, but been lurking for a few years.

Anyways, I checked the search, and most stuff about Series 80 1911's is either how to properly to a trigger job on it, or general "S80 sucks vs. S70" bashing. I was wondering if anyone of you actually prefer the S80 over the S70 system, and why (I don't, personally, but I'm still curious).

(For the sticklers out there, I'm really just referring to the FPS system, and not the other various bits they changed. I'm also ignoring the Kimber/Schwartz system for the sake of this discussion. Mostly because only Kimber uses it in any appreciable quantity IIRC, and I'm not a fan of Kimber.)
 
I call it a wash

No strong preference. With a good firing pin spring, the pre-Series 80 gives adequate protection against firing if dropped; Series 80 gives you more of a good thing. Series 80 does have more parts, hence more potential for things to go wrong, but really, how often does this happen? The myth that a Series 80 cannot have a good trigger pull has been disproven time and again.
 
No problems with the 80 series.... They have a few more parts which make it harder to break down and put back together but its not deal breaker.

In the end you can get a great 1911 trigger from either series.
 
Yes...I actually prefer 80's for duty carry or CCW.

I find that 1911s tend to come off safe fairly routinely when actually carried a lot. In my experience, this includes all of them: 1911s, GMs, 70's, 80's, GI 1911A1s, clones, and most especially any version sporting extended combat safeties or ambidextrous-safeties.

Across several decades of 1911 use, I've occasionally seen them spill out of holsters. I have dropped mine. I have sometimes subjected my pistol to hard knocks from banging into kit, body armor, gear, vehicle protuberances, the ground, aircraft, trees, and a variety of other natural or man made objects. Sometimes you even wind up in a ground fight...

Life is not a clean flat range. I carry Condition 1 and certainly don't mind that added bit of margin provided by the firing pin safety (and grip safety) when I occasionally find my thumb lever wiped off. Whether the weapon takes a rap on the muzzle or the hammer, I'm still good to go.

I find that I'm not enough of an expert marksman to really notice a difference in trigger pull...or even care.
 
i carry only series 80's or kimber schwantz system for ccw and all may target 1911's are either removed or series 70 firing mechanism.

The series 80 or schwantz system don't effect trigger pull enough to really make any difference.
 
Custom pistol smith Dave Lauck likes them.

From DL Sports
The question about whether to use a firing pin block safety or not often comes up among those considering 1911 style pistols. Dave Lauck's short answer to this question is yes, use a well designed firing pin block safety in your 1911. All D & L signature 1911's are manufactured with an operational firing pin block safety.
Click to expand...

See his website for more detail.

http://www.dlsports.com/signature_firearms_1911.html
 
I like mine. I like the extra peace of mind of the firing pin safety. The trigger on mine is fine as is. I don't particularly enjoy detail stripping/reassembling it as the S80 bits are a bit fiddly to get back together properly, but it's not bad.
 
Yes...I actually prefer 80's for duty carry or CCW.
Click to expand...
This.

Mechanically, I prefer the traditional 1911 design. From a practicality perspective, I very much appreciate having a FPS on my carry weapon and won't carry a semiauto that doesn't have one.
 
Hm, I guess there are more S80-fans than I expected...probably because S70-purists are more vocal and adamant?

For what its worth, I honestly believe the FPS safety plays no useful role. Even if you drop the gun, the inertia of the firing pin is nowhere near enough to defeat the spring (and another user even did a test to confirm this, but I can't find it now). The only reason DA guns need it is because they are meant to be carried hammer down. For 1911's, carrying hammer down is both stupidly unsafe, and also slower to ready. The only reason the hammer would fall on its own is if you have a bad sear/shelf/other faulty safety parts. That's my opinion anyways.

Back on topic. 1K, how much more difficult is it to strip/reassemble compared to the S70 system (not how many more steps, but how much harder are those steps)? Never handled S80 internals before.
 
I have two series 80s with superb triggers. I store the FPS parts in a drawer somewhere.
 
I prefer series 80, for some reason I'm paranoid about a sear breaking or hammer follow and the firing pin safety should prevent an AD, I'm not real worried about dropping the gun. I also prefer the lowered ejection port of the S80. The trigger on either is a wash IMO.
 
S80 1911

An single action is easy to obtain a baby smooth trigger, there just aren't that many moving parts. And unless there is something seriously wrong with the blocking pin or the grip safety, it shouldn't have much of a bearing on the trigger action.
 
While I prefer working on and assembling Series 70 M1911s, I got a Series 80 Colt 38 Super recently that shoots fine.

I am less opinionated on the subject than i used to be based on the 38 Super.
 
For me it's a non issue. I have a CCW use Colt Compact that has all the S80 parts in and functional. I also have two match/range only use Colts (a .45 and a .38 super) that have the S80 parts removed. An S80 can be made to have a trigger just as good as a S70 gun. I spent the time on my compact to tune the trigger and saftey levers for a clean and safe trigger pull. But because my other Colts are not intended as carry guns it was easier to simply remove the parts while tuning the lockwork.
 
HuntandFish: Enlightening indeed, but shouldn't any user with common sense have their 1911 inspected after the first drop with the safety on? Not to start a S80/S70 war, to each their own.

what is a good deal on a s70 1911 blued 5" with a well worn slide?
Click to expand...

As far as I've heard, there is no such thing as a good deal with Colts. Even beaten/worn S70's still will probably fetch 600's (heard, never seen them). My NRM S70 was 800. Now, if you just want an S70 style 1911, plenty of options there (search is your friend). I'd recommend SA.
 
Well, yeah if you drop your gun you should look it over to see if you broke it. :)

If the safety is on and you dropped it and it fired (S70), it may or may not have hurt the gun but it should be checked. Neither safety (grip or manual) will block the firing pin on an S70 so it could fire while both safeties are on if you drop it right from a height.

I guess my point was that the FPS on the S80 works. There's no doubt about it.

Actually, I didn't mean to say much in this thread. Even knowing what can happen, I'll still pick an S70 over S80 every time if given the choice. I have S80 guns though and they work fine.
 
Don't want nothing blocking the fireing pin..........That's why I carry a Pre 80's Combat Commander.....the "Little Fist Of God".
 
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thedriver101 said:
1K, how much more difficult is it to strip/reassemble compared to the S70 system
Click to expand...
Not any more difficult to strip the frame... when you pull the pins the extra bits generally fall right out. Getting them back in properly takes a bit of fiddling. If you lay the pistol on its right side and know where everything goes you can get the two extra parts back in the proper position using some small pokey tools (at least I do); they fit together like puzzle pieces, and hope they stay there when you put the sear and the other bits in, and line up all the bits for the pins. I'd say it's about 100% more difficult than just putting the sear/disconnector back in, which is fairly straightforward. But still not crazy-hard. Not a deal-killer by any means.

If anyone knows an easier/better way, I'm all ears. I've only done it a few times and am not looking forward to doing it again.:)
 
I think the Ruger was more straightforward overall, mostly because there are excellent pics/tutorials online for it. They're both a bit tricky. I'm sure the old-timers here can strip and put an S80 Colt back together blindfolded... I'm not one of them yet. :)
 
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