[Long war story]
No, this isn't about a WWII CMP gun, but about a 1970 (almost C&R) Mk IV 70 series.
Actually, I wouldn't even call it a 70 "series", this is one of the original 1970s 1911s.
Bought while still an E4 earning a whopping $3,000/yr from USAF. Had to have it. Local gun store out in the sticks of James Island, SC had a little range which was free for anybody to use. Evidently someone connected with the government, later found it was a BNDD(pre DEA) agent, would come to the range late Sunday afternoon, fire 50 rounds of .45ACP, then police his brass. I was working night shift so I would go to the range at 8am on Mondays and find 50 rounds of brass and a government box neatly sitting on the bench. After a couple of months of collecting brass, I bought some dies and reloaded 50 rounds of .45ACP, not having a gun for it. So as you can see I HAD to have a 1911 what with all that free brass. There weren't many choices in those days.
Hot off the press, a Mk IV, Series 70, and it never worked very well for. Part of it was me, but mostly I would find out later were my reloads. Over the last 50 years, I keep going back to it trying to make it work better. I did become better at shooting it, when it would shoot. But FTEx, FTEj, FTFs were common. Based on the number of bullets I've bought over the years I've put ~3,000 rounds of my reloads in it. I got interested in silhouette shooting and revolvers and well the old Colt was just a periodic experiment I kept working on.
This winter a good buddy of mine went to Gunsite for the 250 class. I asked what guns the class was using and what he carried. He said there was one revolver, six 1911s and the rest plastic 9mms. But what got my attention was he said, "One simply does not go to Gunsite with anything other than a 1911 .45ACP." I want to go to 250 and my interest is now re-peaked in 1911s. Buy a new one or finally figure out what was wrong with mine.
Last month I took it to the range with my reloads & 4 different brands of commercial ammo, determined to figure out what was wrong. It's the first commercial ammo ever shot through this gun. As you have guessed by now the 300 rounds of commercial ammo fired flawlessly. Atlanta Arms makes some 230gr expressly for USPSA and IDPA and that's just what I'm going to shoot from now on. No need to even worry about my reloads. I even shot one IDPA match in CDP class that week and beat out some of the SSP shooters. No problems with the gun, though my handling skills are a little rusty.
Now to fix it up, though some of this had been done along. Better sights. Skeletonized trigger. Rounded hammer. Longer tang. Longer mag release. Better grips. Extended Safety. (Did I ever tell you how much I hate fitting a 1911 safety? Fit, measure, file, clean. Repeat all afternoon. Then finally blue and final assembly.) It now feels like a dream, handles like a dream and shoots like a dream. Glad I stuck with it. Watch out 250 class and IDPA CDP.
No, this isn't about a WWII CMP gun, but about a 1970 (almost C&R) Mk IV 70 series.
Actually, I wouldn't even call it a 70 "series", this is one of the original 1970s 1911s.
Bought while still an E4 earning a whopping $3,000/yr from USAF. Had to have it. Local gun store out in the sticks of James Island, SC had a little range which was free for anybody to use. Evidently someone connected with the government, later found it was a BNDD(pre DEA) agent, would come to the range late Sunday afternoon, fire 50 rounds of .45ACP, then police his brass. I was working night shift so I would go to the range at 8am on Mondays and find 50 rounds of brass and a government box neatly sitting on the bench. After a couple of months of collecting brass, I bought some dies and reloaded 50 rounds of .45ACP, not having a gun for it. So as you can see I HAD to have a 1911 what with all that free brass. There weren't many choices in those days.
Hot off the press, a Mk IV, Series 70, and it never worked very well for. Part of it was me, but mostly I would find out later were my reloads. Over the last 50 years, I keep going back to it trying to make it work better. I did become better at shooting it, when it would shoot. But FTEx, FTEj, FTFs were common. Based on the number of bullets I've bought over the years I've put ~3,000 rounds of my reloads in it. I got interested in silhouette shooting and revolvers and well the old Colt was just a periodic experiment I kept working on.
This winter a good buddy of mine went to Gunsite for the 250 class. I asked what guns the class was using and what he carried. He said there was one revolver, six 1911s and the rest plastic 9mms. But what got my attention was he said, "One simply does not go to Gunsite with anything other than a 1911 .45ACP." I want to go to 250 and my interest is now re-peaked in 1911s. Buy a new one or finally figure out what was wrong with mine.
Last month I took it to the range with my reloads & 4 different brands of commercial ammo, determined to figure out what was wrong. It's the first commercial ammo ever shot through this gun. As you have guessed by now the 300 rounds of commercial ammo fired flawlessly. Atlanta Arms makes some 230gr expressly for USPSA and IDPA and that's just what I'm going to shoot from now on. No need to even worry about my reloads. I even shot one IDPA match in CDP class that week and beat out some of the SSP shooters. No problems with the gun, though my handling skills are a little rusty.
Now to fix it up, though some of this had been done along. Better sights. Skeletonized trigger. Rounded hammer. Longer tang. Longer mag release. Better grips. Extended Safety. (Did I ever tell you how much I hate fitting a 1911 safety? Fit, measure, file, clean. Repeat all afternoon. Then finally blue and final assembly.) It now feels like a dream, handles like a dream and shoots like a dream. Glad I stuck with it. Watch out 250 class and IDPA CDP.
