WHAT DO YOU HATE THE MOST ABOUT COLT 1911s YES EVEN THE OLDER SERIES 70 GUNS ?????

When I moved back to MA I brought a Colt series 80 from CA. I didn't love it and sold it. Then I bought a series 70 from an NESer, had it tuned and purged of MIM parts, and it's great. It runs great, for the most part, but I have 2 questions:

1.) it ejects shells in 100 different places, randomly, including in my face- What's up with that?

2.) after about 100 rds, it doesn't jam, but the slide still has about .25" to completely shut so I just whack the back of it and it's fine- Again, what's up with that?
When a shell casing hits you in the face, it means JMB is giving you a "brass shower." Normal for a 1911.

As for the 1911 not going fully into battery, again, that's normal. They were designed that way.
 
This thread is basically a personality test. Myers-briggs can suck it, say hello to the Glock-Browning assessment.

The implicit/explicit bias on display is breathtaking. Calm down it's just gun stuff. Stop measuring dicks. Relax. It's a pistol, not your sister.

There are good guns and there are bad guns, there are bad guns that can be made good guns with work/money. There are bad guns that will never be good guns because they never should have left the factory or made from materials that wouldn't get certs to make Hot Wheels.

There are cheap guns and there are astronomically expensive guns.
There are guns that are build to always run, there are guns that are build to run really fast, and that are build to look amazing but wont run.

There are brands that make 99.9% great guns but you only hear about the 0.1% of the bad ones. There are companies/brand used to make great guns, but now makes 99.9% shit guns.

As it relates to Colt 1911's:
Colt has been producing 1911 style guns for almost 12 decades through wars, depressions, recessions, and major changes in materials/technology. There is going to be some variation in quality.
Also the "1911" design includes the magazine and the ammunition, they were all designed to work as a system. That system worked phenomenally and unbelievably reliably even based on modern standards. The variations between 1911's of different manufacturers, magazines, ammunition is a total clusterf*ck, especially on the lower end of the spectrum.
Also the "1911" while most of the parts are the same, was designed to operate in a different manner with COMPLETELY different tolerances between parts as one expects from the majority of guns today. I have Colt's from every single period of production and there are HUGE variation in quality. Generally I would stay away from buying stuff made between the late 70's and late 90's unless you want to gamble. I will say the guns that colt produces now are pretty good as base guns: they are generally pretty straight and slide/frame fit is serviceable and sometime the barrels are ok (but almost never accurately fit). The fit of small parts is still not great and apparently no one in the factory knows how to break a sharp edge.
If you talk to some of the best 1911 gunsmiths they will tell you that depending on the period or type Colt's can either be a dream or a nightmare (I'm looking at you 1970's Colt commanders).

Most people have this bizarre notion that any gun is absolute garbage unless it runs flawlessly without maintenance/cleaning no matter what garbage ammo and wonky discount magazine you stick in it. I don't care what kind of gun it is, the system is still the sum of its parts and often ammo/magazines is the weak link that people cheap out on. Garbage in/Garbage out.
There are bunch of companies that are putting out consistently good guns but guess what, they aren't usually that cheap. There are companies that are also making very decent guns but you are going to either do some work to make them run consistently across a wide spectrum of ammo/magazines OR you are going to have to do some leg work and find the ammo/mag combo that works well for your gun. PS. this might be true on the high end too (i.e. come shooting season you will see a lot of newly build $6000 single-shot open guns that haven't sorted out the holy trinity of gun/ammo/mag).

I don't care what you like or don't like. Personally, there is nothing better than a well built 1911. Every practical consideration aside, if I could only have one gun to sit on a shelf and stare at for the rest of my life it would be a 1911 and probably a custom Colt built by one of the masters or some one-two digit serial number museum piece.

If I only had one gun for the range it would a full-house custom 2011 in 9mm.

If you told me you only had one gun for all the things, it would be a Glonk 19/17/34.
 
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How did you arrive at this conclusion?
Based on what you said I'm guessing that you are a young guy, certainly much younger than 60 years old. This is based on many reviews I have seen and read and friends who have purchased newer 1911. Technology and metallurgy have advanced over the years thus making it possible to build far more reliable firearms. Back in the 70s and 80s, I have purchased many unreliable pistols, the Star BM in 9mm, AMT backup in .380, LLama 9mm to name just a few. I have not purchased a single pistol in the last ten years that has not been 100% reliable. As I said this is due to advances in design and metallurgy. Yes, some first-generation pistols have proven to be unreliable, but that is due to the fact that completion is fierce, as a result of that, these pistols, are being released too soon before they are fully tested. I hope this answers your question.
 
What do you expect? The army is keenly interested in equipment that does not fail in a middle of a battle. Yet, it took them 60 years to replace 1911. I suspect the "halo" around 1911's among civvies will wane in another 20 years...
Handguns are not issued or used often in the military. And in 1911 there were not a ton of options for decent auto loading pistols.
I also think that a great deal of the affinity for the 1911 centers around the .45acp round. From the moment you load the magazine, you notice what a fat, chunky piece of lead it is.
I am not saying that the 1911 would be my first choice if I were dropped in a desert or a jungle. I'm not an idiot. I would want a Glock, preferably in .45, so probably a 21 maybe a 41, but for the pure joy of shooting, you just can't beat a nice 1911. For me, it really feels like it was made for my hand, like I could draw with my eyes closed and still be on target. And after you draw and aim, the trigger is crisp and the hammer falls positively, not like a striker fired pistol. Recoil is significant but not unpleasant, and because the gun is heavy the front sight seems to fall right back on target. A quality 1911 is a pleasure to shoot. I am confident I can keep a nice one reliable in the darkest south east Mass suburbs.
 
This thread is basically a personality test. Myers-briggs can suck it, say hello to the Glock-Browning assessment.
That is a great observation, and so true.

I wonder how the hard-core NES forum denizens would fare on the MMPI...

The one-gun hypothetical is always interesting, but it isn't real life for 99.9% of the gun nuts out there.
 
Maybe this thread has karma or is channeling JMB's ghost. After waiting about seven months and only having stainless ones pop-up, I scored a blued Colt Classic 1911 this afternoon with rosewood grips.

View attachment 594943

Curious to see how it shoots with the National Match barrel compared to my Remington-Rand USGI 1911. Series 70 firing system. Just gotta wait for it to arrive at my FFL...

Great guns, and beautiful guns. Glocks are great, but beautiful? Nice 1911s and 1911A1s are art pieces, and fun to just look at and appreciate Mr. Browning and his engineering!
 
Based on what you said I'm guessing that you are a young guy, certainly much younger than 60 years old. This is based on many reviews I have seen and read and friends who have purchased newer 1911. Technology and metallurgy have advanced over the years thus making it possible to build far more reliable firearms. Back in the 70s and 80s, I have purchased many unreliable pistols, the Star BM in 9mm, AMT backup in .380, LLama 9mm to name just a few. I have not purchased a single pistol in the last ten years that has not been 100% reliable. As I said this is due to advances in design and metallurgy. Yes, some first-generation pistols have proven to be unreliable, but that is due to the fact that completion is fierce, as a result of that, these pistols, are being released too soon before they are fully tested. I hope this answers your question.
OK boomer.

But your argument does not apply to JMB's vaunted but hopelessly over-rated Jam-o-Matic.

Even the best materials and most advanced manufacturing techniques cannot overcome the limitations of the 1911's Rube Goldberg design elements.

The majority of gun reviews out there are puff pieces placed by the PR/marketing arms of firearm manufacturers. Reports from individuals -- a significant percentage of whom would be loathe to confess their gun's deficiencies (especially a 1911) -- are merely anecdotes.
 
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2.) after about 100 rds, it doesn't jam, but the slide still has about .25" to completely shut so I just whack the back of it and it's fine- Again, what's up with that?

Earlier? When I mentioned taking my 1911A1 repro to the range, where my platoon sergeant said it malfunctioned the same way all Army issue guns do?

That's what I was talking about.
 
Hearing of these perennial 1911 problems reminds me of the standard response a Harley owner gets from the dealership after the top end of his twin-cam grenades:

"They all do that, sir." [rofl]
 
Ha! I have an ATI, Commander size that is a $450 gun. Bought it on sale AND got a rebate to boot. $230. Functions well out of the box, but was landing brass all over the place. Fitted an oversized forged firing pin stop, barely radiused it, and now the brass falls consistently where it should, and even the recoil is a bit lighter. Yes, the original stop was MIM, but so are most of the other 1911 stops. Yes, I'm skinflinting, but at least it won't blow my hand apart! :p :p :p
 
The only "1911" I have that had battery problems was my sig P238. S&W government and Springfield armory compact are fine.
I dumped my P238 almost immediately. Trigger sucked, heavy pull and it swings from a pin at the top, (non1911 like), and the safety does not engage the slide. Nothing like holstering a pistol and it partially racks the slide.
 
I'm curious, have all your 1911s been completely reliable, or at least reliable enough to carry knowing it will go bang when you pull the trigger? I know that the newer 1911s are reliable, especially the ones chambered in 9mm. But the idea of a 9mm 1911 does not appeal to me at all. For me, It's either .45 or nothing.

The ones that I've actually carried? Yes, at least to the latter qualifier, at least. I had a Colt Delta Elite and two LWT officers mods. The DE didnt care it just ran. The Officers mods would run if you fed them the right ammo and kept them relatively clean. If you let those guns get smegged up you were asking for trouble.

WRT "the newer 1911s are reliable" IMO thats not a good blanket statement. Not even close. It's a platform not a brand. There are lots of "brands" that often make better 1911s than others. Even within a brand you can have decent models and "ehhh" ones, etc. At least some of them have sort of smoked themselves out of existence (eg, companies like Para, who made absolute steaming gutter trash) etc. Colt and S&W have made shit runs of guns too, but at least over time most of their guns end up being OK.

"Mileage may vary".

WRT 9mm 1911s?

There's no way I would buy one unless it was higher end (eg, DW) or I had a gunsmith on speed dial I could call to get help when it f***s up. IME a 9mm 1911 is like 10 times more likely
to f*** up out of box than a .45 is. That said even those f***ing things can be reliable if they were built right and the right magazines and ammo are used.
 
When I moved back to MA I brought a Colt series 80 from CA. I didn't love it and sold it. Then I bought a series 70 from an NESer, had it tuned and purged of MIM parts, and it's great. It runs great, for the most part, but I have 2 questions:

1.) it ejects shells in 100 different places, randomly, including in my face- What's up with that?

2.) after about 100 rds, it doesn't jam, but the slide still has about .25" to completely shut so I just whack the back of it and it's fine- Again, what's up with that?

Poorly fitted gun or out of spec parts. Possibly bad extractor tension or weird ejector stuff going on.

BTW that 2nd secenario is definitely a f***ing jam. Just because you can fix it easy doesnt mean it didnt jam. :) [laugh] This is probably from bad fitment.

Did you have a competent gunsmith actually go over the whole gun? lol if not, go back.
 
WRT 9mm 1911s?
The only 9mm 1911 I have any faith in is my Springfield 1911 EMP Champion Concealed Carry Contour 9mm. And it isn’t really a 1911, but a 1911 re-engineered for 9mm. There are 15 parts that are specific to the 9mm EMP and not interchangeable with a “true” 1911:

slide
frame
left grip panel
right grip panel
firing pin
firing pin spring
extractor
plunger tube
plunger spring
trigger
magazine tube
magazine follower
magazine spring
magazine base plate
magazine base pad
 
Poorly fitted gun or out of spec parts. Possibly bad extractor tension or weird ejector stuff going on.

BTW that 2nd secenario is definitely a f***ing jam. Just because you can fix it easy doesnt mean it didnt jam. :) [laugh] This is probably from bad fitment.

Did you have a competent gunsmith actually go over the whole gun? lol if not, go back.
BEC
 
I bought this Colt about 6 or so years ago and it was jamming all over the place. I took it to BEC and he got rid of the MIM parts and tuned it. Afterwards, it shot great except for the periodic brass in the face, and the slide not slamming home completely 1/magazine after 100 rds at the range. To me it was annoying, but not so much to warrant a trip to Peabody. I probably shoot this 1911 about 300 rds/yr on average, and it probably has close to 2,000 rds through it total.
 
This thread is like a bad penny... so I'll add to it!

If I wanted something historical, to hang on a wall, I'd go for a 1911. I've seen some Turkish versions for $400! In other words, unless you already own one(like I do and not by choice: I inherited it), 1911 is not worth having.

That said, I really like 1911 ergonomics and would consider an Atlas or a Staccato. I've shot both and am convinced: these guns are better than anything made in the last 100 years. These guys know how to make a better gun! That said, CZ Shadow 2 or Beretta 92X RDO will get you 90% there for 1/3 the cost. I don't own either since I've already spent my 2023 "new gun money" on the CZ 97.
 
After skimming this thread, I think I'll hold onto my 945, as i had been thinking of letting it go for a 1911 and some extra cash since mags are hard to come by.

It runs like a top for 50 or so rounds, but tollerences are so tight, after that it starts to act up....Matches just require cleaning between each match to stay in the running. Guess the grass isn't always greener.

Thanks all
 

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After skimming this thread, I think I'll hold onto my 945, as i had been thinking of letting it go for a 1911 and some extra cash since mags are hard to come by.

It runs like a top for 50 or so rounds, but tollerences are so tight, after that it starts to act up....Matches just require cleaning between each match to stay in the running. Guess the grass isn't always greener.

Thanks all

How are the failures occurring?

Also, given thats an officers mod sized gun the recoil spring probably kills itself much faster than normal, so that might also play a role, of course ive never seen the recoil spring assembly in
an officers sized one before.
 
After skimming this thread, I think I'll hold onto my 945, as i had been thinking of letting it go for a 1911 and some extra cash since mags are hard to come by.

It runs like a top for 50 or so rounds, but tollerences are so tight, after that it starts to act up....Matches just require cleaning between each match to stay in the running. Guess the grass isn't always greener.

Thanks all

How does it "act up"?

FTEs? FTFs? Slide does not return to battery completely? Gums up with excess carbon and other residue? Do you clean and lubricate properly?

It sounds like you have enough rounds through it that it should be broken in.

This guy has some interesting ideas on 1911 cleaning and lubrication. I can't put my hands on his essay on how to clean and lubricate a 1911 but if you search you may find it.

 
Found it under his blog:

 
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