[JonM]

Originally Posted by General_lee

So, even the new production series 70's have the collet style bushing?

nope. they have solid bushings and works fine. i got a new post 2002 series 70 and its a sweet gun. damn thing eats everything even empty cases. the sights are superior to the old 1970s series 70 used to have one. gave it to my brother when he became a sherriff deputy. he still has it.

the new series 70 in my opinion is the best non-custom out of the box full size 1911 out there. i can pretty much buy any gun i care to and chose the colt over the les baer and other high end customs. i just like the simplicity reliabilty and elegence of a classic. plus im a colt nut.

[CHLChris]

I just had a conversation with Colt today to buy an extra recoil assembly for my Series 90 Colt New Agent. The helpful lady let me know that "Series 90" is a moniker that is going away. The difference between 80 and 90 was nil, so they (I am guessing here) are doing away with the name since it just brought up more questions like: "What is different than Series 80?" "Uh...nothing."

[Wenonah]

Originally Posted by CHLChris

I just had a conversation with Colt today to buy an extra recoil assembly for my Series 90 Colt New Agent. The helpful lady let me know that "Series 90" is a moniker that is going away. The difference between 80 and 90 was nil, so they (I am guessing here) are doing away with the name since it just brought up more questions like: "What is different than Series 80?" "Uh...nothing."

To my understanding series 90 only refers to the 3" guns with the new, two part recoil spring such as the new agent and defender. Other than the spring assembly these guns are identical to the series 80. The new spring is supposed to be a little more forgiving of a limp wrist which is the bane of short barreled, light weight autos but it seems ridiculous that such a small change requiring no additional machining to the major parts would qualify for a new designation.

[DocWard]

I inherited a Mark IV Series 70 Gold Cup, and have only been out to shoot it once. I started shooting 1911s that were made by Ithaca and other non-Colt manufacturers while in the Army Reserve. Needless to say, they had seen better days. I moved to the Beretta M-9 with the rest of the Army, and have put a lot of rounds through the M-9 over the years. Obviously, the Gold Cup is a dream by comparison. I want to take care of it and enjoy it for years to come, so this thread, and the information in it is greatly appreciated.

From the sound of it, I don't need to worry about the collet bushing too much, but are there any tell tale signs I should look for when I have it disassembled, just to be on the safe side? I don't plan on using it for carry, since I have several other handguns that I can use for that purpose, and it will likely see usage only at the range.

[JonM]

magnifying glass and look for the start of cracks. anytime i clean my firearms i always give em a good visual inspection with a magnifying glass looking for signs of cracking. another common cracking area on 1911's is the firing pin block. it gets slammed a lot as its only held in by tension of the firing pin spring and firing pin. cracks will show up loooong before the part breaks so inspection when cleaning happens will catch it.

one other thing a solid bushing fitted to a series 70 finger bushing barrel may require minor fitting. the series 70 i gave my brother when he became a deputy is still going strong 15 years later with the original bushing.

[Chieftain]

Several points:

1. I have two Colt Government model 9mm's both with the collet bushing. The key to not breaking the "fingers" on the collet is when field stripping them, to push the slide down and the barrel's are "thinner" and the bushing turns easily. Most often the "fingers" were broken during assembly and disassembly. so press the bushing past the "wide" or muzzle end of the barrel then rotate the bushing.

My other 19 19ll's except for the EMP's are all standard bushings.

As to the firing pin safety's. Colt originally put a firing pin safety in their guns prior to the second World War. It was called the Swartz safety. That is the type now used by Kimber in their II models, and S&W. I believe S&W was wise enough to stop using the Swartz safety in their very nice and new 'E' models.

War production did not need or want the Swartz safety so Colt dropped it. Until they came out with their much superior "Series 80" variant of firing pin safety. If your gun is set up properly neither system should cause problems. The trigger pull can be equal to any "Series 70 type" or no firing pin safety model. The nice part of the new "80" type is if assembled properly and not broken it always works.

I have been witness to two 1911's firing upon being dropped. NO, I wasn't the person who dropped them. It was during my career in the Marine Corps. In both cases, I was told, and was not able to inspect myself, that the "Sear" had sheared. I believe it was the hammer notch is what would have sheared, and not the sear. Both fell on the hammer.

Think about where the weight is on a loaded gun, in the butt. Not that it cannot hit the muzzle, but as in my history it didn't. Every empty gun I ever dropped fell on the rear/butt too.

So I do like the very upswept beavertail so as to protect the hammer from taking a direct hit if dropped. The beavertail IMNSHO is a defacto additional drop safety beyond it's original intent as just a grip safety.

Just my own experience and observations.

Good luck.

Fred

[CHLChris]

21 1911's? Cool!!

It is still a year-old thread.