Thanks for the kind responses gents....I guess what I am really looking for is "what are the 40+ year old' Series 70's like to shoot? Fun? Hard on the hands...? Accurate....or just a vault/conversation piece....I've owned and enjoyed Glock 20/21's....never ever held a 1911, let alone a Colt Series 70..!
Thx all!
A 1911 can vary from a work of art to a rattly piece of crap and anything in between. The Series 70 Colts are prized because they don’t have the firing pin safety that supposedly ruins the trigger. I’ve never noticed a real difference. The old Colt bluing is very nice if you can find a pristine example. The Series 70 is around 50 yrs old after all. The stock sights are a little small compared to your modern Glock.
They are comfortable to shoot all day unless you have big beefy hands and you buy one with a spur hammer and the old, non- beaver tail grip safety. You must also remember to really take a good, high grip. If you don’t grip a 1911 properly and squeeze down on the grip safety, the gun won’t fire.
The take down and reassembly is my biggest gripe compared to a Glock. It is slower and can be frustrating. You also need to watch out for the famous “ idiot scratch” from reassembling the slide stop. YouTube is your friend.
The 1911 is renown for its grip angle. Some call it the perfect angle for a handgun. It also has the easiest trigger press as the trigger just goes straight back. However, they are quite gritty and heavy from the factory. Almost like a Glock but... different!
I find them finicky and not as reliable as the Glock. Ive never seen one go thru a competition without some kind of problem. But, boy, is a well tuned one a pleasure to shoot. They can be amazingly accurate and when properly tuned, the trigger is amazing.
Things I would change on a stock 1911 to make it feel better are:
Trigger job, throat the barrel and polish the feed ramp.
Good magazines ( very important!)
Change the sights. I like the Novak style and they look sharp on the gun.
Get an extended thumb safety ( ambi, if you want).
Change the hammer to a ring or Commander style.
Get a good beaver tail grip safety, then de-activate it!
You might want to flare the mag well or get a custom magwell which will make it easier on quick mag changes.
You will find that if you buy a stock Series 70 and do all the above work to it, you will have spent a lot of money and should maybe just buy a modern version instead! There’s a reason why 1911 collectors have so many of them!
and I don't care. They are a pain to strip down compared to new style pistols.
