Colt 1911 questions

I know what changes were made when Colt changed from the Series 70 to the Series 80 1911 Pistols. What changes were made from the Pre-70 Series to the 70 Series? Is the Pre-70 or the 70 Series considered to be the better pistol? Thank You! krw

while there may have been more changes, the big change from pre-70 to 70 series was the barrell bushing going from solid mto split, spring tension design.

Yep. The Finger Bushing is considered to be more accurate, but the pre-Series 70' are considered to be tougher, even though Finger Bushing failures are not nearly as common as some folks would lead You to believe.

The pre 1970 series National Match was called weaker because it had the 'lightened slide'. There was an extra milling cut in the vicinity of the extractor, which actually exposed it somewhat from the inside. This was eliminated in the Mk IV '70 series Gold Cup slides but not on early production until ~ 1973-76.
The difference is obvious when the slides are compared side-by-side.

Pre '70s were often referred to as 'wad cutter only guns' by some because of some slide failures with an extensive use of hardball ammo, and I do mean extensive. They weren't as prone to failure as rumor would have us think.

The Mk IVs in turn had a roll pin retaining the rear sight which often broke. We always replaced them with solid pins.

Didn't the series 80 incorporate a firing pin block as well?

winchester37 said:

while there may have been more changes, the big change from pre-70 to 70 series was the barrell bushing going from solid mto split, spring tension design.

Click to expand...

Yup. Also, the grips changed from plastic with the dancing pony to smooth walnut, and the slide markings changed.

The pre-Series 70s were the most handsome looking 1911s of all IMHO.

I have a Series 70 with the highest polish job that I've ever seen, so they made some pretty nice Series 70's too.

In this time period Colt had 3 major models as I recall. The Government (Gov), the Commander (Com), and the Gold Cup National Match (GCNM). The Gov in 1970 had the collet or finger bushing and was called the MkIV Series 70. Colt built these until the Series 80 was introduced in 83.

The Commander was introduced in 1949, but the first year of real production was 1950. All Commanders had Aluminum Alloy frames until, you guessed it, 1970, and then the Combat Commander with a steel frame was introduced. These were also made till 1983 when the Series 80 Commanders were introduced.

The GCNM was introduced in 1957. The Accro rear sights were used till about 1964 then the Elliason was introduced and were used on Gold Cup Trophys (GCT) till around 2011. In 1970 The MkIV Series 70 GCNM was introduced with the finger or collet bushing. This lasted into the Series 80s by they way and 1988-1989.

I could go on but which is better. Is a Colt 1911 made before 1970 better than one made after? Well a lot of old collectors who vote with their $$$ think that is the case. A lot of young collectors who intergooglethink and vote with their $$ think that is the case. As someone who has owned them and shot them it depends on the particular pistol. If you want to just buy a Colt 1911 and get a gun that is good to go out and shoot then now is the time in history to buy one.

You know other forums have more information than you want to know on the Colt 1911.

Like:

http://forums.1911forum.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=26

http://forum.m1911.org/forumdisplay.php?14-Colt

and of course coltforum.com

- Don't forget the model 1991A1, a similar but separately-cataloged item.
Essentially a steel frame/slide series 80 1911A1 but parkerized/matte blued only until about 1996? when the stainless 1991A1 showed up. Series 80 slide and trigger block, solid bushing, taller 3-dot blade sights, non-metal grooved trigger face, non-metal MSH (flat), brown plastic grip panels, etc.

Made in all three slide/barrel lengths. Marketed as a cost-cutter 1911 with no extra finishing or tuning, my first was about $349 +tax in '92. Commander model introduced in '93 with the Officer's model the following year.