1911 & M1903 Colt Pistols - Safety and Design

[timmy]

Yes, for sure.

It was always more accurate than I could shoot it, and when I was young and my eyes were still good, I was not a bad shot with it. I practiced quite often. It is sad, because it was one of the few things in life that I got good at, and those days are gone now. Of all of the guns I have ever shot, I never got the pleasure from shooting that I have gotten from this one.

I very much hope that our brothers here will be able to know this kind of joy.

[Grumpy]

The so-called `problem` with the finger collet barrel bushing was usually a problem with inaccurately machined slides. Most Series 70s however were built very well and could shoot really well as well. 4" groups or better @ 50 yards with no other accurising wasn`t/isn`t to be sneezed at. Unfortunately neither barrel or bushing is made any longer so if one or the other is damaged both have to be replaced. A shame because the `Accuriser` barrel and bushing was a very good idea.

[timmy]

What was the slide in accuracy problem?

[Grumpy]

A few Series 70s had poorly fitted collet bushings, usually due to an undersized slide ( poor machining ) although could be because of a slightly oversize barrel or over-sized collet bushing. This prevented the collet `fingers` from opening properly, making them bow. The repeated flexing would cause a finger to snap off in as few as 3,000 cycles which would jam the slide solid. Jerry Kuhnhausen described the problem, the methods of sorting the problem and a test to check if there is a problem in his Colt .45 Automatic shop manual, Vol. 1

[Grumpy]

By the way, Bar Sto used to produce a barrel with a collet bushing to a somewhat different design ( and different operation ) which was a seriously desirable piece of kit for 1911`race` guns many years ago - just about everyone used them. It was said that they stopped manufacture because people kept breaking fingers off the collet bushing when incorrectly removing the bushing from the barrel. The Bar Sto barrel and bushing was THE best value, most effective, easy to fit 1911 tuning product ever made in my opinion - and that of several others.

[timmy]

OK, I see that on pp 42 & 43 -- thanks!

I'm not sure how many thousands I've pumped through the thing, but no problems so far. A check will need to wait until I can get back to Texas, however.

I haven't seen the Bar Sto setup, but will look into it.

My impression at the time was that the collet bushing was a great idea, and I've always thought that's why the pistol shot as it does.

When my time here ends and I head for the Land of Enchantment, the first order of business will be to make a brass catcher, and then we shall put Mr 1911 to some real work again!

[Grumpy]

The Series 70 collet bushing WAS a great idea .... unfortunately it required hand fitting.
The Bar Sto collet bushing and barrel was another great idea .... but also no longer made.
If your Series 70 shoots good groups and has shot thousands of rounds it`s obviously well fitted. You ought to read up on the matter of the collet bushing however because when they fail ( and it will eventually ) they can do an awful lot of damage. Getting hold of a match bushing and having it fitted isn`t expensive.
EGW make a selection of barrel bushings made to the dimensions of YOUR barrel but the one to get is the thick flange angle bore bushing which only needs fitting to the slide - an easy job ( Brownells sell an inexpensive fitting mandrel. ) The EGW bushings were around $27.50 and a long nose spring plug is $15. If you don`t want to have to pay for the spring plug get a bushing with standard flange thickness ..... but a thick flange is a good idea.
http://egwguns.com/bushing-faq.php

[farook]

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He doesn't like it, just his personal preference...

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[xl_target]

When my time here ends and I head for the Land of Enchantment, the first order of business will be to make a brass catcher, and then we shall put Mr 1911 to some real work again!

He He! ... or you could buy a SIG. Both mine throw the brass in a neat little pile.
All my other pistols throw them all over.

Just teasing. I like the 1911.

[timmy]

indeed!

You know, brass has a great deal of innate intelligence. It is this intelligence that caused me to try Colt DA revolvers -- when I took my 1911 in the field, brass easily found its way into every gopher hole, under every long, and behind every sagebrush. They are very devious pieces of metal!

My older Son has one of those SIGs, and they are nice.

[Grumpy]

I have found the best thing for finding lost brass is a Weatherby .460 mag - the blast digs up the surface and blows all the brass out. I expect a .50 BMG would do even better but I`ve only fired one off a bench ......