I bought my first Colt 1911 last Tuesday night, and took it to a friend's house to have him look it over and give me his opinion of it.  When he removed the barrel bushing he commented that "He'd never seen anything like that before."  The bushing has 4 machined flutes in it, like a collet.  Anybody ever ran into this before?  Is it special, or should it be replaced with the standard type?

Collet type barrel bushings are used to "accurize" a 1911 without hand fitting of the barrel to bushing.  Look in m1911.org or Brownell's for a manufacturer - I can't remember who makes these bushings.

I couldn't find one in Brownell's catalog.

Colt swiched to the collet style bushing for the Series 70 1911s, as opposed to the origional barrel bushing. They have been using the collet bushing since the series 70 came out

Quoted: Colt swiched to the collet style bushing for the Series 70 1911s, as opposed to the origional barrel bushing. They have been using the collet bushing since the series 70 came out

Mine is a 70 series.  A MkIV.  Is this a Colt specific item, as far as NIB pistols or do other companies do this also?

Quoted: Quoted: Colt swiched to the collet style bushing for the Series 70 1911s, as opposed to the origional barrel bushing. They have been using the collet bushing since the series 70 came out Mine is a 70 series.  A MkIV.  Is this a Colt specific item, as far as NIB pistols or do other companies do this also?

Dunno which companies do, but SA doesn't on the milspec and Kimber doesn't on the Classic Custom.

I remember when these came out,and i don`t believe they were very popular for very long.
I read that they are prone to breakage and should be replaced with a standard bushing.
I would get a bushing from Wilson or some other co. and fit or just install it.
My 2 cents worth.
I do remember reading that those fingers were prone to break and cause a malfunction.

been shooting a Series 70 gold cup since they came out, what,25 years ago,never had a problem with the bushing.the collet problem was blamed on unequal pressure on the collet fingers.if the fit is right,it'll shoot forever.
               jwr.
 

Colt only used the collet bushing for a few years in their Series 70 guns, they did not fair well as a whole. Colt does not and has not used them since. The problem arises when the bushings "fingers" begin to work harden from stretching around the barrel as the gun cycles. Collet bushings, although an interesting idea, were nothing more than another way for Colt to save money and time while trying to produce their Government Models. Through the nature of the part and the way a collet bushing functions they are absolutely inferior to a properly fitted solid barrel bushing and have typically been the first part to wear out or break on a Series 70 Colt. It would be worth your time and money to have a smith fit a solid bushing.

Quoted: Colt only used the collet bushing for a few years in their Series 70 guns, they did not fair well as a whole. Colt does not and has not used them since. The problem arises when the bushings "fingers" begin to work harden from stretching around the barrel as the gun cycles. Collet bushings, although an interesting idea, were nothing more than another way for Colt to save money and time while trying to produce their Government Models. Through the nature of the part and the way a collet bushing functions they are absolutely inferior to a properly fitted solid barrel bushing and have typically been the first part to wear out or break on a Series 70 Colt. It would be worth your time and money to have a smith fit a solid bushing.

Finally someone who knows somthing.
GG

As stated, Colt used the collet bushing for a time in the Series 70 and 80 guns. Most of the trouble was due to fitting problems, and in anycase was over stated.  Not that many guns had the problem.  Colt discontinued it since there was a potential problem, plus the solid bushing was cheaper to make and fit.

Another collet bushing was (or is) used in the BarSto custom barrels.  These worked in a different principle than the Colt, and weren't subject to breakage.

The collet bushing is only a cheap way to have a bushing that acts fitted. Thasts all, a good concept, but not perfect.
GG

What AJohnston said.

My 70 series combat commander came from the factory with a solid bushing.  You used to hear stories in those days about the collet type bushings failing, so they never caught on as far as I know.

My 80 series Stainless Gold Cup is around 30,000 rnd and still going with it's original collet style bushing.

Frist to go with the shitty Eliason site, replaced with Millets, at around 15000 the 80 series trigger parts jammed up so I pulled them out.