Hey all, I am still looking at getting a 1911 and I came across a Colt Competition that I can get for around $800. I like the blueing finish and all the other upgrades. It has good sights, good barrel etc. Seems like a solid 1911.

I like the idea of keeping the price down below 1000. Dan Wesson has been on my mind but it goes way past 1000.

What are your thoughts on the value for the price? Other Colt options for the price? Should I forgo a Colt and get a Springfield TRP for a 200-300 more? Thanks.

The Colt is a nice gun, but it is not really upgraded as much as the name would suggest. Its a good, solid 1911. The TRP and DW 1911's are going to have more features.. trigger, barrel fit, etc... that adds to the price.

For $800 the colt is a great deal.

Cool. Thanks for the advice. A select for of my pistols are hard use and the 1911 will definitely not be a heavy use pistol.

The  DW Vigil, CCO and the Guardian are not "way" over the 1000 mark.  All around the 1000 to 1200 mark, and offer a lot of nice features and different caliber's.

I have one in .38 Super.  Decent gun.  Reliable and accurate.  The only real negative I can think of is the finish is weak and will show holster wear pretty quick.  Mines a series 80.

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Ya, I saw one on the EE for well under 1000. I was going to take it but I read it had an aluminum frame and I would like all steel. Being my first and probably only 1911, I wanted to keep things semi-original. It was hard to pass up on that one though.

A Colt competition for $800 isn't a bad deal.  It's a solid "base" gun; they're just not for me.  If you put a Colt and a Springfield TRP side-by-side on the counter, I'm gravitating to the Springfield everytime.  (Personal preference I guess)

But to your original point, its a solid buy for $800.  Personally, I'd pony up the extra $$$ or so for a gun that I plan to keep for a very long time.

So I assume that you just find the Springfield to be better quality. The TRP sounds like a lot more pistol for only $200 more but $200 is still $200. The only thing that concerns me is the user up top who said the Colt finish is weak. I just like the blueing haha

A little natural finish wear will make it look even better.

I think this colt is a pretty solid buy
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That’s really nice. I like the looks of it, very tempting. The TRP makes sense on paper though...

I refuse to by sa

and I wanted single side thumb safety---the colt comp just seemed right---600 rounds no malf, love it

I assume that you do not want to buy Springfield because of their donating to dems?

I would lean toward a Colt model that has checkering already done.   Easy enough to swap sights or thumb safety or whatever else, if needed.

Same price.....Colt. Better resale, if you don’t like it.

yes

I would buy used

but I would just get a colt

I would take the Dan Wesson A2 in blue over the Colt every day.

I actually prefer the frontstrap clean...

Same, get the pony!!

I just got a Colt Competition Series 70 Two Tone this week. I paid $855 plus shipping and transfer fee. Beautiful pistol. But...

It's going back to Colt for some work. The magazine rubs up against the trigger bow making the trigger gritty, inconsistent, and heavy. Not to mention putting rub marks on the beautiful stainless mag body. I thought about removing the trigger and playing around with it, trying to bend and file on the trigger bow but Colt CS gave me a good vibe and said they will send me a shipping label. What if the frame is out of spec not the trigger? So I'll let them try to fix it before I f#%@ up the warranty by monkeying with it.

Also the slide is fitted about as well as my oldest Gen 2 Glock! Looose. Really, a typical Glock has a tighter slide! The grip safety is worse and rattles around. Hopefully the sloppy fit will not hurt accuracy too bad and maybe make it more reliable when dirty. My DW A2 gets sluggish after 100 rounds due to being so tight.

But it's a beautiful "base" pistol and reminds me of the old days when I would buy a Colt 1911 and immediately take it to a gunsmith to make it usable.

Compared to my DW A2, there is no comparison. The DW is super tight with zero slide play or wobble. The trigger is a perfect and crisp 4lb and the slide-lock safety and the grip safety are smooth yet crisp with no excess play. The DW A2 is a better 1911 in every way!! I'm still glad that I got the Colt because there is something cool and nostalgic about a Colt.

That is really disappointing but it’s good to know colt is getting you taken care of. I appreciate the detailed response. I keep going back and forth about the TRP or Colt. I come to realize that the Colt has an undercut trigger guard which is a plus.

I think of Colt's and Springfields as the same in quality.  They are, along with Dan Wesson, the two predominant forged frame pistols.  When you really shoot 1911's, the forged frame makes the gun smoother and smoother over time as mating surfaces wear IN rather than ripping out bubbles and pockets as happens with cast frame guns.

I feel that farting around with a trigger bow is part of the process of adopting a 1911.  However, I will say, I've never had to do so with my Dan Wesson pistols.

The Colt's pistol you got sounds like a nice one.  Shoot it a lot.  It will just get better and better.

Have one in SS Series 70 9mm. Shoots great; no problems.

Sure wish I could find the same in blue.

A new Colt with a Drop in Cylinder and slide trigger kit.
Maybe a tighter barrel bushing. ( Colts barrel bushings run from snug to loose)

And that gun will make you forget about the top end brands.

As long as you can stand the sharp "memory bump" safety the Colt is fine.  I have small hands and find them quite painful.

A store close by had the TRP and Colt. I couldn’t really tell a difference. The trigger and slide figment fit slightly better but that checkering in the TRP is pretty aggressive. They also had a used TRP and the way it wore down looked awful with the paint job I believe I will be going down the Colt road. Save some money and still have a good 1911.

800 rounds through mine now

you will like it brotha

My little brother picked up a series 70 competition and we shot it for the firs time yesterday.

It was his first 1911.  As a lover of 1911s for 20+ years it warmed my heart to bring him into the fold.

I've owned a couple dozen flavors over the years, custom, semi-custom, production.  My overall impression is that the Competition is a solid Colt product.

I had to show him how to field strip the pistol.  Gave me an opportunity to look it over.

The Good:
-Small parts had the edges slightly broken on them.  Much better than the new Gold Cup I handled that had edges sharp enough (side of hammer) to slice my thumb.
-Barrel link and Barrel fit very well.  No movement on the barrel hood at lockup. Wear on lugs was even.
-Slide to frame fit was good.  This didn't change as the pistol was shot/heated up.
-Barrel bushing was removable by hand.  
-No errant machine marks.
-Bluing was even
-Slide stop pin showed even wear from barrel lugs
-Sights were well-regulated from the factory.  Despite the wide notch in the novak sight, making rapid hits on a 4" gong at 20 yards was easy. Standard "half-lollipop" sight picture put rounds in the bullseye (no bagged/rested accuracy testing was done).
-No malfunctions in 200rds of hardball.
-Thumb safety fitment was excellent.  On many production guns, the thumb safety will have over travel...that is it'll have spongey movement downward after being off-safed.  This one was positive both on and off safe.

The Expected:
-The barrel bushing was fit ok for a production pistol.  I've had some that were tighter in production guns and some that were looser.  I've got production colts with tighter bushings.  I suppose this is luck of the draw.  
-The trigger shoe/bow fitment was a little loose in the frame.  It didn't rattle, but it could be moved around laterally/vertically.  Probably be replacing it with a solid trigger shoe/new bow.
-Beavertail fit was standard production fitment-no rattle.  I've got a Wiley Clapp gov model with a looser beavertail fit.  Not great, not terrible.  
-Little bit of take-up in the trigger.  Trigger broke at 4.5lbs.  Nice break, very little overtravel.  About average from what I've seen.

OP, this would make an excellent buy at $800.  IMO, it's a great base gun for future work if you were so inclined.

As said, the comp model isn't bad for the money but I'm with this guy

1911's IMO need some sort of front strap treatment (prefer stippling - 25 or 30LPI) and an undercut trigger and those are 2 things that are too expensive to have done after the fact (unless you are having a full house custom made) so any 1911 I'd buy going forward would have those 2 features from the factory and if I was going full custom, I'd start with Colt 1911 Classic. Just My $.02

Thanks for the pro and con write up. The colt seemed just as good as the Kimbers in that price range so that made me feel better.

The competition has an undercut trigger guard but doesn’t have the checkering. The only one I have held that had front strap checkering was the TRP. Maybe it’s because it is 20lpi but it was pretty aggressive. To get front strap checkering on a colt, the price will have to be bumped up past $1000

The Colt can be found <$800 bucks with some patience & poking around.

Since they switched to polishing the flats I had to look a bit harder to find an all matte example.  The upgraded finish looks better & adds to the value, but I’ve got enough guns I have to worry about getting nicked-up.

In the end I got lucky & scored one of the factory demo pistols.  I remembered they had black triggers & black, round hammers vs. the production parts.  Well, they also have some additional beveling & a ridiculously good 3.5# trigger.

Thing shoots lights-out & all I’ve run through it so far are my “budget” reloads (MBC 230gr. LRN over 5.0gr. of HP-38).

Yes, 20LPI is too aggressive for most people. 30 LPI is very pleasant and 25 LPI is a good compromise between comfort and solid grip with wet/sweaty/bloody hands.

I like 20LPI

There is always that guy /\ lol

I like this new Colt Comp model (except for the 2 tone look)... https://www.ar15.com/forums/Equipment-Exchange/Colt-Competition-Plus-1911-45-ACP/88-1959327/ Obviously not my ad.

Wiley Clapp is a good buy, can be found for right around 1k I believe. TRP is also a solid choice. Did you check out the Springfield Range Officer elite?

Edited to add the above gun is pretty nice!

I picked up a SS Comp 45 about a month ago, thus far I am impressed!.  The only disappointment I had to this point was the factory sear.  Although it had a great pull out of the box, the sear had a machining mark that was too deep for me to comfortably stone out, so I replaced it with an EGW hard sear.  After stoning / polishing the rest, I ended up with a nice 2.5# pull.  Any other replacement parts / mods I have done to it are purely my preference, and not because it needed it.

600 rounds through it so far, no malfunctions whatsoever.