Posted: 1/22/2012 12:06:19 AM EDT
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I am now the pround owner of my first 1911.
I bought a Colt Gov 70 Series as part of a unit group buy and I want to make it a little more user-friendly. Been doing a lot of reading/studying on how it works, and want to make this an entry-level gunsmithing project. Here's what I'm thinking I should replace: Trigger- I like the Caspian Trik Hammer/Sear Beaver tail grip safety Safety (ambi) What else should I replace and should I lean towards one brand? I like Ed Brown and Wilson Combat. Any other brands I should consider? Any I should specifically stay away from? Thanks in advance for the advice. |
| these guns need very little as in less is more- to run them well. replacing hammer/grip safety if you get hammer bite is worth while, not so much if (like myself) you don't. Trigger/sear/disconnect if you are not happy with the current trigger pull is understandable. An ambi safe if you are left handed. Personally I hesitate to do anything to a gun that works as is- more often than not inviting problems not solutions. Your choice of wilson/ brown (I'd also suggest les baer) is certainly the right direction to go. be VERY careful fitting parts yourself. |
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Quoted:
I am now the pround owner of my first 1911. I bought a Colt Gov 70 Series as part of a unit group buy and I want to make it a little more user-friendly. Been doing a lot of reading/studying on how it works, and want to make this an entry-level gunsmithing project. Here's what I'm thinking I should replace: Trigger- I like the Caspian Trik Hammer/Sear Beaver tail grip safety Safety (ambi) What else should I replace and should I lean towards one brand? I like Ed Brown and Wilson Combat. Any other brands I should consider? Any I should specifically stay away from? Thanks in advance for the advice. Ok you asked for aedvice so here goes.....Colt is set up to manufacture and mass produce 80 series guns....for that reason the 70 series are routed through the custom shop....any upgrade you perform should be well thought out and not just "swapping parts" if you are not very careful you could in fact do considerable damage to the value of your pistol by installing what you may consider "upgraded parts".....now its your gun so do what you want but my advice would be to shoot it first, I mean shoot it a lot....then determine what you may or may not want to change.....I would also recommend considering utilizing the Colt custom shop to do the work or a proven gunsmith....I know it may not be the answer you were looking for.....just trying to save you some grief.... |
Replace what doesn't work (if anything) after you run about a thousand rounds through it.  Quoted: I am now the pround owner of my first 1911. I bought a Colt Gov 70 Series as part of a unit group buy and I want to make it a little more user-friendly. ...Thanks in advance for the advice. |
| I would agree with Rob. Every day I see someone trying to sell a 1911 that has this aftermarket part or that, and no documentation as to who did the work. That kills the sale for me. Your pistol came through the custom shop, and in my opinion, the work should be done by them. |
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Quoted:
Ok you asked for aedvice so here goes.....Colt is set up to manufacture and mass produce 80 series guns....for that reason the 70 series are routed through the custom shop....any upgrade you perform should be well thought out and not just "swapping parts" if you are not very careful you could in fact do considerable damage to the value of your pistol by installing what you may consider "upgraded parts".....now its your gun so do what you want but my advice would be to shoot it first, I mean shoot it a lot....then determine what you may or may not want to change.....I would also recommend considering utilizing the Colt custom shop to do the work or a proven gunsmith....I know it may not be the answer you were looking for.....just trying to save you some grief.... Rod727, You are spot on! I watched (at the time) a $1200 Gold Cup & what happened when the owner got his hands on a Brownells catalog & went to town. \When he wasn't satisfied with the way it came out , tried to unload it. He found out that the $1200 gun was now at best a $400 shooter & a jam -O-matic at that. |
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I have a new Series 70 Colt's pistol with the 100 years of service rollmark on the right side. It is an excellent gun in every way.
The only two things it requires are a Trigger Job and some Dehorning at the front of the slide. It really tears my holsters up when I put the gun back in leather. Ambi safeties are frequently associated with changing their setting without pilot input. Not a good thing. Since the new Series 70 Colt's pistols have no plastic in them, there's really nothing that needs to be changed out. Get a good gunsmith to tweak the FCG and call it good. |
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Quoted:
Ok you asked for aedvice so here goes.....Colt is set up to manufacture and mass produce 80 series guns....for that reason the 70 series are routed through the custom shop....any upgrade you perform should be well thought out and not just "swapping parts" if you are not very careful you could in fact do considerable damage to the value of your pistol by installing what you may consider "upgraded parts".....now its your gun so do what you want but my advice would be to shoot it first, I mean shoot it a lot....then determine what you may or may not want to change.....I would also recommend considering utilizing the Colt custom shop to do the work or a proven gunsmith....I know it may not be the answer you were looking for.....just trying to save you some grief.... This is without a doubt the best advise you're going to get. I've never understood why someone that has never shot the platform feels the need to change things on a gun they've never shot. 
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Depending on what kind of shooting you will be doing a Kart barrel might be a good idea.
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Quoted:
I am now the pround owner of my first 1911. I bought a Colt Gov 70 Series as part of a unit group buy and I want to make it a little more user-friendly. Been doing a lot of reading/studying on how it works, and want to make this an entry-level gunsmithing project. Here's what I'm thinking I should replace: Trigger- I like the Caspian Trik Hammer/Sear Beaver tail grip safety Safety (ambi) What else should I replace and should I lean towards one brand? I like Ed Brown and Wilson Combat. Any other brands I should consider? Any I should specifically stay away from? Thanks in advance for the advice. +1 on the advice recommending professional installation. Brown and Wilson are good to go, as is EGW and Caspian. Avoid Masen parts. |
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Awesome, thank you gentlemen.
I have about 500 rounds through it already. Looking for that magic 1000+ before I make any changes. I have been hammer bit a few times, which led me to thinking I should look into some new parts in the first place. Being left handed is always a pain in the ass, I like my guns ambi as possible. So far it feeds everything very well. RN and HPs both. No FTF or FTE. It did stovepipe on my father-in-law, but I think he limp-wristed it. 
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Back when my Series 70 was NIB and after I put 2-300 rounds through it I had a tier1 1911 pistolsmith go through it and replace parts, tweak and tighten slide to frame. It ran like a top and ate everything.
Years later I had an Ed Brown oversize slide stop put thinking it would tighten up the gun after thousands of rounds over the years and regain some accuracy. After that it wouldn't cycle anything but ball ammo and not reliably. Instead of keeping the original Colt slide stop and handing it back when I picked up the gun, the hacks that I left it with in S. Austin said they threw a completely good Colt slide stop in the garbage because they said I said "it wasn't any good." (Lie). Until I can get a real pistolsmith to figure out the bug I have a very expensive paperweight. Rant over. My advise is to not put on an ambi thumb safety and use the original slide stop. The ambi thumb safety I tried on mine, with a high combat grip, hit my trigger finger at the first joint where it attaches to the hand and therefore not do able. Being able to learn and use the proper grip far outweighs the reason for possible ever needing an ambi, weak hand safety. |
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Years later I had an Ed Brown oversize slide stop put thinking it would tighten up the gun after thousands of rounds over the years and regain some accuracy. After that it wouldn't cycle anything but ball ammo and not reliably. The original slide stop may have been relieved where the link rides, or otherwise modified to work with your link and barrel. Just from the sound of it, it seems as if the lugs are bumping against the slide stop pin as the barrel moves up into battery. If it's severe enough, the bump can slow down the slide velocity substantially as the slide stop has to beat its way past the bump on the lugs. Do some research on 1911forum regarding "barrel bump" and compare the photos you find with your lower barrel lugs, and see if that may be the problem. |
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Years later I had an Ed Brown oversize slide stop put thinking it would tighten up the gun after thousands of rounds over the years and regain some accuracy. After that it wouldn't cycle anything but ball ammo and not reliably. The original slide stop may have been relieved where the link rides, or otherwise modified to work with your link and barrel. Just from the sound of it, it seems as if the lugs are bumping against the slide stop pin as the barrel moves up into battery. If it's severe enough, the bump can slow down the slide velocity substantially as the slide stop has to beat its way past the bump on the lugs. Do some research on 1911forum regarding "barrel bump" and compare the photos you find with your lower barrel lugs, and see if that may be the problem. Scuse' me OP, let me borrow your thread for a second, please. The tier1 pistolsmith who originally tuned the gun was Fred Tripp, Virgil's brother. He used the original Colt barrel and accurized it bu building up and cutting the lugs to fit to slide. I screwed up the fit and timing by letting the hack stuff in an Ed Brown. If he cut, or filed to fit the link, and hopefully thats all he did, is it repairable? I was hoping to just put an original Colt slide stop back in. |
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I was in the same boat when I got my first Colt, a MKIV series 80 Gov't model.
I replaced the arched plastic MS housing with a nice flat checkered stainless one from Ed Brown. I then replaced the hammer/sear/disconnector with the fantastic drop in Harrison Extreme Service ignition parts kit, which amounted to getting a trigger job just from installing those parts, so I kept the stock trigger and it feels 100 percent better. These upgrades required no gunsmithing skills, only patience, a set of punches, small files, and the easily gained knowledge of a full detail strip and reassembly. I then bit off a bit more and got an ambi-safety from Wilson, and I got it right the first time, perfect fit and function. Just read up, watch some videos, get a small file set and examine the functioning safety that came out of the gun to get the idea and GO SLOW! 
Then came the 'drop in' beavertail safety from Wilson, and it's not so drop in. I got a little agressive with the file and ruined the first one as a learning experience. Nothing like an extra 80 bucks to teach you to take it easy with that file...Overall I'm really happy with the frame fit without modification. Second time around I got it right, and I'm a happy camper. Just like the thumb safety, look close at the tolerances and watch as many youtube videos/read up as much as you can, and you'll be able to do it once you understand the basic operating principles of the mechanism. After that I threw on some new grips and an 18lb Wolff recoil spring and it's like a new gun, just the way I want it. The best part is that I retained all the old parts and did not modify or 'bubba' the actual gun in any way so it can be returned to the stock configuration if I so desire. It's a great shooter, totally reliable, and I gained a great sense of satisfaction from doing it myself. BEFORE: 
AFTER: 
Gratuitous pic: 
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Quoted:
I was in the same boat when I got my first Colt, a MKIV series 80 Gov't model. I replaced the arched plastic MS housing with a nice flat checkered stainless one from Ed Brown. I then replaced the hammer/sear/disconnector with the fantastic drop in Harrison Extreme Service ignition parts kit, which amounted to getting a trigger job just from installing those parts, so I kept the stock trigger and it feels 100 percent better. These upgrades required no gunsmithing skills, only patience, a set of punches, small files, and the easily gained knowledge of a full detail strip and reassembly. I then bit off a bit more and got an ambi-safety from Wilson, and I got it right the first time, perfect fit and function. Just read up, watch some videos, get a small file set and examine the functioning safety that came out of the gun to get the idea and GO SLOW!
Then came the 'drop in' beavertail safety from Wilson, and it's not so drop in. I got a little agressive with the file and ruined the first one as a learning experience. Nothing like an extra 80 bucks to teach you to take it easy with that file...Overall I'm really happy with the frame fit without modification. Second time around I got it right, and I'm a happy camper. Just like the thumb safety, look close at the tolerances and watch as many youtube videos/read up as much as you can, and you'll be able to do it once you understand the basic operating principles of the mechanism. After that I threw on some new grips and an 18lb Wolff recoil spring and it's like a new gun, just the way I want it. The best part is that I retained all the old parts and did not modify or 'bubba' the actual gun in any way so it can be returned to the stock configuration if I so desire. It's a great shooter, totally reliable, and I gained a great sense of satisfaction from doing it myself. This is exactly what I want! Thanks again. |
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Things like arched or flat mainspring housings are a personal choice about what 'feels' best.
Even trigger length comes down to how long YOUR fingers are. Take it out and shoot it a while before changing anything. While a plastic MS housing may be annoying it at least gives you a chance to see how that style fits your hand before changing it. It might be fine, or you still might want to try an arched. The same for trigger length. You have one length to try, and if it is plastic you could swap in the same length in metal if you want, or maybe change the length as desired. You need some shooting time on gun gun to decide what you want to change. |