Posted: 5/6/2009 8:31:48 AM EDT
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First - sorry for the lack of photos...I'll explain why in a second 
Anyway, a few months ago I went up to Cabelas, intending to finger-fondle an Ed Brown and maybe buy one...however, they only had a Commander-sized one in stock. I specifically was looking for a Gov't model-sized, so I passed...but did spot the Colt in the case. That went home with me. It's a Series 80 gun. It comes with a full length guide rod and a spring cup that is totally hollow...it pretty much requires a bushing wrench to remove; so far, it's my only "gripe". Well, one of two...or three... The fit and finish of the gun is right up there, better than my S70 repro, actually. The grip safety doesn't wobble, the slide doesn't wobble more than it should, and the slide/frame fit is pretty good, IMO. Everything on mine is centered (unlike some early complaints of frames/slides being mated off-center, spring tunnels being drilled off-center, etc). A big giveaway is to marker up both sides of the spring tunnel and cycle the action a few times; if the marker gets rubbed away...something's off-kilter. Mine, fortunatly, is not. According to other forums, Colt has been very good about taking guns back and reworking them until they're straightened up, if you notice a problem. Supposedly this was a teething thing with their new CNC machinery, and has supposedly been wrung out on recently-made guns. I'm guessing mine was made after they made those adjustments, because nothing that shouldn't rub, is 
The frame is undercut under the triggerguard; I didn't think I'd notice it much, but shooting it side-by-side with my S70...it's very noticable, and much appreciated. I really like the thumb safety. If I could find one in an identical profile except forged, I'd buy a bunch and swap out thumb safties on all my 1911s with it. Maybe thin out the rear raidus some where it meets the web of your thumb, but that's about it. It snicked on and off very positivily, and the profile is very comfortable. I like it more than the WC bulletproof profile. The sights are Novaks. If I make any changes here, it'll be to Novak night sights, but that'll be about it. They're highly functional as-is. The rear of the gun, where the frame/slide meet, is nicely blended on mine. Nothing's sticking out or looks like someone got over-enthusiastic with a grinder or buffing wheel. Everything lines up, there's no unsightly gaps. The grip safety is fit very well. You can tell it's not exactily %100 hand custom fitted, but it's not mismatched, either. It blends very nicely, there's no ridges or gaps on mine. My second gripe, after needing the bushing wrench for disassembly, are the grips. They look very nice, but have all the practical application of a power take off on a Porsche. It took a little bit of work to pop the grips off (very, very tight fit); they were instantly replaced with a set of G10s, in black and grey. They really set it off, especially with the stainless frame. The grips seem more for presentation than use. It came with two stainless Colt 8 round mags. It was in that configuration that I took it out; no other changes were made; stock mainspring housing, stock external parts, etc. Only the grips were replaced. I shot it side-by-side with my S70 repro, which had some changes; WC thumb safety, hammer bobbed and dehorned, Caspian Trik-Trigger, WC bulletproof slide stop, and an EGW oversized firing pin stop with a WWI-type rear bevel on it, and a set of full-checkered wood stocks. They were fed WWB bulk pack .45 and some handloads; 230gr ball and 185gr SWC over I think 5 grains of Unique...I loaded them a while ago, and this was partly to clear those out and make room for a new batch with Bullseye powering them. The SWC loads are pretty weak and pretty much need a 14lb or lower recoil spring to fully cycle a gun. I used a mix of mags; the $8 "military surplus" stuff a bunch of places are unloading, Colt factory 7 round mags, a WC 47D, and a couple other odds and ends that say they feed .45. The only malfunctions I had were due to the light load in the SWC rounds; everything fed fine. The light loads didn't fully cycle the gun, but that was expected. Ejection on the full-power loads was pretty solid, and all the empties landed in the same general area. The extractor didn't seem to clock at all, though with the S80 system, that doesn't surprise me so much. The cases were not dented, so the relief cut in the slide seems to do it's thing. All told, I ran probably 200 or 250 rounds through it. Shooting side-by-side with the S70, some things immeadiatly came out...first, it's a LOT more comfortable to shoot. That beavertail really makes it much more comfortable. Even with the bobbed and dehorned hammer on my S70, I can still feel it, since I hold the gun high. It doesn't bite, but it's still not very comfortable after 5 or 6 mags. The Combat Elite never got uncomfortable, at all. The oversize EGW stop made a very, very noticable change in recoil impulses between the two. I just ordered an S80 EGW stop, and will be fitting it to this gun as soon as I can. It's worth the work to swap it out. I'm on the fence still between swapping out the MSH for an arched one; I prefer arched housings but...I'm not really noticing a need on this one. I'll buy one and try it out, but I may be sticking with the flat plastic one. The front strap could use some serrating or checkering, IMO. I'll throw some grip tape on it and see if that does the trick, but with the undercut, I think it'd really benefit from a grippier surface. Accuracy was right on; my usual targets are paper plates at 30 or so feet, with a red stickie in the middle. Obliterating the stickie was trivial. I didn't try long range shooting, but if it hits at POA at 30 feet, it should be fine. The trigger pull was...fantastic. Honestly. Compared to the S70, it was actually nicer. I had opportunity once to try a YoBo S80 gun...in comparison, this trigger has a tiny, tiny, tiny bit of creep, but it broke lighter than the YoBo. I am %150 impressed by it. ...all of this leads me to my 3rd gripe, which is why I don't have any photos... Last night, I went to break it down for it's post-range cleaning. I detail-stripped the gun when I first got it for cleaning and lubrication, so this would be the 2nd time for a stripping. This is my first (and only) S80 gun, so I'm still getting used to the disassembly procedure. After removing the slide assembly, the barrel assembly, and brushing/soaking the bore, it was time to pay attention to the slide...and removing the S80 firing pin plunger assembly from the slide, the plunger spring launched itself into the secret spring dimension. I know that springs are concrete-soluable, but I didn't realize they were also carpet and wood soluable, too. Consequently, I have a pack of springs on order, and can't take photos until it's back together The S80 system, IMO, is overkill, and my gripe...but, if it makes some people feel warm and fuzzy, more power to 'em. Yes, I know it'll go back together without the plunger just fine, I just don't believe in disabling safety systems that the gun comes with, especially if they otherwise work just fine. It's just a pain in the ass to deal with every time I strip the gun (the extractor and tunnel get cleaned with every cleaning; it's too important to not pay as much attention to as the feedramp or bore).
I'm currently hunting for an appropriate magnet to stick in my disassembly area, so in the future things hopefully won't launch very far
Overall impressions? If Colt can keep the QC up, it's a winner, IMO. If they offered a version in S70 format, it'd be even better. If they offered an option to bundle it with both flat and arched mainspring housings? Better still. These guns are supposedly being made on Colt's new CNC machinery...so quality wise these should be, from here on out, right up there, almost to the semi-custom level. I'm still a little disappointed in the abundance of cast and MIM parts, but they're part of the game these days...can't avoid 'em. If I remember right I paid just under a grand for it, and at that price it's a great deal, IMO. You'll be hard-pressed to find something of equal or better quality and fitting (including internals) for that price. I think you're still paying a $50 or so premium for the Colt name...but that premium is still cheaper than the Kimber name, with IMO better quality. I don't mind paying that little extra for a pony. Another web site dedicated to 1911s has an article on it in their E-Zine, with some excellent photos and a good review. I'll get some photos of it ASAP, with or without the plunger installed
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| The only one I've seen around here was $1100. If I could find one under $1000, no question it would be going home with me. I haven't been this excited about a new Colt product in a long time. FWIW I disagree about the grips, they work fine for me and I wouldn't have compunctions about leaving them on the gun to get beat up. |
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Quoted: ... ....I'm currently hunting for an appropriate magnet to stick in my disassembly area, so in the future things hopefully won't launch very far ... Once you learn to work with your hands and a pistol in them, large plastic ziploc bags can be your friend! Somewhere in my room there is a thumb safety plunger (a very small part) from a Gov't Pocketlite .380....it was a good thing that I bought two, just in case! Otherwise, welcome to the Elite club!  As you can see, the old Combat Elites were not nearly as nicely fitted as yours is... |
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Some pictures of it...I must confess, after I cleaned it I did notice a minor amount of rubbing on the front right side of the dust cover; it is making some contact with the frame, somewhere. However...it runs, and it's got a sweeeeet trigger...I'll let it ride like this for now. You can barely see the rubbing in the first photo. Some overview photos; rollmarks, etc. Any smudges/shmutz on it are either fingerprints, oil, or grease
Here's a decent shot of the back... 
Slightly beveled magwell 
Shot of the beavertail fit...it's not exactily custom-tight, but it's not flopping around loose/eat your hand in the gap, either... 
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Quoted:
Once you learn to work with your hands and a pistol in them, large plastic ziploc bags can be your friend! Somewhere in my room there is a thumb safety plunger (a very small part) from a Gov't Pocketlite .380....it was a good thing that I bought two, just in case! The number of things I've launched so far is actually pretty small...two detents from the front pivot pin on an AR reciever (two different times, that is), a plunger from a Hipower thumb safety, and in one unfortunate incident, I launched a mainspring housing spring and cup directly at my face from a 1911. Fortunatly, chicks dig scars.
Found all the bits eventually (even the detents, go figure!) I found the plunger spring a little bit ago; I was lucky in that I was working with a throw rug under me...after some jockeying I was able to lift it and roll it up a bit, and the spring rolled on out. If I can find a clear garbage bag...that might be the way to go. Plenty of room to manuver in one
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Quoted:
Shot of the beavertail fit...it's not exactily custom-tight, but it's not flopping around loose/eat your hand in the gap, either... http://www.misplaced.net/~edward/arfcom/cce/DSCN0576-small.jpg Still looks better than this: 
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Quoted: Quoted: Once you learn to work with your hands and a pistol in them, large plastic ziploc bags can be your friend! Somewhere in my room there is a thumb safety plunger (a very small part) from a Gov't Pocketlite .380....it was a good thing that I bought two, just in case! ...If I can find a clear garbage bag...that might be the way to go. Plenty of room to manuver in one Ziploc "Big Bags"  |
| I absolutely agree with you, the General has improved the quality 10 fold. Colt is now the best buy for an out of the box 1911 you can get. I just got a Custom Shop 1911 and it is terrific. It was 1K, half the price of a Wilson or Les Baer. I'm very happy about it. |
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Quoted: I absolutely agree with you, the General has improved the quality 10 fold. Colt is now the best buy for an out of the box 1911 you can get. I just got a Custom Shop 1911 and it is terrific. It was 1K, half the price of a Wilson or Les Baer. I'm very happy about it. I've got to agree, as well. When I got my New Agent, the closest equivalent production Kimber was several hundred more dollars. |
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Beautiful Gun!
Recently purchased a Colt Commander. Had the exact same rubbing in the exact same area. Very minor. Did some minor deburring in the frame and problem solved. Everything else was top knotch. I did have to do some deburring and honing of sharp edges on the barrel. Colt is putting out some quality firearms at fair prices nowdays. It's good to see them making strides. Mine has not missed a beat with the two mags that came with it or with Chip McCormick power mags. |