I recently bought two new Colt 1911A1s - a WWII model and a series 70 Government model reissue. They set me back $829 and $789, respectively, plus $30 shipping.

Fit and finish is very good on both, and especially good on the parkerized WW2. There is a little bit of play in both slides. The S70 has a plastic MSH, arched & serrated; the WW2's is steel. The WW2 has a great, crisp trigger right out of the box, and the S70's is terrible-very long creep. Both have the MIM internals. I will probably fix up the S70 with a C&S trigger group and hammer. The WW2 will stay as it is, since it shoots so good. I think the custom shop takes more time fitting the parts than the factory floor.

Range report: I cleaned 'em and went to my club's outdoor plate bay to shoot 100 rounds thru each to test and start the break-in. I was shooting Speer Lawman 230 gr ball ammo from Ammoman, and I used a mix of Wil-Rog, Chip McCormick, and USGI NIW mags (I kept the mags that came with the pistols, 2 with the WW2 and 1 with the S70, in the boxes). The WWII shot point of aim, was surprisingly accurate with the dinky GI sights, and had zero feed failures in 100 non-stop rounds using all three mag types. The long spur hammer bit a nice blister on the web of my right hand.

I then started in with the S70. It shot a tad low, but in fairness, it took me a little bit of transition time to get used to the fatter, taller sights, and the trigger pull on this gun is really bad with a long creep. I had to focus hard to get a good break, and then I started really whacking the plates and pins from 25 feet. Twice, in 100 rounds, when I thumbed the slide stop on a reload, the round hung on the ramp and the slide stopped short of battery. The WW2 did not do this.

So far, two thumbs up! The polished blue of the S70 is really pretty, and no S80 fp safety BS! The WW2 is also first-rate, very nice, and I would highly recommend getting one while you can (only 4000 made).

I will post some pics as soon as I can.

can't wait to see them. I assume from what you said that the WWII is the new reissue?

They are both reissues. The WW2 model is from the Colt Custom Shop and suposedly only 4000 will be sold. The series 70 is a production reissue of the classic blue S70 GM. HTH

Good read thanks.