colt 1911's ??

[palerider0485]

i would get a steel frame gun. not that aluminum is terible, i just perfer blued steel or stainless. i really like the new colts, get a rail gun. that way u can mount light if you desire. the new colts are very nice out of the box.

 

[Leadeye]

Two of my Colts are from the 20s still work every time.

 

[Drail]

If you plan on shooting it a lot - then get a steel frame. If you plan on keeping it for a long time - then get a steel frame. If it's just going to be carried and rarely shot - then go aluminum. I used to compete and build 1911s and what I saw over the years was that the aluminum guns won't hold up. I would strongly recommend you look at some Springfields - for the money they are much better built than anything Colt has produced since the 40s and 50s. By that time their machinery which was built in 1911 had pretty much worn out. They built hundreds of thousands of guns on those machines for WW II. They have replaced most of them with CAD/CAM machines but the old guys that hand fitted the critical parts are all gone now. There are some very nice Colts out there but they are overpriced for what they are and their dimensional tolerances are all over the map. I had Colts on my bench with sear and hammer pin holes off center, not square to the frame and not even parallel to each other. Try to get a nice trigger pull with THAT setup. I am still shooting 3 Springfields that I built in the 80s and they are still running perfectly and they will keep up with a Les Baer from a machine rest.

 

[TubThumper]

If you are looking for a more "modern" 1911, look at an XSE version. They are "enhanced" with undercut trigger guard, upswept beaver tail grip safety, skeleton hammer, three-hole alumnium trigger , Novak sights and front slide serrations.

BTW, Colt just dropped XSE's from their line up (literally last week), so there will not be new ones produced any longer. You can still pick up a brand new one online or probably at the Indy 1500 this weekend. Check out ZX Guns, they probably still have them.

Any word on an XSE replacement line?