Is colt 1911 worth trading my Para 1911?

[1911shooter]

Keep the Para and forget the colt, i'm the biggest colt hater here but i do own 2 delta elites and 3 officer acp's other then those i would never reccomend a colt and they took alot of money to get running right which is why i still have them. i like the 10mm, so that is why the delta's plus they are 1911's and the officers acp is the best concealed carry gun ever thought of. but to give up a good running pistol for one you will have to dump a ton of money in for them to run and you will need to dump a ton of money no way around it. stay with the Para and be happy.

[jdlv4_0]

Originally Posted by Mity2

What does basic reliability package consist of?

http://www.egw-guns.com/

Polish, throat, tune extractor, polish bolt face, check chamber, adjust ejector face $85.00

That's really all you should need, that and make sure you use good quality mags.

I don't know what EGW's lead time is, last gun I had worked on took 3 months, but it was a problem child, and I've got to give a big round of applause to Geo for getting that one running right.

Given that you're going to have a wait, if there's anything else you want done, I'd have it done while it's up there.

[Lycanthrope]

They did lightening cuts in my slide and rechromed it in under a month.

Well done.


LycanproEGWthrope

[Rule10b5]

Originally Posted by Rule10b5 View Post
Hell no.

First, every stock Colt auto I've ever owned has been a pain in the ass to get running properly. Even if you wanted to leave it dead stock you'd have to mess with it to get it working.

Originally Posted by brian

that is a poor blanket statement.
i'm not sure how long colt has been making 1911's but they all worked fine till colt thought they would go about mucking with the design. as long as they were built according to the prophets standards, that were handed down upon the mountian, they work just fine......

So you're saying that every Colt I've ever owned hasn't been a pain in the ass to get running?

Really?

How about the Colt Defender that worked for 300-400 rounds, and then started spitting brass straight back at my forehead fast enough to split my forehead enough to warrant a butterfly bandage? How about the fact that I sent it back twice, had the extractor and ejector tuned and replaced, and it's now in the shop for a third time, for the same problem, plus FTFs?

Or the Gold Cup that worked for about 800 rounds before getting light strikes and FTEs? I sent that back twice before selling it.

And it isn't just the "new" designs:

How about the 1911 and 1911A1 that wouldn't feed anything but ball, and even that was only about 90%? And even if they did, who the hell wants a 1911 with miniature sights on it? Or a grip safety that doesn't work for everyone? Or a nice little bit of hammer bite thrown in for fun?

By contrast, I have had zero complaints with my Nighthawk, Springfield, and S&W (except for the plunger tube coming unstaked, but that happens on any 1911, except for those with it forged as part of the frame, like the Vickers Tactical). And even with the tube unstaked, the S&W worked perfectly.

As far as my experience goes, my prior statement is absolutely accurate. IMHO, buying a Colt made after the early 1970s is a lot like buying a Harley made during the AMF years.

If I want a flawless, high end, droolworthy 1911, I'll buy another Nighthawk.

If I want a project gun, I'll buy a base Springfield and work it up.

If I want an easy to carry 1911 that works perfectly out of the box I"ll buy a S&W 1911PD Commander.

If I want an overpriced, poorly engineered, finicky, annoying, "name" 1911, that I have to rebuild to get working, I'll buy another Colt.

[DCChris]

Even up I'd trade. I wouldn't go $200-$250 and your gun.

[Jailkeeper]

Keep the Para.

East Coast has a Gold Cup in stock. I always wanted one until I handled it a while. Then I handed it back to the fellow behind the counter and saved myself $1,000.00.

I had the Gold Cup on my list for years. I came home and took it off the list.

I understand the mystique around Colt pistols. I just can not justify spending that much money, then having to spend more money to get it to work as smooth as some of the other pistols in my safe work.

[NineseveN]

Originally Posted by Mity2

One I looked at, barrel lock up was fair, and slide to frame fit was fair as well, definately not shockingly good or anything.
I think when it boils down to, your paying $$$ for the name. As long as people are willing to pay more for colt name, colt 1911(or Python or anaconda, and 6920) will remain unreasonalbly expensive.
I could trade my Para for it, spend $200 more right off start, then odd:

beaver tail
extended safety
better grip
better sight
tighten up the slide/frame fit worthy of Colt's price
match grade barrel
match grade bushing
replace arched MSH to flat checkered MSH
work the trigger so that again, its worthy of colt's price
And polish the hell out of it(since my para is)

by this time its about as good as my Para is right now, but who knows for how much more.

Instead of getting the Colt plus paying $200, you do realize you could buy an Armscor/RIA or a Springfield GI, put that same work into it and have a gun that's just as good, right? Find one of those used and rock on with it. Then you'd still have your Para, which sounds like a nice gun, and a you'd also have just as good a gun as the Colt with all those upgrades. You get 2 guns for paying about $200-$300 more in the end.

[Mity2]

Originally Posted by NineseveN

Instead of getting the Colt plus paying $200, you do realize you could buy an Armscor/RIA or a Springfield GI, put that same work into it and have a gun that's just as good, right? Find one of those used and rock on with it. Then you'd still have your Para, which sounds like a nice gun, and a you'd also have just as good a gun as the Colt with all those upgrades. You get 2 guns for paying about $200-$300 more in the end.

yes I'm leaning towrds this idea.
I'm building AR now, and once I'm finished, I'm gonna look in to building my own..

[gold cup abuser]

As much as I love my gold cup I bought it knowing that out of the box it was not quite what I wanted, but I have always wanted one and got a stainless gold cup trophy and had the Colt Custom Shop work on it.

For me it was money well spent and I have no regrets.

And out of the box my gold cup ran with no problems or issues.

That being said, I made my decision after seeing and not being impressed with the stuff from Springfield or Kimber. Others have had different experiences and for them the choice of Kimber or Springfield was valid.
And I did not want to put out the money that a Nighthawk or Baer was asking. It was not that I couldn't but I didn't want to.

If I had a para and was facing a trade PLUS cash for a stock Colt then I would pass.

If I was looking for a basic pistol with all the mods and I didnt want to spend a ton of cash then it would be Rock Island Armory Tatical hands down.

Has all the tricks and the price just cant be beat.

All I would add is a set of night sights and have the trigger set to 4-5lbs

This link from centerfire systems shows the Tatical:

http://www.centerfiresystems.com/ind...OD&ProdID=1082

For now I would pass on the Taurus 1911 as the demand to price point is still at the place where a good deal is few and far beteween.


Good Luck on whatever you pick

ps: have the para tuned by someone who KNOWS the 1911 design not a general gunsmith.

[Freebird]

I've gone on record before saying that, as one of my first handguns I could not have picked a bigger lemon than my Mark IV Series 70. I spent $$, added some niceties and had to spend more $$ to STILL have it jam continuously. Colt owes me big time for this. Finally traded it after years of never trusting it to go boom when you needed it to. Go with another brand and try to avoid the series 80- I never could warm up to the extra safety. More internal parts that can fail and add to the clean-up.

Good Luck and stay with what works (for you, especially)!