Current Colt 1911's quality question.

by Catoosa, Tuesday, July 12, 2016, 10:40 (2995 days ago) @ Murphy

Murphy, I bought a NIB Government Model .38 Super back in 2011. While not a perfect specimen, it has turned out to be an excellent gun. The most serious glitch was a slightly miscut chamber throat that produced "smiley faces" on the brass even with factory ammo. A quick trip back to the factory got it a new barrel which is perfect (and amazingly accurate). Otherwise, right out of the box the gun ran like a moonshine car - can't recall a single malf since I have had it.

The gun also has a cosmetic blemish, a wavy line in the polish on the left side slide flat. It's not a big thing to me because it resulted in me getting the gun for a very nice price and I plan to wear most of the finish off the durned old thing before I check out anyway. In truth, most Colt freaks will tell you candidly that Colt-made 1911s frequently have little cosmetic quirks like that if you look closely at them. This goes back to the beginning when guns were hand-finished. It's one of the endearing little traits that make a Colt what it is, or at least used to be before injection molding and CNC machines.

I'd buy another Colt 1911 in a minute if I need another one.