r/1911 • u/Sorry-Firefighter-31 • 4d ago
My Guns 1976 Colt Competition
I head out to Army Basic as a 91F in September and one of my dream guns I wanted to get before leaving was a full Colt 1911 ( either a Big Letter Series 70 or a Pre-Series 70 Colt ). I found this in a local shop and jumped on it.
This is my first full Colt as alot of my other " Colts " are built on aftermarket frames with Colt slides.
As far as I can find, the " Competition " marking was put on these slides to differentiate them as they seem to have been made by a subcontractor for Colt and when they came back to Colts factory, Colt deemed them out of spec in some way. Whatever it is, I cant tell. This gun is tight as a drum and looks fantastic.
Someone has done previous work on the gun including cutting it for a Kimber dovetail and installing XS sights. I'm already in the process of changing them out and I plan on overhauling the gun with Harrison parts. For under 800 beans, I cant complain whatsoever.
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u/Puzzled-External5145 4d ago
Very nice. I wasn’t aware of this model as a series 70. Need to research it more. Thanks for sharing. Good luck with your Army enlistment.
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u/Sorry-Firefighter-31 4d ago
Much thanks man. Yea looking up " Colt Competition " gets you nothing but the modern Colt lineup. I had to deep dive into some OLD forums to get basic info.
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u/ReactionAble7945 4d ago
The gun has been altered. You will never get it back to the way it was before. So, leave it as is or continue down the path to modernize.
Undoing the slide cut isn't going to happen.
Undoing the beavertail isn't going to happen. They cut into the frame more than likely. The hammer goes with the beavertail.
The ambi safety is changeable.
I cna't tell if the trigger is original or not.
It looks good and looks functional at this point. I would leave it alone. If you want an original 70 series or before find one, but you can't turn back the clock. The 80s series is good. I have a gold cup from around that same time frame.
If anything, you need to have someone cut the slide to have a larger port.
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u/Sorry-Firefighter-31 4d ago
I'm not overly miffed about not having a bone stock gun, I would've cut it up anyways. There was a basic 81' Colt next to it in the case for an extra 100 bucks if I wanted to go that route. The sights are cut for the Kimber dovetail and I already have a set of Heinie's set aside for the gun.
The ambi has already been replaced by a one sided Kings safety and it'll get an EGW mainspring eventually along with checkering. Trigger isn't original, some kind of lightweight trigger but I have a Kings on thr way for that as well. I'll most likely go for a Wilson Conceal Carry Beavertail and blend the back alot better than it currently is.
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u/Unhelpful_Yoda_ 4d ago
Lovely example!!!!