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- Oct 28, 2015
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I waited a very long time for it... my 12 year-old kid longing. I finally have my first Colt.
This Colt Gold Cup, MK IV, Series 70, National Match is a brand new one. It is .45 ACP, 1911 style in blue… Hard to find new in blue these days. It was a REAL pain to find ANY Colt for sale new that would actually be present in gun stores. I know this is not a result of the bankruptcy proceeding.
The fact is, I have been annoyed by the nature of Colt’s marketing for many recent years. I have tried a few times- sometimes quite hard- to buy a Colt. They publicize. Massively. They drive an interest. Then they fail to provide adequate inventory access. I would have purchased the new Colt Mustang before, but after looking in stores for two years, I gave up and bought another product.
But, all that was in the past. I finally have MY Colt in my hands. I am a bit giddy as I prep the first target for the range!
The Colt feels heavy, but solid and balanced. It is put together tight. The movement is smooth, but requires more muscle to start than most of the other slides I have used. It is mostly
steel and iron... little polymer on this. It takes up all of your hand, but is pleasing to hold. The grip is rough and does not coddle you.
These are my first three shots at about 6 yards away. I managed not to giggle with glee while I shot them.
The sights are a light absorbing black. There was a light out at the range and I had some trouble finding a sight picture at first. I thought, ‘Wow. No way I would like to shoot this at night.’ There is no ‘glowing’ modern day stuff on these old school sights.
The recoil did not bother me, but you know this is a big honkin’ hand cannon when it goes off. After shooting 5 magazines, I notice the gun had already raised a nice ‘strawberry’ on the webbing between my index finger and thumb. ‘Oh,’ I think. ‘I had better adjust my grip lower.’ I had intended to shoot about three hundred rounds. I am already wondering if that might be too much. I adjust my grip a little lower.
I am good enough to know when my shooting style is consistent and when it is not. When I do the same thing? The bullet does the same thing. This gun really could, as they say, drive nails! I spend some time getting to learn the gun and discover two things.
First, the grip of the pistol is big and even though I have very big hands, I need every bit of them to ‘reach’ everything. This new situation is causing me to place a little extra tension on my trigger finger after the recoil. This combined with a VERY light trigger break causes me to send off a few unintended shots down range while still trying to reacquire my sight picture for the next planned shot. I adjust again.
Second, after adjusting my grip lower, I had begun to unconsciously pull the trigger from the first joint in my index finger. This caused the shots to pull slightly left. Once I realized what I was doing, I adjusted again and was rewarded with center bull shots. This meant I was once again shooting from the middle pad of my trigger finger.
I fired only about 200 rounds before having enough for the day. This was a little short of what I intended, but I was well satisfied.
This all may sound as if I was disappointed with the gun. Not at all! I had a big, goofy, pie eating grin pasted all over my face the whole time! I expect some ‘get acquainted’ time with a new pistol. I was having a blast! This is definitely a keeper! My inner 12 year old is quite proud and happy!
The following is my last target of the day from about 11 yards away. I fired a 7 round clip. Three shots left, two together a little lower, and two where I lapsed my concentration. Conclusion? The gun is better than I am.
Now, while I will heartily recommend anyone with a love for old school 1911 style .45s get one for themselves? There are some things I do not believe this gun is a great choice for.
1. Conceal Carry: Too dang heavy! This would be unpleasant to wear constantly. Plus, the barrel is long enough that with any holster I could find, the end always found a way to stick out below my un-tucked shirt. Plus, I do not think these sights (the weakest part of the gun) would hold up.
2. Night Duty: Unless you change the sights? Nope. And, I am not ready to change the sights. This is a gun intended for range/target competition.
3. Not Subtle: It is a classic, but it is a big gun. It sorta screams, I MAY BE THE BEST DRESSED GUN, BUT I AM ALSO THE BADDEST GUN IN THE ROOM. I can just see some people fainting and screaming if it happened to be glimpsed in ‘polite’ society.
4. Round Shortage: If you feel comforted by having 15 rounds in the magazine? This ain’t for you. (If I need that many I just think I should practice more!) This comes with factory mags that carry 7 + 1 in the chamber. I have nice Wilson Mags with 8 + 1 in the chamber that are hardly noticeable.
6. Long Days: People with tender hands and/or a desire to pound away all day at the range will likely not enjoy this gun. The recoil is noticeable. But, if you are like that a .45 is probably not right for you anyway.
In summary, I am enjoying this gun a lot. It is great fun with above average accuracy. Everybody should get one!
I hope this was useful and/or fun for you. If there is something I missed that you want to know about, shout!
:Shh:
