10-26-2019, 01:25 PM
(10-26-2019, 09:45 AM)Dr Stan Wrote:(10-24-2019, 12:09 PM)Highpower Wrote: I had a Colt Gov model that wouldn't hit the side of a barn - from the inside! Horrible fit and tolerances in that gun and I got rid of it.
The problem I encountered while on active duty was that the 45's I was issued while standing watch is that they were just flat out worn out. It wasn't poor machining during manufacture, but they were just way beyond their intended life span.
Funny thing is people have been buying up those very same worn out (surplus) pistols from the CMP like crazy.
But that was not the issue in my case. I bought a brand new in the box Gov model (80 series) uh... back in the early 80's. That was when Colt decided to add their new firing pin block safety system to their pistols. The slide rattled on the frame, the extra linkages for the new firing pin block made for a lousy trigger pull, and the fingered spring tension barrel bushing was a joke (IMHO).
My very first thought was to start by installing a set of (real) sights on the gun. I took the pistol to a gun shop to have new Bo-Mar sights installed and they totally ruined the slide trying to 'machine' the new/modified dovetail into the top of it. They cut it too deep and too wide and right through a bore that housed a coil spring. From the look of it I'm pretty sure the only 'machines' they used were a bench vise and a couple of dull hand files. None of the cuts were straight nor flat. The first time I shot the pistol after getting it back the front sight flew off of the slide because it wasn't staked on properly.
That was the day I swore to never let another local "gun smith" touch any of my firearms again. It's also the reason I discovered machining forums. I started looking to buy a lathe and other tools so that I could work on my guns myself, and it grew from there. I did a lot of studying to build on what I had learned in high school metal shop, and now have more machines and tools than I know what to do with. Don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
The Colt experience left a bad taste in my mouth for a long time but I eventually found the cure.
Willie