MKIV ser. 70 ? Barrel bushing too tight ?

[Pred]

I had just picked up this MKIV series 70 Government from 1971,
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd174/predspics/Coltmk4-70Gov2.jpg
It had belonged to a collector, and looks as though it may have never been fired, or anly a magazine or two in it's life time, Whick brings me to the Question,,, If you remove the mag, and pull back the slide, and slowly ease it forward, It will stop about 1/2" before battery,,
The first mag at 25 yards I could'n get it to land on the 12" target, So i ran about 50 rounds through it, Then grouped 14 out of 14 in a 6" group,,
It only once in about 100 rounds not go into battery, 1/4" away,,
I had 4 mags and ruled two out as disfunctional, Funny though, they were colt mags, But regardless of that,,, I am aware that some of these are tight, and need a few hundred rounds passed through to break em in,,, Is there something I am missing??
When I got the Colt, I took it apart, and found it quite dry, So a drop here and there just as I would do to any of my othersss,
What is your opinion???
Is there something else I can try?
Thank you
Peter. :geek:

[Sarge45]

Run it WET. Not just a drop or two. Oil the disconnector and its rail and inside the rails of the slide and frame. Make sure you have oil on the barrel lugs and the barrel link, as well as link pins. Oil the bushing around the barrel and the barrel itself. Not so much it's dripping but it should shine.

Make sure your mags and ammo are secured in your underwear drawer and double check your weapon has no ammo in it. Pull up to the TV, find a good movie, and hand cycle that slide continuously for about 20 minutes.

Put a new recoil spring in it and you should be good to go. If your bicep isn't bulging by then, try barbell curls. ;)

[Pred]

Sarge45, what lb recoil spring do you recommend???? Are you thinknig that the 36 year old recoil spring ihas weakened?? I never thought, but I will try a new spring... What lb?
Peter.

[jeff1124]

16 lb springs are what is was designed for. Maybe lighter if you were only going to shoot light loads. Standard loads = standard spring!! 16 lbs, Wolff and IMSI make fine springs and are not overly spendy.

[tenx]

The collet barrel bushing in a Series 70 will cause a bit of resistence just before going into battery. It sounds like it is snapping into battery. That is normal. When firing the inertia will lock the gun up properly. The one thing I found over the years is that the recoil springs on series 70 feel a bit light. Even if the gun hasn't been shot, I would urge you to get a new 16 lb recoil spring or even a 17 lb spring.

Although I don't recommend leaving the gun dry, a 1911 should function even without lube. GI manuals said in desert condition leave out oil and grease to prevent sand attaching to the gun and jamming it, for example.

[Sarge45]

Agree on the 16# for standard pressure ammo. I have used 18# on my 5" guns and they ran fine, giving a little added "oomph" for good lockup, but 16# is fine.

I would definitely look at changing the springs. Mag, recoil, mainspring.

[Sarge45]

Although I don't recommend leaving the gun dry, a 1911 should function even without lube. GI manuals said in desert condition leave out oil and grease to prevent sand attaching to the gun and jamming it, for example.

Just keep in mind, todays guns are generally built a little tighter than the mil units. That looser fit is a little more forgiving. A well worn newer gun could probably run for a while dry.

[dakota1911]

Nice picture, and it sounds like you do have an almost new Series 70 MKIV Gov. and a tight one at that. Congrats.