series 80 opinions..

[curvy]

i know there's a ton on this, but in a nutshell, does anybody PREFER the series 80 to the 70?
thanks
corby

[Hawkmoon]

I don't "prefer" it, but I also don't fear and loathe the Series 80. If I had any reason to want/need a firing pin safety, obviously I wouldn't have a choice.

I have a couple of Colts with the Series 80 safety and I had no trouble at all getting a nice, crisp trigger at the 4-1/2 pound pull weight I prefer. All the blather about how badly the Series 80 system messes up the trigger pull is nothing more than ... blather.

[michael t]

I have several of the 80 series and I don't have a problem with them. A pain to put back together first couple times.

[paul45]

Prefer? That's original......it just doesn't matter for me.

[elijdub]

I have no problem with the Series 80 FPS. The issue is not a deciding factor for me when purchasing a Colt. That said, given the choice between two of the exact same pistol (side by side...same quality, caliber, etc.), one with and one without the FPS, i'd probably choose the one "without" based on that characteristic alone.

[Blackhawk]

I would have to agree with the others as I would not the FPS of a series 80 prevent me from purchasing/using a nice Colt.

[Hill]

Nope. Them little parts don't bother me at all; kinda neat the way they work.

[OD#3]

I purchased my last NRM -80 when I had actually driven to the gunstore with the intent to get a NRM -70 I'd seen there a few days before. But the gunstore had a new S-80 lying next to the S-70 the day I arrived. I couldn't help but notice the price difference between the two, so I asked to examine the S-80 as well. Fit and finish was comparable on both. The particular S-80 they had just happened to have a better trigger pull than the S-70 in stock that day and was more than $200 cheaper. I do prefer steel, arched mainspring housings, however, but they can be had for less than 50 bucks. Still, the S-70 was the "ORIGINAL design executed as JMB intended and we don't need no stinkin' firing pin safeties." Unfortunately, after having read a lot of Masaad Ayoob's stuff over the years (he prefers S-80 for carry), I began to doubt whether my preference for originality was really the smart choice. I was inwardly cursing Colt for designing their FPS so well that I had no practical reason to reject it in favor of the S-70. Ayoob isn't the head guru of gun gurus, but I've always highly respected his opinions. Because of that, I feel safer using the S-80 pistols. Do I think they are a solution to a problem that was more imagined than real? Yes. Do I wish Colt had never invented the S-80 FPS? Yes; ignorance is bliss. But they did, it works, and given the option now, I choose the S-80.

This isn't intended to pursuade or convert anyone. These are my personal reasons for choosing the S-80.

[OD*]

FPS, I can take it or leave it, prefer pistols without it. I have 3 Series 80s with it and 3 I have converted.

But I have to give it credit, the firing pin stop really is an ingenious solution to a nonexistent problem. ;)

[tombstone]

I found no significant difference between the trigger pull with, and without, the Series 80 FPS installed in my NRM Colt Commander. It's a very nice 4.5 lb pull. Those little parts are a bit trickier to re-install following a detail strip, but I found a toothpick works real well to line everything up, then slide the pin in. And, when function testing, I drop a pencil down the barrel and dry fire to ensure I got them little things back in the correct place. So, after a small learning cure, I actually prefer the Series 80 for a self defense pistol that's carried Condition 1.

[F/V Icy Swan]

This is a most reasonable thread. I, too, have several of each series, and another S-80 on the way. I shoot them all, and have no problems shooting, cleaning, or assembling any of them. I do carry a S-80 daily, but that is only because my Commander is that series.

[Hunter]

I prefer the Series 80 over the Series 70 slightly.
On the original Series 70s I did not love the collet bushing (though I have never had any trouble with the few that I have).
I carry in Condition 1 most of the time and if nothing more than the added feel on a FPS does it for me.
I have heard of scenarios such as a pistol being knocked from your hand and crashing to the floor or sliding along the floor and crashing into a wall. Would this cause a non FPS pistol to discharge? I doubt it but I know with the FPS it is even more unlikely (never say never).
So for the added comfort of a safety without (in my opinion) jeapordizing function or reliability I prefer it.

[1911Tuner]

BY Series 70...if you mean the ones that came equipped with the collet bushings...I don't care for that feature, but it's easily remedied. If you mean that the gun doesn't have the Series 80 firing pin safety parts...I prefer the ones with the original design over the ones with the Series 80 system...but I wouldn't be at all uncomfortable using or carrying one WITH the system either, provided it's correctly timed and functions as intended. Most do. Some don't. And the ones that don't usually don't let you know that something is amiss until you start getting a click instead of a bang...unless you know exactly what to look for.

"Series 70" is a specific group of Colt pistols with a specific set of features related to accurizing the pistol with a bushing and barrel redesign. It doesn't correctly describe the lack of a passive firing pin safety system, though these days, it's become a quick way of doing so.

Springfield pistols don't have the Series 80 system. They are NOT Series 70 pistols.

[wetidlerjr]

I don't care as I buy what appeals to me. Series 70 or 80 doesn't matter. :)

[curvy]

so is the series 80 safety designed for protecting against dropping it on the hammer in condition one or condition two?

[OD*]

It's meant to keep the firing pin from being driven into the primer by inertia, hammer cocked or hammer down.

[dogdollar]

I don't "prefer" it, but I also don't fear and loathe the Series 80. If I had any reason to want/need a firing pin safety, obviously I wouldn't have a choice.

I have a couple of Colts with the Series 80 safety and I had no trouble at all getting a nice, crisp trigger at the 4-1/2 pound pull weight I prefer. All the blather about how badly the Series 80 system messes up the trigger pull is nothing more than ... blather.

These are my thoughts, exactly.
DD

[jeff1124]

+1 for it not really bothering me, I have several with fps and a couple without. I prefer the without fps weapons only when detail stripping; actually not so much stripping, but when reassembling! My series 80 GCT has the best trigger pull of all my Colts. So my advice is get whatever floats your boat! :D

[leade45]

I could see a series 80 fps adding some weight to a 2 lb. trigger pull on an Open Gun or Bullseye, but not on a production gun.

I happen to really like the trigger pull on my S80 NRM Commander, and appreciate this added safety feature on a carry gun.

[daveohno]

I have both, my 2 most used pistols are a Gunsite without firing pin safety and a SCG with firing pin safety. I really haven't noticed any difference, but I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination.

I did hear an interesting story about how the firing pin safety came to be installed in Colt pistols. I heard it from the guy running the Colt Model "O" Armorers Class I took last year. He said that the reason they put it in was for mounted police officers. In case their pistol fell from that height, they didn't want the thing going bang once it hit the ground. I've only heard that story once, but it was at a Colt Armorers class in Minnesota.

[OD*]

Makes as much sense as any, Dave.

[dogdollar]

Dave Lauck isn't shy about his opinion.
Read and learn.
http://www.dlsports.com/signature_firearms_1911.html

DD

[daveohno]

:eek: I thought Baers pistols were expensive! :eek: He likes the firing pin safety. But they are very nice looking pistols.

[auto45]

In today's "world", I'm surprised that 1911s are still produced without FP safeties to be honest!

[Hill]

I'll admit to being surprised when Colt issued the "repro" models without the firing pin safety. I'd thought the whole thing arose from legislative pressures on manufacturers to take actions to improve the safety of products, yet here is Colt making a manufacturing statement that the previous steps were not necessary after all. Or do they think that no buyer will shoot their repro pistols?

[Hill]

Dave Lauck isn't shy about his opinion.
Read and learn.
http://www.dlsports.com/signature_firearms_1911.html

DD


Dog,

Thanks for posting this link. I hadn't seen the place before, and it's got some interesting custom ideas for me to do on a couple of my guns.

There are SO many builders these days...

[dogdollar]

I am a big fan of Dave Lauck - he is huge in the military and LEO circles but keeps a pretty low profile in the public domain. He's also not afraid to swim upstream argue against the common wisdom concerning such things as FLGR's, firing pin safeties, etc.
I find it refreshing to hear educated and eloquent arguments against the common wisdom.
His books are excellent also - he truly does walk the walk.....
DD

[JTQ]

Don't forget his preference for ball ammunition.

[dogdollar]

Don't forget his preference for ball ammunition.

None of us should forget it.
It's what the 1911 was designed to shoot.

Need more power, a deadlier defense load?
Try PowR'Ball. Reliability is everything.
DD