New Colt 1911 - really basic general questions...

[Coffee]

Sorry for questions that are so basic but this my first pistol....

Bought (buying) a 1070XSE Colt Government 1911. In my state there is a 10 day waiting period after the gun arrives at the FFL & the paperwork is started which occurred yesterday, right now it is locked up at the FFLs office/store.

So I don't sound too silly talking to people and posting on forums - refer to it as a handgun or pistol? Seems most just refer to the model #. Is their a universally accepted shorter name than "1070XSE Colt Government 1911" or is it situation dependent? i.e. on this forum you would know what a 1070XSE is, but at the range it's a full size Colt 1911? Silly question I know...

When I looked at the gun it came in a nice blue plastic box. With no cardboard around it. I've seen used pistol/handguns for sale posted on the internet with original packaging including some cardboard boxes - do colts have a box around the plastic boxes like tools from hardware stores? Should I bother asking about that? Difference in re-sale value if so? No intention of ever selling it but my kids will inherit them in the future at some point.


I don't have the owners manual cause it's locked in a safe at the FFL but found a manual on the Colt site. When I clicked on the section of the Colt site for manuals a warning came up saying something about the manuals being obsolete (something like that). Just for educational purposes until I get the gun - could someone take a quick look and tell me if it is similar to the owners manual?
http://www.coltsmfg.com/cmci/downloads/Manuals/LoRes/MKIV%20Series%2080%20&%2090%20Pistols.pdf


First gun purchase in 4 decades and I'm quite excited!

.

[Coffee]

In a sticky it has the following:





How are Colt 1911 pistol parts made:

MIM
sear
mag catch
disconnector


CAST
Thumb safety
grip safety

FORGED
slide
receiver
barrel
slide stop

MACHINED from bar stock
hammer
all pins
bbl link
bbl bushing
trigger finger piece
ejector
firing pin
firing pin stop
extractor
plunger tube

How does that compare to other brands? I'm getting the distinct impression that MIM is "not good", do other manufacturers like Kimber, SA, & RIA have more MIM?

Is MIM what used to be called 'pot metal'? Not trying to start a debate or anything but if anyone could give me a clue that would be great. I understand parts of anything mechanical are usually done for a reason - freeze plugs in a cars engine block, sheer pins on things, etc.

Or is MIM simply a cost reduction?

Thank you in advance.

.

[JFrame]

The last time my wife bought a Colt was about 8 years ago or so. Hers was the Colt CCO. It only came in the blue plastic box. I believe that the only guns taht get shipped in the cardboard are the custom shop guns and the special run guns like the WWI reproduction models.

[Hawkmoon]

Personally, I hate it when people post a model number and expect the entire forum to have committed the entirety of Colt's, Springfield's, S&W's, Para-Ordnance's, and Taurus's catalogs to memory. Frankly, I have no idea what a 237ZP5R28 is, nor do I care. If you have a Springfield Loaded, tell me. If you have a Colt XSE, tell me that. "Government," "full-size" or "5" " will all tell us which size you have.

The correct terminology is probably "pistol." "Handgun" includes revolvers. Technically, all handguns are pistols -- some are revolving pistols, and others are auto-loading pistols. But the gun world has informally more or less decided to settle on "revolvers" and "pistols" as the general descriptive terms for the two types.

[clughog]

Bought (buying) a 1070XSE Colt Government 1911. In my state there is a 10 day waiting period after the gun arrives at the FFL & the paperwork is started which occurred yesterday, right now it is locked up at the FFLs office/store.

CONGRATULATIONS!

So I don't sound too silly talking to people and posting on forums - refer to it as a handgun or pistol?

Generally, a semi-automatic is referred to as a “pistol” while a wheel gun is referred to as a “revolver.” Both are considered handguns.

Seems most just refer to the model #. Is their a universally accepted shorter name than "1070XSE Colt Government 1911" or is it situation dependent? i.e. on this forum you would know what a 1070XSE is, but at the range it's a full size Colt 1911?

I’d just refer to it as a Government Stainless XSE. You’re right—sort of depends on the situation.

Silly question I know...

NO silly questions on this forum, I don’t believe. Or, if they seem silly to someone, they needed the mirth anyway!

When I looked at the gun it came in a nice blue plastic box. With no cardboard around it. I've seen used pistol/handguns for sale posted on the internet with original packaging including some cardboard boxes - do colts have a box around the plastic boxes like tools from hardware stores? Should I bother asking about that? Difference in re-sale value if so? No intention of ever selling it but my kids will inherit them in the future at some point.

Only the Custom Shop guns currently come with the white cardboard outer box I believe. And they have a blue pasteboard inner box. The regular Colt pistols come in the blue plastic box with no outer box (both of my XSE models came that way). I have seen some white outer sleaves on the Colt Gunsite CCO, though. Boxes do help resale, regardless, so keep the box!

I don't have the owners manual cause it's locked in a safe at the FFL but found a manual on the Colt site. When I clicked on the section of the Colt site for manuals a warning came up saying something about the manuals being obsolete (something like that). Just for educational purposes until I get the gun - could someone take a quick look and tell me if it is similar to the owners manual?
http://www.coltsmfg.com/cmci/downlo...0%20Pistols.pdf

Yup, looks good. My manual has a 2004 copyright, but the contents are pretty much the same.

[elijdub]

+1 to Creighton's comments above. Congrats on your new GM ("government model"=5 inch) XSE, Coffee!!!
There is much discussion of MIM components here on the forum. If you do a search you'll find a wealth of information. It's been my understanding that not only does Colt use very few MIM parts (especially when compared to other companies) but they also use them in areas which are under very little strain. As much as i'd like to see 100% forged components, i'm not the least bit concerned with the MIM parts in my Colt's :).

[MCMIX]

[

The correct terminology is probably "pistol." "Handgun" includes revolvers. Technically, all handguns are pistols -- some are revolving pistols, and others are auto-loading pistols.

You forgot about bolt action pistols, multi barrel pistols, single shot pistols, shotgun pistols, black powder pistols, very pistols and most important the pistol packin' momma. I hope this helps clariry it. I am sure I missed some, so any help would be appreciated.

[Coffee]

Thank you everyone! You have all been very very helpful. Thanks!

I think I've made a good choice too. Think this is what you wrote

I am buying a "Colt SS XSE full size / government model 1911" pistol!
Does not come with any type of cardboard box because it's not from the custom shop.
The online manual will be helpful until I take possession.

Think thats right, or at least close enough for my needs at this time. Thanks!


+1 to Creighton's comments above. Congrats on your new GM ("government model"=5 inch) XSE, Coffee!!!
There is much discussion of MIM components here on the forum. If you do a search you'll find a wealth of information. It's been my understanding that not only does Colt use very few MIM parts (especially when compared to other companies) but they also use them in areas which are under very little strain. As much as i'd like to see 100% forged components, i'm not the least bit concerned with the MIM parts in my Colt's :).

I tried searching for "MIM" and the search engine did not seem to work with 3 letter searches. Tried "RIA" too. "colt" seemed to work though so 4 letter search terms seem ok.

In any event I found this thread which answered my questions well enough, here is a link for reference
http://forum.m1911.org/showthread.php?t=48256


More questions:
"Lifetime Service Agreement" - is that an additional warranty that needs to be purchased? That seems to be a lifetime warranty for the original purchaser. I have no plans to modify or change anything. Don't intend to abuse it either.


I have not made it all the way through the manual yet - clean pistol before first use?


I've already received a few hours of training, and will get more - hope to have that knowledgeable person around for the first range session. Just to let you know I'm being careful.

.

[clughog]

I certainly recommend a good cleaning and lubrication before taking it to the range for the first time (learned from experience). Colt has a lifetime service agreement for the original purchaser at no additional charge: http://www.coltsmfg.com/cmci/lifetime_agreement.asp

[daveohno]

Coffee, Congratulations on your new Colt. Don't worry about questions, everyone here helps the nubs.

Once you finally get your pistol in your hot little hands, take a pic, post it and then oil it, wipe it down and then shoot it a whole bunch and give us a range report, we like to see your pistol, I know, they all look alike, but you're PROUD of yours because it's yours! And we do like to look at them. Range reports are nice, because it gives us something to talk about and we like to talk about how reliable and accurate our pistols are. If it's not reliable and accurate, we might be able to help make it so.

[dakota1911]

Congrats on a fine pistol. Clean it before and after first use. Cleaning guns after range trips is no fun (at least to me) but is a ness. evil. Also inspect them when cleaning. Training is the way to go if you have a good instructor. I was lucky and had my father and grandfather when I was young.

[Bud White]

last few colts i bought were blue box only..

just say colt xse and either goverment or commander in case ya have both .. if ya just post the model # most people wont know or bother to look up what it is .. ya see people do this with the smiths 1911's a lot and whats the point..

the lifetime warranty is what colt gives ya for buying the gun nothing extra to buy

as for cleaning before you shoot you will get a ton of opinions on that .. i lube it and run a patch or boresnake down the barrel then off to the range

Other prefer a full tear down ..

[clughog]

Be sure and check to make sure the rear sight set screw is tight (again, experience). Just finished taking my XSE Stainless Combat Commander to the range and putting another 100 flawless rounds through it. This pistol is WAY more accurate than I am! I absolutely love it, by the way. :p

[dadofsix]

Coffee:

If it's been a while since you've been shooting, you should probably re-familiarize yourself with gun safety -- especially the four rules.

In a nutshell, this is what I've hammered into my kid's heads since they were little:

1. You should always consider your weapon to be loaded until PROVEN otherwise. At least twice.

As a sidebar, never pull the slide back to check whether the pistol is unloaded with a loaded magazine in the pistol, you will have just chambered a live round. Remove the magazine first.

2. NEVER put your finger on the trigger until you are prepared to fire.

3. NEVER point the gun at anything you are unwilling to destroy (See: #s 1 and 2, above) and

4. ALWAYS be aware of what is beyond your immediate target -- bullets can go a long way.

There is a wealth of information on shooting on this site. Just use the search engine.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Colt. May you have many years of happiness shooting your pistol.

<><Peace

[cliff731]

Hi Coffee,

It's really good to see you over here... and I would be remiss if I didn't say "congrats" on your new Colt 1911A1!!!

You've made a superb choice and one that won't let you down and will certainly be a treasured heirloom someday in your family.

Welcome to this forum and "Coltitis"!!! :)

Cliff

[Coffee]

Hi Coffee,

It's really good to see you over here... and I would be remiss if I didn't say "congrats" on your new Colt 1911A1!!!

You've made a superb choice and one that won't let you down and will certainly be a treasured heirloom someday in your family.

Welcome to this forum and "Coltitis"!!! :)

Cliff

My cover is blown! I've been made! :scared:

(((***quietly - do people on the other forum know you come over here? Could you get fired? It's ok, I wont tell anyone!)))



EDIT - on a more serious note - thank you for the welcome to the forum. I am indeed looking forward to this new fine pistol :)

.

[Coffee]

Good to know the warranty comes with the pistol as standard equipment. By the wording could not tell if it was standard or not. Maybe a marketing thing?

I'll bring the camera and get the Colt XSE Government 1911 from the FFL then take it to the range and they can give me a clue about cleaning it - good people. Then of course see how it shoots. I have no doubt the guns accuracy will far exceed my abilities. About 2 weeks ago I took a one-on-one NRA basic 2&3 (think that's what it was called) pistol course from the Range Officer there and hopefully he will be there.

It's also good to hear that range reports are welcomed. Did not see too many in this forum so I was not sure.

I've rented & shot maybe a dozen different pistols in the last 3 weeks & REALLY liked the Kimber 1911 TLE. Further shopping led me to the Colt but have not shot a Colt 1911 yet. I'm confident this shiny pistol will be a family heirloom for the next century. We still have long guns from the 1800's through the 1970's from previous generations. This will be the first pistol added to the collection.

.

[Coffee]

When did the XSE last have a revision/change to things like the sights & beavertail (duckbill?)? I'm getting the impression a some things have changed in the last few years but cannot tell for certain.

What I do know for certain is it felt really good holding it for a couple of minutes. Might need bigger grips at some point, I'll spend time with it before doing that though.
.

[leade45]

Congrats on your forthcoming pistol. Clean it and lube it prior to shooting it. My new Combat Commander came dry as a bone from the dealer.

Colts Warranty: Warranty for Finish repairs (reblue, rollmarks, etc.) is good for 1 year. They base this on either when you purchased the pistol or the manufacture date of your pistol. Warranty for Function/parts (I believe) is lifetime for original owner of said pistol.

[Coffee]

As it showed up
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/SFBayarea/gun/1911/2008%20June%203rd/DSC_6445Medium.jpg

With gunk / grease on slide out of the bag
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/SFBayarea/gun/1911/2008%20June%203rd/DSC_6461Medium.jpg

Other side for reference
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/SFBayarea/gun/1911/2008%20June%203rd/DSC_6456Medium.jpg



http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/SFBayarea/gun/1911/2008%20June%203rd/DSC_6479Medium.jpg

A pony

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/SFBayarea/gun/1911/2008%20June%203rd/DSC_6484Medium.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/SFBayarea/gun/1911/2008%20June%203rd/DSC_6486Medium.jpg

Wish they were better pics...

2) 8 round mags, cable lock, manual, and all that other stuff.

Received it earlier this week, dealer (good guy) took a good look at it and said it was ready to go. Went to the range and shot 200 rnds of 230 grain fmj blazer brass - Flawlessly. Which sorta surprised me cause it should have jammed as loose as I held it for some of those shots.


Good times

:)
.

[clughog]

Looks REALLY good, Coffee! Congratulations.

[elijdub]

Congrats Coffee! Looks great!

[cliff731]

Coffee,

Those photos are well done... excellent camera work.

You've come to the right place with your new Colt!

If you want to save the original "stocks" and try some rubber grip panels, Hogue has a very nice offering in their molded rubber double diamond checkered. Colors are black, brown or pewter... but I can imagine the black would look rather nice. These are affordable enough to try a set just to see if you like them.

Cliff

[Coffee]

Thanks everyone - bunch of fun to shoot!

Do these things ever malfunction? Cause a couple of times I really expected it to jam because of less than idea technique.... I'm working on that.

I've also ordered a .22LR Advantage Arms target model and that should get here in July sometime. Just wanted to get a lot of time on the pistol and the .22lr seems a bit more economical - yes I'm quite aware a separate .22lr pistol could be purchased instead, possibly cheaper, the idea was to get time on this particular pistol. Anyway I'll post up in the conversion section about that later.

I like the way you think Cliff! The gun is a bit too small for my hands, or maybe it is simply the grip texture, how sticky it is... I'll look for Hogue at my dealers, I REALLY like the idea of black. :)

Any other tid bits I should be aware of about the gun?

I'm scurrying off to the ammo section for a bit....

[cliff731]

Coffee,

I don't know what came over me... http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w266/pentaxuser01/dunno.gif

I was remiss not to mention my all time favorite "molded rubber" grip panels.

Pachmayr's classic Signature line... considered old school by many, but doggone, they still work and especially if you want thicker grip panels.


Here's sort of how they look... :)

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w266/pentaxuser01/ColtSMAce_SALdPk.jpg


Those Hogue double diamond checkered rubber grip panels are on this Springer Mil-Spec...

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w266/pentaxuser01/MilSpecStainlessLS.jpg

[Hawkmoon]

Don't forget Pearce Grips. They also make rubber, double diamond checkered grips for the 1911, with an optional rubber front strap if that floats your boat. They are now available very reasonably from Sarco, Inc, although I don't think Sarco tells you whose grips they are. I use the Pearce grips on my carry pistols (except the Para Slim Hawg, which they don't fit) because they don't get scratched or dented from daily carry.

[daveohno]

Wood is beautiful but delicate. Rubber is UGLY but durable. I use rubber stocks for many of my pistols. I just hate to see that great looking wood get ratty looking.

[Phil]

+1 on all the good advice above.

One minor thing is that stainless steel doesn't slide against stainless steel quite as easily as does the carbon steel used in a blue or nickel gun. Therefore, on my stainless 1911's I always keep a film of heavy oil or light grease on the rails -where the slide rides on the frame.

[Coffee]

Thanks all of you!

Some of the loot from today - bushing wrench, cleaning kit (the kit we had was so old that the brushes available no longer fit because of thread changes), and some Hogue grips. I would have vastly preferred the double diamond shown above in some of the pics but needed more to hang onto cause my hands are too big. LOL I'll play around with different grips later but these should at least allow me much more control for the time being.

Also got some snap caps too (not shown).

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g95/SFBayarea/gun/1911/2008%20June%203rd/ammo/DSC_6507Medium.jpg

That should get me going for a while. Got some ammo questions answered... good info. Now I need to check out the section on eye & ear protection in the next few days.

:)

[Coffee]

If it's not too much trouble, anyone know if this model has a full length guide rod (FLGR)? Is it a 1 piece guide rod? I think it is based on a bunch of other posts but I don't know enough to really understand, I have been trying.

It seems to need a bushing wrench for disassembly to twist the bushing at the end of the barrel. If the FLGR is replaced with standard length would that bushing wrench still be necessary for disassembly?

I would ask in the proper section of the forum but don't know how to form an intelligent question...

Been reading about the FLGR (flueger?), snap caps, dummy rounds for hours now and I'm dizzy...

.

[LHS905]

Congrats on the new gun. I recently entered the fold with an XSE as well. Here's a link to my photos posted. http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/LHS905_photos/XSE/Before2.jpg[/http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/LHS905_photos/XSE/After2.jpg
QUOTE]
As you can see I had some work done to mine. It does have a FLGR, it is one piece. A bushing wrench isn't necessary, but helpful. It saves fingernails and looking behind the couch for the recoil spring and cap. The bushing wrench is helpful even with the shorter guide rod. There's probably as many opinions out there on the necessity of a FLGR, but the idea is that it keeps the recoil spring from kinking and causing problems. There are a lot of the short guide rods out there that function fine. Your own testimony that your guns is working good would indicate to me that there is no need to change it

[Coffee]

...It does have a FLGR, it is one piece. A bushing wrench isn't necessary, but helpful. It saves fingernails and looking behind the couch for the recoil spring and cap. The bushing wrench is helpful even with the shorter guide rod....

Thanks a BUNCH for that info. :)

That's what I thought it was - one piece FLGR. I do not especially want to change it, just want 'gun go bang' when trigger pulled. I did want to understand enough to make sense about the FLGR when reading the other posts though - it does seem to have many discussions about it.

Thanks for the input on the bushing wrench - that was also very good input.

My gun finish looks exactly like your first pic, shows up scratches a bit. Your second pic looks different. Did you do anything with your guns finish?

[LHS905]

My gunsmith bead blasted the entire gun, he calls it a satin finish.

[Coffee]

My gunsmith bead blasted the entire gun, he calls it a satin finish.

Thanks! Looks fantastic!

[Coffee]

400 rnds so far :)



Sadly there was a FTF on round #231. The range owner came over and looked at it to confirm it was a FTF - stuck on a 45 degree angle, sorta almost looks like the lip between the bullet and casing caught on something. Shooting a full clip and it happened on maybe shot # 4 of that clip. I've got 2 clips but did not make note of which clip nor did I get a picture.



He said it was a mag issue.... and recommended Wilson highly. Like a good site member I scurried off to the magazine section of this site... and now I'm even more confused. On a side note maybe 3% of the time the mag hangs up a tiny bit when inserting at the mag release button. Was told not to worry about that and jam it in. Also after a loaded mag is inserted into the gun while racking the slide is sort of feels 'notchy' - 2 people looked at it that carry 1911s daily and said it felt fine to them...


Any tid bits of knowledge from anyone for a newb? Should I even worry about it? It's for range use not SD, but reliability is always nice. All ammo was Blazer Brass 230 grain.

?

[Hawkmoon]

All ammo was Blazer Brass 230 grain.
There's your answer.

Stop by Wal-Mart and buy a couple of 100-round value packs of Winchester USA 230-grain FMJ.

[John]

If the round was at 45 deg. angle, with the nose partially inside the chamber it is NOT a failure to fee. It's a failure to return to battery (FTRB) a totally different animal. A FTF is when the nose of the round is wedged against the ramp on the frame, if it has gone up and started into the chamber it is no longer a failure to feed.

Am FTRB is seldom an issue of the magazine. Most usual culprit from what we have seen here is the extractor. A too tight extractor doesn't allow the rim of the feeding round to slide under its claw, thus causing a light stem bind. I would suggest you shoot the pistol some more and if you get that failure again, do the extractor test, as it is described in the Technical Issues forum, there is an article there by Bill Wilson on that.

[Coffee]

Wow. The owner of the site and a site administrator - thanks!


I'll switch to WWB for a while and see if that makes a difference, and will attempt to take a pic if it happens again. I'll also check out the technical section for extractor information. It will be a few weeks before I get to go to the range again.

Are there pics somewhere that show FTFB, FTF, and other things like that?

.

[John]

Wow. The owner of the site and a site administrator - thanks!

Why are you so surprised? :D :)

Are there pics somewhere that show FTFB, FTF, and other things like that?

Where there are several threads on FTRB and FTF. Basically, the difference is the position of the nose of the round. If the nose of the round is wedged against the frame feeding ramp, you have a FTF. If it has moved up and has partially started entering the barrel's chamber, then it is a FTRB. FTRB can be due to something simple, like a slight stem bind due to too tight an extractor or it can be due to something really serious like a feeding ramp cut to an out-of-spec angle.

[Coffee]

There's your answer.

Stop by Wal-Mart and buy a couple of 100-round value packs of Winchester USA 230-grain FMJ.

That did not work....

So far I've got 400 rounds of Blazer Brass through it with that 1 FTRB. Switched to WWB as suggested and 30 rounds later another FTRB.... but... since the first FTRB the magazine has been marked and my guess is it happened both times with that same original Colt factory magazine.... if it happens a 3rd time I'll know.


If anyone is interested just started a thread on Kimber & Advantage Arms Target .22 conversion kits:
http://forum.m1911.org/showthread.php?t=55580

Nice!

[EchoBravoKilo]

Hi Coffee. Congrats on the XSE. You asked if there are any things to look out for...

My XSE Combat Commander had a couple minor issues: rear site set screw backed itself out a couple times. Loctite fixed that. I had issues with FTRB - a lot - until I tweaked the extractor tension. The factory sent it out with way too much tension, and I couldn't believe how much bending it took to get it correct (YMMV - and please check this site for tensioning info). I also quit using the 8 round mags. I use the Checkmate seven rounders and also some Wilson 47D mags that have been downsized to seven rounds via Tripp upgrade kits. Flawless in both cases.

I hope you love the XSE - and watch out for Coltitis - the XSE will soon have company, I'm sure.