I posted this on the 1911forum board, but they're down for maintenance and I'm in need of assistance.
My wife purchased a blued NRM for my birthday present and while I was inspecting it, I noticed that there were two very pronounced ridges running along the top of the slide.
One of them is running parallel to the front of the ejection port, in the same spot where the barrel's locking lugs would fit into the slide (almost as if the barrel hood was pushed up through the slide, like forming a piece of tin foil over an object), and the other ridge is running back from the breechface along the left-hand side of the ejection port, about 1/2 inch long.
I will be checking this with my gunsmith today, but I was curious if anyone else had received a pistol from Colt that didn't seem quite finished. I'm a little leery of firing it, as I don't know if the integrity of the slide has been compromised, but I figured I'd ask around and get as much info as possible.
Thanks in advance.

I wish I could see pictures of it. The important thing is (as you stated) that the slide is not compromised. As you are with the gunsmith, try to take comparison measurements at different areas of the slide. Then measure the area where the barrel lugs mate to the slide (the thinnest area). Kuhnhausen's book has an excellent example of what an individual did to his slide for barrel lockup and how he mangled the slide. I don't remember the minimum Kuhnhausen says it should be.

joneric70:

Regardless of what your 'smith says, send the pistol back to Colt! At least give them a call. I agree w/ Stumbler...we need a picture!

mitchjoe

Let's see if this works -


It's almost as if the section in front of the ejection port is beefier than the rest of the slide.
I called Colt this afternoon, and Cindy in Customer Service said that I should fire it before sending it in to them to make sure that nothing else may be wrong. If it's purely cosmetic, then I'm out one pistol for approximately 30 days. If it's something more serious, then they'll have to wait until there is a slide available before they can fit it to the frame, which may take longer.
After trying to find this pistol for more than six months (Colt's are scarce in my neck of the woods), I'm a tad unwilling to part with it for too long.

__________________
They all have husbands and wives and children and houses and dogs, and, you know, they've all made themselves a part of something and they can talk about what they do. What am I gonna say? "I killed the president of Paraguay with a fork. How've you been?"

joneric70:

I know how you feel, but...(you knew there would be a but )...You likely paid a decent chunk of change for a "new" Colt. Looking at the pictures, I would guess the pistol is safe to fire. I would be more concerned about buying any product (much less a 1911) that had an obvious flaw.

Any manufacturer can crank out a lemon now and again. That, however, is their mistake, not yours; and their responsibility to correct. For no other reason, have it fixed to protect your investment. A month or two likely won't matter 15-20 years from now when you still get jacked wrapping your fist around that 2.5lb's of fine steel.

mitchjoe

Once again I'm amazed by what Colt will actually allow out of their plant nowadays. You can't tell me their QC guys didn't see that. They would've had to be both blind and stupid not to.

Send the pistol back. I wouldn't shoot it if I were you.

Rgds

__________________
John Caradimas SV1CEC
The M1911 Pistols Organization
http://www.m1911.org

To me, it looks like it is in the barrel lug lockup area "could" be a little thin. Personally, I would tell Colt I shot it, and it "seems" to be getting worse. Your hard earned money paid for it, Colt profited from it, they should make it right.

Send it back to Colt. They will put a new slide on it for you.

I sent it back to Colt yesterday afternoon. Let's see if they can make it right, and how long it may take. Thanks to all who gave feedback. I'll keep y'all updated.

__________________
They all have husbands and wives and children and houses and dogs, and, you know, they've all made themselves a part of something and they can talk about what they do. What am I gonna say? "I killed the president of Paraguay with a fork. How've you been?"