Santa put a Colt under the tree

[fatmax987]

Had some xmas cash burnin' a hole in my pocket and had been wrestling with what 1911 to get since Thanksgiving. After bouncing back and forth between Springers, S&W, upgrading to another Nighthawk or making an aquaintance with Mr. Wilson I ended up with a Colt Series 70 Stainless. My most recent inpulse rationale is that I have the base gun to work with and can modify with the exact parts etc that I want. Also the approx $900 price tag is alot easier to swallow than dropping $2500 on full custom. Thinking of immediately going with some type of HIGH Visibility night sights and maybe a Ed brown Beavertail. Took it to the range immediately after purchase (fearing FTF or some other nightmare that was described in the countless forums I read while snowbound) and ran 200 rounds thru with NO problems. This includes about 150 rounds of cheap stuff. Gun performed flawlessly. Only thing I didn't like was the black on black sights. Had to shoot at the back (white side) of target to "see".

Would love input on sights and other mods you guy's recommend.

 

[adluginb]

Very nice.... I am also looking to upgrade the sights on mine as well... Post up what decide to go with.

 

[grwd]

excellent choice as a base gun.
A plain rear novak or heinie cut along with a front tritium with a white outline is a great choice.
Also, an ed brown grip safety and getting the front strap cut high up against the trigger guard is another worthwhile mod, as so is checkering...

 

[fatmax987]

Thanks - I like everything sugested. Where on the web or locally could I look at tose sights you mentioned?

 

[gearys 5600]

nice gun..

 

[fatmax987]

Wondering what differences/advantages of "drop in "Beaver tail as shown on Wilson site and "non" drop in that evidently requires notching the frame. If there is no advantage one way or the other it seems to me the way to go would be the "drop in" so that you could always restore to original if you wanted. Thoughts?

 

[adluginb]

If i remember correctly even the drop-in need to be fitted. I think they will work "drop-in" but they will not look as nice if they have been fitted, probably gaps showing...

 

[Cohiba]

Excellent Choice!!!!

For some reason, I always go back to Colt. I have had several, Glocks, Beretta, Sigs and many others. I just seem to migrate back to the original....Colt. Kinda like a Harley Davidson...not the fastest, not the most reliable, not the most innovative,.....just keep migrating back.



Cohiba

 

[fatmax987]

yeah, when I was riding alot I would look at a Honda/Yamaha sport tourer and try to convince myself it was better overall product .... Then I bought a HD Street Glide. Same thing with Colt. Again Thanks for all the info, it is greatly appreciated.

 

[Traxxis]

Wondering what differences/advantages of "drop in "Beaver tail as shown on Wilson site and "non" drop in that evidently requires notching the frame. If there is no advantage one way or the other it seems to me the way to go would be the "drop in" so that you could always restore to original if you wanted. Thoughts?

Well, how do you want it to look?

If you want it to look like your Nighthawk (is that a Predator?), they you'll want to get the non-drop in and have a good gunsmith fit it. If you don't mind gaps, and the not-so-tight fit, then go with the drop in and it may be a little less work on your gunsmith.

In my limited experience, I haven't noticed the drop-in's being much less work then the non-drop ins. Both generally require fitting.

If you order one for a Series 70, it will be much easier to fit because the tangs on the back of the frame wont have to be modified.

As for who to go to... I would suggest no other than OlYeller. I've never met him, but I've seen a lot of his work on this site and NEVER heard a bad thing about him... even if he's too modest to say so.

I would second a few modifications...
#1 front and back checkering (but at a minimum, the front)
#2 A Novak rear sight with the single white tritium dot on the front

I've never handled one with the front strap cut high... so I have no input on it.