Colt M1991A1 - Police Trade In

Over the weekend, I noticed an ad for police trade-in Colt 1911's.  Checked it out and ordered one on the spot.

It's a Colt M1991A1, 5 inch barrel, trade-in from the Yuma County (Arizona) Sheriff's Department.

I've always wanted a Colt 1911.  Also always wanted a police trade-in gun.  For $500, I got everything I wanted.

It's possible this might be a dog, but if that's the case I will just deal with it and fix what needs fixed.  The Yuma County Sheriff's logo on the slide is more than enough for me to be happy with this.  Will let you all know how it turns out.  

I will definitely get rid of the ugly Hogue grips, I just have to settle on a worthy replacement.  Thinking maybe something in checkered ivory polymer.  However, I'll accept any suggestions.

She have any sisters?

She sure does. Guy on the phone at Sprague's Sports in Yuma said they still had a handfull left.

But I asked him to pick out the best one for me, so if you're interested, you'll have to get the SECOND best one.

Tennessee Jed wrote:She sure does.  Guy on the phone at Sprague's Sports in Yuma said they still had a handfull left.  

But I asked him to pick out the best one for me, so if you're interested, you'll have to get the SECOND best one.

Assuming some guy from ARIZONA would do that for some guy from TENNESSEE he didn't know and never would see.

That's right. When you hail from The Volunteer State, people respect it.

Also, I am a good repeat customer.

Regardless. I am confident mine will be awesome. There are many like it but this one is mine.

Surprised any police would still using 1911s

MrJim wrote:Surprised any police would still using 1911s

We're talking ARIZONA here. I would not be surprised to hear they replaced them with NEW 1911's. Some of those guys still carry Colt Single Action Army's.

You are right. The guy at the gun store said he thought that they traded in their Colts to replace them with Kimbers.

I remember an article by Massad Ayoob several years ago, where he said he went to a police officer convention in New Mexico and was surprised by the number of 1911's in duty holsters.

I have to say, those Southwest Lawmen, they're an interesting bunch.

Tennessee Jed wrote:You are right.  The guy at the gun store said he thought that they traded in their Colts to replace them with Kimbers.  

I remember an article by Massad Ayoob several years ago, where he said he went to a police officer convention in New Mexico and was surprised by the number of 1911's in duty holsters.

I have to say, those Southwest Lawmen, they're an interesting bunch.

..still the wild west out there...

And here it is. The range was closed over the weekend so I've not been able to shoot it yet, but I did disassemble it and gave it a very thorough cleaning. Although the surface is a little beat up, the bore and breech are remarkably shiny and in great shape.

Funniest part is, the owner of the shop where I had it transferred, as well as one of his employees, liked it so much they each ordered one for themselves.

I've got a couple of Wilson mags for it, a box of factory ammo, and I'll take her out for a spin this weekend.

Initially, I am seeing up close and personal why people like the 1911 so much. The trigger is very very nice. I can see why it should be much easier to get accurate rounds on target with this pistol. I'm not saying it will ever replace any of my beloved wheel guns, but I am saying that I'm starting to better understand the allure of the 1911.

I look forward to the range report! I qualified "Expert" at the range in the USMC some 30 years ago with a very tired and worn-out .45 but still don't own a 1911....

My dad was a Navy Corpsman, essentially a field medic for the Marines, in the early 60's, which led to my fascination with M1 Garands, M14's, Colt 1911's and BAR's.

Spent most of his time as an ER nurse at Camp Pendleton, and had great stories about the crazy things Marines do to themselves.

Tennessee Jed wrote:My dad was a Navy Corpsman, essentially a field medic for the Marines, in the early 60's, which led to my fascination with M1 Garands, M14's, Colt 1911's and BAR's.

Spent most of his time as an ER nurse at Camp Pendleton, and had great stories about the crazy things Marines do to themselves.

As a former jarhead all I can say is I have the utmost respect for Navy Corpsmen~~~they were always right there alongside us

?What, crazy! Us Marines would NEVER do "crazy" things. Must be sea stories.

Mmmm - Hmmm

Took the Colt to the range over the weekend. Fired 50 rounds of Winchester factory ball, and 50 rounds of handloaded ball.

No malfunctions of any sort. Whew.

No hammer bite (although by the 100th round it appeared that the old style grip safety was just about to start a boo-boo). Whew.

Was very accurate. Most of the shots went into a 1 inch holes free standing from around 12 yards.

Only two issues, and they are very minor. First, I think the springs might be worn out. Empties flew out of the ejection port almost at the same velocity the bullets were coming out of the barrel. I have a set of Wolff replacement springs on the way.

Second issue was, while the bullets were grouping nicely, they pulled just a smidge to the right of point of aim. I'm going to not take this too seriously for right now. I've only got 100 rounds through the gun and shooting a 1911 is a LOT different than shooting a wheelgun or shooting a Glock.

All in all, I am VERY pleased with my purchase. I am also very quickly seeing what all the fuss is about 1911's. I tried a 1911 Springer Milspec about 20 years ago and it just wouldn't work well for me. I hoped that 20 years of shooting would make a difference and it definitely did. I really like this pistol a lot, and will spend a lot of time with it this summer to see how good I can get with it.

Cops don't replace springs - usually. So you can ASSUME the weapon is in need of new springs. This may or may not be true of the 3-finger spring, but the recoil spring and probably the mag springs ought to be replaced. Maybe also the followers, since that kind of stuff has changed a lot of late. All the gunnies get Wilson 47D 8-shot mags; you might consider getting a couple yourself.

Overall it is hard to beat a 1911. Yes, they can be a bit finicky, and you DO have to know how to diagnose problems. Extractors are generally considered the weak point of the weapon, but even then generally it isn't a huge issue. Gunsmiths always "tune" it, but then gunsmiths have to have something to do to "improve" it. You can change the trigger weight by playing with the 3-finger spring tension on the trigger bar. Just be careful you don't go too light; that generally calls for a light weight trigger to keep from getting rebound firing from trigger bounce.

Yup, in fact, I hear the new Wilson extreme mags are an improvement on the 47's. Got a few and so far so good.

Wish I had never seen this thread! Shake my head. Sheesh, my wallet is now lighter! Thanks for the tip!

Last Friday night I took apart the 1911 (thanks to a very helpful YouTube video), and replaced all the springs with new factory spec springs from Wolff.

Shot it Saturday, and my groups were a lot tighter. I can't decide if the better shooting was due to the new springs, or just me getting a little more time with the pistol. Regardless, I am still very pleased with this gun.

I was even more pleased when I picked up the tempo, it was very easy to get reasonable groups at higher speed on target.

I know that the carry of 1911's is somewhat frowned upon for carry in the podcast, due to the safety needing to be flicked off, but I've gotta say, I now see why people choose 1911's for this purpose. I might be in the process of converting into one of those people.

Have to say, I don't really know anyone who carries a 1911 in a pocket. Even the short ones. But IWB would work fine. And since you now know how to take it down, all you need to learn is how to check extractor tension. Basically slide a round under the extractor with the slide back and the mag well empty. It should be held in place by the extractor. If it falls out, the thing is too light - cause of most malf's.

Other than that, you will like it. I am a fan of Condition One - cocked and locked. You need a POSITIVE safety, though, not some soft clicky thing. Not too stiff, but a definite click.

Took it to the range again over the weekend. I'm definitely getting more used to it. This was 10 shots at 13 yards offhand.

Dev, it's absolutely an IWB gun. I'm using a Galco IWB King Tuk hybrid. I'm very pleased with how well it hides under an untucked shirt.

I'm also surprised how much I enjoy shooting it. I'm still a die hard wheelgun guy, but always have a stupid grin on my face after shooting the 1911.

NOW we're talking! Nice target, TJ! ?Got the new springs in I presume.

People forget how easy it is to carry a "slim" 1911. Todays tupperware guns are all double stack, and take up space. Put two back-up mags on your belt and you have a force to be reckoned with.

Thanks Dev. Yeah, the springs went in pretty easily, even in the tricker Series 80 parts.

Oooh! I pretty much hate Series 80's. The previous Serious 70's were SOO much easier to deal with. They were what JMB originally designed. The "additions" of the S80's were unnecessary IMO.

Now. Don't know how you feel about disabling some of that stupidity, but you can remove the slide parts and there is a spacer that will fit in the R side of the frame to make up for the space. It does make the reassembly of the frame a bit harder, but with enough time (and patience) it all goes back together. And then you basically have a Series 70 - at least in function.