I agree, you need a Colt. Sadly, I haven't yet taken my own advice.

I've got a Taurus, RIA, Sig, Kimber, and a Wilson in the safe, but none with a Pony on the grips.

One day ...

That is a VERY nice older Gold Cup

I am a BIG Gold Cup fan and have several to work with.

Back about four decades, a Gold Cup was the first Auto Loader I had ever purchased new

These days I really like carrying a blue Gold Cup Commander.



I wish these were still in the lineup

Very nice Colt, thanks for the pix.

quote:

Originally posted by P-220:
What a beautiful Colt, thanks for sharing the pics.

I have a Wilson Combat Elite Professional in .38 Super.

That said, I have a 70's Combat Commander chambered for .38 Super at the Gunsmith right now, getting a Kart barrel.

Yes, there is something special about a Colt 1911, IMO.

I did the same thing, a Kart barrel for my Colt Commander 38 Super, shoots better with the Kart barrel.

I once owned a Series 70 Gold Cup (I paid $400 for it, back in the day). I loved it and it is one of my acquisitions that I really miss.

You need to find a local reloader you can trust. Someone near you makes 200 grain H&G 68 style cast lead bullets. With care in casting, lube and sizing along with accurately measured 4 grains of Bullseye powder, that Colt will come into its own and show you what target acuracy can be with big fat bullets. Settle for no amount of shine on its sights and get a carbide smoker. Its all kind of old school and a challenge but the results are very pleasing. Right in the X ring Q.

Very nice acquisition and great photos. Thanks!

I've said for many years ,that any one who call themselves a pistol person ,should have at least one of the following; Colt 1911 in .45 auto, A BHP, A S&W K-22 or K-38, A 4" M-19/66, etc, etc.

You hit it on the head...If you're going to have a 1911 why not have the original?

And Mr. Lee is correct about those H&G 68's over 4.0 of BULLSEYE. You will be surprised, maybe even amazed. I have both a Wilson CQB as well as an Ed Brown Commander that shoots that combo very accurately.

I DO cast that slug too.

Very nice! That thing is like a time capsule, dam. Now get yourself some Sons of Anarchy grips and you can pretend you're Clay Morrow

Nice gun and interesting story. Thanks for sharing.

Congrats on that 1911!

Q, buy you a double stack 9mm in 1911 platform (STI, Nighthawk, Wilson 2011 etc..) and I swear, you will never shoot another gun again.

Nice gun Q. If you like it I have it's NOS brother in blue . Now get a 1911 in 9mm too .

quote:

Originally posted by D4Heavy:
Q, buy you a double stack 9mm in 1911 platform (STI, Nighthawk, Wilson 2011 etc..) and I swear, you will never shoot another gun again.

Atlas Gunworks

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
pre-printed form letter that they just filled in the specific info of each gun.

That form letter cost $100

Update with range report in OP, with a question regarding a specific ammo.

My Colt's trigger felt a little wonky and/or mushy while shooting until Grayguns tuned it. You may be feeling the grittiness thing. A crisp 1911 trigger with a short reset is a thing of joy. I recommend a trip to a good 1911 'smith.

The ammo feed problem could be due to the feed ramp, or magazines. Or possibly something else that a good 'smith knows. My 1911s (.45, 9mm, and 10mm) all work well with hollowpoint and flat-nose ammo, but they also have a number of rounds down the pipes. It's my understanding that the original .45 ACP specs were designed for the traditional round-nose 230 grain bullets. Flying ashtrays can cause feed issues, primarily with older pistols. Wild ass guessing -- give the Colt more rounds with 230 ball ammo, maybe polish the feed ramp, then try the Ranger ammo again.

Just musing. IIRC, the original Gold Cups were designed for Bullseye. Back then, the favored rounds were 185 gr. Is it possible the pistol was optimized for that weight/shape and would naturally have problems with modern SD loads?

Re the heavy feeling trigger. Maybe it needs some dry-fire, shooting. An anomaly, since most Gold Cups have sweet triggers.

Regardless, nice find.

I will admit that I'm no 1911 expert, but do the Series 80 Gold Cups have sear depressor springs? I know my Series 70 Gold Cup has one. Could that possibly be the issue, or maybe a contributing factor, to your wonky trigger?

FWIW, my GC has a really sweet trigger. While it was customized, it didn't have a trigger job done on it.

Also, my GC didn't like the latest-greatest JHP at the time, 230gr Hydrashocks (kinda tells you how long it's been since I've shot it). Maybe yours needs to be broken in, maybe a ramp/extractor job would help, maybe a different weight recoil spring or recoil/hammer spring combo?

It might also help to detail strip the pistol and do a thorough cleaning of the trigger components (WATCH OUT FOR THE SEAR DEPRESSOR SPRING!!!...ask me how I know this... ).

Gold Cups in .45 amp from Colt come from the factory with 14# light target recoil springs. Set up for 185 match target loads. This possibly caused excess slide velocity when shooting those 230 +p loads. The magazine spring simply could not raise up those rounds quick enough to be grabbed by the slide when closing.
Recoil spring weights for standard "Hardball" loads need to be 16# as specified by Colt. Also the magazine springs should be strong. Replace if weak feeling. Also there seems to be wear on your magazines showing trigger bar ( or trigger bow ) rubbing. This will increase pull weights and cause strange trigger pulls.
Trigger pull weights with mags inserted or without cause different pulls.

Some good observations SIGWALLY. I see on 1 mag, a half assed attempt to deburr 1 witness hole by perhaps a file? That said, Q what is up with those mags? Outside of feed lips down, they look dug all to heck, maybe by mag catch or grip screws? On my phone, 1 looks even dented vertically down the mag catch side. Can you shoot a close up of those mags left side? The magazine followers look to be different in each of 2 magazines.

quote:

Originally posted by David Lee:
Some good observations SIGWALLY. I see on 1 mag, a half assed attempt to deburr 1 witness hole by perhaps a file? That said, Q what is up with those mags? Outside of feed lips down, they look dug all to heck, maybe by mag catch or grip screws? On my phone, 1 looks even dented vertically down the mag catch side. Can you shoot a close up of those mags left side? The magazine followers look to be different in each of 2 magazines.

pics of both sides would help,.


the pic of the mag (right side, where the catch engages) does show that mark at the hole,
file a burr? or trigger bar, hard to tell


the later pic, showing the other side, looks like it hits the mag release, and drags,


may want to pull the mag release (takes all of a second) and see if the internal section has a rough edge or burr,



and as Mr. Lee said, a good bullseye type load would show this gun's potential,

or grab a box or 10 of some FGGM, 185gr