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springfield armory 1911 GI mil-spec
johall
Member Posts: 1,085 ✭✭✭✭
i bought a springfield armory 1911 about four months ago new in box for abought 350.00 it is a GI mil-spec.. are they any good.. i have a M1 grand made from them that my father bought from the goverment and it's a great gun so i figured for the price i couldnt go wronge... any sugestions on what i should change on it if anything
Comments
As far as what to do to it, I would probably treat it as if I purchased a frame and slide and start from there, but what you probably want to do is just work on reliability, I would start with throating the barrel, trigger job, and new sights, you could get carried away with modifications and easily top a grand but you would have not much more value in the long run, good luck and enjoy
G.I.
Mil-spec
I put a good $400 of gunsmithing into that Colt back in the late 80's / early 90's and killed all value of the gun. I still have the original box and papers for the gun but customizing it has brought the value down to half of what it would be worth untouched. I have recently seen stock original Series 70 gov models selling for $850. Mine is worth about $400.
I would shoot that GI and enjoy it for what it is. If you want all the added bells and whistles, get a Loaded Springfield, Milspec, or Kimber.
Edit: If you do decide to customize the heck out of it send either to a known gunsmith like Wilson, Les Bauer, Rock River, or back to Springfield. And keep the paperwork with the gun, That way your gun will hold it's value. I know 2 guys that bought Milspec SA's and sent them to Springfield and had them fully customized. SA's custom shop turned them into some beautiful guns at $3k each! But with the paperwork those guns will hold their value. My local joe blow gunsmithed gun did not.
A trigger job by the local guy ought to be fine though. It's once you start lowering ejection ports, dovetailing sights, and refinishing that causes you to loose inherant value.
Regards,
If you don't have eject problems, why lower the port ?
The mag bevel is nice, but I have others without it and they do fine.
I bought the mil-spec version a while back just because it was at a good price. I do about the best I can do with a 45 using that gun. I believe that the barrel set-up is responsible for most of that. I could customize more, but most of it would be wasted on me.
ENJOY
If we do not hang together,
We will most certainly hang separately.
As far as what to do to it, I would probably treat it as if I purchased a frame and slide and start from there, but what you probably want to do is just work on reliability, I would start with throating the barrel, trigger job, and new sights, you could get carried away with modifications and easily top a grand but you would have not much more value in the long run, good luck and enjoy
Throating the barrel and a trigger job cost me about 45.00, sights another 45.00, and would guarantee reliability, comparing a S.A. mil-spec to a colt series 70 is apples and oranges, series 70 increased dramatically in value when they ruined them with series 80, and unless you trashed your series 70 it is worth far more than 400.00, the slide alone will fetch close to that
http://cgi.ebay.com/COLTS-MK-IV-SERIES70-SLIDE_W0QQitemZ7170241277QQcategoryZ73946QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/Genuine-Colt-New-70-Series-blued-5-barrel-NEW-NR_W0QQitemZ7170482064QQcategoryZ73945QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
This is an old crappy pic of my colt but it will give you the general idea.
I found dovetailing sights was the only way to go on my Colt. Staked front sights just kept popping off. I'm not a gunsmith but once you start cutting metal, you may be looking at a reblue soon.
I have a SA GI, a Rock River GI, the Colt as pictured, and a Kimber. That Colt was one of those no reliability guns. Even after all that work it still only runs part of the time.
Regards,
What it doing not to run?, what kind of magazines are you using?
There are soooooooooooo many mfg's making 1911's it's ridiculous. But, the fortunate side for us as gun owners is that at least it is keeping the price somewhat manageable for most people. You can get any 1911 you want with any option you want on it from the factory, anymore. Just tell them what you want and they'll get it to you.
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With prices today on high quality 1911's, it's just not worth it to buy one then trick it out anymore.
That is a good general rule of thumb to go buy, however I recently purchased a S.A. ultra-compact for 450.00 no frills, I put a trigger job on it, throated the barrel, dove tailed it, and added a specific set of night sights I wanted on it with a total of 650.00 in the gun, far cheaper than getting a S.A. loaded model, I have adjustable sights and will feed swc's with a 3.2# trigger, the S.A. loaded model can not touch it
And yes way to many are competing in the 1911 market, I predict more 1911 myths in the near future due to the very low end quality some are producing
Been too poor to shoot 45 lately. Have been spending my time with my Glock 17. Ammo is just so much cheaper.
Really need to get a reloader, but that will have to wait till my next job.
Regards,