Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
I tried to go the gun show and not buy anything. I tried. I really did.
But, as I was walking down the aisle with a buddy I just casually glanced at the various guns we passed until I saw something that made me stop in my tracks.
Colt Series 70 1911 .45 ACP. Price? Well, low enough that red flags and alarm bells started going off in my head. Something has gotta be wrong with this gun for that price. Turns out the guy was selling it for a friend, whom he called over. The friend explained he had swung a deal, the Cot was part of the deal, and it was supposed to be marked up 20% more than it was…his buddy, supposedly, goofed the pricing. No problem, I said, I don’t want to see you get hurt. If you don’t want to sell it for the rpice marked on it, thats perfectly cool with me. (Secretly, I wanted a reason to NOT buy this thing…for the price there had to be something wrong. Something!) He said, no, if you want it at that price we can do that.
Ugh.
So, out came the cash and the Colt Series 70 1911 with no paperwork went into my bag. And we immediately went to the range to make sure I hadnt just bought a very expensive cigarette lighter or hand grenade. The 185 gr. wadcutters gave a few hiccups in feeding (usually do in a gun that hasn’t been worked over for them), but the 230 gr. truncated cones fed fine. Gun shot where pointed, nothing flew off, and I had all my fingers when we were done. I might have gotten an actual good deal. Gun has four glaring deviations from factory: aftermarket extended slide release, aftermarket extended mag release, aftermarket grips, barrel bushing has been replaced with a fingered ‘Commander style’ bushing. Other than that, it all seems original. Condition? Pretty good. Big drawback? I’m not a 1911 fanboy. However, I could easily(!!) trade this thing for a NIB G17 if I wanted to.
Man, I was trying NOT to spend money today…………
ETA: Serial range puts it around 1983 making it the last of the Series 70 guns.
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Next up was UPS dropping off a box that I was told had a birthday gift in it for me. I got the package and darned if it doesnt look like the kind of box a short rifle would come in. Open the outerbox and theres a sleek, black cardboard box with the Stag Arms logo and name on it. And the heft seems about right for an M4-type carbine. I’m thinking “Wow, did I really just get an M4 for my birthday?”
No, I did not.
What I got was one of these, which had the proper length and distribution of weight to make that Stag Arms box seem like it contained the real thing. I’m not disappointed, though. I’ve been wanting one of these for a while to keep in the truck with my emergency gear just in case something ugly happens that requires the prompt destruction or disassembly of something. There was also a copy of ‘Brokeback Mountain’ on DVD in the box as well. Some folks just can’t do something nice and leave it at that……….
