Colt Double Eagle, give me the dirt

E

EIGHTYDUECE

New member
I know Colt stopped making them a couple of years back.
It looked like a Seacamp conversion 1911.

Does anyone have any experience with these pistols?

I'm thinking of buying one just to be a range shooter.

Thanks for any help :)
 
Yep, the Doubtful Beagle.

I know a couple of people who had them, and overall were less than pleased with them. Various problems, from poor feeding to poor cycling to poor worksmanship.
 
One of my Sergeants had a Double Eagle and he loves the ugly thing and it rarely malfunctions on the range. I have never heard anything good about them. If they were worth anything don't you think Colt would still be marketing them? I thinks so...7th
 
Stay away. I had one, it was less than reliable. Sharp checkered, ugly, black plastic grips, and nobody makes replacements.
 
Massad Ayoob wrote an inditement of the Colt Double Eagle in the American handgunner magazine. He was banned from Colt property, and Colt pulled all advertising from Handgunner for years.

Ayoob reported that the Eagle had a trigger defect in which occasionaly when the trigger was pulled the action would make a "click" and the hammer wouldn't drop. He also reported the fact that a number of small parts and springs were held in place by nothing but the grips. Also reported was substandard quality.

I have to admit, as a diehard Colt man, I never wanted a Eagle.
Probably the only Colt I never wanted.

It absolutely IS NOT a Seacamp type trigger mechanizm.
 
EightyDuece:
I actually owned a stainless Officers Model Double Eagle MKII. Okay...my wife bought it for me as a return from deployment gift...her girlfriend worked at the gun shop and recommended it. I probably would have never owned it otherwise.
That being said, it was not a bad piece. It reminded me of a SIG crashed into a Colt Government Model. Fit and finish was excellent, it fed hardball without a stutter, and was as accurate as any comparable Officers Model or Combat Commander. Can't speak to HP ammo due to none being available to US Servicemembers in Germany. The DA first shot was smooth and the SA not bad. It looked a little chunky and was definitely heavy (all steel construction soaked up recoil pretty well). It was a 1911 w/ a decocker! Once I started shooting it, I got to where I could appreciate the design. The weapon was a stillborn attempt by Colt to compete for a military contract after the first JSSAP pistol contract was won by Beretta.
As DFarisWheel mentioned, the grips protected some of the trigger mechanism and an exposed spring. If the grips ever got loose or removed, I would have worried about the weapon staying together in the field. It just didn't appear well enough designed to be "GI Proof". Just a gut feeling...and not a solid one, 'cause the rest of the pistol was pure 1911.
On the other hand...the other white meat (Beretta M9) suffers a similar problem (right grip protects extremely flimsy spring). I have observed numerous instances of lost and broken springs
resulting in a non-functioning trigger. In addition, having PERSONALLY observed the routine and absolutely dismal failure of Beretta locking blocks in a Special Forces Battalion's worth of weapons, I'm not so certain that the DE couldn't have given the M9 a run for its money. At least we would be using .45 ACP Ball instead of 9mm Ball...(Beretta Rant Complete).
In the end, I developed a liking but not a passion for the DE. I sold it after about two years of moderate use. I think the DE would be a good range or home defense pistol. I wish I had retained it, and believe that someday they will increase in value due to scarcity. If the price is right...buy one.
 
thanks guys.
I will probably pass on it.

I already have a custom colt 1991 45acp so I guess the pistol would be redundant anyhow.

I have a new interest in the Megastar 10mm. I saw one at the gun show this last weekend.
 
On the earlier model(pre MK11), the right hand grip secured some of the internal pieces, which of course fell out when the grip was removed. Mk 11 changed it and added a securing plate.
 
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