Colt MK IV, Series 80

T

TOPKICK

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I'm pretty sure I got a good deal here. $450 for this .45 Officers in stainless. Good & tight, no scratches, etc. It has Houge grips and I,m pretty sure a different trigger. The trigger has an Allen head screw(Adjustable?)and 3 holes in it. I think it's alluminum. I think it has had some other work done but I can't be sure. Tried to find a NIB one for comparison with no luck, and the dealer would not tell me who previous owner was.(understandable) I think I remember reading somewhere that these guns had a 2-piece guide rod. Mine has a 1-piece. The recoil spring seems stiffer in comparison to my full size 1911. This one has a shock-buff and I know for sure that Colt didn't install that! I put 500 rnds. through it without any trouble, and it shoots TPI with 230gr HDs.

I guess my question is: What are the most common mods done to this gun and also for what were they done for? Did I here somewhere about them being prone to wear or breakage due to the design of them?

Thanks for any and all help.
 
Some of the favored mods to 1911's are:
Wood Grips
New sights
High beavertail safety
Checkering or stippling of frontstrap
Match barrel
Tighten slide to frame fit
Polish feed ramp
Trigger job
Reliability packages

There are so many different possibilites with the 1911. Basically once you figure out what you want to do with it, the sky is the limit with mods.

Check out www.1911forum.com sometime if you want more info on your Colt.
 
Mine has a solid black trigger that is not adjustable. The guide rod is one piece. No there is no shock buff, and according to the Brownells catalog, the standard 1911 shock buffs don't work in the Officers Model although I never tried one. Mine works great. It has proven reliable right out of the box and is about middle of the road for accuracy when compared to my other 1911s. It shoots better than my Springfield and not as good as my other Colt. The only thing I don't like about mine is that it is really heavy for a small gun. Mine shoots point of aim with 185s and shoots a little high with 230s. This is the gun listed on my CCW. Mine is the "enhanced" version. It is throated, the ejection port is relieved, it has a beavertail, and three dot sights. The only "mod" I made to mine was to put allen head grip screws in it. I was going to install a full length guide rod, but all the ones I have found require modification to the slide. I don't know exactly what is involved so I didn't do it. If this modification would allow me to use the stock guide rod or any of the other aftermarket rods after the work, I wouldnt' have a problem with it, but I don't want to commit myself to one and find out it wasn't the best choice without having the ability to change. I even took mine coyote hunting a few months back and saw graphic evidence of "knockdown power". I also think you got a pretty good deal on yours. I haven't price one since I bought mine about 5 years ago, but I paid more than that for mine new then.
 
Thanks for info guys. I went to 1911 forum and got a wealth of info. Found out this is one of Colt's "ENHANCED" models per the "E" on the serial number. Trouble is.......some of the discriptions of other "ENHANCED" models don't match mine! Some have diff. sights, alloy frames and/or slides, diff. barrels(mine is a bull barrel), different grips, and on and on. They way it looked and from what info was given, even pics, no two are alike. Or maybe the previous owner "ENHANCED" the "ENHANCED" model after he got it! :)
 
The most common mod specific to the OACP is replacing the factory spring guide and plug. The plug is retained by a small tab that some people think is a weak link in the design. There is at least one company making a replacement plug that doesn't rely on the small tab, and there are a lot of recoil spring "systems" that replace the rod and plug. Installing these "reverse plugs" requires milling or filing part of the slide for clearance, and the mod is not reversible. The OACP was made in polished blue, matte blue (alloy frame), matte stainless and bright stainless, in both Enhanced and pre-enhanced form. There is also the basic, M1991A1 Compact version. They all have a bull barrel and a bushing; if yours has a barrel that mates directly to the slide, then it's an aftermarket barrel. The factory guide rod is one piece, quite short (one inch) and fitted with dual springs; if yours runs the full length of the slide, it is also an aftermarket part.
 
Just what RickB said, many gunsmiths recommend changing the recoil guide, spring and cap. The cap tab WILL break and shoot off after so many rounds. Just routinely check the tab on the cap and make sure it doesn't start to mushroom or deform, when that happens either change the cap or get a OACP guide rod and cap conversion kit from Wilson Combat, Ed Brown etc.. yes the slide does have to be cut for the officers conversion kit and the kit will also eliminate the double recoil spring with a single spring and will eliminate the headaches of having your guide rod and cap being shot down range when that tab breaks off. I made the modification to all of my officers and compacts because I've personally seen that tab break. Then again there is the old axiom of "if it aint broke, don't fix it." :)
 
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