Keith Rogan
New member
I bought a Systema Colt about a dozen years ago for about $100. This one was real junker but I only wanted it as base to build a race gun on.
The gunsmith I turned it over to had some real doubts about the wisdom of that but when he dug into it, it proved to be an excellent piece, perfectly machined and every bit as good as any Colt made in Hartford. He subsequently bought a dozen more of these (in similar shape - worn out junkers) as fodder to build guns on.
The finished gun was the most accurate I've ever owned, and of course I stupidly traded it off a couple of years ago...
There is one thing you need to know though. The Systema Colts are just like WWII era "gubmint" Colts and the slides are fairly soft. You wouldn't want to build one into a .45 Super or stick a Rowland conversion on it because it wouldn't be prudent - this opinion delivered from my gunsmith after he tested the metal. That's hardly a drawback since any Colt from that era would be the same. But it's been a long time since people were turning war surplus into a race guns and there are probably gunsmiths out there that don't know that. Keep your old guns in .45 acp and you'll never have to worry about eating a slide.
The gunsmith I turned it over to had some real doubts about the wisdom of that but when he dug into it, it proved to be an excellent piece, perfectly machined and every bit as good as any Colt made in Hartford. He subsequently bought a dozen more of these (in similar shape - worn out junkers) as fodder to build guns on.
The finished gun was the most accurate I've ever owned, and of course I stupidly traded it off a couple of years ago...
There is one thing you need to know though. The Systema Colts are just like WWII era "gubmint" Colts and the slides are fairly soft. You wouldn't want to build one into a .45 Super or stick a Rowland conversion on it because it wouldn't be prudent - this opinion delivered from my gunsmith after he tested the metal. That's hardly a drawback since any Colt from that era would be the same. But it's been a long time since people were turning war surplus into a race guns and there are probably gunsmiths out there that don't know that. Keep your old guns in .45 acp and you'll never have to worry about eating a slide.