Mr. 16 Gauge: there are a couple of things to look for - (1) pull the slide off and look at the frame behind the magazine well for cracks running lengthwise. Make certain it isn't a machining mark, but a crack. If you see one don't buy the gun. (2). Look at the tube that holds the detent pins for the slide safety and the hold open whatever ya call it (plunger tube), and make certain it is solidly fixed to the frame and does not pull out and away from the frame. Sometimes thise things, which are just staked in, come loose and may hang ya up. (3). Look to see how she feels when you retract the slide - if the spring is worn or old, as that is an older piece, worn springs may have added to the battering of the frame.
If all is good, get it. There is nothing wrong with the Colt aluminum frames and some gunsmiths use them as a basis for target pieces that see thousands of rounds. Mine is an older one, in the first 2,500 production run, with a loose plunger tube that is held in place by the grips, it has probably had 10K rounds of ball and reload through it, it rattles like loose change in a bottle, functions prefectly and will cut a couple of Xs from each magazine of ball at 25 yds. HTH. Mikey.
