Shooting Hardball In Series 70 Gold Cup?

[Bill T]

I have a Colt Gold Cup Series 70 and was wondering what kind of recoil spring I need for this? All that I'm going to shoot is 230 FMJ ammo in the 850 FPS range. I was looking in the Brownells catalog, and they offer a host of add on items such as stiffer springs, plastic recoil buffers, ect. I've heard that some of these things can cause more problems than they solve. I want the gun to be reliable, but at the same time protect it as much as possible from adverse wear. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance,  Bill T.

[Arco Nudo]

Probably 16 to 18 pounds. Wolff springs (which has a web site) sells spring kits with a range of several springs of different weight. They sell a low-range for low-power target shooters and a high range for heavier loads like yours. It's a reasonable investment.  The basic rule is to use the heaviest spring that reliably allows the action to cycle for the ammo you use.

[Mikey]

Bill T:  I shot a Series 70 Gold Cup for a number of years and used it as a platform to develop a wildcat 40 caliber based on a necked down 45 acp case - Cor-Bon now calls that design the 400 Cor-Bon, those bandits.  But to answer your question, your GC prolly carries 16-18 lb springs as Arco Nudo said and I went to a 22 lb recoil kit from Wolfe.  In fact, all my 1911s, whether in 45 or 38 Super carry 22 lb recoil spring kits.  As long as you are shooting hardball in the mil-spec velocity range (850-880), your GC should function just fine on those 22 pounders.  Also, as the GC was designed for target work, the slide is a bit lighter than that on the Govn't model and the 22 pounders keep the recoil and frame battering down.  HTH.  Mikey.

[Flint]

The only other problem I ever had with a Gold Cup and full loads was the rear sight retaining pin, it broke.  A good replacement, but needs to be shortened is the pin used to retain the ejector, it is the right diameter and is stronger steel wire, for some reason.