Shootingamigo: Joe, my friend, you asked the question "why does everyone lead in with 4 times bankrupt statement. I don't believe that it has anything to do with pistol making." Well, ummmm, maybe it does.
Colt went belly up four times for a buncha reasons, and sone of them were the quality of their products as well as their quality control. Their bankruptsy was indicative of both poor managment, which lead to poor quality control and well as overall customer dissatisfaction with their product quality and customer service. With each successive bankruptsy and change in management, product quality and customer service got worse. One of the final 'straws' was when one of their management staff was quoted as saying that Colt would not be held responsible for producing 'unsafe' firearms and that no pistol would leave his shop with less than a 13 pound trigger pull. Sounds pretty safe to me, especially if you're trying to use it.......................
I can agree that many of the manufacturers thought that by pulling together they could survive bad economic times but I think it may have also been a concern that united we stand but become a bigger target and would lose some of the autonomy individual manufacturers enjoy.
Anywho, it doesn't seem as though much has changed in old Hartford since the last chapter 11 filing, except that they have cut back their product line. Many folks were as dissatisfied with the colt products as were dissatisfied with S&W for their sellout to the klinton/Hud agreement. It is mostly personal choice but it is indicative of the arrogance with which some of the major firearms manufacturers see the American shooting public. It is sort of like "here, this is what we are gonna give you and you can take it or leave it".
Well, with so much competition out there, why take it?
Now, as to the 45 ACP - mil-spec velocity for the 230 gn ball is 877'/sec. Round nose semi-auto pistol bullets follow the design of the earlier revolver bullets and feed much better in semi-autos. The need for flying ashtrays didn't come into perspective until a few years ago, not when the 1911 was designed.
You also said: You wanted them at 1000 FPS you wanted them to retain bullet weight at least 97% you wanted to drill the target with a bullet mushroomed to twice its original size. You even wanted to loosen your fillings and knock down the guy standing behind you with a shock wave. Oh Yeah Man, I like the way you think.....( :-D ).
On the hammer block safety - you're right. I've never seen one go bad, or fail, but I have felt a significant difference in trigger pull twixt those and the Series 70s and earlier versions. Some gunnies can really smooth them out but in most cases, the shooter is stuck with a trigger pull they may not care much for. That's why I went with Springfield.
Believe me Joe, I have had my share of Colts, still pack an early model lightweight Commander and like the feel of the older commercial models. I am also impressed by the written reports of the accuracy of the newer Government Models but feel that for the amount of money to be spent on a new 1911 you can do much, much better with another brand.
Now, as to why it's always the gun and never the shooter.............. LOL. Mikey.
