I’ve been giving some consideration to a railed 1911 again, and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the Colt yet.
Obviously the series 80 stuff isn’t ideal, but I was wondering how it stacks up to other railed 1911s at its price point.
They are like any other Colt, they work.
I think Hilton Yam mentioned that they were fit for duty, however, it had sharp edges. I haven’t seen alot of feedback on them since they came out. I am also interested in how they stack up to the TRP and MC Operator. Heck, I cruised the forum and had a hard time even finding a picture of one. I would love to hear from someone that has used one.
Ky Cop
Waiting for the blue steel versions.
SS versions have been available for some time.
There were many who asked why make the SS versions ahead of steel ? 
COLT has been extremely difficult and unorganized with regards to issuing availability and time of delivery. They have been arrogant & rude in fact to the people I know in LEO who have tried to procure them for their departments in quantity etc.
Thats a shame Hop! You would think thats just basic business 101 for most companies. Its almost like they could care less about their 1911’s. Anyways, I hope you post pics and details on yours when you get it. I really would like to know how it compares to the TRP. I think they around the same price. Could be wrong. Let us know anyways. You are the only one that is going to have one on here as of this post.
Ky Cop
I’ve been meaning to reply to this for the last week or so but kept getting sidetracked…
I’ve seen a couple of the Colt Rail Guns up close and have worked on one of them. The gun was bought brand new and had feeding issues right away… which isn’t to say they all will just that this one did. The gun needed and got a reliability job consisting of a proper barrel throat and feedramp geometry, reamed chamber, polished breech face, chamfered firing pin hole, as well as a tuned extractor and ejector. The barrel was also re-crowned and the goofy ambi-safety had its levers (especially the right side) narrowed to more useable dimensions and the whole part was de-horned.
A few things I noticed about this particular example…
Overall the gun would make a good base gun for a custom build. I’m not crazy about the front cocking serrations or the factory done sight cuts but overall the gun could make for a nice custom built rail gun.
Watch out hands and holsters ‘cause this gun is sharp! Considering the edges I personally would not want to carry it right out of the box but again it’s nothing that can’t be fixed or addressed.
Overall the barrel fit quite well for a factory gun. When the gun was in battery this particular example showed no play between the standing lugs and slide stop and the hood seemed to fit nicely (although not perfectly) in the slide. The barrel bushing was loose in the slide and did have fore and aft play but it fit the barrel well. I was a bit surprised at how well this barrel fit and that’s not a reflection on Colt but rather mass produced 1911s in general. With a good useable trigger this particular gun would likely shoot better than the vast majority of shooters.
It has been mentioned that the gun is a Series 80 and it is. When properly tuned the Series 80 components aren’t a big deal and when addressed correctly I have no issue with them. Don’t get me wrong, I would prefer the gun be a Series 70 but by themselves the Series 80 components would not stop me from recommending the gun.
the bottom edges of the slide are sharp enough to shave with. run round a grand in my area. plastic MSH. seen one with loose fitted ambi thumb safety pulling away from the frame. a little more generous slide/frame fit than i prefer.
i’d rather get a SA MC Operator 1911 for the money, but i’ve never been a colt guy
You could shave with one if you needed to. Not all that impressed really. Fit was not great. MC Operator is a better buy if you can find one. I was actually pretty impressed with a Blackwater railed Sig 1911 I saw the other day.
I missed your post somehow assy…i guess great minds think alike though…
prob give me a cleaner shave than my mach 3 turbo :eek:
Thanks Jason for that great info. It’s nice to have someone like you posting on M4c.
Like HOPLOETHOS stated I’m waiting for the blue steel versions to become available.
There will be no blue steel coming, they will be stainless with cerakote.
My dept just bought 7 colt rail guns. I just ordered the holsters. Still need night sights. Colt still cutting the front sight dovetail too close to the end of the slide. They really need a dehorn.
If you dont mind me asking, what area or department do you work for. I would love to work for a agency that allowed 1911’s. Also, did they evaluate any other 1911’s before going to the Colt. Again, just curious to see how you guys choose the platform.
Ky Cop
This is my understanding as well… although strangely enough the Colt rep I spoke with said the small parts on the “black” gun would be carbon steel.
I would much prefer a carbon steel (frame and slide) version of the gun mostly due to a personal aversion to stainless guns. But in either case the Colt Rail Gun would work well for what I want to do with them.
I appreciate everyones comments, it’s one of my picks or maybe a Springfield?
now you’re talking 
Whitehall PD issues Colt 1911 xse’s. Standard SS 5 inch Government models for patrol. Lightweight commander’s for admin and d-bureau. The rail guns are for ERT. All 1911’s in service have 10-8 rear sights and champion (keng’s) front sights with trijicon inserts. This is our second purchase of colt’s. We started issuing Colt 1911’s 15-18 years ago. We didn’t really look at any other 1911’s. I made a pitch for kimber warriors before the last bid because at that time springfield only made the operator with a full length dust cover. My desire for a rail 1911 w white light was a little premature at that time. Nobody else at work shared my enthusasim. It is working out though. I am glad we didn’t get the warrior. :DI currently have a colt rail gun on lay-away and a SA 10-8 operator in the safe!!!
Well, the blue Colt Rail guns are out and I was curious if anyone had updates on how their SS has been running. Any issues with reliability and if so what? I have heard both statements that the blue/black Colts are a bit more dehorned but still need some work. Also, folks on TOS said that after a little love to the extractor, dehorned, and cerakote finish applied they are GTG.
Thoughts…, Pics?
KC
Does anyone have any new info or pics, re the last post?