I just picked up a NIB Pre 70 Series Colt 1911 and have checked the serial number and it was manufactured in 1969.
I am kind of torn on what to do with it, so I wanted to see what you guys thought.
Shoot it…
Make it a safe queen for posterity …or
Mod it and then shoot it.
Get the gun to the point that it’s everything you’ve ever wanted and then spend the rest of your life trying to wear it out. 
I would send it to the guy above me…then shoot it a ton!
I don’t even know what I want or need in a 1911, I just knew I needed a cough Colt in the stable. I really would like a 1911 type gunsmith to break it down and just look over the internals before I ever did anything. I just don’t want an idiot mark on the slide.
I took my 1st 1911 to a dealer about a year ago BNIB to break it down and help familiarize me with the process and right there before my very eyes he put the idiot mark (albeit very faint) on the slide for me:suicide:
Take it out, shoot a few hundred rounds through it and then decide what you would like to change. Just make sure you send it to a good pistol smith to have the work done.
Geezerbutler, that right there is an invitation if I ever saw one. I’d take him up on it, if I were you.
Send it to Jason or Chuck Rogers, or someone else at that level. When you get it back shoot it as often as possible.
One thing I would not do is deviate from the classic external appearance of a 1969 Colt M1911.
To the original poster,
I agree with Jason. However, only you can determine what that point is where the pistol is everything you’ve ever wanted. For instance it may be that way now or it may require $6,000 of modifications, or somewhere in between. Getting feedback from others is only helpful to a certain point.
Fluff and buff, then shoot the whee outta it.
Just me I’d put it in the safe. Those guns will just continue to go up in value. I could see taking it out and shooting it now and then. Though I’d never carry or modify it. Just my 2 cents. Sounds like a nice gun.
If it were mine & a 100% gun, it would be in the safe.
There are lots of other 1911’s in the world you can turn into a dream gun so why alter a collectable pre pony??
Mint guns like these don’t come around every day. You can pick up a good clean used one to modify & some can even copy the original roll stamps on the slide if that is what floats your boat for a custom shooter.
I agree with Artos. If it were me, here is what I would do:
Smart move #1:
If I could afford it I would put it in the safe and keep it just like it is. It will never be worth less, it will only appreciate in value. You can make it “like new” many times, but it can be original only once. Find a slightly used one just like it and send that one to Jason Burton or someone of his caliber. Don’t destroy irreplaceable value and rarity if you don’t have to.
Smart move #2:
If I couldn’t afford to keep it I would sell it or auction it off and have enough to buy a used model just like it with money left over for upgrades and ammo.
A great gunsmith can make any quality firearm better, maybe even the gun of your dreams. He doesn’t need a NIB pistol to do that. No matter how high quality the work, it would be a shame to make irreversible modifications to a NIB 40 year old Colt.
I’ll bet I can help you find more than a dozen nice used Colts in less than a weeks time. If someone asked me to find one that was 40 years old and NIB, I wouldn’t know where to start, except to say “You had better be patient, and you better have a big budget.” Good luck to you and I sincerely hope that pistol stays just like it is and gets passed down to many generations of your family.
PS: Forgot to add that I consider shooting an unfired 40 year old Colt an irreversible modification!
Uhhh…
FIRST thing to do would be to POST PICS. :fie:
I’d send it to someone talented to replace some of the internals, reliability job, and have better sights put on, bevel the mag well, de-horn a little, etc… Then shoot the crap out of it!
Maybe get the smith to fit a quality barrel/bushing so it’ll be something like a sleeper 1911. Looks like some plain ole colt but shoots real gud!
If it’s that nice and rare I’d shoot it moderately and definitely not abuse it, but the thought of keeping something (especially a gun) in mint condition for the next guy isn’t my cup of tea.
Hell, whoever you pass it down to might just pawn it for real cheap later. 
Thought you hated 1911’s? :jester:
No. I have two in the safe. It’s just time to get over the romance of using them to fight with. 
Definitely!
I love me some Colt Commercial Models…
One of the most profound statements I’ve ever read on this, or any other, forum.
Superb counsel!
AC
I gave Jason from Heirloom Precision a call as some of you suggested. He was very helpful and said for the time being to just replace a couple of springs and go and shoot it. It does have a couple of places with surface rust around the sights. Excuse the french but I ain’t no gunsmith or metallurgist and I need to combat this rust quickly. What to do?
I do want to replace the sights If I’m going to shoot it, period. I prefer night sights as I’ve always carried and trained with them and no doubt anything to me beats the stock sights on this gun. Comments, suggestions and ideas are appreciated.
Thanks
I swear there was a pic here a minute ago!
Sorry, I’m using FLICKR now instead of Google, and I am trying to figure out the embedding.
Stand by…