The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Colt Series 80 Hammer "Half-Cock"???

Grump · March 30, 2013, 01:26 AM

Jim:

For some dumb reason I read patent infringement into your earlier post on the Ruger single-action stuff.

Now, all that started before my time and perhaps my safety-conscious father was an unusual influence, but even as a kid reading those "free upgrade" ads from Ruger...I put two and two together with a firm 11-year-old's knowledge of predictable human stupidity and concluded that Ruger's decision to ape the original Colt lockwork *without* some addition to remove the hazard was, well, dumb.

As far as my sad experience with another semi-auto, it was the second gun I ever bought brand-new, an Astra A-80. I thought it was the poor man's compact SIG (bought it just before the P228 came out), with a more durable steel frame.

Should have waited for the A-100 with the American-style mag release. But for the way I shoot even now, I don't mind an easy-to-open heel catch. Should have waited...maybe.

Don't remember what broke first, but I had what Consumer Reports calls a "specimen defect" with the surface hardening (case hardening actually, not the M1 Garand style which with proper base steel is almost nitro-carburizing hard and still quite tough) that was too deep, making a lot of the small parts brittle.

Generated a bit of correspondence with InterArms on that one.

The part of the slide stop that your thumb hits snapped off. Made it work a bit like a PPK...
The part of the takedown lever that your thumb or finger rotates snapped off.
The lower front of the slide (that recoils into the dust cover) was silver-soldered in and just sorta eased out of place. Hits on 10-yard bowling pins were getting a good four inches high before it finally locked back and NOT from the slide stop...
Bought a new slide and then THAT one just cracked on the same part, instead of coming loose from the rest of the slide.
Along the way, I got a bag of parts from a .45 model and that worked great. Bought a third mag and drove out of town for an IPSC match (Think I've shot only three of them...) and came in dead last (the ONLY time that has happened) largely because of mysterious failures of the trigger to reset. After that day ended, I discovered it was only the new mag, too fat on the top right and it was rubbing the trigger bar.
After the ejector BENT, I sold it as a .45 with a bunch of 9mm parts. I think. Maybe I got a warranty replacement on that second slide.

And to think I passed up a Tanfoglio CZ-75-ish clone for almost exactly the same price because they did NOT have a firing pin block! They are heavy but I've never heard of them chewing themselves to pieces....

So that's the long sad story behind that.

March 30, 2013, 01:26 AM	#14
Grump Member Join Date: October 22, 2008 Posts: 73	Jim: For some dumb reason I read patent infringement into your earlier post on the Ruger single-action stuff. Now, all that started before my time and perhaps my safety-conscious father was an unusual influence, but even as a kid reading those "free upgrade" ads from Ruger...I put two and two together with a firm 11-year-old's knowledge of predictable human stupidity and concluded that Ruger's decision to ape the original Colt lockwork without some addition to remove the hazard was, well, dumb. As far as my sad experience with another semi-auto, it was the second gun I ever bought brand-new, an Astra A-80. I thought it was the poor man's compact SIG (bought it just before the P228 came out), with a more durable steel frame. Should have waited for the A-100 with the American-style mag release. But for the way I shoot even now, I don't mind an easy-to-open heel catch. Should have waited...maybe. Don't remember what broke first, but I had what Consumer Reports calls a "specimen defect" with the surface hardening (case hardening actually, not the M1 Garand style which with proper base steel is almost nitro-carburizing hard and still quite tough) that was too deep, making a lot of the small parts brittle. Generated a bit of correspondence with InterArms on that one. The part of the slide stop that your thumb hits snapped off. Made it work a bit like a PPK... The part of the takedown lever that your thumb or finger rotates snapped off. The lower front of the slide (that recoils into the dust cover) was silver-soldered in and just sorta eased out of place. Hits on 10-yard bowling pins were getting a good four inches high before it finally locked back and NOT from the slide stop... Bought a new slide and then THAT one just cracked on the same part, instead of coming loose from the rest of the slide. Along the way, I got a bag of parts from a .45 model and that worked great. Bought a third mag and drove out of town for an IPSC match (Think I've shot only three of them...) and came in dead last (the ONLY time that has happened) largely because of mysterious failures of the trigger to reset. After that day ended, I discovered it was only the new mag, too fat on the top right and it was rubbing the trigger bar. After the ejector BENT, I sold it as a .45 with a bunch of 9mm parts. I think. Maybe I got a warranty replacement on that second slide. And to think I passed up a Tanfoglio CZ-75-ish clone for almost exactly the same price because they did NOT have a firing pin block! They are heavy but I've never heard of them chewing themselves to pieces.... So that's the long sad story behind that.