Colt XSE Rail Gun 1911 range report....

[Nakanokalronin]

Got to the range yesterday with my Colt XSE Rail Gun.

Things I changed on it before firing was the plastic MSH with a stainless S&A, the thumb safety was replaced with a Caspian that uses a modified hammer pin that goes into a groove, square pin and tab to keep the opposite safety on and is rock solid and some Alumgrips. The Caspian was very easy to fit for anyone looking for a quality ambi thumb safety.

Reason for changing the MSH was I didn't like the plastic and wanted a magwell anyway, the safety was done so I would have no issues from the more standard ambi safeties which in this case when I took out the right side grip to clean, the Colt safety instantly fell out.

The stock grips are beautiful looking but I wanted something slightly different. I'll probably use the Colt grips on some later project one day.

Shot 300rds of various ammo through the Colt all in 230gr. 200rds of Remington UMC, Winchester and Federal ball, 25 rounds of HST and another 25 of HST +P, 25 Winchester PDX-1 and 25 Remington UMC HP.

Mags used were the stock Colt 8rd, 4- 8rd Wilson Combat Elite, 2 -8rd Wilson Combat 47D, 6 - 8rd McCormick imitation mags, 2 - 8rd Wolff ACT mags, 2 regular 8rd ACT mags and 1 Early WWII Colt 7rd.

Accuracy was excellent and will post the pictures of the targets later.

100% reliability with all mags and ammo. Brought it home cleaned and re-lubed and its still looking great. A few more range trips and it will be doing nightstand duty.

[Nakanokalronin]

[wbw]

Congrats on your new gun. Very nice lloking pistol.

[Dobe]

Saaa-Weeeet! Did it originally come with a FLGR?

[Nakanokalronin]

Did it originally come with a FLGR?

Thankfully,no. Otherwise I would have changed that also.

On a side note, It does have the 80 series safety which I may take out and replace with the TJ Customs plate and use a standard length firing pin spring. No legal worries unless its dropped hard enough and goes off and at that point its no different than a 70 series with poor firearms handling. If used to defend yourself the 80 series is irrelevant.

[Wildalaska]

Taking out the series 80 safety is a waste of time.

The Rail Gun has been our biggest seller, especially the blackened stainless ones

WildverycoollookingAlaska ™

[Nakanokalronin]

Some people had a problem or 2 but I'd rather not be one of the few, you know? Its as unnecessary as the swartz safety in Kimbers. I took it out of my PT1911 AR and it takes a very short amount of time to do so. Less to wear out and malfunction at the wrong time. Not sure about this Colt but my PT1911AR's trigger did get better with it removed. So far that PT1911 and this Colt are the only 2 80 series I've owned out of 8 1911s now. Most people prefer the 70 series but I'll never pass on a nice 80 when it can be solved with a $5 shim from Brownells. Most Colts are 80s now so unless you want to get a GI type you get the 80 series or nothing from Colt.

Chances of these useless parts going bad may be 1 in a billion but why bother being that one. People seem to win the lottery now and then is all I'm saying.

ETA: BTW, are the Blackened stainless the same price as the regular stainless?

[Hank15]

When did Colt start using plastic MSH?

Anyway, good job on the installation of the S&A MSH. It looks really nice.

Did you have to trim/blend it?

[Nakanokalronin]

Not sure how long they have been using plastic for their MSHs but its been at least alittle while now.

I didn't need to do anything to the S&A magwell, it fit like a glove. The safety needed a small bit of trimming, less trimming than any other thumb safety I've had to fit.

[Auto426]

Colt has been using plastic mainspring housings since they introduced their 1991 line in, wait for it, 1991. That particular model came with a plastic mainspring housing and a plastic trigger in an attempt to cut costs and offer a competitively priced low end 1911.

The plastic trigger turned out to be a bad idea and most people ended up changing them out. Colt dropped it, but decided to stuck with the flat plastic mainspring housings on almost all of their guns. They aren't steel, but they are good quality polymer pieces and there's nothing wrong with them. Some people feel the need to change them out, others never even notice it's not steel. They are particularly nice on blued guns since you never have to worry about wearing the finish off of them.

I plan on getting a stainless Colt XSE Government for my next gun. It's going to have the plastic MSH, but I don't think I'm going to spend the money to change it out. It's also going to have a FLGR, but again, I'm not wasting money to change it out. These aren't parts I desire in a 1911, but they aren't worth the time and money to change them out IMO.

[Wildalaska]

Some people had a problem or 2 but I'd rather not be one of the few, you know?

Uh huh


WildletsnotgetexcessivehereAlaska TM

[Nakanokalronin]

Wildalaska,I know where your coming from but it is an unnecessary contraption in the 1911 design. Drop test contraptions are for regulations for agencies or states that require it. I'm sure I could live with it for the the rest of my life but with a $5 part I have 1 less spring and 3 less parts to wear out and not have to worry about causing a malfunction.

Its like a FLGR. Sure it will function in the pistol and great if you need the added weight but really, there is no other function otherwise and removing it will also give one less place for dirt to enter.

[Wildalaska]

Drop test contraptions are for regulations for agencies or states that require it.

Drop test contraptions are a safety device. Ya dont like them, buy one without. Here ya go, one of my famous pissfolkoffisms: Responsible shooters dont disable safety devices (with minor exceptions, and the series 80 mechanism aint one of them)


Wildtellmehowmanyyearsyouhavewith1911sbythewayAlaska TM

[Nakanokalronin]

Tell me though how is a 80 series with the parts removed less safe than the many many 70 series 1911s out there that people buy all the time and are preferred? There is no difference as long as you change the firing pin spring with a standard length/strength one.

It does not cause a hair trigger, it does not make it any easier to pull the trigger than a 70 series, it does not turn the gun into a full auto. I am a responsible gun owner and know how to treat firearms and I don't need to leave a contraption in a gun design that was ADDED later to sell to places that would not allow it to be sold without one. I'd rather have the Springfield Armory Titanium firing pin/extra power firing pin spring combo than anything but even that was done to allow sales.

Many LE agencies that have had 1911s built for them from companies using firing pin safeties told them to build them using 70 series parts.

I really didn't want this to turn into a 80 series debate but there really is no logic to the systems other than sales.

ETA:

Ya dont like them, buy one without.

When a manufacture only provides most of their models with the safety I'm not going to pass on it when it can be eliminated easily and without problems. I'd never own a Colt with a rail if that where the case.

[Wildalaska]

Tell me though how is a 80 series with the parts removed less safe than the many many 70 series 1911s out there that people buy all the time and are preferred?

Tell me where you get this "preferred' stuff....preferred by who?

And your comparing apples to oranges.

WilddontdisablesafetiesAlaska ™

[FreakGasolineFight]

Don't argue with Wildalaska. Seriously. That's like trying to pick a fight with Chuck Norris.

[Icopy1]

What's the price point on that bad boy?

[Nakanokalronin]

Got it for $925 off Gunbroker. My local shop could not get one from anyplace so I got one for myself.

To Wildalaska, after scrounging through several gun forums, reading gun mags, seeing what agencies have requested when wanting a 1911 as their sidearm and talking with people in person that are fans of the 1911s the majority of people prefer a 70 series pistol whatever its intended use is. Out of all my sources for this information I would have to say that no less than 75% or more of people prefer the 70 series 1911. I'm sure the 80 series do sell well since like I stated, me and others will just delete it or like you, won't think its a problem.

I'm not trying to start an argument, I'm just saying that there is no harm in taking out the 80 series parts. I'm not the only, first nor last person to do so.

You have to forget its a gun and think about it mechanically.

How about a contraption (not real,nor would be) where a bar goes under your gas pedal in your car to prevent the pedal from accidentally pushing down in a crash so you don't accelerate further or burn out the engine and the way it works is when you push the gas pedal on purpose the bar starts to move out of the way and when pushed all the way down it disappears.

Now lets say its been tested to work perfectly but there have been a few people that have pushed the pedal down and the system does not move away enough and has prevented them from going anywhere.

Production still goes on the same way and now you have this system in your car reading these few and far between claims of problems. You then realize that cars never came with this worthless "feature" and could do you more harm than good if it where to fail no matter how remote that is. I'm guessing that the system would be removed by the user right away considering its useless in the first place.

Some people might not because they think these problems will never happen to them, they don't even know its there anyhow or they don't want to remove it because they think it might cause something else to go wrong, however the mechanically inclined people know removal of the system is fine and better left out of the car.

I'm saying I don't need a system in my 1911 that might one day make my gun go click instead of bang even if its 100,000 rounds down the road. Look at it like a machine, the more complex the easier it is to break.

The reason I'm comparing apples to oranges is because you said responsible gun owners don't disable safeties, however the 80s w/system removed = 70s and will still ask how one is safer than the other.

[Wildalaska]

The reason I'm comparing apples to oranges is because you said responsible gun owners don't disable safeties, however the 80s w/system removed = 70s and will still ask how one is safer than the other.

Sigh......

OK dude listen....the series 70 mechanism can, under certain circumstances, AD. So can an 80 modified to remove the FP block.

And you dont know the difference to the end user?

I'm not trying to start an argument, I'm just saying that there is no harm in taking out the 80 series parts. I'm not the only, first nor last person to do so.

People drive too fast too. People take the safty covers off of table saws. If folks are jumping off 10 story buildings into bedsheets, do you too?

You have to forget its a gun and think about it mechanically.

Gee, thanks for the advice, I guess I will try to learn more, after all, one doesnt learn everything in only 50 years of 1911 shooting


WildandwiththatimoveontomynextchuckimbroglioAlaska ™

[WVsig]

I do not understand why people buy 80 series guns and turn them into 70 series guns. There are 70 series guns out there.

I guess in this case the rail was the defining feature which was desired and required a 80 series gun.

I own both 70 series and 80 series guns and carry both.

WildsomepeoplejustliketomesswiththingsAlaksa

[Nakanokalronin]

Sigh myself, I'll just leave it since there is no reason to go any further with this discussion. Any extra power firing spring pin negates this in any series. If one has an AD its poor firearms handling and/or no maintenance. I'm not going by examples of WWII bringbacks with weak springs but current examples. Last but not least I'm not removing the parts because someone else did. I first wanted to when I felt how terrible and mushy the trigger was on my PT1911AR, my first 80 series. Deleted the parts and the trigger was crisp like my 70 series pistols and when viewing the 80 parts I realized there was no need for them to be in the pistol in the first place.

People are different and are going to go in different ways, some people see my way and some will see yours. I have no doubt of your experience with 1911s in general and since you've been around them so long what was your reaction to when Colt first introduced the 80 series? Considering this was around 1983 I'm assuming this was due to the fact that most 1911s in use where still old WWII Colts or even modern Colts with standard weak firing pin springs. Bring it up to modern times though with better advanced spring technology and there really is no reason. BTW, an 80 series firing pin has a groove cut out so it is actually lighter than a standard 1911 45acp firing pin, add the extra power spring and I see no problems.

Damn, I just extended this debate.......ugh.

ETA some more Chuck Norris to keep this uplifted: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ-lQ...layer_embedded

[KyJim]

I own both 1911s with and without a firing pin block. While I prefer having no firing pin block, it's obviously not a deal killer. I won't remove the firing pin block for two reasons.

First, you can get a 4 to 4.5 pound trigger pull without trouble in a Series 80 style pistol. That's about right, IMHO, for a carry gun anyway.

Second, if there ever was an "accidental" discharge causing an injury or death, the potential legal liability would multiply exponentially, even if that wasn't really the cause of the discharge. You've removed a safety device from a gun and that would certainly be used against you. For the same reasons, I live with the locks on the two newer SW revolvers I own.

P.S. For a railed 1911, that pistol doesn't look half bad.

[Nakanokalronin]

Thanks for the comment. I don't think it looks to bad either for a railed 1911 and even the front cocking serrations look good IMO.

I understand your points about removing the safety and I think that is the main fear of why people don't take them out, legal liability.

I've been used to 70 series pistols for so long that I know how to handle them so a firing pin safety is not needed in my personal 1911s. Other platforms I see a reason for having them since they have so few safeties to begin with like XDs and even the Sig P238 I own, however the Sig P238 safety has the ejector cam down allowing the firing pin safety plunger to push down and out of the way, kinda opposite of the 80 series. If parts wore out in that system the gun could still fire.

BTW Wildalaska, seems taking out the mag safety on your HP was ok as a responsible gun owner.

ETA: I'm just messin' with ya there WA, I was just doing some searching and found a thread here about this same issue. We're all gun owners believing in the same thing and all fight for the same right to own firearms given to us by the 2nd Amendment.

[Wildalaska]

BTW Wildalaska, seems taking out the mag safety on your HP was ok as a responsible gun owner.

Yep, apples and oranges again, and one of the exceptions I refer too


WildformorethanonereasonwhichareselfevidentAlaska TM

[JohnO]

The BHP has a magazine disconnect. It's not a safety. There is nothing safe about a firearm that won't fire when you need it.