CMP M9 vs. Colt custom hardball gun

Citizen Carrier · April 10, 2010, 05:28 PM

Went to the Columbus gunshow this morning to see if I could sell a Model 70 Winchester. First table in the door and I see a blue Series 70 Colt with a Bo-Mar rear sight and a tall front sight. Somebody had built a hardball gun for match shooting and the price was $750.

I checked slide to frame fit. Plenty tight. Pressing down on the barrel hood produced no movement. I could not turn the barrel bushing with my fingers, nor was there any movement of the barrel in the bushing. The barrel had a light stamp that read ".45 ACP" with what appears to be the word "KIT" under it. Very faint. The frontstrap and mainspring were both given a pebble type textured surface. Trigger pull seemed to be in the 4 pound range, if not a bit heavier than that.

So I traded for it. The dealer could not tell me who'd done the work.

It was such a nice day today I decided to have a shoot-off between my Mountain Competition Pistols M9 match Beretta and this new hardball Colt.

After two five shot groups from a rest I finally settled down, focused on the front sight and produced that group with five shots of American Eagle 230 grain FMJ.

Okay, accuracy-wise, the Colt could walk the walk. Reliability was another matter. More often than not, the gun would jam between the fourth and fifth shots, producting this strange phenomenon:

The fourth round doesn't clear, but the fifth round is halfway into the chamber. Not sure what could cause that. I was using a Wilson magazine. Probably a combination of extractor tension and ejector geometry, if I had to guess. Never seen a jam like this, but I'm confident a local smith can fix it.

Above is another good group the Colt turned in. I'm a little concerned about the flyer though. Aside from the jams, my only other complaint was the sharp serrations on the trigger. Also, the gunsmith drilled and tapped through the long steel trigger to install an over travel stop. For some reason, he did not stone the burr off it. Didn't notice it until I started firing.

The M9 answered right back with this 5 shot group.

And the group above is another fairly good one. The vertical stringing is my fault.

Accuracy-wise I'd say both guns are mechanically capable of excellent groups...it's just that the M9 seemed to produce them more often.

I did do some one-handed, standing practice. Shot recovery in timed and rapid type firing was noticeably better with the M9.

I'll keep the Colt as a back-up service pistol, after I get the faults corrected.

April 10, 2010, 05:28 PM	#1
Citizen Carrier Senior Member Join Date: July 10, 2008 Location: Columbus, OH Posts: 671	CMP M9 vs. Colt custom hardball gun Went to the Columbus gunshow this morning to see if I could sell a Model 70 Winchester. First table in the door and I see a blue Series 70 Colt with a Bo-Mar rear sight and a tall front sight. Somebody had built a hardball gun for match shooting and the price was $750. I checked slide to frame fit. Plenty tight. Pressing down on the barrel hood produced no movement. I could not turn the barrel bushing with my fingers, nor was there any movement of the barrel in the bushing. The barrel had a light stamp that read ".45 ACP" with what appears to be the word "KIT" under it. Very faint. The frontstrap and mainspring were both given a pebble type textured surface. Trigger pull seemed to be in the 4 pound range, if not a bit heavier than that. So I traded for it. The dealer could not tell me who'd done the work. It was such a nice day today I decided to have a shoot-off between my Mountain Competition Pistols M9 match Beretta and this new hardball Colt. After two five shot groups from a rest I finally settled down, focused on the front sight and produced that group with five shots of American Eagle 230 grain FMJ. Okay, accuracy-wise, the Colt could walk the walk. Reliability was another matter. More often than not, the gun would jam between the fourth and fifth shots, producting this strange phenomenon: The fourth round doesn't clear, but the fifth round is halfway into the chamber. Not sure what could cause that. I was using a Wilson magazine. Probably a combination of extractor tension and ejector geometry, if I had to guess. Never seen a jam like this, but I'm confident a local smith can fix it. Above is another good group the Colt turned in. I'm a little concerned about the flyer though. Aside from the jams, my only other complaint was the sharp serrations on the trigger. Also, the gunsmith drilled and tapped through the long steel trigger to install an over travel stop. For some reason, he did not stone the burr off it. Didn't notice it until I started firing. The M9 answered right back with this 5 shot group. And the group above is another fairly good one. The vertical stringing is my fault. Accuracy-wise I'd say both guns are mechanically capable of excellent groups...it's just that the M9 seemed to produce them more often. I did do some one-handed, standing practice. Shot recovery in timed and rapid type firing was noticeably better with the M9. I'll keep the Colt as a back-up service pistol, after I get the faults corrected. __________________ Once you've got your sights adjusted to the ammunition you have, step away from the bench. In competition or the field...there are no benches.