TargetTalk

Is this 1911 series 80 platform used in bullseye 45's at all?

Yes. They aren't preferred because quality can be substandard on some; machining tolerances, loose frame/slide. The series 80 firing pin block really isn't a big deal. A good gunsmith can make it feel like it doesn't exist. I've shot 880's with series 80 in the past when I had one. They can be built as good as anything out there but can be extra work for the gunsmith.
Jon

I had a Series 80 Colt Gold Cup. The trigger worked just fine. Sometimes I think this is a mental issue. You know it's there, someone told you it's a problem, so your mind works against you. If you are an accomplished BE shooter, you can do just as well with the crappiest trigger around.

A High Master BE shooter would choose a marginally accurate pistol with an outstanding trigger over the most accurate pistol with a crappy trigger! Trigger is practically everything.
Jon

I shot a Series 80 for a long time when I first started shooting BE. The gun was built by Clark Guns and shot very well. The trigger on the gum was very good and I doubt that most people could tell it was a series 80 by the feel of the trigger. It was a little more of a pain to clean if you stripped out the mechanism until you remembered what the assembly sequence was for the firing pin block. After learning that it is no more trouble than any other 1911.

Jon Eulette wrote:A High Master BE shooter would choose a marginally accurate pistol with an outstanding trigger over the most accurate pistol with a crappy trigger! Trigger is practically everything.
Jon

"Your sights will get you into the black. Your trigger will get you into the X-Ring."

One of the military shooters at Camp Perry made this statement to a fellow league

shooter who attended the National Matches a few years ago.

John Zurek was awarded a .45 (National Match?) for his performance at a match. He was planning to sell it (like he doesn't have enough of them), but we decided to put it in a Ransom Rest to find out what it would do.

It sucked. It wouldn't have mattered how good a trigger pull it had. The same thing happened with a Kimber .45 I'd picked up.

I guess if a gun doesn't have what it takes, trigger just don't matter.

Murph wrote:Is this 1911 series 80 platform used in bullseye 45's at all?

My advice is that if you already own one or can get one at a price that is a steal, go for it. Otherwise I'd get a basic series 70 type 1911, like the Springfield Armory Range Officer (http://www.springfield-armory.com/1911-series/). It's likely that any off the shelf pistol you buy will need some type of accurizing (some more than others). If you want to get a pistol ready to go to the line, I'd recommend something along the lines of a Rock River (https://www.rockriverarms.com/index.cfm ... N=63033482).

It is also very easy to convert a Series 80 back to a 70. I recently rebuilt my Series 80 using a custom trigger kit from Brownells, a custom trigger from another source, and the required conversion shim, also from Brownells. There are several YouTube videos to show the process. I am no gunsmith, although no virgin either, when it comes to minor gunsmithing. The shim typically requires a bit of fitting, but otherwise, everything else pretty well drops into place, as long as you are not all thumbs. The trigger works great and breaks like glass at about 3 1/2 lbs.

Westporter wrote:It is also very easy to convert a Series 80 back to a 70. I recently rebuilt my Series 80 using a custom trigger kit from Brownells, a custom trigger from another source, and the required conversion shim, also from Brownells. There are several YouTube videos to show the process. I am no gunsmith, although no virgin either, when it comes to minor gunsmithing. The shim typically requires a bit of fitting, but otherwise, everything else pretty well drops into place, as long as you are not all thumbs. The trigger works great and breaks like glass at about 3 1/2 lbs.

This has gotten at least one competitor DQ'd at Camp Perry. It happened on Range 4 when I was CRO, so I know it's true. John Nortemann was the Referee.

I have no idea why that would be, given the countless variations of custom 1911s that are out there and used in competition. In fact, Colt itself has gone back to manufacturing the Series 70. But then I also have no knowledge of Camp Perry rules or referees. The fact remains that the Series 80 was an example of management listening to the legal department rather than the shooting fraternity who actually buys the guns. The conversion is just as safe as if it were manufactured that way in the first place.

Westporter wrote:I have no idea why that would be, given the countless variations of custom 1911s that are out there and used in competition. In fact, Colt itself has gone back to manufacturing the Series 70. But then I also have no knowledge of Camp Perry rules or referees. The fact remains that the Series 80 was an example of management listening to the legal department rather than the shooting fraternity who actually buys the guns. The conversion is just as safe as if it were manufactured that way in the first place.

The competitor disabled a factory-installed safety device. See Rule 3 of the NRA Precision Pistol Rules.