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Quick review on Colt Competition .38 Super in blued & SS

9K views 27 replies 9 participants last post by  bac1023 
#1 ·
I'm a sucker for Colt .38 Supers. Don't know why and don't care for the reason why. It just is.

Therefore, when Colt announced that the Competition Model Series 80 being released in .38 Super and in both blued & stainless steel, I simply had to have both.

What's a Colt Competition pistol? Is it as high falutin' as it sounded? Not really. Now and then Colt jazzes the M1911 line up a bit to generate interest and that's about it.

Beavertail grip safety: it ain't new to Colt. The XSE line and other lines have had it before.

Fiber Optics front sight: That's new, but really, not that big of a deal either. The gun cases come with several replacement inserts in different colors too.

Novak rear sight: Novak rear sight isn't new on Colts either, but this is an "adjustable" rear. It looks to me that the elevation is adjustable via screw but windage probably had to be pushed over with either a sight pusher or a brass punch and mallet.

New rear slide serration: This is a true improvement. The new style does seem to help the shooter grasp the slide better than before.

Front slide serration: Thankfully none unlike the old XSE series. The gun is simply less ghey that way.

Undercut trigger guard: Probably a significant improvement and much asked for. I'll cover this feature a bit more later with the shooting impression.

Double Recoil Spring: Essentially it's another spring inside the original spring - very cheesy in execution. I thought that it'd be like a captive double spring ala HK but it's just a smaller spring slide inside the standard spring. Colt claimed it aided shooting, I say no - more on this feature later with the shooting impression.

Front grip serration: Thankfully none. For those that want such a feature, they can always get a smithy to do it. However, once checkered from the factory, it can't be undone. I like smooth front grip and that fits me just fine. The Wiley Clapp series has front grip serration and I hate that feature. Alas, can't undo it.

Markings: Colt changed the styles and fonts a little bit. Doesn't matter to me one way or another. I'm sure that some will like the new markings and some will lament how Colt had fallen again or some such diatribe.

Finishes: The SS model has the same typical finish as previous models - matte on the rounded portions and brushed on the flat portions. The blued model is matte throughout now instead of matt on the rounded portion and brushed on the flat portion. It looks like a parkerized finish but it's still blued. I don't like it. I think that the matte & brushed combination is more attractive. Not big deal enough for me to lose sleep over.

Barrel: The barrel is supposedly National Match as opposed to non-National Match barrel. Does it aid in mechanical accuracy? Not that I can tell. The gun shoots great but then my non-NM barrel Colt .38 Super shoots just as good. So there. This is why I always laugh my ass off whenever a manufacturer or a company brags about "match grade" barrel or "match grade" whatever. You can call it whatever the hell you call it because there's no law forbidding you to do otherwise. However, it doesn't mean squat in real life.

Grip panels: Oh yes, they're G10 now. Colt is putting G10 grip panels on practically every stinking thing except for the Delta Elite which still has the rubber grip panels (minus the ghey ass rubber front wrap-around though). How do I feel about G10 grip panels? They make the guns weigh more. How much more? I don't know and don't care enough to find a kitchen scale to measure but if one were to pick up a wooden grip model, one can tell the weight difference immediately. The blue color doesn't look as lame in real life as in picture, and they seem to be functional enough. If it bugs me that much, I'd probably slap on a couple pairs of wooden grip panels. As it is, I'll leave them on the two pistols.

I can't think of anything else that is "different". Hell, the changes are mostly cosmetic anyway. I'm still happy with the plain jane no nonsense basic Government Model.








 
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#2 ·
One more thing before I go into the shooting review.

The blued model's recoil spring cap was packed full of some sort of grit. Don't know what the heck it was, probably used for manufacturing of the cap or something. However, it got all inside the gun. And I had to scrape the bejesus out of the inside of the recoil spring cap to get rid of the grit.

It caked the recoil spring guide, the double recoil springs and everywhere in the slide and the frame.

Must have been a Friday or Monday gun.


 
#4 · (Edited)
Shooting impressions of the Competition pistols. I didn't do anything too fancy. Some groupings at 7-yds and 10-yds. Mozambique drills at 7-yds and 10-yds. Double taps at 15-yards. Flash sight picture at 25-yards. Some more slow fire at the end of the sessions.

Ammo were 200-rounds Remington FMJ, 60-rds of SIG Sauer JHP and 50-rds of SIG Sauer FMJ.

I brought out my plain jane SS Government Model Series 80 .38 Super as a control gun. That, and I wanted to try some of that SIG JHP through the gun as well.

I shot 20-rounds of the SIG V Crown JHP through each of the three guns for function. They all ate the ammo with aplomb. Usually if a gun is sensitive towards hollowpoints, it'd choke within the first mag. I'll round up some more different JHPs and try them through these guns later.

Anyway, the first several slow fire groups weren't very good at all, and it was my fault. I had a serious case of the shake. No excuses or anything, just a serious case of the shake. I've been shooting rifles a lot lately and neglected the handgunnery.

I'd even preface it and say that I don't know if the guns' sights are actually off or it's my not being able to put together a good sight alignment and sight picture. The "in" thing nowadays is that the rear sight has a very wide notch - which I'm sure is good for quick sight picture but it played hell with my sight alignment. The Wiley Clapp guns also have wide rear notch and I'm not too good with the groupings using those guns either. Anyway, today is all about familiarization and function check of the new toys. I'll fine tune them at a later date.

Points of impact aside, the groupings at 7-yds aren't too intolerable. However, at 10-yards they were atrocious to say the least. At this point I was too unsettled to do any more mechanical accuracy work and moved onto rapid fire drills.

One thing that is quite noticeable is that the plain jane model's simple Colt fixed sights were much better for slow fire accuracy work.

Trigger pulls on three guns are nearly identical. The plain jane model's break is a hair lighter but then it has probably 1000-rounds through it by now. Both the Competitions' trigger pulls are identical in feel and let-off. That was rather surprising to me because in my past experience the blued Colts tend to have better trigger pulls.

Another thing is that the blued Colts also seem to be smoother in operation too, but not in this case, the actions of both blued and SS Competitions are exactly the same.





 
#6 ·
Next up were the 7-yards Mozambique drills for all three pistols.

Yeah, I got a little bit too happy with the transition speed, hence the misses.

This is where the differences between the Competitions and the plain jane models start to shine. No, not really.

The most noticeable thing is the slide speed: the double recoil spring definitely slowed the slide velocity down. I can see my plain jane model's slide cycling a lot faster. It's noticeable. So, this is where I wonder WTF with Colt and the double recoil spring. Is it supposed to keep the muzzle down more because of the slower recoil impulse? Are you supposed to control the gun better? Maybe with a more skilled speed shooter, but for me the plain jane model's single recoil spring works just fine, or even better for speed shooting.

What about the undercut trigger guard and the beavertail safety? They sure make the guns sit lower in my hand while the plain jane sits on top of my hand. This feeling should in turn show some advantage in recoil management and accuracy, right? Not in my hands. Once again, maybe I'm not good enough of a speed shooter to take advantage of all these ergonomics improvements.

Same thing with the wide rear notch sight. Didn't do squat for me. The plain jane model's much lamented simple iron sights worked just as fast for me as the fancy Novaks AND has more advantage in precision shooting.



 
#10 ·
At 15-yds I went with double tap for drills because it's getting late and the range about to close down.

The "enhanced" ergonomics and sights didn't really show to be any advantage over the plain jane model. The Competitions feel better in my hands, but that's about it. In this case better feel really didn't translate to better performance.



 
#11 ·
As closing time approached, I had to cut down the round counts quite a bit.

Each gun shot 5-rounds at 25-yds with flash sight picture. This is where the simple iron sights of the plain jane model really shined for me. I didn't have to try to hunt for the small front sight and align it in the middle of the 2-axe handles wide rear sight.



 
#12 ·
I brought the targets in at 7-yds & 10-yds to expended the last of the SIG Sauer FMJ ammo. I didn't have enough ammo to the 10-yds group with plain jane model, but by now I think that I got a pretty good idea of what the new guns can do versus the old gun.

Aside from the called flyers, the Competitions can shoot just as tight as the plain jane model. Or vice versa. Thus far I see ZERO advantage in having a so-called National Match barrel since that it doesn't shoot better than the plain jane model's non-match grade barrel.

Just before last call, I mag dumped the SIG V Crown JHP through both Competitions just to check for function.

In summary, the guns shoot well as expected and I'll dial them in some more too on an individual basis to see if I need to mess around with adjusting the sights. I'll get some Aguilar brand ammo and Fiocchi too. Those two brands have been great performers in my other .38 Supers (the other seven). For those that prefer their M1911s with improved ergonomics, go for it. For those that prefer the plain jane model, I'd say go for that too.

Now it makes me wonder if the Competition in 9mm and .45ACP would work better than the plain jane models in 9mm and .45ACP. The mind churns.

When Colt releases the Competition in Series 70, I'll buy those as well. I'm a sucker for Colt .38 Supers. They need to bring it back to the Gold Cup platform.







 
#13 ·
Nice review and write up.

I've been thinking about picking up a new Colt 1911 recently. Bit of a toss up between the stainless competition in .38 Super or a new 9mm Government model.
 
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#16 ·
Pretty good shooting @25yrds with the plain Jane. That's weird about the slower slide vel with the new RSA, I wonder if that is supposed so enhance or hinder reliability?
I'm not a fan of the fiber optic sights, I see them the little tubes laying around at the range after they've fallen off some poor bastards gun. Not trusting.
Awesome report, I like what Colt did with those, mostly....and they're Colts as you say...
 
#19 ·
Pretty good shooting @25yrds with the plain Jane. That's weird about the slower slide vel with the new RSA, I wonder if that is supposed so enhance or hinder reliability?
I'm not a fan of the fiber optic sights, I see them the little tubes laying around at the range after they've fallen off some poor bastards gun. Not trusting.
Awesome report, I like what Colt did with those, mostly....and they're Colts as you say...
I think the double springs maybe their idea of making felt recoil less and helps keep the muzzle on target more.

Maybe it might make a difference to a highly skilled rapid fire specialist but it doesn't seem to do squat for me. Granted that I didn't have a timer but I doubt that they shot faster. Definitely no better in the grouping department.

PS. The package comes with replacement fiber optics rods too.

Apropos of nothing, my 5" 686P cane with factory fiber optic front and I shot the bejesus out of that thing at steel matches that I used to do and nothing every broke off.
 
#20 ·
Pretty good shooting @25yrds with the plain Jane. That's weird about the slower slide vel with the new RSA, I wonder if that is supposed so enhance or hinder reliability?
I'm not a fan of the fiber optic sights, I see them the little tubes laying around at the range after they've fallen off some poor bastards gun. Not trusting.
Awesome report, I like what Colt did with those, mostly....and they're Colts as you say...
I think longevity is a key component to the double recoil spring. The average user might not change the recoil spring every 3K or 5K, so a spring that lasts 10K or 15K will likely outlast the typical owner. I, on the other hand, typically under spring my competition guns, knowing full well that 1. the springs may require more frequent replacement and 2. it may cause accelerated wear on the gun. However, they shoot much better that was, for me.
 
#23 ·
I own one of these 1911s, I went for the stainless model in .45 and I absolutely love it. The blue grips aren't so ugly in the flesh as they look on the screen, but even still I just today ordered some black VZ grips for it. Shoots very accurate straight out of the box, although the fiber optic front sight doesn't always glow so well on the indoor range. I have approx 400 rounds through mine without a single malfunction. No regrets at all on laying my money down for this gun.
 
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#24 ·
I took the two Competitions back to the range again and this time I went early enough to not worrying about range closing up. I also took along the blued Government Model Series 80. Actually I took the SS Government Model too but it only got to play at the very end.

Essentially I wanted to take the time to do a lot more slow fire and see how I can get used to the wide rear notch, and raising the point of impact a bit.

It took some doing to adjust the elevation because sometimes I can feel the elevation screw's clicks and sometimes I don't. I pretty much did the old artillery call for fire: bracketing. Went way over and then way under and kept adjusting until I get rounds on target. LOL.

The SS Competition still shoots a couple of inches to the right. I'm going to have to borrow a brass punch and a mallet to adjust that sucker. The blued Competition shot just a hair to the left and I think I'll leave it as is. The blued Government Model shoots just like the way it always did for me, which is sweet.

The mechanical accuracy potentials are there. I'm just having a hard time exacting it on a regular basis while using the wide rear notch. I suppose if it were to bug me enough, I can always get the Novak rear sights with the narrow notches. Or learn how to shoot with this new fangled style of rear sight.

All shootings were done with the Remington green box ball ammo, except for a box of Aguila FMJ at the very end.





 
#25 ·
Why did I bring the blued Government Model out this time? It's because I wanted to see if the previous session with the SS Government Model was a fluke or not.

Second time is a charm, and it's no fluke that I can shoot better with the plain jane Government Model, be it slow fire or rapid fire. It's not like I don't have the ergonomically enhanced M1911s. I have a Colt Gunsite Service Pistol that I love and it shoots awesomely. Then there's the Wiley Clapp series that I also blast fairly often. However these guns are in .45ACP and I didn't think that there would be a valid comparison. Though I do have the 9mm and .45ACP Government Models too, but I already knew that they don't shoot as well as the .38 Super Governments.

I just don't know. These Competitions feel great in the hands, but "feeling great" doesn't necessarily equate to shooting great. For example, with non-M1911s variety, I shoot the SIG Sauer P225 and P245 better than any other guns even though some of the other guns "feel great" in the hands like the Walther PPQ, XDM, VP9, etc.

When I ran out of ammo, I bought a box of Aguila because I've had good luck with that brand in various calibers. And it's cheaper than the Remington.

This range that I went to has a maximum of 30-yards, so I ran the target all the way out there and blasted all four pistols at it. The SS Competition was pretty bad. Even though when I settle down and slow fire that gun and it shoots tight groups, yet when it comes to dynamic shooting it seems to do not as well. I just don't get it. The feel of the trigger and everything else are practically identical to the blued Competition, and while I don't excel with the blued Competition I do shoot it better than the SS version. Maybe I'm subliminally racist against everything "white"?

But then the SS Government Model grouped the best with the 30-yards groupings. Who the hell knows. Too much philosophizing and not enough shooting.











 
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