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Officer's acp - questions - help!

3298 Views 9 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  paul45
I just bought a Colt 45 - MK IV series 80 - Officer's acp. looks like it's in excellent condition. The guy I bought it from claims that it had less than 100 rounds shot through it. I gave $600 for it. To view it, watch my field strip video on you tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtuQ89Nfsak

Here are my questions if anyone can answer them:

1) Why does this have a smooth recoil spring plug that differs from 99.9% of the other Officer's acps that I have seen on-line? (the downloaded manual doesn't even address this. most have checkered or slotted plugs).

2) Does anyone else have an Officer's acp that field strips like this (plug and bushing unique) ?

3) How can I find out how old this thing is
the serial # is SF 36XXX

4) was $600 a good deal, or did I get HOSED?!


5) Is something fishy about this gun? I have a gut feeling....
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You have a nice looking gun there. Your prior owner installed a reverse plug. Some of the Officers ACPs had an issue with the original plug heading downrange. The reverse plug solves that issue. On mine, I even have a reverse plug and a full length guide rod.
Wow, that is a beautiful gun! I'm no expert, but I think you did good on that one. I surely would have bought it for that price.

Max
The Officer's Model also would have originally had a dual recoil spring set up (smaller diameter spring within a larger spring). The only change I made to mine was going with the single spring set up. I have never had a problem on mine with the original plug but have read that others have. I think $600 was a pretty good price. Enjoy the gun and let us know how it shoots! :)

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The reverse plug is an improvement that reduces the chance of spontaneous disassembly, as noted. I would also recommend that you install dual captured recoil springs with a full-length guide rod. The 3" 1911's do get greatly improved function with such a rig - the short barreled guns are the only 1911's I would use a FLGR with (people who know me know how useless I think a 5" FLGR is).

The dual captured spring setup has significantly longer life (2000 rounds for the Kimber Ultra Carry) than the original single spring (Colt recommended changing springs at 300 rounds). Racking the slide is easier for a dual spring, and feeding problems are reduced.

You may be able to get an original spring setup to work well, but if you're going to use the gun for self-defense, it needs all the help it can get. IYA!


Buck
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great looking officers acp, they actually handle recoil very well, i have one that i use for IDPA and carry, it shoots better and feels lighter in recoil then some of my fullsize 45acp.
It's way hard to find that model for that price in my area.

If you decide you want your investment back you should have no trouble. I can send my shipping address on request.

Good deal, IMHO!
Great gun at an excellent price. I'd love to find one at that price.
The single springs are supposed to be good for 300 rounds but I find about 200 and they should be replaced. Keep a check on the barrel bushing, they crack often. If the spring gets too weak it will allow the bushing to turn and probably adds to the cracking problem. There are aftermarket bushings that have thicker flanges. In my experience I like the original Colt dual spring system much more than any aftermarket single spring. Kings gunworks made a nice setup for OACP that has a dual spring, full length guide rod, heavy bushing, and plug. Dont know if Kings are still in business or not. http://www.kingsgunworks.com/newcatalog/page04.html
The original spring plug has been replaced with a Clark reverse plug.

Call Colt to get the year of the piece.
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