[hurstolds1]

I am looking at the 38 Super and the National Match on Gunbroker. Any thoughts on these?

Thanks

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=372284722

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=375733980

 

[T.May]

Pretty sure the box on the .38 Super has been re-numbered….and the printing on the info sheet looks a little too light but that could be the picture….gun looks nice.

 

[John Fugate]

They look like nice clean used guns. Above average , the seller mentions the condition 99% no excuses on the .38 super although it clearly has a takedown mark and a minute blem or two. It may be 99% but to me no excuses means no imperfection whatsoever. I can only see a 100% gun to ever be deemed a no excuse gun. Your clearly buying under as is terms per the add. Im Not a fan of that. With all of this being said , the seller looks to have great feedback and excellent pictures. Looks to me the pictures are good and clear and the seller has laid his cards on the table. once again I don't like the terms but to each his own. The seller has a right to sell with or without an inspection I am not begrudging that. Now all that's left is for the bidders to decide how far they want to go. As is terms sometimes handicaps the final auction price and lands the buyer a great bargain or sometimes it awards them with an albatross. The guns look good but personally when I want to gamble I go to Las Vegas. John

 

[SamColtFan]

Exceptional pistols. The only thing that I notice is that the mainspring housing pin on the Super is in backwards. The box doesn't bother me as I've seen several numbered like this.

 

[Malysh]

I won't buy a gun long distance without an inspection period.
However, I don't agree with you that the seller has had issues. He's been a registered member since 2003 with 304 transactions and only 1 negative feedback. If you sell enough items, you are bound to find one or two cranks that are never satisfied with what they buy. It's the law of averages.

 

[John Fugate]

I have no recollection of any problems with this seller. His feedback on gb is stellar.

 

[chaosrob]

I was turned into the AFT by a guy from another website for refusing to sell him a gun. He hit the buy button on it and when he called me he started talking all kinds of crazy that really left me very nervous. I told him I refused to sell him the gun based upon our conversation and he flipped. He called the cs at the other site AND the ATF on me. BTW this guy was a dealer in the North East, and proves background checks will not catch all the mentally deranged. I also had a guy on another forum give me negative feedback because I refused to sell to him for the price he wanted. They have locked my for sale post until the "investigation" is complete. I just logged out and wont return. There are a lot of flakes and nuts out there who will try to run your name in the ground, it's even worse in the car world.

I won't buy a gun long distance without an inspection period.
However, I don't agree with you that the seller has had issues. He's been a registered member since 2003 with 304 transactions and only 1 negative feedback. If you sell enough items, you are bound to find one or two cranks that are never satisfied with what they buy. It's the law of averages.

 

[Harleystoo]

Series 70 or older is the way to go. Would not buy a Colt any newer.

 

[Malysh]

I was turned into the AFT by a guy from another website for refusing to sell him a gun. He hit the buy button on it and when he called me he started talking all kinds of crazy that really left me very nervous. I told him I refused to sell him the gun based upon our conversation and he flipped. He called the cs at the other site AND the ATF on me. BTW this guy was a dealer in the North East, and proves background checks will not catch all the mentally deranged. I also had a guy on another forum give me negative feedback because I refused to sell to him for the price he wanted. They have locked my for sale post until the "investigation" is complete. I just logged out and wont return. There are a lot of flakes and nuts out there who will try to run your name in the ground, it's even worse in the car world.

Sounds like you have unfortunately, run into more of your share of nut cases with internet sales. Yours are not the experiences most of us have had.
One nut case example doesn't prove anything doesn't work, including background checks.

You did the right thing by declining to sell to that particular individual if you got a bad feeling from him. If you have nothing to hide (and I am not suggesting you do), the ATFE will not be bothering you. You may receive a call from them, and I predict, even so, nothing else will occur. You have broken no federal firearms laws. The only issue you may have is with Gunbroker's administration.

I am sincerely sorry you had these bad experiences. If I had those, nothing anybody else posted here would convince me to continue with internet sales.

 

[T.May]

I have no axe to grind with this seller as I have never bought anything from him….but this one bothers me!

Shouldn't the box say L.W. Commander?

Colt L.W.Combat Commander Series 70 ANIB .45 1979 : Semi Auto Pistols at GunBroker.com

 

[kenhwind]

No; because at that time they were called "Commander" and "Combat Commander."
The Commander was the lightweight, and the Combat Commander was not. But now they are called Commander and LWT Commander.

And there is no such thing as a Series 70 Commander, LWT Commander, or Combat Commander.

edit: Should be: Yes; because at that...

 

[Kanatak]

Watch Out For This Guy!

I don't see how anyone could get comfortable purchasing an "AS IS / NO RETURN" Colt from this character? Take a look at a small sampling of his Python Completed Auctions and count the number of fake labels, reproduction boxes and items of bogus paperwork:

http://www.gunbroker.com/All/Completed/BCI.aspx?Keywords=python&Timeframe=1&Sort=9&IncludeSellers=297350

Most of his semi-autos have fake boxes and fake labels!

 

[SamColtFan]

I have no axe to grind with this seller as I have never bought anything from him….but this one bothers me!

Shouldn't the box say L.W. Commander?

Colt L.W.Combat Commander Series 70 ANIB .45 1979 : Semi Auto Pistols at GunBroker.com

I would question the box, but Colt has been known to use what's on hand at the time. The pistol was made in 1979, therefore it is a Series 70 pistol. The box pictured was used for Series 70 pistols. I would expect the box to say "Commander" as opposed to "Combat Commander" as pictured. "Commander" was the name for the aluminium framed model. "Lightweight."

 

[T.May]

I would question the box, but Colt has been known to use what's on hand at the time. The pistol was made in 1979, therefore it is a Series 70 pistol. The box pictured was used for Series 70 pistols. I would expect the box to say "Commander" as opposed to "Combat Commander" as pictured. "Commander" was the name for the aluminium framed model. "Lightweight."

I agree, that was my point with the box possible being incorrect for the gun… The gun certainly isn't a Steel Frame, Combat Commander.

 

[kenhwind]

No; because at that time they were called "Commander" and "Combat Commander."
The Commander was the lightweight, and the Combat Commander was not. But now they are called Commander and LWT Commander.

And there is no such thing as a Series 70 Commander, LWT Commander, or Combat Commander.

I hate to contradict myself, but the box should be marked "Commander." I guess I wasn't paying enough attention to the pictures, and must have only looked at the bottom ones, and overlooked the others that show "Combat Commander."

 

[JudgeColt]

The pistol was made in 1979, therefore it is a Series 70 pistol.

As kenhwind says, there is no such thing as a "Series 70" Commander or Combat Commander. Here is why.

The collet bushing is what makes a Model O a "Series 70." The Commander and Combat Commander have never had a collet bushing so cannot be "Series 70" pistols. Notice that there is no "Series 70" marking on any Commander or Combat Commander, unlike a Series 70 Government Model or Gold Cup that is marked "Mark IV/ Series '70" on the slide.

The always unreliable "Blue Book" makes the improper reference to "Series 70" and "Pre-Series 70" Commanders, which undoubtedly is a factor that has caused some to use this incorrect reference. (If there is no such thing as a "Series 70" Commander or Combat Commander, then there can be no such thing as a "Pre-Series 70" Commander or Combat Commander either.) Perhaps the "Blue Book" error was generated when Colt put a "70" prefix in the serial numbers of Commanders and Combat Commanders for a while. The serial number prefix is a mere coincidence and has nothing to do with the characteristic that makes a Model O pistol a "Series 70," the collet bushing.

 

[SamColtFan]

As kenhwind says, there is no such thing as a "Series 70" Commander or Combat Commander. Here is why.

The collet bushing is what makes a Model O a "Series 70." The Commander and Combat Commander have never had a collet bushing so cannot be "Series 70" pistols. Notice that there is no "Series 70" marking on any Commander or Combat Commander, unlike a Series 70 Government Model or Gold Cup that is marked "Mark IV/ Series '70" on the slide.

The always unreliable "Blue Book" makes the improper reference to "Series 70" and "Pre-Series 70" Commanders, which undoubtedly is a factor that has caused some to use this incorrect reference. (If there is no such thing as a "Series 70" Commander or Combat Commander, then there can be no such thing as a "Pre-Series 70" Commander or Combat Commander either.) Perhaps the "Blue Book" error was generated when Colt put a "70" prefix in the serial numbers of Commanders and Combat Commanders for a while. The serial number prefix is a mere coincidence and has nothing to do with the characteristic that makes a Model O pistol a "Series 70," the collet bushing.

I agree with what you have written regarding the collet bushing as the defining feature, however from 1970 to 1983, Colt prefixed many of their Commander serial numbers with "70." With the introduction of the Series 80 firing pin system the "70" prefix was dropped. I think of the pre-series 70s Commanders as those made from 1949 to 1968/69. I have a factory Colt Government, marked Series 80, MKIV with the firing pin safety and the factory collett bushing. Nowhere on the pistol does it say, MK IV Series 70 / 80, but it has the defining characteristic of a Series 70 Government as well as the defining characteristic of a Series 80 Government. This is another one of Colt's many anomalies.

 

[JudgeColt]

Series 80 pistols are so marked on the slide, thus making them true "Series 80" pistols, whether or not a particular pistol has a collet bushing. To be a true "Series 70" pistol, it has to be marked "Series 70" on the slide. To identify pistols with the collet bushing was the reason that the term "Series 70" was adopted and stamped on the slides of pistols so equipped. In my comment, I noted the "70" presence as a serial number prefix on some pistols made during the 1970s, but, without a "Series 70" marking on the slide, that does not make them "Series 70" pistols. That just makes them pistols with a "70" serial number prefix.

 

[chaosrob]

Not to be argumentative but where does that leave the "new" series 70's that Colt has been cranking out? They call them that, but they do not have the collet bushing, yet Colt still refers to them as a "Series 70". What are the thoughts on that? Does it mean the collet bushing wasn't really the defining feature that made the originals a "Series 70"?

As kenhwind says, there is no such thing as a "Series 70" Commander or Combat Commander. Here is why.

The collet bushing is what makes a Model O a "Series 70." The Commander and Combat Commander have never had a collet bushing so cannot be "Series 70" pistols. Notice that there is no "Series 70" marking on any Commander or Combat Commander, unlike a Series 70 Government Model or Gold Cup that is marked "Mark IV/ Series '70" on the slide.

The always unreliable "Blue Book" makes the improper reference to "Series 70" and "Pre-Series 70" Commanders, which undoubtedly is a factor that has caused some to use this incorrect reference. (If there is no such thing as a "Series 70" Commander or Combat Commander, then there can be no such thing as a "Pre-Series 70" Commander or Combat Commander either.) Perhaps the "Blue Book" error was generated when Colt put a "70" prefix in the serial numbers of Commanders and Combat Commanders for a while. The serial number prefix is a mere coincidence and has nothing to do with the characteristic that makes a Model O pistol a "Series 70," the collet bushing.

 

[kenhwind]

Not to be argumentative but where does that leave the "new" series 70's that Colt has been cranking out? They call them that, but they do not have the collet bushing, yet Colt still refers to them as a "Series 70". What are the thoughts on that? Does it mean the collet bushing wasn't really the defining feature that made the originals a "Series 70"?

Yes what you say is correct. But to be a true MK IV pistol it would have to have the MK IV Barrel bushing IMO. But Colt to distinguish between a series 80 that has a firing pin safety, and one that does not chose to call the original type a series 70, and roll mark is as one.

This isn't entirely Colt doing, because the after market guys have been using the Series 70 or Series 80 reference ever since the introduction of the Series 80 pistols. Probably because the original Series 70 Colts were very much in vogue at the time.

So in some aspect its the use of or improper use of terms that cause the different reference. Case in point; Commander and Combat Commander. At one time it was known that a Commander had the LWT alloy frame, and a Combat Commander did not. But by the generic use of the term Commander and lightweight Commander, the Combat Commander is not called a Combat Commander. Now they're referred to as Lightweight Commander and Commander.