Fudd Friday: Colt’s 1911 Competition Government Review

In the world of 1911s, there are several fantastic options around the $1,000 mark. With options like SIG, Springfield Armory, and Ruger but one company has been the choice for a rock-solid 1911 and that company is Colt. I recently picked up my first Colt 1911. After having several other 1911s from various manufacturers, I wanted to have the original Colt 1911. There are several model variants from Colt with a base model, Competition series, and Gold Cup line of pistols. I went in the middle with the Series 70 competition series. Over the last couple of months, I have been shooting my Colt Series 70 Competition and there’s plenty of good along with a few negative things to consider. Let’s take a closer look at Colt’s 1911 Competition Government model.

Specs

A couple of months ago, I ordered this Competition Government model from Brownells just like everyone else so I didn’t get a hand-picked handgun from Colt. This allows me to have an unbiased opinion on a production 1911 from them. The Colt Competition Government model comes with a national match 5” stainless barrel chambered in 45 ACP. When it comes to sights, Colt installed Novak-style fiber optic front sights and blacked-out rear sights. One of the big selling points is the Series 70 firing system rather than the Series 80 which other companies like SIG decided to go with. The biggest factor of Series 70 versus Series 80 is the firing pin safety. While it does make the handgun safer, it significantly affects the trigger making the trigger pull not as smooth as a gun like this Series 70.

This Series 70 is oftentimes looked at as the better option if you want to build a custom 1911 off a stock pistol. My Competition Government came with one eight-round magazine, blue G10 grips, and a hard case with the ability to lock it. Colt offers the Competition Government in a blued finish, stainless, or a two-tone variant as well. I decided to pick up the blued finish to keep that classic look. MSRP on the Colt Competition Government model is 949.99 and is available at retailers currently.

Range Time 

Over the last couple of months, I have put roughly 650 rounds through the Colt Competition Government over several range sessions. Every time I take this pistol out, even if it’s not perfect, I really appreciate how crisp the trigger feels. With a 4.5 lb pull weight, defined wall, clean break and audible crisp reset, it really is the star of this handgun. Another big win on the pistol is the addition of the red front fiber optic sight and blacked-out rear sight. Having the high contrast sights makes shooting quickly and acquiring targets faster than other iron sights on the market. I swapped out the blue grips for a set of Kingwood Grips from Hogue and I personally find these grips to be a better fit than the bright G10 grips that come standard. One aspect of Colt’s design for their Competition Government is the high gloss flat sections in contrast to the matte finish in curved surfaces. It really creates a sharp contrast and gives the pistol a really unique look.

Things aren’t all perfect though. One of the biggest drawbacks of this handgun is just how much it rattles. The trigger, grip safety, and even the slide-to-frame fit are looser than other manufacturers’ guns out there so you do get a tad more rattle and movement. I was rather disappointed with the fitment but it didn’t affect the pistol’s performance in any way. I plan on swapping various parts of this pistol but there’s certainly nothing wrong with the pistol that hinders its ability to perform.

Accuracy and Reliability

When it comes to accuracy, I tested it with a box of 230 gr Federal Hydra Shoks, Federal American Eagle 230 gr and Winchester White Box 230 gr to see how the Competition Government grouped at 20 yards. For each bullet type, I shot 5 rounds per group and did 3 different groups to make sure I had a baseline group with 15 rounds of each type being shot for testing. I shot all testing groups at 20 yards from a seated rest to make sure everything was consistent. Out of the all groups, the Hydra Shocks performed the best with an average group size of 1.63” between the 3 test groups. Next up is the American Eagle with an average group size of 1.88” between all the groups and finishing the groups was the Winchester White Box with an average group of 2.15”. The white box is about as inconsistent as you can get so it’s really not a fair assessment of the handgun’s accuracy. All things considered, the Colt Competition Government 1911 did well even with the less-than-ideal ammo.

Why The Series 70 Is A Great Starter Pistol 

As I’ve said earlier, the Series 70 style of 1911 just shoots and feels way better than the later Series 80 despite the risk of having the gun go off if you drop it. It has been a known issue in 1911s with no firing pin safety, but the overall performance is night and day better when it comes to the trigger weight and overall feel. Despite the loose fitment of the slide and frame, there are certainly ways of tightening the overall fitment to what it should come from the factory.

Despite the loose fitment and rattling, at the end of the day, you’re paying to have one of the most well-known names stamped on the slide, and that’s part of the price tag. This is one of the best base guns to build a custom 1911 off of because it has everything you need already there. The better trigger and match-grade barrel allow for the foundation of a fantastic lifelong custom pistol. The first two things I will probably do to this handgun are put a hand-fit trigger and grip safety which will take the majority of rattle out of the gun.

Overall Thoughts

The Colt Competition Government model is a fantastic base pistol to build a custom 1911 off of but there’s no denying it is a bit looser than the most competition at this price bracket. In my testing, the Colt Competition has proven to be accurate and reliable over the last few range sessions. Overall, I think the Competition has that classic 1911 aesthetics that made it loved, and despite being looser than other options on the market, it’s still a fantastic choice with a legendary name written on the slide.

If you have questions about the Competition Government or firearms in general, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and we will see you in the next review.

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