Gold Cup guns

[FJ Hutch]

I was thinking about leaning over to the Wild Side and need to buy a 1911 for that purpose.  I have learned that my XSE does not make the grade and so I am looking for a good gun that will be a straight shooter right out of the box.  Can I use a Series 70 Colt Gold Cup with National Match barrel system and adjustable sights?
 
The Colt Gold Cup is known as the finest shooting semi-automatic in the world, and is the standard for competitive guns. The first Colt Gold Cup pistol was introduced in the late 1950’s to give competitive shooters a gun to take directly from the dealer’s showcase to the firing line. Colt Gold Cup pistols have been used to compete in local club matches through the National Matches at Camp Perry. It features an Adjustable Wide Trigger, National Match® Barrel, Adjustable Target Sights, and many other refinements as standard.

Features
◾Standard Safety Lock
◾Wide Target Trigger
◾Lowered and Flared Ejection Port
◾National Match® Barrel
◾Round Top Slide
◾Checkered Walnut Stocks with Gold Medallions (O5870NM)
◾Wrap Around Rubber Stocks with Nickel Medallions (O5070X)
◾Fully Adjustable Bomar Style Rear Sight
◾Target Post Front Sight

[Happy Jack]

Colt Gold Cup pistols are legal in the Modern category. They are quite popular.

[Boggus Deal]

FJ, tell us more about your XSE. Why does it not make it?

[FJ Hutch]

Colt Gold Cup pistols are legal in the Modern category. They are quite popular.

What would I have to take off the Gold Cup to make it useable in the Traditional category.  What is meant by a "Bull Barrel"?  the Gold Cup I'm looking to buy has a National Match barrel & bushing.

[Boggus Deal]

To make the Gold Cup legal in Traditional? Sell it and buy a traditional gun. The trigger and sights and possibly other things. If you want to shoot Traditional, look at the 1991A1 series. There are a couple of the Series 70 models that would work.
By the way, everything that is and isn't legal is in the Wild Bunch Shooter's Handbook.

[FJ Hutch]

FJ, tell us more about your XSE. Why does it not make it?

Just told by the boys in Boom Town that the 1911 had to be an M1911 or M1911-A1.  My XSE is an NRA Bianchi Cup model and it shoots very well, but it has serrations on front of slide and full adjustable three dot Bomar sights with 5 eight round mags.  I use it for IPSC at times.

[Boggus Deal]

From the sounds of it, your XSE is perfectly legal in modern category.

[August West]

FJ,

Here's a link to the Wild Bunch Action Shooting rules. 

http://www.sassnet.com/Downloads/Wild%20Bunch%20Handbook%20v8.pdf

If you'll read pages 4 & 5, your questions about pistol configuration will be answered.

[FJ Hutch]

To make the Gold Cup legal in Traditional? Sell it and buy a traditional gun. The trigger and sights and possibly other things. If you want to shoot Traditional, look at the 1991A1 series. There are a couple of the Series 70 models that would work.
By the way, everything that is and isn't legal is in the Wild Bunch Shooter's Handbook.

Never sell a gun, that's bad shooting.  Buying another one is just good sense, lol. I have been reading the handbook, but there isn't enough pictures in it for me and I've had trouble understanding just what is allowed and not allowed.

[Boggus Deal]

Well, feel free to ask. Most of the time this wire is a lot more friendly than other wires......

[Wild Bodie Tom]

Sometimes..... LOL

[Boggus Deal]

I said most of the time! Don't you start anything!

[Wild Bodie Tom]

Okay...........

[Sgt. John Campbell]

Your XSE would work just fine in WBAS Modern Class.  From everything I've read up on them, they are perfect for a Modern Class pistol, unless you've done some kind of modifications to it for IPSC.

[Garrison Joe]

What would I have to take off the Gold Cup to make it useable in the Traditional category?

At the very least -
Slide welded up to allow use of a mil-spec fixed rear sight in a dovetail.
No wrap-around front strap covering rubber stocks (but the standard wooden grips available on one GC model would be fine)
Trigger replaced with a "non-target" trigger (no holes drilled in it, at least)

And the "National Match barrel & bushing" would be fine as is.  A bull barrel - look at a Midway or Brownell's catalog - you will find out how big a diameter a bull barrel has.  It does not fit in a standard barrel bushing!

And, check the 40 ounce weight limit with an empty magazine in it for Traditional category, too!  Although that weight limit is more easily achieved now (with recent rule changes), it has in the past snagged some folks who thought they had a gun that was good to go in Traditional, until weigh-in at a big match sank them!

I think you can see why BD recommended just not getting a Gold Cup if you want to shoot Traditional category, but getting a more stripped down gun.   

A Colt Series 70 or Series 80 Government model, or a Springfield Mil-Spec, or Armscorp produced government spec models (made for several distributors) would be what you would more commonly see in Traditional category.


By the way, Wild Bunch shooting is NOT a high-precision game.  It's more a reliability game.  Having a gun that shoots 2" 50-yard groups, for example, is not necessary.  Having one that goes thousands of rounds of perfect cycling and high reliability, now that is priceless!


There is a fair amount of difference between shooting Modern and Traditional.   As much as there is between two handed Cowboy and Duelist styles in cowboy matches.  It's probably wise to try a borrowed Traditional gun to see if you like shooting single-handed.   It's not for everybody, and may not be your cup of tea if you have shot a lot of modern slide gun action matches.....

Good luck, GJ