Side Stop damaging the Slide Stop Slot

rhtwist · Apr 1, 2009

Hello,
I have a Colt Series 70 Reissue. An issue I have is that in the slide stop slot there is a gouge/indentation parallel to the axis of the bore from the inside of the frame to the outside. I was advised by Colt's Chief engineer that this is normal wear and tear caused by the slide stop slamming into the bottom of the slide stop slot. It is a perfect "V" shape. I am hoping that knowledgeable members would advise me if I should be concerned about this. It IMO seems to be area where a crack may eventually start. Since Colt has advised me that if this does occur it would not be covered under warranty I am as mentioned concerned. BTW the firearms came from the factory with this issue. Please assist. Thanks in advance.
rhtwist

tuckerha · Apr 1, 2009

That's a new one. Haven't heard of that. Anyone else?

Do you have any pictures?

Sun195 · Apr 1, 2009

If I understand your issue correctly, the same thing is happening to my Dan Wesson Bobtail .45. From what I've read, it's not unheard of for this to happen with 1911's & it should lessen over time. It doesn't make me happy, it shouldn't make you happy, but it does happen sometimes - even to high-end guns.

There is some tinkering you can do with the slide stop lever, but I'll let someone else explain how you might go about doing that. I'm no gunsmith...

rhtwist · Apr 2, 2009

Thank you Gentlemen for your responses. Unfortunately no camera and no photos unless I find someone to borrow it from. It is just a "V" shaped groove running from the inside of the frame to the the outside at the bottom of the slide stop slot. Colt's Chief Engineer of Pistols told me that the firearm left the factory within specifications and that the slot was normal wear and tear. Since the gun came from the factory with the slot no one at Colt has been able to explain that. I got Colt's repair order for the cost of $82 to fix the slot and the rubbing of the bluing of the tops of the dustcover. I really am concerned if this could cause a crack in the frame as I've already had a Gold Cup National Match MKIV crack the frame in a different area and for different reasons. Since the Manager of Colt's Repair Department and Custom Shop told me that if the frame does crack it will not be covered after one year from the receipt of the firearm and will not be repaired under the Lifetime warranty. It is still within a year from the firearms receipt at this time.
rhtwist

Buddhalux · Apr 6, 2009

Wow, that's pretty pathetic customer service.

Guess that's why I'll never buy a colt, ever.......

Sun195 · Apr 7, 2009

I agree - that seems to be pretty marginal customer service. I exchanged emails w/ Dan Wesson on my issue and they gave me the choice of sending it back - no questions, no charge.

rhtwist · Apr 7, 2009

Dear Gentlemen,
In Colt's defense to be fair to them, they did offer to buy the gun back as they did the first Series 70 Reissue I purchased. They accepted the first pistol back twice fpr repair of numerous issues. Unfortunately they did not correct all the problems and refused to repair it anymore. At the time I was determined and able to get a Series 70 Reissue, contacting multiple of the larger online distributors I questioned if they would allow me to field strip the pistol and return it if I was dissatisfied with the quality. One day I'll detail the faults with the first pistol. None would allow it, and they would not accept returns for cosmetic reasons referring the repair back to Colt. The only pistol I found locally had many of the faults of my pistol, so I felt arbitrarily purchasing another to be too much of a chance of running into the same problems. I convinced Colt after emailing everyone up the supervisory chain to the VP level to build me another pistol that was above the "within specifications" level of quality. They complied by sending me a second pistol. The second pistol was much better than the first. It still had a number of issues. Example, whoever stamped the "-45ACP-" on the barrel left the dash closest the muzzle mistamped. It had a raised edge that cut a slot through the slide lugs and into the underside of the slide. The slide stop slot groove obviously, slide rubbing the dustcover, improper IMO wearing of the recoil spring plug, empties hitting me in the head, trigger reset too slow, you couldn't double tap. Machining ridges on the frame bullet ramp and a few more. To me the quality of these firearms IMO did not match the level of quality of the 1995 Gold Cup. They accepted it back once but when I received it back it still had several issues the major being the slots in the slide lugs and the slide stop slot and dustcover issues. Also now the empties were frequently hitting me in the face. By now Colt was playing hardball IMO and the gun was examined by the Chief Engineer of Pistols. He advised me that the pistol was not going to be repaired further as all issues were within specifications. He also checked the 1st Series 70 and gave it a clear bill of health and I found more problem after his inspection and magnafluxing. The MSH was so loose you could push it in toward the magazine and it would move enough to begin to begin to engage the grip safety, silly things like grip screws that kept coming loose, repaired at the factory,writtern on the repair order, and within 50 rounds three became loose enough for the grip to move and scrape the bluing off the frame, while the fourth which remained tight. I went to remove this screw for cleaning and it pulled the grip screw bushing out. By now I was very displeased.
Issues that were fixed on the first pistol ie: the slide wearing the bluing off the dustcover, which was fixed free of charge on the first pistol was now on the second being disallowed as within specifications. The engineer in charge of the repair (the same who examined both pistols previously) after 2 to 3 months of not answering my voicemails and emails was contacted. He admitted that he was disregarding my attempts of communication and would continue this policy. I contacted his supervisor IIRC once and he said he would buy the gun back and then apparently began the other engineer's disregarding policy. I contacted everyone at Colt including the Colonel Keys' secretary. Finally after several months I was contacted by a VP Ms. Rubino. She was tasked to finalize all transactions and issues with me. This included two other Colt firearms, another story!
She advised me that the Colt would send me written documentation of each issue I sent to Colt about the 2nd Reissue with the items that were fixed and the items that were not fixed and a reason why, which had been requested of people in charge of the pistol's repair and was refused. Also she advised that Colt would not repair anything under warranty except the ejection problem and this was only after a second letter to her. I requested that further review of the issues be done as they were IMO clearly matters of quality and workmanship. They refused up to the point of quote: becoming discourteous by not discussing the issues further. I emailed everyone about why they would not cover the ejection problem and then they authorized returning the firearm for it and only it's inspection and repair. I had considered having minor custom work done, including fixing the dustcover and fixing the groove in the slide stop. I got a call from a Mr. Dieso with conference to the Manager of the Custom Shop and the Repair Department. I had previously gotten a Repair Order on the pistol with its possible Custom Work. The letter was to me cryptic and did not mention several items on the repair letter. After contacting Mr. Welch and waiting two weeks to receive an explanation of the specific repairs and specific costs of the custom work, I received an exact copy of the first Repair Order. I emailed everyone about this and this was when I got the call from Mr. Dieso. During the call due to my finances I requested a costing of fixing the slide stop slot, I was sent another Repair Order with a cost of $82 for it's repair and the repair of the dustcover rubbing. Mr. Welch as mentioned denied that the firearm would after a year be covered by the lifetime warranty, contrary to a letter from VP Ms. Rubino.
This lengthy description is to explain my encounter with Colt Manufacturing and it repair department and personnel. As noted they did go to their mind a distance to repair the issues at times, but fell short quite unfortunately for ME. So don't take this a complete condemnation of the service or firearms as some are happy or unaware or lucky and have had positive experiences. I cannot count myself as one.
rhtwist