Army 1911 Gold Cup Series

[Asteriz1977]

While Im usually into ”tactical-military” guns, Ive been wanting to get a “fancy” 1911 for a year or so and thankfully this one came out before I started polishing my Kimber.

I took me a while to find out what exact gun this was a replica of, but I finally found it: it’s a Colt MK IV Series 70 1911 -- National Match Gold Cup, which is a gun that was introduced in 1970 as a competition pistol, ready use for sport shooting out of the box, with many upgrade over the original 1911 and more customizable.
You can see pictures of a real Series 70 (and note how accurate the Army replica is) here:

http://www.gunauction.com/buy/105220...tock-for-hk-91

BTW: the real version isn’t produced anymore, so very sought aftyer by collectors.



1. Presentation

Like most Army GBBs, this pistol comes in a nice carboard box with foam inserts to hold the following: pistol, one magazine, extra o-rings and nozzle, tool (to separate the inner barrel) and some cheap BBs. Also, instructions and a catalog. The box has only got “M1911A1 Standard” written on it.



2. Externals

As you can see in the link above, this is a great replica, very detailed. This gun features an all black finish, matte, except for the outer barrel and the recoil spring guide, which are a nice chrome, like the Army MEU. The gun has a standard lower, no rail, which gives the gun a more elegant look compared to the fatter Kimber Warrior. The hammer would be the classic style, but longer, with deep serrations. The trigger is black (definitely gonna polish it), but is a light model, with almost no material in the center. Grip safety is also similar to the classic: straight, unlike the Warrior, MEU or other tactical 1911. The thumb safety is also the old style: short. Not my favourite, but it works better than the one on my Kimber, since this one isn’t ambidextreous, only on the left side.

There’s no texturizing on the front of the lower, which goes with the slicker image of this pistol. Same goes for the slanted serrations on the slide, only present on the back. The grips are plastic, with a similar texture to the original US G.I. ones, but with a sort of Colt logo medaillon in silver in the middle of them. Another nice detail are the screws: hex instead of regular flat heads.

The markings are very cool: there’s “Colt's MK IV / Series '70 / Gold Cup National Match / .45 Automatic Caliber" + Colt’s Horse on the left side of the slide.
“Gold Cup National Match” + a Cup on the right side.

And “Colt'sPT.FA. MFG. Co. Hartford.Conn.U.S.A.” on the right side of the frame. And of course the omnipresent “.45 ACP” on the chamber.

The rear sigh is marked with “Elliason” and the way the screw has to be turned to adjust for elevation and windage (after all, this is a precision shooting gun). All in all, great markings, 90% correct, deep and sharp.



The magazine is a standard Marui 1911/MEU style mag with flat base plate, painted in the same flat black. It holds 24 rounds (25 if you chamber one and reload). Quality is the same as any other Army 1911 style GBB. Although they will work, don’t waist your money on a Marui magazine: while they are great, Marui cant give you more gas capacity either. Ive been able to shoot 1.5 mags of BBs for every full gas charge, inside the house.

All these parts are of course compatible with my Army Kimber, which means this gun can use any part made for Marui, Army, Bell & other Clones: 1911, MEU, Nightwarrior, Desert Warrior, Army Kimber, etc.

3. Shooting

Using this gun is pretty much like shooting any other Marui based 1911, so I wont go into much detail, as this is not the first 1911 type of gun Army has made and they all perform pretty similarly. While they aren’t Marui out of the box, they don’t cost 150$ and are metal, so for 60$, you will not be disappointed, on the contrary. If you know how to disassemble a 1911 or at least clean it properly, you can get one of the best shooters out there for 20$ more, should you not be satisfied with the inner barrel and the hop up rubber. This is for serious players only; beginners, collectors, and any normal player will be satisfied with the performance (it shoots almost as well as my Meister Glock 17. Not much, you say? Well, my G17 out-performs my Marui P226, so… yeah).

Range, hop and accuracy are in the area of what I expected (this would be my 4th Army GBB). The blowback action is stronger than my Kimber’s, but instead of making a crisp “kling”, it’s a deeper, stronger “thump”.

The average FPS is: 310 (306 to 313 FPS). My experience with Army 1911s is that their mags need to be broken in a bit, before they stabilize in their muzzle velocity. The gas will also last more after using them 10 or so times.

LINK: http://www.acmgear.com/army-works-re...ck-p-2098.html

[Death March]

Very nice,I'v been looking for an airsoft ver. But I can't see in the pic's if it has the adj. trigger screw in the slot of the trigger? The color is a bit off and it should have wood grips would be mint! Not sure why they did black ones??

[Asteriz1977]

Trigger is standard. Colour should be blued, I guess, but that's expensive. Only Inokatsu is doing it with their 1911. Aftermarket wood grips are cheap. ACM stores have them as cheap as 10$US. Some said made by Dboys.

[Death March]

I still have my real wood grips,didn't want to wreck them and used some aftermarket ones that are better anyways as far as feel goes.