The Legendary Colt 70 Series MkIV Gold Cup
The Hartford, Connecticut-based works of Mr. Samuel Colt is synonymous with some of the best, not to mention the most classic, of all 1911 model pistols. Perhaps the pinnacles of their efforts were the Gold Cup National Match MKIV 70 series of handguns.
When introduced in 1970 (hence the term ’70-series), the National Match MKIV Gold Cup pistol was the ultimate in .45ACP target pistols. After much feedback from the shooting community, Colt constructed this gun to be as complete as possible right out of the box. Remember, back then, there wasn’t fifty companies making IDPA/IPSC race guns made to order. Competitive shooting itself with large caliber military-grade pistols was in its infancy compared to what we know today.
The gun had many features unheard of in a factory pistol. This included an adjustable trigger stop that limited finger movement so that the aim wasn’t skewed, grooves on the front of the receiver grip and wide super smooth, tuned trigger, and a special barrel and bushing (more on that later). The slide had a flared ejection port and a flat grooved top rib as well as angled (not strait as in GI 1911) rear serrations. The bluing on these guns is very deep and reflective, which was very different from military Parkerization. The thin beavertail on these guns is very different from comp 1911s today but was still handy and workable….
Read the rest in my column at University of Guns
