1911 question

[swordknives]

ok what is the difference between a colt series 80 and a series 90. ive never heard of a 90 but a friend of mine who is not known for BS-ing says he has one he bought at some point in the 1980s. Ive shot the pistol in question but Dont remember the roll marks, at the time i thought it was a series 70.

thanks for any and all help

[bear93445]

It sounds to me that he is referring to the colt model 1991a1. Colt introduced this model to be an entry level reduced cost version of the government model 1911. It too is considered a series 80 as it has the firing pin safety. The biggest difference that I can remember is that they were matte finished, not blued. There may have been other differences, but I can’t recall what they were. Oh, except that they had a giant billboard of a roll mark that said 1991A1.

[mike452]

Never heard of series 90 either! Then I googled it and found this:

http://www.coltsmfg.com/cmci/downloads/Manuals/LoRes/MKIV%20Series%2080%20&%2090%20Pistols.pdf

It must be Colt thing. The frame is UGLY!

[Astig Boy]

YUK! That thing is FUGGGLYYY!

[Black Majik]

Hmm.. for some reason I always associated the Series 90 with the Defender series.

[swordknives]

i think he was mistaken

well at this point im thinking he is mistaken. it looks nothing like the defender like i said i thought it was a 70. it might be a old roll mark 1991 but the finish is blue and i thought that 1991's did not come in blue till 2001 when they also changed the roll mark. (btw i have one of these, great pistol) so any way thanks everyone for helping.

[DrjonesUSA]

Check forums.1911forum.com to be sure, but I'm just about positive that there is no such thing as "Series 90" - only 70 and 80.

A "Series 70" gun is basically a 1911 that is true to JMB's original design.

The Series 80 has a firing pin safety comprised of a series of levers and plungers.

Read this for more info: http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=15201

[Black Majik]

From what I found at 1911forum:

http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=92971&highlight=s90

[RAD-CDPII]

Hmm.. for some reason I always associated the Series 90 with the Defender series.

You are correct, the Series 90 is the defender. Just saw one at Target Masters in Milpitas. On the Barrel, it has both Defender and Series 90. The main difference that I can see is that it does not have the Barrel Bushing like the older 1911's and 1991A1's.