Colt Mustang thoughts

[johnlives4christ]

well, i dont know much about the colt mustang. i've heard there good guns, and i LOVE the look of them. i just love them.

from what i gather, they are single action just like the 1911, the safety works in the same fashion (down is off, up is on) i am not sure if they are locked breech, but i believe they are.

so... anyone have experience with this sweet little piece? how do they wear? any bugs they have? are they as easily detail stripped as a 1911 or are they full of springs and pins? can they be made to shoot flying ashtrays?

~john

[Helix_FR]

Good little gun. Loosly based on the 1911. The only thing this is close is the sear springs, sear and hammer set up. Dis-connector is different and uses the dropping of the trigger bar to disconnect. Disconnector is on the side of the frame. The lock action on the barrel resembles the hi power more than the 1911. They are not easy to re assemble from a complete teardown. Remove the slide is simular to the 1911 but thats about it. There is a small spring that retains the slide lock lever in
the frame and keeps a downward pressure on it until the follower pushes it up. That spring is the most common broken or missing part and is easily overlooked by people when there is a issue.
The only quark that I know if is the pin safety lever can sometimes hop on the wrong side of the sear spring but only on really worn guns. Its easy to spot with the slide off. The pin safety lever should be above the frame and have a spring tension, if its on the wrong side of the spring it will be down in the frame.
Also the recoil spring can bind in the slide easily. It could be fixed with a decent guide rod set but no one make it for the mustang b/c it would require a hole in the slide.
Drop the hammer and remove the main spring housing much like a 1911.To remove the safety, remove the slide and push the safety lever to full up (12 o clock). Just be careful, there is a detent and spring behind it. They are housed in the hammer pin and they will fly out and go mia. So place your finger over the hammer pin area when pushing the safety to full up.

Mags are hard to find and the follower can cause a issue with last round extraction.

[johnlives4christ]

thanks for the info helix. i take it that, as long as the one i get aint worn out then i probably wont have any trouble for a long time. since i will do regular maintenance on it.

what about the aluminum framed version the pocketlite? is either it or the steel frame prone to cracking ?

what kind of ammo would it eat? it wouldnt dissuade me if it would only take ball ammo, but would prefer hollow points

[Helix_FR]

I have seen no problems with either frames so I don't think it matters. The two that I've had to test shoot both ate hardball just fine. Some of the hollow points had a little issue with slower feeding. They fed, you could just tell there was a lag. Do not shoot Hornady A Tap ammo in them. They have a recessed primer that they may or may not hit so in self defence they are unreliable. I would just use powerball in them. No problems and no lag in cycling.

[johnlives4christ]

how easy is it to get replacement parts for?

[Helix_FR]

Thats the problem. Numrich has some but not critical parts that get lost or broken. Brownells has some springs but if you break or lose a sear? good luck. Barrel bushings are also hard to find.
The sig 238 is almost the same gun but sig is real tight on selling parts aftermarket. Recoil springs get kinked, you can get them. The slide stop spring will break or go mia, you can get them from brownells. Detent spring and detent are available but always backordered. I have even made my own detent b/c i didn't want to wait. If you look around colt even has mags with an extension for your pinky. Those are nice but hard to get. I actually have one for my sig. the sig mag and the colt mag are interchangeable. Sig mags are just as hard to get.

[johnlives4christ]

well i definitely like the colt better than the sig. i'll be careful with it if i get one so i dont break nothing. but i got to have one.

[Helix_FR]

Sig shoots better

[JLA]

If i absolutely had to have a .380, Id opt for the cz83 first, then the sig, then the colt...

[johnlives4christ]

i dont even like 380's. just the look of the colt

[JLA]

The .380 is a very potent round if applied properly...

[CampingJosh]

I've only ever seen a Mustang in a shop once, and that was in Michigan. Can't buy a handgun in Michigan if you're not a Michigan resident (and I'm not), so it couldn't come home with me. But that was the only thing between us.

[johnlives4christ]

i seen a guy on tv take 2 of them new ruger 380s, one in each hand from his front pockets and empty the clips into a silhouette target pretty quick. glad that wasnt my face.

[johnlives4christ]

as far as im aware josh, you cannot buy a handgun out of state no matter what state you're from or where you're at unless you have it shipped to an ffl in your own state

[JLA]

yeah, I think there is a CCP loophole for some states but or the most part you are correct...

[CampingJosh]

Stupid...

[Helix_FR]

Josh is right, CZ will out gun both the colt and the sig. I have a CZ and a sig. I have the sig b/c it weighs about half of the cz. Never was much for the colt but your right John, the colt is a nice looking little gun.

[gdmoody]

I had a Colt Mustang many years ago, and later the Colt .380 Government model. I don't remember much about them other than I wish I still had them.

[JLA]

now the .380 Govt model is a much different story. Its like a 1911 built around the .380 just like JMB built the real 1911 around the .45.. I want me one of those...

[johnlives4christ]

i've never heard of the 380 government. i did a quick search but nothing showed up except pics of what looked like colt mustangs. do the gov. 380's have grip safeties?

[Helix_FR]

Its called the government 380. Its very similar to the mustang, if not the same thing. No grip safeties. I can't tell parts wise if they are any different. Josh may be thinking the MKIV series.

[johnlives4christ]

i looked up some MKIV government 380's and compared them to the mustang. i think maybe i want the government model instead. it seems just a tad larger, slightly longer grip and barrel. anyone got the measurements for the two?

[JLA]

Yes the Mk IV govt .380. They are dang hard to find and when you do they run about 700 bucks or more and the only copy i know of is a llama. which are also pretty dang hard to find even though they are a lesser quality clone of the colt. But both shoot great and look just like mini 1911s

[johnlives4christ]

i seen some on GB, the mustangs are going for about the same or MORE

[JLA]

GB is the only place i have been able to find them. Stu got one in the shop one afternoon on trade but his wife put it in her purse before i could get my wallet out... she always gets first dibs on the cool stuff I coulda had that dang thing for 300 bucks (I need a crying smiley)