GUN TESTS GRADE: A-

$1581

This was a recent price at BudsGunShop.com. The Gold Cup Trophy is a full-size 1911 with a 5-inch barrel that is the same outside diameter as the 45 Auto barrel. It uses the Series 70 operating action. The frame, barrel, and slide are made from stainless steel, and these parts wear a brushed satin finish. Our sample came in a hard plastic case with a bushing wrench and one 10-round magazine. We would have liked at least three magazines with the pistol. It is, after all, a competition pistol. How do you shoot a match with one magazine? You don’t. At least two additional 10-round magazines ($30 each from MidwayUSA.com) are required to compete, and that increased the total cost of the Colt to be competition ready to $1,641.

The slide is a round, dome-style design similar to a GI 1911. The rear sight is a fully adjustable Bomar-style with a U-notch, and the user-facing side is serrated to cut glare. The Bomar-style rear sight has click adjustments that equal 0.5 inch at 50 yards. The windage clicks are 0.4 inch. The front sight is dovetailed into the frame and sports a fiber-optic rod that measured .080 inches wide. A red rod was factory installed, but the user can easy replace the fiber-optic rod. Our bullseye shooter scoffed at the sights, commenting they weren’t suited for bullseye shooting. Looking at the Colt website, it looks like Colt is positioning the Gold Cup National Match as the bullseye gun and the Gold Cup Trophy as the action-shooting gun. The Gold Cup National Match has a black blade front sight, which some competitors feel is better suited for bullseye shooting. The Trophy’s sights were dead on at 25 yards.

During a fast reload, one of our testers tried to sling-shot the slide after a reload and found the corners of the Bomar-style sight were sharp and cut his palm. This is not an issue with the design, rather one of technique. On this pistol, it is better to use the slide-release lever, which makes for a smoother transition and less movement when reloading.

The dust cover is also GI-style and without an accessory rail. A nice feature on the frame is an undercut trigger guard for a slightly higher grip. The front gripstrap and rear mainspring housing have 25 lines per inch checkering that is a nice, toothy texture well suited for fast shooting with no abrasion. Another feature is a magwell that helps speed magazine insertion. The beavertail grip safety is nicely upswept and includes a speed bump, so even a sloppy draw and grip will still allow the user to fire the pistol. All the edges around the grip safety, thumb safety, and frame were smooth, with no sharp spots to chafe the shooting hand.

The controls included an extended magazine release, extended slide release, and extended thumb safety. The trigger is a wide three-hole aluminum design and features an overtravel adjustment screw. Out of the box, the trigger pull measured 4.6 pounds. There was a hint of take-up and a very crisp break. We liked this wide trigger. The hammer was a round-spur type with plenty of serrations to cock the hammer. Grips were checkered G10 material that were blended with the magazine well, giving this 1911 a slightly fuller grip. The CZ and LWD had thinner grip thicknesses, and that is surprising because they have double-stack magazines. The Colt has a single stack. There was a scalloped-out area on the left side near the magazine release that allows a right-handed user to get to the magazine release faster with the firing-hand thumb. Testers with small hands may want to do a little Dremel work on the grip.

Going hot, we initially found the 10-round magazine took a bit of effort to stuff in all 10 rounds, but subsequent loading was much easier. That’s normal for new mags.

The sights are large, and the red fiber-optic is easy to pick up. Our smallest five-shot group was with the 147-grain XTP Hornady Subsonic ammo, which measured 1.63 inches. The 115-grain Defender ammo was second with a 1.80-inch group. It was obvious the Colt did not like the zippy handload. The small group measured 2.20 inches. On average, all ammo shot 2- to 2.25-inch groups. This is more than enough accuracy for any action-pistol game.

We thought the trigger-pull weight was good at 4.6 pounds, and we especially liked the wide trigger and the crisp break. For fast shooting, we did notice some muzzle flip, but we were able to easily manage it. The short reset of the Colt’s trigger allowed users a fast second shot. The 40 ounces of heft also gave users an advantage in fast shooting. It ran relatively smoothly for a 1911 that does not use a solid guide rod. It does use the dual recoil springs Colt developed for the recent Marine 1911. We had no issues with the Colt, and we ran it hard and hot.

Our Team Said: The Gold Cup Trophy is definitely the option for competitors or anyone else wanting a feature-rich 1911. It is set up with features that are competition friendly, like the undercut trigger guard for a higher grip, checkered grip strap, larger sights that are easy to find, and bigger magwell. Our only gripe is we would have liked two additional magazines shipped with the pistol.

Range Data

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