I was doing some photography work today, and realized that I didn't have a current picture of my first love in the handgun category. My very first centerfire pistol was a G.I. surplus Ithaca M1911A1. In the Army, I had it accurized and blued (I know, I know, but it was a near-dog when I bought it). It served me well on active duty and in the National Guard as a trusted personal sidearm.

My first introduction to the battle-tested 1911 was in high school ROTC, where a grizzled old Army master sergeant praised it highly and then instructed us in its use and how to field strip it. I thought it was, to use a modern overworked term, really awesome. Over the years, I've acquired many variations - most of them I wrote up in the 2003 Gun Digest. A chapter on the 1911s is also included in my book, 101 Classic Firearms.

My stepfather-in-law willed me the Colt 1911A1 he carried as his only armament behind enemy lines in Korea - he made it back, and in a Tokyo hospital, recovering from grenade fragment wounds, he kept it by his bedside. It's one of my most treasured firearms.

At any rate, I selected an excellent condition Colt M1911A1 to photograph today. It left Hartford to join the service in January, 1944. In my opinion, John Browning's masterpiece is still the king of serious self-defense pistols; I thought I'd share these formal portraits of a good one with you.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

The first time I picked up a 1911 it felt like putting on an old favorite sweater.

Most natural pointing gun I have ever handled.

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Eccentric old coot

I've never owned one, and now in retirement never will, but I believe that means my education is incomplete. I still kick myself for passing up a finish-worn but apparently sound Norinco in a pawn shop years ago.

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Oh well, what the hell.

I took a "selfie" with mine today.

20150115_110233 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr

These are my real first loves as well.
Really neat to see the heat treating so clearly in your pic's. Lovely pistol thanks for posting.

To me it's the sexiest pistol ever made. No offense to other handguns but nothing makes me purr like a 1911.

I love mine and find myself just gazing at it with a grin on my face.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

Very nice 1911.
I've packed one a many mile.

My first 1911 was a Remington Rand WWII surplus. Bought it in a California pawnshop in 1969 for $65.00. Wish I had that old thing today. I am grateful that I at least have several other examples, in both 45ACP and 9mm. Two of the seven are slabsides...

Took my old Series 70 to the range yesterday, carried my CCO today, and have a new Government Model in .38 Super on order. I guess you could say I like them, too.

One of the more remarkable and most copied of all pistols...

I swore I was going to stay away from big calibers. Too expensive. But everywhere I look I see 1911s and these are some of the nicest I've seen. I'm probably going to end up buying one.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I moved out of Alaska in 1972. I was a S&W revolver man all the way. I had a Winchester M-70 that a new acquaintance just had to have. He traded me a NIB Colt M 1911 Series 70 Govt. and a bunch of money. I didn't know what I was going to do with the M 1911, but gave it a try. First shots were going exactly where I aimed and in a tight little group. I was hooked. By the time I opened my gunsmithing shop, I specialized in building anything the customer wanted as long as it begin with a Colt M 1911. I can still shoot the M 1911 as well as any. I'm heavily back into S&W revolvers now, but will never be without a few 1911s.

The ergonomics of the 1911 are near perfect for the widest spectrum of the shooting public of any handgun. Little women with small hands to huge men with large hands and all in between have become master shooters using the same government model 1911. I too believe it is the 'best' pistol for defensive use ever made. ........... Big Cholla

The armoror at the gun shop I hung around when young told me the 45 was one of the hardest guns to master. That is when I HAD to have one.

This was in the 80s. Buy a cheap 45 (I bought an auto ordinance) for the frame and build your own. I ended up with a really nice gun that has fired I don't know how many tens of thousands of rounds shooting bullseye. It has a Wilsons match grade barrel and bushing fitted by a pro. (I did my own the first two times).

Love it to this day. Along the way I picked up a Light Weight Officers Model for CC. Its kind of big. I only pack it when I feel the need. The rest of the time its a 637 with laser grip.

I used Cut Pacs. I knurled the front strap in my dads lathe. Rails were peened and lapped. Full length guide rod and of course a decent trigger job. (OK, it took me a few tries)




I bought this just before my first daughter was born in 1987.

David

I shot a 1911 the first time in the 60's and bought my first one in the early 70's....my feelings are similar to Big Cholla's....I am a S&W guy when it comes to revolvers and a Colt 1911 guy when it comes to pistols....I carried a S&W revolver as a duty gun until 1988 when it was replaced with a 659 Smith....for the next twenty years I would be immersed in training with, carrying and instructing various DA/SA platforms that are encountered in LE....but the 1911 was always alive and well in my off duty hours .....just finished up casting a couple thousand Cramer 200 grain hp's destined to be 45 acp fodder, the majority of those will be cycled thru 1911's.

Masterpiece, classic, iconic and old friend. They all apply to the venerable 1911.
This is a first year Government Model serial number C406

Every shooter should own at least one 1911 so they have something to compare the wannabes to. They just make me shoot better!

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Hue 68 noli me tangere

I bought my first 1911 in 1977. It was the second handgun I ever bought. It was a Colt Combat Commander with the satin nickel finish. It went with the other "must have" gun I bought before it, a four inch .357 revolver. I carried that Colt under my cruiser jacket in colder weather and as my off duty gun as a rookie patrolman...I still have the .357 but not the Colt.

Growing up, my father had a "forty five" that he kept in a dresser drawer along with a brown box of government issue ball ammo. The pistol was well worn but kept clean and oiled. He got the gun from his older brother who won it in a poker game in El Paso in the 1920's. Dad never fired it. As a special treat, he would get it out and let me look at it.

After I joined the Navy and saw my first 1911, I realized that there was something different about the old "forty five" in Dad's drawer...I later discovered that pistol isn't a Colt 1911...It's a Colt 1905. So, what I thought was the first 1911 I saw wasn't a 1911. He loaned it to a younger brother a couple years later and I never saw it again...DAMN!

Not an old slabside but my current carry. Pic taken just now at work while no one is around






I still want to do a few minor things but I'm fine with it as is.

Mainly I want a arched MS and slightly faster grips. I need something to take up more space in my hand

I look at that pistol and the first thing came to my mind was that it was made three years before my father was born! What a genuine treasure of a pistol.

Agree every body needs at least one 1911............................

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LEX ET ORDO

Your usual beautiful photography and well-written commentary! Coincidentally, the first semi-auto I ever fired back around 1969-1970 was an old Ithaca .45 from WWII. What a pistol!

My current WWII pistol is an old Remington Rand that went off to war in October of 1943. This one was rearsenaled at Rock Island Arsenal, but I don't know when. It now sports a vintage Colt barrel, but still has its original Risdon magazine. I took the original Keyes grips off of it simply to preserve them. This one gets regular workouts at the range...I've fired several hundred rounds through it in the past year. And of all my guns, this one is the one next to the bed at night. I know where it shoots, and I have every confidence in it.

Far as I'm concerned, that last sentence says it all.

I was strictly a revolver man up until seven years ago or so. A buddy of mine was a retired Marine gunnery sergeant. He swore by the Model 1911 and kept one handy right up until the day he retired. In his spare time, he would sit at his desk and field strip his 1911 and reassemble it, just to see how fast he could do it.

He and a guy on this forum (Hellraiser) were the ones who finally convinced me it was time I got a 1911. The first one I picked up was a Springfield Mil-Spec. While it's not a Colt, I've been sold on the 1911 platform ever since.

I've since picked up a Ruger SR-1911. I like it, too, but for some reason, I prefer the Springfield. I don't know why. It seems a little smoother...but that's probably because I've put several hundred rounds through it.

Besides, if you live in Utah, it's almost a given that you own a 1911 inasmuch as it's the Utah State Gun.
Utah becomes first in U.S. to designate official state gun | Reuters

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Pack light and cinch tight.

As usual John, very nice pictures. My introduction to the 1911 was at Fort Gordon in 1969 during MP school. I bought my first one in 73 or so. I don't remember the specifics, but had it redone in black chrome and put MMC sights on it. I sold it and got a Series 70 Gold Cup which I still have. It is very accurate and most enjoyable to shoot. I later got a Commander in satin nickel, a Ruger 1911 and was just given a Colt Stainless Government model.

I started reloading 45's in the 70's and find it the easiest round to reload. I use cast swc's and 231.

I will always have some 1911's on hand, just in case.

In addition to the reason(s) you mentioned, it could be because the Springfield retains more of the GI appearance than the Ruger. That's a nice looking pistol you have there.

The simplest design is often the best.

I like old slab sides too. I learned to shoot one at about age 15 from a neighbor who forgot to turn his in when he left Europe in 1945. he also taught me how to field strip and clean, which I did after each shooting session. when I first qualified with one in 1969 the range officer came up to me after the first couple of mags and asked me if I had shot one of these before. I told him I had and who had taught me. I was the only one in the group that day that shot expert. haven't been without one since. lee

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The first handgun I bought after I turned 21 was a Combat Commander. I've owned a couple, and a Sig 1911 is my current house gun. I need another Colt....and I'll probably be getting one of the new Ruger lightweight models. This is mine, along with it's 9mm baby brother.......

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Even older, even crankier....

I like wheel guns, but if I could only carry two . . .

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Rush

Love the CCO style of 1911 for carry:



But nothing wrong with Combat Commander or full sized either!

When it comes to the 1911, I tell people, you just have to own one to understand.

I've always been interested in guns and shooting. Started as a kid with Dad and have owned my own since I was legally able at 21. I always admired the 1911 but always bought into the whole "you have to be some kind of expert to handle or own one". (Kind of like how you have to be a certain kind of motorcycle rider to be able to have a Harley.) I never even held one until I was over 40 but the first time I picked one up it felt exactly how I knew it would feel. I bought my first, a Springfield "Loaded" shortly after. I've always wanted a blued Colt and finally treated myself a couple years ago to a brand new o1991. It may not pass muster with some of the purists (for that matter, neither does my Sig 1911 with a dreaded external extractor!) but it's a favorite in my modest collection and will always be "my ol' slab sides". All the guns in my safe are favorites these days. No trash or junk. The only model I have any interest in adding would be more variations of the 1911.

My Dad's 1924 Commercial 1911 (not A1) bought in 1972 for $85. This and his 1919 Parker double are 2 guns that will be handed down to his grandchildren.

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I'm convinced that John Moses Browning had divine inspiration.

Here is mine:

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

Went into LE with a new but well broken in Colt Combat Commander in Satin Nickle. Loved it. Being independently poor I had to trade it in on the Python I used through the rest of my time as a LE.

I traded for a new Series 70 Gold Cup in the 80's but did not shoot it much, I was into serious Sporting clays and it went towards a Beretta 686 O/U.

In the 90's and aughts I had a mix of 1911's. About 8 years ago I found a Kimber Target on a dealers table at a gun show. Too low to pass up. I was very impressed with the accuracy. It is a keeper but doesn't feel like a Colt.

I sold all the other 1911's except a Thompson.

One cold and windy day I slipped into an LGS just to warm up ya know.

I saw a used pistol case and peeked in. I never impulse buy guns, in some cases I have already made up my mind on a type I will buy if the condition and price match.

There was this 1911 Colt lost soul. I held it until it quit shivering. I pet it's little head, the collar tag said, National Match Colt Automatic. The tag said $8xx. I see a few very small small pits on the slide. The bore is squeaky clean, the gun is tight.

I asked them to hold it for a few seconds, do no put it back in the case. I went out and pulled out the Thompson 1911, an extra Win M-12 in 3" Duck that I had brought along just in case. We talked, I got it for $100 plus the 2 long guns.

Made in 1966, pre 70 series. I put a 16# spring in it and shoot it sparingly.

I take it everywhere, it sits next to me now.

One can hold all the pretenders and clones no matter their price tag but to me the Colt always feels better.

Way too many different parts sources to list them all, but they all seem to be happy together - a very nice old shooter, indeed...
My thanks to Jimbo C for a great old pistol!!

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Its cold and sleeting here in NC today and it reminds me of the first time I fired a 1911. It was in Norfolk VA Naval training center shooting range. That was one of the coldest times I ever remember sleet and freezing cold wind would slice right thru my Pea Coat. I was shivering so bad its a miracle I even hit the paper at all! I fell in love with the Old Colt that day and never fell out! God Bless John M. Browning.