I posted this gun on a Colt forum to seek some info and found it to be quite helpful. So I thought I'd post it here as I know we have a number of Colt fans here too!

Back about 17 years ago I had some cash that needed spending so I went looking for a NIB Colt 1911. I noticed an ad for one in the "Shotgun News". The ad was placed by Harrison Carroll a well-known dealer in CA and I had previously bought a Walther and a Browning HP from him and was very satisfied with the deals. So I "bit the bullet", paid my money and got this gun, a pre Series 70 Colt 1911 with box and papers. At that time I had no knowledge of the BB under the serial number, on the barrel and on the bottom of the box.

After doing some Google work I found out some interesting information about the BB. Apparently this gun is a transitional model run of maybe 1000 made just before coming out with the Series 70s. The main difference being that it has the Series 70 style of barrel bushing hence the BB markings. Here are a few pictures of this interesting variation. Some of these guns were snarfed up by those "in the know" while others went out to the public via the usual channels. Here are a few pics.

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I'm gonna grow fins.

How come you never shot it?? Nice gun.

I like it a lot. Never heard of BB.

Yeah, that collet style barrel bushing really didn't last too long. Without that barrel and bushing, it's just a plain ol' 1911A1. It's my understanding that the fingers on the collet style bushing would break, hence, the return to the regular old style solid bushing. I have one of the Series 70 guns, and had it since the 1970s without having a bushing problem, but if I want a 1911 type, I'll go with one without the collet style bushing. I personally can't tell the difference in accuracy between the two types of bushings, but then again, I'm not the greatest shot in the world. Back in the 70s, I preferred the regular style bushing of the Combat Commander, and carried one an awful lot on duty and could shoot it quite well, but then again, that's just me.......I love them old satin finished Combat Commanders.........

If I had your gun, it'd be a safe queen for sure, nice Colt...........

It's the very rare BB gun conversion of the 1911. Daisy offered them for a few years, but it never really caught on.




Nice gun for sure!

Curl

I always wondered why the bore so gosh darned skinny!!!

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I'm gonna grow fins.

Interesting pistol, very nice. I'm no expert on Colts, but I've never seen that style of grip. Were they the same on other Colt 1911s of that era?

Thanks Insuit. I'm no expert either but I think most of the Government 1911s had these stocks. They are plastic and I think Colt refers to them as "Coltwood". And I've read that they are prone to shrinkage making them very difficult to put back on when removed. Fortunately mine still seems to fit just fine. I also have a 1911 made in 1958 with these same stocks. I wish they were wood like on my Series 70 Gold Cup.

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I'm gonna grow fins.

The government and commander models wore plastic while the gold cup wore wood.When the series 70 came out they all had wood grips