I have two 1911 pistols and both were worked on by Ikey Starks in Denver, Colorado. The first one is a Stainless Government model that he installed Novak Combat sights, competition trigger, flat main spring housing and he fitted a new front barrel bushing.
The second one is a Custom Norinco 1911 with a competition trigger, flat mainspring housing, Nowlin Barrel and barrel bushing. The slide was milled and an adjustable Millet rear sight was installed along with a Millet front sight. Then it was refinished in a reverse two tone finish.
Custom Colt 1911
Custom Norinco 1911
Wow...you guys have much better pictures than I have been able to take, but I'm going to try to find the best ones that I can. I only have three 1911 pistols right now. Here is my 1963 Colt Commander in .38 Super:
A 1977 Colt Gold Cup in .45:
The other 1911 that I own is a Kimber Ultra CDP II, in .45 also. Can't seem to find a picture right now, but will try to add one later. I know that many forum members have had bad experiences with the Kimbers, but mine runs perfectly. My only complaint is that it is overly complicated to break down for cleaning compared to the basic 1911 design. But it is extremely reliable and accurate.
Best Regards, Les
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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064
Last edited by les.b; 02-19-2017 at 05:21 PM.
Reason: Add photo
Here's one more of mine. A 1943 Remington Rand, rearsenaled at Rock Island. I know there are undoubtedly more out there, but this is one of the few I've seen with Frank Krack's stamp on it, along with the flaming bomb stamp indicating the rework.
I fell in love with this old gun the second I saw it in the case at an LGS here. It's actually the pistol that sparked my ongoing interest in G.I. .45s, and taken me down paths of research I never knew existed. It also led to meeting and talking to some very knowledgeable people.
Funny thing, too. Every time I take it to that LGS's range to run a few magazines through it, the guy who sold it to me says, "Hey, you still shootin' that ol' thing?" When I leave, I show him the targets and say, "Yeah, I'm still shootin' this ol' thing. How you like it?"
This is the pistol I used to qualify for my North Carolina Concealed Handgun Permit.
Oh, and do I care that it might not be "all original"? What would your first guess be?
After over 10 years without a 1911, I bought this last October. It sat in the LGS just a little too long, and I talked myself into it, even after reminding myself about expensive ammo and tough-to-find brass. $835 OTD and happy birthday to me!
It's not my first 1911, but it was my first Colt auto. And I've started looking at barrels in .40 S&W, since ammo in that caliber can be found at halfway decent prices.
Been shooting 35 years and never understood why the 1911 was so well liked
Shooting from the left side added to my disinterest
Then I saw this 1943 Ithaca M1911A1 sitting on the shelf at the Local Gun Shop and I had to have it
Came pre-scratched right through the FJA inspector's mark
Operated just fine with 28 rounds of Winchester White Box 230 gr. FMJ before I put it down for the day
(1 round, 2 rounds, then 5 X 5 rounds)
I'm Doomed
The above is my first and only 1911
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Last edited by bushmaster1313; 02-19-2017 at 09:04 PM.
My old warhorses, Colt, Ithaca, Remington Rand, Argentine Army (Erjecito) all matching numbers
Tough to put them down after shooting....you just want to go on and on......real big time history in your hands...no safe queens in the bunch.
Down to 2 of these guys....had to let 2 go to fund some fine Smith's which I am just as proud of, but it was still tough to let them go...at least they went to real collector type shooters who respect great iron and will give them good homes.
All I have left is a RIA with Heinie sights and a Sistema that is in the middle of a upgrade. I got disgusted with the job I was doing on the grip safety fitting and put it away for a while.
I have a couple, my first is a Series 70 Gold Cup that has been completely gone through by a local smith back in the 80's. Kart barrel, fitted frame/slide, checkered MS Housing & front strap, match bushing, and a fine trigger job. Then I build up a Springfield Armory GI model into a competition gun in the late 80's, and it's the one I break 6" balloons with at 100 yards. It's about full house, match barrel, fitted frame/slide, match trigger, hammer & sear, Bomar sights, stippled frame and top strap, metaloyed frame, mag well. Then there are the more recent, I found a Rock Island Armory "Compact" in 45 in 2008 and had to add enhanced sights and beaver-tail grip safety. I liked the RIA so much that when they brought out the RIA Compact in 9mm I had to have one. I shoot it the way it came (except grips).
1. Colt Series 70; bedroom gun with the holster that goes between the mattress and box springs. Clark did the stippling, installed the beavertail grip safety and did a trigger job. It has two slides, one with night sights.
2. Colt Combat Commander; In the gunroom, so if I'm reloading at night and hear noises off, I'll have something in my fist when I investigate. Clark stippling and beavertail grip safety, Novak night sights.
3. Rock Island Armory Compact. It sits by the computer so if someone rings the doorbell at 11PM when I'm reading the forum, I can go to the door with something in my pocket. I changed the grips, and it has Novak night sights.
1. Old C 33. I got this from a retired lieutenant of the South Bend police force in 1968. As a rookie cop he had taken it off a cabbie in the 1930s, accurized it and shot it in competition. He'd had Colt refinish it a couple of times, the last one it came back with their Dual-Tone finish. I shot it for two years on the Army Air Defense Command pistol team; we were issued ECS 43 steel case ammo and it must have shot at least 10,000 rounds of it. Steel case is hard on extractors and I remember replacing broken extractors at least twice. I don't shoot it much anymore: I get a severe case of hammer bite from it.
Elmer Keith said "The Colt Gold Cup National Match is one of the finest
and most accurate pistols I have ever used". So I went looking for one.
I found this one in my favorite LGS back about 15 years ago. It was born
in 1984, but had obviously been badly abused. I took it to the range for
a trial. First shot, the front sight fell off. About every third shot was a
failure to feed. I bought it anyway.
My favorite local pistol smith installed an AO Big Dot front sight and,
after cutting his hand, rounded off the sharp edges on the rear Elliason.
He sold me a couple of Wilson mags and said that would help the feeding
problem. Well, it did work considerably better.
About that time I read an article about Karl Sokol, in which the author
said: "When it absolutely, positively must work, knowledgeable people
from all over the world send their guns to Karl Sokol". I was sold, so I
sent it to Karl. I'll just be brief by saying he made a new gun out of it.
Including his "Mountain Tuff Finish". It hasn't missed a beat since.
BTW the double diamond panels are by Herrett's.
Here is a left side view.
2nd from left shown with my favorite carry ammo, a Kirkpatrick Texas
Strong Side holster, and a target. (It shoots purty good now.)
3rd from left shown in a De Santis FBI HRT holster.
4th from left in Safariland's #561 OWB holster.
5th from left my Sparks VMII.
Here are a few. A -40s 45acp now a bullseye gun--1950 38 super now a 38 special long slide--An early 45acp Colt-- a 60s Fred Kart 22.--And a 67 Clark long slide 38.
Forgot one. A couple of years ago I picked up this Kimber 22 conversion unit. Didn't want to take one of my 45s out of service for it. Found out (the hard way) that it wouldn't fit on Philippine pistols. At a recent gun show here I found a Colt Series 80 for a low price and bought it. It has a surprisingly nice trigger pull; probably due to not having to contend with all that monkey motion of parts in the slide that lock the firing pin. Pistol is a lot more accurate than I am.
Man...this thread really starts jogging old memories! After seeing the posts from Watchdog and Cyrano, I had to root around in the holster stash cause I knew I had an old one from WWI. I was keeping it for the day when I found (and acquired) a 1911 with the straight MSH. Of course that one would have to have been a Colt.
So all these years later I have owned many 1911A1's but never did find the 1911 and the holster just sits in the stash. I am no longer looking, and probably could never afford a Colt 1911 so this guy might be destined for a new home somewhere.
It is a Model 1916, manufactured in 1918 by the F.M. Hoyt Shoe Company in Manchester, New Hampshire. It also has the initials J.J.M. who was J.J. Murphy- US Government Ordnance Inspector at the time.
My old research several years ago via Rick Sapp' books and Harrison, showed that the tie-down straps did not come with new M1916 flap holsters, and the grommet hole in the bottom was actually for water drainage, not for tie downs. Most GI's of the WWI time used their own leather and many wound it tight in the WW1 Marine AEF style.
So this one is pretty darn close to 100 years old, has been worn, still in supple shape but sorely lacks the one item that would complete the circle......a Colt 1911!
Hopefully you "old timers" and maybe any "younger" WW1 buffs can appreciate genuine old leather gear.
Watchdog and Cyrano simply nailed it!
Do not be surprised to see this guy on the WWT sub-forum soon.....I don't want to sell but I have several Smiths that need decent leather so that's a different forum area.
I used to repair 1911's in the Army for the 1st Cav, Div. I own three now, An RIA Target converted to .22LR, a pre 70 built by Mike Curtis and a Commander size from STI (Lawman 4.0)
1964 Clark Long Slide .45. Still locks up like a bank vault and has a trigger that has to be felt to believe.
Para-Ordnance SF-45-A. These were a limited edition pistol offered only to active duty troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan back in 2010. They could be customized with unit emblems or special inscriptions. The troops ordered them and picked them up after they got home. My younger son bought two and gave me one of 'em. The emblem on the rear of the slide is the unit patch for the Tennessee 278th Armored Calvary.
I purchased this 1911 new in the box 20 years ago in 1997, a Springfield "Fully Loaded" model 1911A1. It's still one of my favorites though it's not my only one.