My collection has a new crown jewel. I got my decommissioned USMC Spec Ops M45A1 1911 today. It came with a letter from Colt verifying its authenticity. This 1911 rode the hip of a Marine Special Forces soldier in Iraq and/or Afghanistan during the time my BIL was there as a Major and then Lt Colonel. I can't wait to put some rounds downrange through it.

That's a beautiful pistol.

I would be proud to have that in my collection. Shame they crossed out the USMC. Looks like they could have marked some where else. But still I'm jealous. Thanks for sharing.

That is a gem. Color me jealous.

I would do a detail strip and clean before I shot it though. Those guns were rarely maintained the way they should have been. There could be some dirt in there that needs to be dealt with.

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Freedom isn't free.

Very nice addition. I do not realize that they would decommission a pistol like that and sell it. Right place at the right time I guess. Congrats!

It's my understanding that the reason for decommissioning was the failure of the Cerakote to hold up against the desert conditions over there. The finish was changed to Ionbond on the next M45A1's off the line.

I wouldn't change a thing on that 1911A1. She got those scars in service to our country and let her wear them proudly. Do agree about a good detailed cleaning. Frank

Now THAT is a gun and letter to be proud of.

Judging by certain sites not to be mentioned here, they seem to just have released a batch onto the collectors market. I wonder whether it's got to do with the MARSOC switch to the Glock.

In contrast, I've never quite gotten the folks who'd fork over up to something like 2500 bucks or so for the civilian-market lookalike Colt, which doesn't really do anything that a nicely equipped S&W or Springfield Armory 1911 does for less than half the price.

My question is how are these sold on the commercial market, but the thousands in government storage cant make it on to the market?

Wasn't there a law passed that allowed them to be sold through the CMP?

By the way, that is a REALLY awesome gun.

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Un-Reconstructed Southerner

Colt is replacing these defective Cerakote guns with the same gun coated with IonBond. MARSOC guys have a choice between the Colts and Glocks depending on mission requirements, I think.

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Kevin Williams SWCA1649 HF208

Yes, there was...but that's a whole 'nother topic that involves a lot more than just passing a law and shipping a bunch of 1911A1s to the CMP.

If you'll do a search of this forum, you can find a couple of threads dedicated to the topic of the 1911s going to the CMP.

For those folks on this forum who are not aware, you need to take a look here:

Colt M45A1 1911 USMC CQBP pistols for sale on Gb

This has been quite an event for the Colt lovers. There have been several hundred sold in the last month or so. They are not being sold by the USMC or Colt. It appears, the USMC returned them to Colt for replacement under warranty because of the failure to the finish. Colt in turn, either sold them to or contracted with Gun Broker for their sale to the public. The Military can't sell them directly and Colt didn't want the hassle.

This is an ongoing event. Speculation is rampant about how many were sold, and how many, if any, more are coming. I find it kind of interesting. Even though they are nice I don't think I want to be in at the prices they are commanding. Hundreds have already been sold.

For the price I paid, which was $1349, these are a steal. They are already being flipped on GB for twice as much. I am looking forward to seeing how much the unissued NIB examples get flipped for. The night sights are still in good shape and the trigger is very good but has that slightly spongy feel that all series 80 triggers seem to have. I will be detail stripping it later this afternoon or maybe tomorrow for a good cleaning. I do not know if they ran them dry while over in the desert but I cannot find a trace of lube on mine.

The choice thing was apparently a transitional rule. At least according to this article in the Marine Corps Times, which can be considered semi-official and triggered a lot of hot air last year, it will be all Glock.

Marines opt for the 9 mil over 45s for special operators