I was changing into my civi's today in the locker room after work and a co-worker told me that he was headed out to his LGS to grab a Krag that he had shipped in. After getting the details on his purchase and inquiring as to where he had it shipped, I asked if the shop ever had any old revolvers. He told me that he had forgotten to tell me about a 1911 S&W with a USMC stamping.

I was quite excited about the possibility of finding a S&W USMC 1917 and asked if I could follow him to the shop. He was glad to oblige, so off we went.

After checking out his purchase and googling the fantastic rifle, I looked through the cases, but I could not find a S&W 1917. However, there was rough Colt New Service 1909. I asked to check it out and there it was, USMC stamped on the butt with SN 25,xxx. The poor thing had a lot of finish wear and some pitting areas galore. The function was great and the bore looked to have had a million rounds fired through it. I was still going to have to grab this 45 LC DA Colt.

Right next to it was a very nice nickel S&W DA top break .38 first model. I gave it a thorough examination and decided that it too would have a new home.

Knowing that I set out this morning to go to work and return home afterwards, I was sure that I had no cash on me. I looked in my wallet for my ATM card and DL and realized that I had taken them out yesterday and left them in the drawer at the house. Crud! I was pretty sure he was not going to accept a check or complete a BG without my DL. After explaining my situation with the owner, he and I were able to come to a deal for both revolvers. He set them back and I will grab them in the morning.

I took a few phone photos of them to share. I will get better ones tomorrow when I pick them up in the morning.

What do you think of my unexpected purchases?

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Matthew Conrad

I like that big old Colt but how much did you pay if you don't mind saying?

Those are two cool finds...particularly the 1909...they are scarcer than hen's teeth!!

Muley Gil is going to be jealous!!

Thanks for sharing with us.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Probably too much at $750, but it is the first one I have had in my very own grubby paws.

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Matthew Conrad

How's the cylinder timing on that Colt?

For those who don't know, the Marine M-1909 has a narrower butt than the normal Army model.

Like an old Marine, still serviceable.

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SWHF #448

Would love to own a USMC M1909. I will have to settle for the U.S. Army M1909 that I have. Congrats on a rare find. Read this: American Rifleman | Last of Its Kind: The USMC Model 1909 Colt

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

1 of 1400.
Semper Fi

GREAT article!

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Possum—The other white meat!

I think you did well at the price of $750 for the USMC M1909. Ask the guys here: Colt Revolvers they are very knowledgeable.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

One of my all time Ones that Got Away that haunt me was a USMC M1909 . I don't recall the price . It was a decent price at the time, but I just couldn't swing it .

Texas Star, the timing is right on. There is no lag and it locks right up.

AJ, thank you for the great article and I will check out the other site for input.

Biggfoot44, I have been looking for a USMC stamped gun for some time. They have always been too expensive at the time when I have run across them in the past. The newest issued Colt USMC 1911 always keeps sneaking out of my price range.

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Matthew Conrad

An Army M1909 was the first New Service that I ever bought. I got heavy into them for a while, and still have several New Service guns.

The USMC version is rare indeed. It was a good buy IMO. The unique grip frame sets it apart from the Army version.

C&Rsenal just did a video on the M1909/M1917 Colt:


Their video prior to that one is on the earlier history of the New Service.

Great guns, and your's is a great find!

Me jealous? Nah. Envious of M_conrad_0311, well yes. My buddy, tennexplorer, will call me occasionally to tell me and brag about another S&W goodie he had found. I think it upsets him when I tell him "Good for you!"

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

I think all Marines are a bit envious to a degree. M_conrad_0311 is a lucky man. I have a Remington 40X that is marked USMC PROPERTY and it is a prized possession. Anything marked as USMC property is few and far between. Most of our gear was just marked U.S., when I was in the service. Only a K-Bar was a piece of equipment that said USMC. Congrts Jarhead!!

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I think you stole the New Service. And you shouldn't expect a USMC owned revolver that probably went through two world wars (and who knows how many conflicts) to look new.

I am truly grateful to be the current caretaker of this peice of history. I can guarantee only one thing about the 1909, it will go to another Marine when my time is done with it. I took a few other photos of it. I have posted some of them on the Colt forum as suggested by AJ.

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Matthew Conrad

That's a great deal on a fantastic historical revolver! I'd have been tickled with it at a considerably higher price. That's one scarce revolver.

I have a much more common Model 1909 Army variation.

M Conrad—have you shot it yet? I bet that big ol’ heavy revolver is a dream to shoot and accurate. I see a Marine emptying it in combat then cracking an enemy solder over the head with the butt! I bet that is how the heel of the stock got cracked!

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Possum—The other white meat!

I once had a 1909 US Army that had been cut to 4". It was a good shooter. It got gone a number of years ago.

I have a beat up 7 1/2" New Service in .45 Colt. I have a tracing of the unique USMC round butt grips and a 5 1/2" .455 barrel. I'm going to make my own quasi USMC 1909. I also have a .45 ACP cylinder so that mine will be a convertible.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

I have two M1909s, both in 90%+ condition. They do not come around very often and even then they are usually in well used and abused condition. I wouldn't consider a price of $750 bad for a M1909 in complete and shootable condition (especially the USMC version), given that they are so uncommon. Most of them disappeared into the Philippine jungles and never made it back to the USA. The 44th Edition (1990) of Gun Digest has a fairly good article on the M1909.

Coolest gun-thing I've seen in a long time.. OOHRAH!

Thanks DWalt for the recommendation on the 1990 Gun Digest article on the Model 1909. I don't recall that one and doubt I have that "Gun Digest" issue. I'll have to hunt one up now.

From what I have read a lot of the USMC M1909's were left in Haiti. The Corps set up the Haitian Gendarmes ( Gendarmerie of Haiti - Wikipedia ). If the Corps did leave them there to arm troops that the Marines had trained it would not surprise me.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Can you imagine the stories these old warhorses could tell if they could speak?

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Possum—The other white meat!

Many M1909s were also left behind in the Philippines to arm local paramilitary groups, such as the Philippine Scouts and the Philippine Constabulary. Few were issued to stateside Army units, a very high percentage being shipped directly to Manila. Not surprisingly, many otherwise knowledgeable gun enthusiasts are not aware of the Colt M1909 and its history. So far, I have not been able to find a nice unopened box of the .45 Model of 1909 ammunition, but I do have several individual cartridge specimens. Hackley, Woodin, and Scranton's book on U. S. Military small arms ammunition has a fairly complete history of the Model of 1909 .45 cartridge, which was manufactured only at Frankford Arsenal.

Those were the M1909 U.S.Army. The U.S.Army trained the Scouts and Constabulary. The M1909 was initially ordered by the Army, some place I have the specifications of the Army Board. Most of the entire production was sent to the Philippines (all except about 300). These revolvers were to be a stop gap between the aging M1873 Colts and ineffective .38's. The M1911's weren't accepted for service yet, they were still in development. These were the ones left there.

The Marines and the Navy also wanted .45 Colt revolvers. However, theirs are a bit different than the U.S.Army revolvers American Rifleman | Last of Its Kind: The USMC Model 1909 Colt

All are scarce commodities. But the USMC and Navy versions are much scarcer than the Army versions. IIRC the Army bought approx. 18,000 M1909's. The Marines bought 1400 of their version. The Navy bought approx. 1000.

To own two USMC M1909's count yourself very lucky. I own a M1909 Army and consider myself as doing good even though it has been rebarreled with a NEW SERVICE barrel.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I've probably related the tale on most firearms forums I haunt, even here, but I acquired the Model 1909 that I have pictured above from the "original" civilian owner, who was about 13 in 1920 when his dad went to the San Antonio Arsenal and purchased five Model 1909 revolvers and 500 rounds of ammunition.

The family's main residence was in San Antonio at the time. His dad wanted four of them to arm nightwatchmen at an ice and ice cream plant where he was superintendent. He brought one extra home for family use. The revolvers cost $5 each and the 500 rounds of ammunition cost an additional $5. My old gun club buddy immediately claimed it as his own. The revolver made trips to family's ranch outside Kerrvillle and their even larger ranch west of Victoria, Mexico. The revolver was carried in their 1926 Willys Knight touring car on a big family excursion "out West" to Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon in 1927.

It's only conjecture, but I suspect that this revolver was likely one of the few Model 1909s that was never issued and later sold as surplus. The wear it exhibits probably resulted from the next 70 years of civilian use before I acquired it in the early 1990s.

Hey, guys, the journal of the Colt collectors association “The Rampant Colt” has a great article this quarter, about the 1909....



Best Regards, Les

Attached Images

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Very cool- those USMC 1909s are scarce guns.

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Some Might Say.

As I look at that old USMC revolver, I think of where it might have served. WWI, Banana wars and maybe even the second war. I wonder if Chesty Puller might have carried it in Nicaragua hunting the Sandinistas. It is a real treasure and I hope you will get a Colt letter on it and share with the forum. If it could only talk and tell stories of it's service.

According to one biography, Chesty carried a 1911. I believe Herman Hanneken USMC carried either a 1909 or a New Service in Haiti.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

I somewhere have a book in which it relates that one Army officer used a M1909 against Pancho Villa's raiders at Columbus NM in 1916.

Question:
The serial numbers (?) inside the crane is not in line. Is this normal ?

Count yourselves lucky if you own any of the M1909 family of U.S.military revolvers. I know I do.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.