Colt 1911 A1 1943

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CLASSIC12

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I acquired this Colt M 1911 A1 at an auction 5 years ago. Seems to be in a nice condition, not seen much use and hardly any wear. Love the olive green/ greyish parkerizing. I am very happy with this purchase, as these gems are hard to find here in Switzerland. From the comments I received on specialised forums, I believe this pistol is mostly original.

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It was a great shooter, but is now retired after I read a post / advise on (not) shooting these old guns.

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It now spends time alongside my cheap S&W Victory, same year, same inspector’s initials (G.H.D.)

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And I bought and tweaked an Auto Ordnance for my USGI shooting fantasies

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Very nice. From the pictures it looks original to me. A good online resource for checking out markings, changes during war production , etc. Is TysCoolGunSite.

I have a 1943 Ithaca that I bought over 10 years ago. All original. I take it out about once a year to shoot a few magazines through it. Took it out 3 weeks ago. Shoots flawless. As long as you shoot factory loaded standard 230 grain ball ammo in it I don't feel it is a problem to shoot occasionally.
 
I noticed from pictures that the trigger is a machined one and the slide is serial numbered under the firing pin stop. Later Colt war production changed to a stamped trigger developed by Ithaca and stopped serial numbering the slide. Both were for efficiency and cost savings.
 
Nice photos. I bought my GHD about 25 years ago and it gets used a lot. Here is another made in 1941 with British stamps released in 1952. The parts on yours looks to be a lot tighter fitting than most. Frame to slide really look good.
 

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Fantastic photos. That pistol is old enough that it has probably not been rebuilt by an armory so all the component parts are original to the gun.
 
Cool 1911, maybe a left over there sidearm from WW II (the original GI who had it issued to him may have received a P08 in trade ;)).

Even though you have the Auto-Ordnance replica I wouldn’t hesitate to fire it occasionally. A recoil spring change may help if you are really nervous. Enjoy!
 
Looks like a very nice specimen to me. The only question I have would be "ears" on the hammer. That style of hammer was used on the original 1911s. It could be that Colt was using up old stock.

Here is a picture of a Colt 1911A1 that was one of a batch of 800 shipped to Springfield Armory in January of 1944. It is all original in every respect, including the finish. The forward portion of the slide and the metal around the slide stop notch (other side) have been heat treated before Parkerizing, causing a difference in coloration. Note that the hammer is machined flat on the sides, which is more typical of most 1911A1s I've encountered. Also, the trigger on this one is the stamped variety, more common in the late portion of the war. As you may know, "GHD" are the initials of the inspector of the gun, Guy H. Drewry.

For more information on U.S. 1911s and 1911A1s, see my photo album on them here:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/members/paladin85020-albums-u-s-models-1911-and-1911a1-45-pistols.html

John

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According to Clawsons Third Edition 2nd printing (2004), that hammer should be correct. It’s the Colt Wide Spur Short Hammer that begin in 1939 at serial 713646. Very nice original 1911A1.

 
jsfricks said:
According to Clawsons Third Edition 2nd printing (2004), that hammer should be correct. It’s the Colt Wide Spur Short Hammer that begin in 1939 at serial 713646. Very nice original 1911A1.

Click to expand...

As war production progressed into 1944 & 1945 many of the smaller parts were changed in the Colts, Ithacas, and Remington Rands to reduce costs and speed up production. Included are hammers, backstraps, slide stops, and safeties. Most involved replacing checking the parts to serrations. Colt back straps eventually were serrated like the other two. Closely looking at the small parts help to determine the correctness \ originality of the pistol for the year of manufacture.
Great post and nice pistol
 
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