RANGE REPORT: My 101-year-old Colt 1911

Watchdog

Watchdog

Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2013
Messages
12,511
Reaction score
32,351
Actually, it's really just a Fun Report, because I'm not gonna get all technical here.

Every time I go to the range, I always take my 1918 Colt with me. It's such fun to shoot, and has a deep feeling of history to me. I know when it left the Colt factory, and I have no doubt at all it went to France for the closing months of WWI.

I worked it into my most recent shoot. My photo of the target isn't a good photo at all...but it's 21 rounds of factory 230-grain FMJ fired with a two-hand hold at 20 yards.

The pistol is seriously finish-challenged, and judging by the "idiot scratch", I'm not the only idiot who's owned it. And yeah, it might rattle a bit if you shake it hard enough. So what? Don't make the mistake of judging this pistol by its appearance (like that book-by-its-cover thing). Far as I'm concerned, the old pistol still does a fine job of doing what it was designed to do as long as I do my part.

As I said, it's so much fun to shoot, and there's always other shooters at the range who want a closer look at a genuine ol' warhorse. They like to hold it and point it, surprised at its heft and solid feel compared to their Glocks and Sigs and such. These old pistols have an aura about them that's almost visible. One young man told me he'd never even seen a real Colt 1911 before! Can you imagine? Really, though, if a gun doesn't make your shooting experience fun, then why fool with it?

The rampant Colt (the greatest gun logo ever) on the slide will still be prancing long after I'm gone.

The photos will enlarge if you click on them.

X1.jpg


X2.jpg


X3.jpg
 
Lee Barner said:
Jim, that's some mighty fine shooting. I can still shoot groups like that but there would be powder burns on the target. lee
Click to expand...

Lee, sometimes I think I get it right, other times not so much. I wouldn't go so far, though, as to refer to these 21 shots as a "group". Thanks for the compliment, though.

What's interesting to me is that since I started shooting this pistol in 2015, it's hard for me to go back to shooting my other G.I. .45s with their arched mainspring housings. The flat MSH just seems to work so much better for me. So much so, that I even had a flat checkered one installed on my newer Series 70.

And trigger pull? I wish some of my other guns has as good a trigger pull as this old 1911.

X4.jpg
 
I like it just the way it is...warts and all. It's great to hear that the younger shooters want to be part of the experience. Things have flip flopped since I was a kid as there were no plastic guns. Today there are kids who have never seen what you are so willing to share with them.

Good shooting and a damn fine job on your part for taking the younger ones back in time.
 
Last edited:
OLDSTER said:
I love those old wartime handguns left untouched.
Click to expand...

emptypockets said:
I like it just the way it is...warts and all.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't change a thing about this old pistol. I joke around about it being "finish-challenged", because that's how a lot of people see it, and that term is widely used to describe any gun that's lost so much of its finish. To me, it's beautiful. The patina, the scratches, the blotches, etc., etc. tell the pistol's story.

OLDSTER said:
I wish they could talk. :D
Click to expand...

They do.

This one kept whispering in my ear so much, I went back for the second day of a gun show in December of 2015...and I'd never gone to a gun show two days in a row before. If I hadn't bought it, I'd probably still be thinking about it, still be wishing I'd bought it.

1918 was a huge production year for Colt 1911s. They made well over 350,000 of them that year...more than any other year since the gun went into production. We still see a good many come up for sale. They aren't that hard to find. Condition varies, of course. I'd looked at a lot, myself. Something about this one just kept pulling at me. So I bought it.

5.jpg
 
Watchdog said:
I wouldn't change a thing about this old pistol. I joke around about it being "finish-challenged", because that's how a lot of people see it, and that term is widely used to describe any gun that's lost so much of its finish. To me, it's beautiful. The patina, the scratches, the blotches, etc., etc. tell the pistol's story.



They do.

This one kept whispering in my ear so much, I went back for the second day of a gun show in December of 2015...and I'd never gone to a gun show two days in a row before. If I hadn't bought it, I'd probably still be thinking about it, still be wishing I'd bought it.

1918 was a huge production year for Colt 1911s. They made well over 350,000 of them that year...more than any other year since the gun went into production. We still see a good many come up for sale. They aren't that hard to find. Condition varies, of course. I'd looked at a lot, myself. Something about this one just kept pulling at me. So I bought it.

5.jpg
Click to expand...

OK that did it !:o If I don't own a 1918 by the end of the year it's my own fault. Gonna buy one !!;):D
 
joe44va said:
Half the rounds in the 10 ring with a gun over a century old not known for accuracy: I'd be proud.
Click to expand...

You know, it's nice when I can do that, but I can't do it every time. With any gun. Without getting into that whole accuracy thing (really, let's don't), when I'm shooting at this style target, I'm happy if I can keep most of the shots inside that upside-down-triangle area on what would be a human torso.

My opinion is that as long as a shooter keeps in mind what the 1911 pistol was originally designed to do well over a century ago, they won't be disappointed with the results.
 
bmcgilvray said:
Very rewarding thread and opening post. Love the look of that Colt.

Makes me want to dust off my own 1918 with Augusta Arsenal rework and head to the range.

Click to expand...


That pistol looks good. I see yours has the eagle's head inspection stamp there above the magazine release. A lot of people turn up their noses at arsenal rebuilt pistols. Call 'em mixmasters like they're some sort of kitchen appliance or something. I'm not one of those people.

To paraphrase a very knowledgeable 1911 collector, arsenal rebuilds are great collectible pistols. When you acquire a pistol that was manufactured in the WWI timeframe, but later rebuilt for use in WW2, Korea, and even Vietnam, then you know for sure that pistol has seen a lot and been through a lot. People who know what's what with 1911s refer to them as "history in your hand" or "a piece of history". Well, that's exactly what they are.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
Colt 1911
Replies
9
Views
558
silicosys4
S
W
Taurus TS9 range report
Replies
4
Views
420
walnutred
W
V
My only Colt
2
Replies
27
Views
1K
bgrafsr
bgrafsr
Narragansett
Range Report and Observations ( see post 14 )
Replies
13
Views
957
Narragansett
Narragansett
Xfuzz
Colt 1911 Lew Horton...
Replies
9
Views
561
Empe
E

Latest posts

Back
Top