1911 oddball

[4barrel]

I didn't need another 45 but a friend was cleaning out one of his safes. Said he bought it new in the early 70s and hadn't been shot. The frame to slide was a very good fit. I installed a lighter hammer and trigger--fitted bushing--extended slide release and gave it a road test. My neighbor saw it and made me a holster for Sunday only. It hasn't got a scratch yet and no idiot mark. Now it is a keeper.

 

[dusty3030]

Probably didn't buy it in the 70's, I don't think they were making 1911's that early. Was more famous for making M14 clones and "tanker" Garands. I am thinking their 1911's were made / sold in the 80's. I could be wrong though. I do know they sold a variety of stuff and what they had for sale at any given time varied.

 

[Grayfox]

Federal Ordnance was located in El Monte, Ca from 1966 to 1992. They primarily made copies of military arms. Including the broom handle Mauser pistol aand M-14 type rifles. They made 1911 pistols from 1988 to 1992. I'm not real sure about this one as they sold their guns as the Ranger Model. But then this is the first one of their 1911s I've ever seen.
Fed Ord had a rocky history. They started out making excellent guns, but as time passed, the quality got poorer and poorer until at they end they were mostly considered junk.
I have a very early Fed Ord M-14A built on their receiver and all G.I. surplus parts. Its a great rifle and if your 1911 is just half as good, you did very well.

 

[4barrel]

The machine work really looks good on the inside-all steel and clean straight stamps. Not much info out there on #s and when made. I had never seen or heard of one before this. It has 70 series stuff on the inside. I know it's not a Colt. The slide say SEM CA. I thought it was kin to a Ruger when I saw the warning on the slide.

 

[Grayfox]

I'm far from any kind of expert on Fed Ord. I just happen to know a little about them because I own one.
I guessing SEM, CA is an abbreviation for South El Monte, Ca. Which was the actual address.
Over the years I've made attempts to research my M-14A. There is very little info out there and I've never found any information at all on production numbers, dates or serial numbers. About the best guess I can give you is that the lower the serial number, the better quality of the gun.
If it shoots good, don't worry about it.

 

[824tsv]

Nice looking pistol Gary!
What is the purpose of the hole in the side of the trigger?

 

[4barrel]

Nice looking pistol Gary!
What is the purpose of the hole in the side of the trigger?

I guess you could tie it to a tree and put some string through the hole and stand behind the tree and pull to make sure it don't blow up? I don't know - it came like that. Maybe someone will chime in. I think it's a notch above a Llama. They were about $180 new.

 

[Muley Gil]

Nice looking pistol Gary!
What is the purpose of the hole in the side of the trigger?

That is where the trigger is pinned to the trigger bow.

 

[stansdds]

I remember Federal Ordnance from back in the 1980's to early 90's. I saw some of their 1911's and they seemed to be a bit on the crude side and they had a spotty reputation for quality. I guess the best way to describe the Fed Ord 1911's is that they were on par with the pre-Kahr Arms Auto-Ordnance 1911's. In both cases, the slides and receivers were investment castings, which is fine for the receiver, but watch the slide for cracks, the smaller parts were often surplus GI or farmed from lowest cost sources such as John Masen and Chinese suppliers.

 

[Old_Cop]

I used similar sights when I built a Caspian. I like the retro look and great sight picture. I'm going to WAG and say the first two numbers (88) are the year of manufacture. Nice gun.

 

[sodacan]

Nice looking pistol Gary!
What is the purpose of the hole in the side of the trigger?

It is commonly referred to as the "trigger hole".
It was part of the Browning's original design. Its purpose was to a have an extra hole in case of an emergency.

 

[RGPM1A]

I bought one of those back in the late 80s to use as a base for a open pin gun. Over the years it has proven to be quite durable. The frame and slide have over 60K rounds through them and they are still going strong. I stripped and hot blued it a few years ago as almost all the original finish was gone from the parts of the frame and top of the slide. As you can see in the photos it doesn't have many original parts anymore except for the frame and slide. It's now used for steel plates.

 

[Walter Rego]

Federal Ordnance in South El Monte was also a retail location that in the late 1980's was a treasure trove for all of the surplus arms that were arriving by the thousands at that time. There were racks on the floor with dozens and dozens of rifles, often priced at $99 each plus cheap ammo and bins full of bayonets and accessories. It was a fun place to shop.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I bought "Fed. Ord." alloy 1911 frames for $29-39 each from 1982-1992 and built about 40 "shooters, using GI parts and re-welded slides. I sold them for $129-169. My guarantee was, "They go bang every time!" I meant every single time. SWC ammo, Ball ammo, filthy. even used one full of sand while canoeing! They go bang every time!>>>UNTIL the dust cover breaks off! That happened around the 800 round mark. Most of the time they would still function after it broke off. But on my best friend's personal 1911, the frame cracked out at the slide release and then fired out of battery, sending shrapnel into his strong hand and face. The last 2 1911's I built were on Essex steel frames, these were both our personal guns and we rebuilt using the parts from broken frame guns! I probably have 15000 rounds through mine. I doubt I will ever build another, as the GI and after market parts have risen in price that I can buy a deaccent functioning brand new gun for less than the parts alone. ( I still keep enough of the small parts to build 2 or 3 more guns, but that is to keep my (8 and my 3 sons all have at least 1) 1911's in fine working order.

So those Fed. Ord. frames let me make $20 a gun and about 36 people got a functioning 1911 for about 40% of a Colt that didn't work out of the box! I had fun doing it, but with the las changes and everybody likes to Sue, those days are over!

Ivan

 

[4barrel]

Thanks for the posts- I didn't think about it could have a weak casting. Post 12 said he had over 60000 rounds through his. I will keep the charges on the low side when I kill cans. I have only invested about $450 and a little time getting to where it is and will get to do some show and tell.

 

[RGPM1A]

4barrel. I think the guy in post 14 was speaking about cast aluminum alloy frames. Mine was made of steel as I think yours is.

I remember years ago people building dedicated 22s out of those FO 1911 aluminum frames. That was about the only thing they were good for.

 

[stansdds]

Cast steel receivers are fine, cast aluminum is not going to last. Colt used forged aluminum and their early Commander receiver developed a reputation for cracking within 5000 rounds, usually where the dust cover meets the receiver rails. I don't recall Colt ever divulging what they did, but I guess they went to a different alloy as the cracked receiver issue seems to have gone away.