1911's

crsides

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Bought two this week. Didn't know much about them, but did like them. First is a 1918 #513841. According to the seller, he got it from his mailman who carried it in the Pacific Campaign on Corrigidor. He got the gun from his father, who carried it in WWI. Finish on the slide is thin to gone, balance has some original finish. Bore is good, light frosting, no heaving pitting. Seems to be all original except for the mag. Comments please from those who know more than me, and that would be most of you.


 
Super 38 in really nice condition. Got this one out of the same pile as the WW1 1911. Serial 148995 looks like 1960. I know this is a good era for S&W's as far as hand fitting, polishing, bluing etc, and looks like same for the Colts. I'm guessing the front sight red insert and the adjustable rear are add ons that will not help in the collector's value dept. How much does that hurt? Its got a nice trigger pull, don't think it was shot much. One small mark in bluing on top of slide is all the detractors I see. I took off a trigger shoe (yes, a trigger shoe) and it has the idiot marks to prove it. Again, any information/corrections appreciated as well as a range of values.



 
I see ones like yours selling for north of $3k.Curious what you paid for it.
 
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Charlie, that sure looks familiar, did I see it on another forum? Maybe the Colt forum? I'm old, and forget stuff sometimes!! But that 38 Super sure looks familiar.

Best Regards, Les
 
The 1911 you have does not appear to have gone through an arsenal rebuild. The serial number indicates it was made in 1918 and from the photos you posted, this, other than the magazine, may be an all-correct M1911 from 1918! The only way to be certain would be to strip it down and have someone with intimate knowledge of military 1911's inspect it.

If it were mine, I'd definitely have it checked out. Would I shoot it? Well, there are some who say it is fine for very limited shooting, but if the slide gets cracked, the value drops significantly. I would not shoot it, but I would keep it well oiled and stored in a dry environment.

As for the 38 Super 1911-A1, the rear sight is not original and the front sight has either been painted or someone with really good skills has put in a red insert. These old 38 Super's suffered from accuracy problems, mostly stemming from headspace issues. The original 38 Super design headspaced the cartridge on it's tiny rim. That rim was to be held by a tiny recess milled into the barrel hood. Most of the time, the rim slipped past the cut in the barrel hood and the extractor headspaced the cartridge. Colt changed the barrel design to headspace the cartridge on its case mouth with the introduction of the Series 80 pistols.

Given the condition of this old 38 Super, even with incorrect sights, it still has a pretty good collector value.
 
What you have in your hands sir is a bit of history than can't be replaced. Congratulations to you! Enjoy those 1911s.
 
Thanks for the info guys. The Super's front sight is a red insert, although at time of purchase i thought it was red paint. It was nicely done.

Yeah, I posted both on the you know who forum yesterday.
 
The rear sight on the Super is an MMC built to coincide with the nub of front sight those guns came with. MMC is out of business now but someone makes the same sight under a different name now.

On the 45 remove the firing pin retainer and see if there is a number stamped there. I dont know when that practice was started but it ran up to 1941 because I had an 11A1 that the slide numbered to the frame.
 
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I had a .38 Super Match with fixed sights made in the mid 1930's. Beautiful gun, with a very smooth hand-honed action.

But it wouldn't shoot for sour grapes, so I sold it. Had no idea it'd become so collectible.

A HS pal's dad had a .38 Super he bought when he lived in New Mexico and was often in bear country. He hoped the FMJ bullets would penetrate well and kill an attacking bear. He had a rifle, a handsome Remington M-30S in .30-06. But if it was out of reach, he had the Super .38 on him.

I gather that quite a few hunters then liked the penetration of the Super .38.

I think someone put a long 1911 trigger in your Super .38.
 
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