Anyone else spooked from buying military marked firearms

[Watchdog]

Check out the "military markings" Adobe attachment to this e-mail. I have seen sellers want to charge extra (big premium) because that Ithaca "was one of only a few that went to Switzerland in WWII in case they were overrun....blah...blah"

That's pretty funny...made me smile. My Ithaca has the upward/downward pointing arrow on the left side of the trigger guard.

I ran up on a guy at a gun show here, had a fairly decent looking Remington Rand for sale...talking about how it was "all original". I asked him what kind of barrel was in it...was it a High Standard barrel. "High Standard?" replies this gun guru. "No, it has a Remington Rand barrel in it."

What're you gonna do?

 

[bushmaster1313]

Why would one want a 1911 with an Idiot Mark on it???
BTW NICE pictures!

Having it pre-scratched is good for idiots like me who would end up scratching it anyways

Outdoors on a cloudy day with a macro lens
Except for photo of United States Property

 

[digi-shots]

I like mine with the “idiot scratch”...
I think I’ll keep it !

 

[austintexas]

I have several Smith and Wesson that are U.S. marked. They are usually easily confirmed, There are several books out there for research.
Off the top of my head I have a USAF marked M-13, U.S. marked M-13 (the civilian models were Pre M-12s) U.S marked M-14, U.S.(USAF) M-15 and a multitude of Victory models in .38 special and .38 S.W. and in long guns I have a Remington 40x .22, a 513 .22, Mossburg M-44 .22 and a Winchester M-52 .22, all are marked U.S. Property. So there are alot of military marked firearms out there, the government sometime decided that it was cheaper to buy off the civilian market than to produce there own.
SWCA 892

 

[Watchdog]

I like mine with the “idiot scratch”...
I think I’ll keep it !

You have a US&S?

Why am I not surprised you'd want to keep it?

May we see more?

 

[digi-shots]

Good eye, Watchdog!

I’ll get it out and take some pics...

 

[chief38]

I highly doubt there are many genuine Military 1911's without an idiot scratch! When buying a Military 1911 one is looking for a "piece of history" and not a collector grade commercial firearm. When one buys any surplus military equipment it is usually not going to be pristine - that's for sure.

 

[digi-shots]

Watchdog, here you go..

US&S

 

[Watchdog]

Good eye, Watchdog!

I’ll get it out and take some pics...

Watchdog, here you go..

US&S

Wow. Just wow. That pistol is in incredibly good condition, isn't it? Just curious...have you fired it at all? I don't know if I would be able to resist running one magazine through it.

See, with only 55,000 of those produced in just one year, you have to wonder where they went, and to whom they were issued...who carried this particular pistol.

Wondering about things like that is what drives my interest in the old 1911s and 1911A1s.

Good eye? That made me smile...Watchdog believes he has the inspectors' marks memorized by now. That one jumped right off the screen.

I don't know if you saw my thread from way back in November of 2016, but I posted a wartime film about how the US&S pistols were made from start to finish. It's about ten minutes long, and has no sound, but if you click here, you'll find the thread and the little film. It's very interesting to watch, and I highly recommend it.

 

[digi-shots]

Watchdog, thanks.. I have to admit it is a beautiful gun. I’ve had it for a good ten years or so. Even back then, they were a little pricey... unbelievable now. I’ve never shot it but have shot other 1911A1’s. Maybe one of these days.

The color of the finish is more of a steel blue-grey and not like the od green color on the Ithaca’s. You can still see the color difference on the slide - midway between the slide stop and the muzzle (hardening around the slide stop).

It has the same size matching “P” proofs.. with the P on the barrel off to the left side and not centered on top. The barrel bushing is the correct type with “swirl” tooling marks.

The link to the video you posted is great! I’ve never seen that one before. So glad that US&S documented the building of the guns.

 

[bushmaster1313]

OP back again

I took it shooting twice, before reading that the slide can crack with use. Now I an not sure how much more I will shoot it. Cracking the slide would be a bummer

I do not like the sight picture or the ergonomics, but with 5 rounds and 5 yards it does quite well
I am not sure, but it was probably a six o'clock hold

Someone on the Forum helped me acquire the knife

I experienced a bit of irrational WW2 exuberance and hunted down, one by one, a set of WWII 1911 magazines

 

[TeamPB]

I'm not a collector! I'm not. I am just a shooting and history enthusiast. So it was amazingly easy to go to the gun show yesterday and bring this home. I probably only over paid by about $50.00 so I'm thrilled. July,1943 Remington 03A3. Very clean with an apparent DCM lineage. Thank you to my Honey and all of you for your "enabling".

 

[HARDWARE]

 

[BigBill]

Could the idiot scratch be common from cleaning them in the dark?

Has anyone been haunted by the surplus military guns from the war in your safe? Be honest now. Maybe these old war horses do talk? Lol

 

[soccerguy83]

How would one go about finding a good source for valuation of a 1914 Colt 1911 for insurance purposes? I have zero desire to sell it.

 

[jsfricks]

How would one go about finding a good source for valuation of a 1914 Colt 1911 for insurance purposes? I have zero desire to sell it.

Post it on the 1911 forum with well lighted (outdoors in the shade or using a DIY light box) pictures. There are to top knowledge guys on there.

USGI/Foreign Military and other Vintage 1911s - 1911Forum

 

[soccerguy83]

Will do, once it's in my possession, I'll prob throw you guys some pics as well! Because, really, who doesn't like cool 1911 pictures?

 

[one eye joe]

Why would one want a 1911 with an Idiot Mark on it???
BTW NICE pictures!

I HEAR YA, CAJUNLAWYER, BUT, I HONESTLY CAN'T REMEMBER SEEING ANY GI 1911s THAT DID NOT SPORT AN IDIOT LINE, IN EITHER MY MILITARY OR CIVILIAN LIFE ! ! !

 

[BigBill]

I never went after the over priced surplus military guns. I was dumb. When I first got into the Mauser from around the world the locslvhun show had tables full of ‘41 johnsons, German g43, German sniper 98k. There were priced between $1,000 to $1,200. At the very next gun show the prices climbed. By the next gun show they were even higher priced. The last gun show I went to the ‘41 Johnson’s were $7k what little he had, the German stuff was gone.

I think the surplus military gun market has priced itself out of business. I enjoyed it when it was affordable. I got a few to play with.

I have the money but I’m just too frugal I remember the tough times I went thru as a kid.

 

[bushmaster1313]

Could the idiot scratch be common from cleaning them in the dark?

Has anyone been haunted by the surplus military guns from the war in your safe? Be honest now. Maybe these old war horses do talk? Lol

I have read that G.I.’s were taught to push the take down pin againstvthe lower frame when reassembling. Hence, any M1911A1 that was disassembled should have the so-called idiot scratch. To me, a gun without the scratch is suspect for being refinished.