Colt MODEL OF 1911.U.S. ARMY mfg 1917

[tmd17]

MODEL OF 1911.U.S. ARMY mfg 1917

Strong greenish gray parkerization that shows little use after the Augusta Re-Arsenalwork.

It has been a long time waiting for the right one to find me at the right price, but she made it home yesterday!

 

[Rudi]

What a beauty!!

 

[DWalt]

Most of the original M1911s remaining in military inventory went through the refurb program during WWII. Most of those which escaped that fate were those which were taken home by returning doughboys after WWI. I remember reading somewhere that WWI M1911s were the most “liberated” military guns ever. I have one of those, a Colt, having bought it from an elderly former doughboy back in the 1960s for $25. The wooden grips had eight notches on one panel. The former owner assured me that those notches were for real. I still have that pair of grips, but they are not on the gun. It is no longer original as I re-blued it long ago, and I put an unused WWII Ithaca slide on it. But I still have the original slide, and all other parts are original. It still gets fired frequently.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

... I put an unused WWII Ithaca slide on it. But I still have the original slide, and all other parts are original. It still gets fired frequently.

Were the lugs on the slide peened out of shape? Around 1983, I bought one in a pile of parts that the lugs were peened so bad they looked like sand dunes! I used a long 1/4" punch (steel) and two-pound bronze hammer to "drift" them back into shape. That slide worked fine on a parts gun I pieced together then sold a couple of hiking trips later.

Ivan

 

[tmd17]

...original M1911s... I have one... It is no longer original as I re-blued it long ago...

That makes me sad DWalt. I hope that was just a youthful indiscretion and you have learned better by now.

 

[Ron In MD]

1911's, have had a couple, but only one Colt...nothing beats a colt, unless you're going to spend thousands on on a target model.
A design over a hundred years old that is still in production today.

 

[stansdds]

Were the lugs on the slide peened out of shape? Around 1983, I bought one in a pile of parts that the lugs were peened so bad they looked like sand dunes! I used a long 1/4" punch (steel) and two-pound bronze hammer to "drift" them back into shape. That slide worked fine on a parts gun I pieced together then sold a couple of hiking trips later.

Ivan

That was an issue with the 1911 until Colt and the other manufacturers started to heat treat the slides. Long linking the barrel, done by many in an attempt to get consistent lock up and accuracy, would also cause the barrel lugs to drag on the slide recesses, accelerating the deformation. The original U.S. Army specification was for slides to last 5000 rounds before replacement. Non-heat treated slides will last 5000 rounds and a bit more, but they are not as durable as the heat treated slides. I had a 1920's replacement slide that I used in USPSA competition. After a few thousand rounds, I had a slight dent in the breech face where the WW II surplus High-Standard barrel hood made contact and a peened slide stop notch.

 

[DWalt]

The original Colt slide that was on my M1911 has no peening damage. The Ithaca GI slide now on it came from a gun show back in the 1980s, and it was a brand new and complete upper, consisting of a slide, barrel, spring, and barrel bushing. I think I paid $75 for the whole package. I later applied a black spray and bake Teflon coating to the slide to match the blued frame better. The M1911 looks good, works fine, and I have no regrets I refinished it. I did all of the refinishing myself, so it didn’t cost me much.

One reason I bought the Ithaca upper was that slides of the WWI era were not heat treated, as related above, and are prone to damage. Later ones were heat treated.

 

[.357magger]

Congratulations on your 1917/1911.

Thank you for sharing it.

Heat treatment or not, they're great pieces of history and...they usually can still put 230 grain hardball right where they're pointing.

Ask me how I know.

Mine is circa 1918, and apparently only a couple of hundred away from yours per the serial number. I don't shoot it often, but I do shoot it. One of my favorites. Never fails to bring a smile when I break it out. So...ENJOY YOURS.

 

[22shtur]

I also read about WWI 1911 slides being good to about 5,000 rounds. I saw a complete 1918 at the LGS for $1,500 and asked questions about the slide on the 1911 forum. After seeing responses with photos of cracked slides, I decided not to get one from WWI because I buy guns to shoot.

 

[PALADIN85020]

I guess at the current age of 84 I had much more opportunity to acquire some genuine original 1911s when they were still available and not priced astronomically. These are all in their original skins - no swapped parts.

Thought I'd post these for reference against possible future finds - click on any or all for larger images. I took these photos for a feature article on U.S. service .45s in the 2003 Gun Digest

John


Colt


Springfield Armory


Remington UMC


AJ Savage slide rework