REAL 1911 pistols!

[PALADIN85020]

First off, let me apologize for the quality of these photographs. I took them back in 2002 for an article in the 2003 Gun Digest with a film camera, and these are copies of the printed photos. At any rate, I wanted to show you what REAL 1911 pistols look like - the daddies and granddaddies of what has arguably become the most popular and copied pistol in the world. These are the real McCoys, genuine and unaltered G.I. 1911 and 1911A1 pistols.

First, the gun that started it all. This is a Colt 1911:

Next, a 1911 made by Remington-UMC:

Springfield Armory got into the act during WWI, and made a number of 1911 pistols. This is one of those:

This is a closeup of the markings on an ultra-rare 1911. These were Colt frames, reworked using slides made by the A.J. Savage Company. Savage didn't get full manufacture going before WWI ended, but made slides, and the government used them for reworks after the war - this particular pistol bears the mark "AA" for the Augusta (GA) Arsenal.

This is a Colt 1911A1:

Here's a 1911A1 made by the Ithaca Gun Company:

Remington Rand made more 1911A1s during WWII than any other maker:

This is a 1911A1 made by the Union Switch and Signal company in Swissvale, PA. It used a "DuLite" finish rather than parkerizing. These are getting increasingly scarce, particularly in this condition.

Sorry that I can't provide a photo of a 1911A1 made by the Singer Sewing Machine Company - only 500 were made, most of them going to the Army Air Corps. Not many survived intact from the War. I did have the opportunity to bid on one at one point, but I didn't want to take out a second mortgage on my home. Actually, I DID want to do that, but my wife put her foot down on the idea.

I collected most of these pistols back in the 1970s and 1980s; they were semi-reasonable to purchase back then, and I tried to get at least one of each main maker. Today the values on these have escalated to the point where a similar collection would be priced out of sight.

At any rate, hope you enjoy the pics!

John

 

[tops]

Thanks for the pictures. Makes me wish I could have afforded to keep all I have owned. I do have a Colt commerical I bought new in 1967 and it is still in nice shape. Larry

 

[Xfuzz]

Neat old 1911's

 

[A10]

Thanks Paladin, what great guns!

 

[Cpt. Obvious]

Great to see em! Love me some 1911s...

 

[Snakeshift]

That has to be one of the best USGI 1911 collections I've seen! Realllly Jealous.

 

[Straightshooter2]

First of all, don't apologize for the pics. With all the film cameras I have, I LOVE having grain in pictures. Second, thanks for posting those! Nothing like the real thing when it comes to a 1911. Now what to do about the drool seeping into the keyboard of my laptop...sizzle.

CW

 

[Mr Pokeyman]

About 1968 or 69 I bought a Remington Rand 1911 with the Army flap holster for the princely sum of $50.00 (I made $3 an hour). I had no idea what I had then so I garbaged that scratched up old holster and the parkerized finish was so ugly that I had the gun chrome finished. A few years later I proudly showed it to a knowledgeable gun collector. He practically cried tears-after he told my what an idiotic thing I had done. There was no internet then to learn from. I sold it after that as I could no longer stand to look at it. I have always regretted that and seeing that old warrior gun just brought it back. I hope to find another one someday, I will treat it like it deserves.

 

[pawncop]

That is so cool. Thank you for the photos.

 

[Gasman1972]

Excellent post! Wouldn't we all love a Singer though....

You have an amazing collection.

 

[Lee Barner]

palidin, thanks for sharing those. only 1911 i have is a Colt. have a few A1s but never found the other two 1911s (that i could afford). lee

 

[sigp220.45]

My one and only 1911 - the slide says Ithaca, the frame numbers to a Remington Rand. At some point it was reparked and put away. Scorned by collectors, but much loved by me:

 

[Bat Guano]

The first 1911 I ever shot was a borrowed DCM Remington Rand in 1959. A year later my folks bought it from the then owner for $25 and put it under the tree for me for Christmas, 1960. Until I started reloading I bought steel cased corrosive EC 43 hardball ammo for $2 a box.

We've been together 50 years now, joined at the hip you might say.

 

[7tenz]

My one and only 1911 - the slide says Ithaca, the frame numbers to a Remington Rand. At some point it was reparked and put away. Scorned by collectors, but much loved by me:

Collectors, schmollectors. Looks good to me. I'd be proud to have it.

Thanks for the pics, John. Sweet.

 

[crazyphil]

I had a student at the range about 15 years ago or so who had a Singer
1911. I don't think he appreciated, at the time, what he had. But then
neither did I. I remember holding and fondling it.
That long ago, and many students, I can't even remember who it was,
or I would contact him. What is a Singer, in decent condition, worth
these days?

 

[Echo40]

It's nice to see many different examples of wartime 1911s represented here. It's all too often that you'll see folks who only consider the 1911s manufactured by Colt as classic examples of wartime 1911s.

Personally, I have never agreed with the assertion that, "Only 1911s in their original configuration manufactured by Colt during this specific period on time are real 1911s!" especially when pretty much right from the beginning 1911s were being produced by several different manufacturers to exact specifications in order to meet the demand by the US Army to arm the troops. It's a textbook example of the "No true Scotsman" falacy.

I feel that it's disrespectful to the memory of the troops who fought and died to protect this great nation by nitpicking which version of the sidearm they carried was a "REAL 1911" as if some of the other 1911s made by Springfield Armory, Remington-Rand, Union Switch and Signal, Auto Ordnance, or any other such companies who produced 1911s for the US Army are any less special.

Frankly, the only 1911s which aren't "REAL 1911s" are counterfeits or knockoffs made by Khyber Pass and the like. Classic 1911s should be designated as just that, classics, originals, or wartime 1911s, not "REAL 1911s" as if all 1911s manufactured since the war according to the same blueprints are somehow "Fake 1911s" or something like that.

 

[billwill]

Around 2000, a local company had a collection in and for sale that had 1911's made by all of the contact manufactures for sale. I still remember looking close and hard at them.

If I had only been a forward thinking guy back then!

 

[arjay]

I had a student at the range about 15 years ago or so who had a Singer
1911. I don't think he appreciated, at the time, what he had. But then
neither did I. I remember holding and fondling it.
That long ago, and many students, I can't even remember who it was,
or I would contact him. What is a Singer, in decent condition, worth
these days?

One with a mismatched mag recently sold for $80k+ and another with a singer mag sold for over 100k (I think it was 120 or so)

 

[bigggbbruce]

Around 2000, a local company had a collection in and for sale that had 1911's made by all of the contact manufactures for sale. I still remember looking close and hard at them.

If I had only been a forward thinking guy back then!

When I was 15, my Godfathers son was killed in Vietnam.

He offered to sell me his car $4000.. A '63 Split window Corvette.. I didn't have any money, and my dad wasn't buying me a Corvette..

If we only knew then...

 

[ColbyBruce]

Rather than buy these myself, I called my brother.

The Garand is a 1942 Springfield receiver with a 1965 Springfield barrel and mostly IH trigger group. $107.00

The 1911 was AA rebuilt in the 1940’s, Colt slide with a Remington frame, 1913 and 1915 parts but I don’t remember which piece is which year. $87.00