100 years of military 1911's

[highpower]

I thought I would post up a few pics of a few of my modest collection of military 1911's in honor of the 72nd anniversary of the bombing of Peal Harbor. I wanted to do it yesterday, but I was out of town until late today.

Anyway, enjoy:


Left side, top to bottom: __________________________ Right side, top to bottom:
1914 US Springfield Armory ________________________1942 Colt
1917 Colt ______________________________________1943 Ithaca
1918 Colt ______________________________________1944 Remington Rand

_______________ Bottom: 2014 Colt USMC CQBP


1914 US Springfield


1917 Colt


1918 Colt


1942 Colt


1943 Ithaca


1944 Remington-Rand


2014 Colt USMC CQBP

[River runner]

Very nice collection! Thanks for sharing. 😍

[MrExel17]

Very Cool, appreciate you taking the time to share! Cheers.....

[Stanze]

Beautiful 1911 collection OP! Thanks for sharing!

Any noticeable difference when shooting them?

Which one or ones do you like to shoot the most?

[highpower]

Any noticeable difference when shooting them?

Which one or ones do you like to shoot the most?

Well, you shoot one 1911 and you pretty much have shot them all.

So far I like the M45A1 CQBP because the sights are very, very nice. The trigger on my '74 Gold cup is nicer, but for a production gun, the Marine 1911 has a pretty good trigger.

I have to confess that I have not shot the '17 and '18 Colts.

[audiction]

pretty cool collection you got there...thanks for sharing!

[DArBad]

Nice collection, thanks for sharing. The picture brought back memories of my father, his exploit as a young man drafted and sent to Okinawa.

[Mark77]

How does the CQBP compare to other modern 1911's (ala Springfield, Kimber, etc)? How is the reliability, especially with JHP's? Thanks for sharing!

[highpower]

How does the CQBP compare to other modern 1911's (ala Springfield, Kimber, etc)? How is the reliability, especially with JHP's? Thanks for sharing!

[Henry Shooter]

Very Nice.
Thanks for showing the family.

[Henry Shooter]

Looking closely at the different years I realized the earlier models don’t have the frame relief behind the trigger for the finger like the 40’s series.

When did they start cutting that finger relief into the frame ?

Great patina on the 1914

[DArBad]

Looking closely at the different years I realized the earlier models don’t have the frame relief behind the trigger for the finger like the 40’s series.

When did they start cutting that finger relief into the frame ?

Great patina on the 1914

I think in around 1923/24 when the " A1 " lineage first came out, same with the short steel trigger, arched MSH, and longer " tang " of the grip safety. Those were part of the supposed " improvement " to the 1911 when our soldiers who fought in WWI complained of hammer bites, and the pistol pointing low for them. At least, that's what I read in a lot of older magazines.

On you tube, there is a good video of " Hickock 45 " about this. Watch it, its very informative.

[beetle]

very nice, thanks for sharing. I haven't gotten around to taking a group shot of all of my military 1911s yet. Maybe something to do over the holidays.

In the interest of remembering the bombing of pearl harbor, here is my contribution to the thread. Some of my WW2 M1911A1s. I call this pic "Band of Brothers"



Left to right:
Early "WB" Colt (1941)
Later "GHD" Colt (1943)
Union Signal & Switch (1943)
Late Remington Rand (1944)
Ithaca sent to the US Navy

Total WW2 Production:
Colt 628,808
US&S 55,000
Remington Rand 875,000
Ithaca 335,467

[highpower]

I think in around 1923/24 when the " A1 " lineage first came out, same with the short steel trigger, arched MSH, and longer " tang " of the grip safety. Those were part of the supposed " improvement " to the 1911 when our soldiers who fought in WWI complained of hammer bites, and the pistol pointing low for them. At least, that's what I read in a lot of older magazines.

On you tube, there is a good video of " Hickock 45 " about this. Watch it, its very informative.

Indeed. It started in 1924 at serial number 700000. Post WWI/pre WWII US government issue 1911-A1's are some of the rarest and most desirable of the 'A1 series Colts as they didn't make very many of them compared to WWI and WWII production and most of them were used to death. I used to have a 1941 RS inspected Colt, but in a fit of stupidity, I sold it to finance a divorce.

There were a lot of subtle changes throughout the years. Note the difference in the font of the roll marks between the 1917 Colt and the 1918. Also not shown is the Colt pony on the left side. In mid 1918 it was moved from the rear of the slide to the middle between the Colt roll mark.

Other small changes include the shape of the hammer and thumb safety as well as the shape of the checkering on the hammer, safety and slide stop. I know this all seems petty and kind of silly, but it can literally make thousands of dollars difference in the value of a particular gun.

If you are interested in getting an US Property 1911, or 1911-A1, it behooves you to know the differences between them as the parts are interchangeable and things have gotten swapped around over the years.

Colt ponies: Also notice the difference in the shape of the hammer and thumb safety between this pre WWI production gun and the '42.
1917


1942



Beetle, once again you never fail to impress me with the quality of your collection. I have been trying to find a Switch and Signal that I can actually afford for a few years now, but most of the guns in my price range (under $3500) are either beat to death or are mismatched.

[beetle]

all WW2 M1911A1s exploded in price over the last 5 years or so, but especially the US&S. $5-6K seems to be the going price for a nice US&S now....