CMP 1911

[SkyHawk]

The hammer and trigger are not original or "correct".

.

They are correct for an A1 1911 though right? Maybe not correct for a Colt though. I agree the chances of the slide matching go way down if those are not original Colt parts

[tdp113530]

Ya done good.

[Milsurp Collector]

They are correct for an A1 1911 though right? Maybe not correct for a Colt though. I agree the chances of the slide matching go way down if those are not original Colt parts

Yes, but not for a Colt of that serial number range.

That one has a stamped trigger when it should have a milled trigger.

Milled trigger



OP's stamped trigger



The hammer should have a wide spur



The OP's has a narrow spur



Also, looking at the picture above, the OP's grips are the "narrow ring" type. They should be "wide ring" type.




Again, it is still nicer than 90% of what I have seen from the CMP. I wouldn't change or "correct" anything. It is fine just the way it is.

.

[SkyHawk]

^^^ That last pic looks like a commercial to military conversion, nice!

[slamfire1]

Your 1911 looks darn good.

Few military arms survive untouched. When they come in for a rebuild, parts are removed, thrown in bins. Occasionally I have seen carbines and Garands that went through a rebuild, and for whatever reason, most parts were kept together. This is unusual. Most military rebuilds are mix masters, and particularly for barrels, hammer, sears, barrel bushings, grips, none OEM replacement parts would get in the things. The Government bought replacement parts from the lowest bidder. Could be anyone. It did not matter as long as the part met the drawing requirements.

If you shoot it, be nice, don't hot rod, and remember, your elbow is the drip point. Keep the things lubricated. Oil the end of the barrel where the barrel bushing rubs the barrel end, keep the slide rails lubed, lube the locking lugs, the disconnector notch in the slide, and a drop on the hammer at the frame, so oil will ooze over the sear surfaces.

[Robert1234]

would have been a little nicer without the idiot scratch.

Well, it is a military handgun...

And I say that as someone who spent six years in the military.

[slamfire1]

Well, it is a military handgun...

And I say that as someone who spent six years in the military.

Amazing how people think warehouse workers and troops treat these things as though they were precious works of art.

Far from it. I have a S&W Victory revolver that the previous owner purchased directly from the DCM at Anniston Army Depot. The thing was in a bucket with a bunch of other revolvers. Scratches all over the revolver. The guys who loaded that bucket with revolvers saw no difference between firearms and gravel, in so far as they treated them.

Another bud, who was a Major at the time, visited Anniston and said he observed a warehouse worker removing Garands from portable racks and stacking them in four foot cubed (might have been five feet cubed) cardboard storage containers. These Garands had been rebuilt to new, refinished, and were just back from function testing. The worker was throwing these Garands through the air, into the box. My bud says he saw wood splinters flying out of the box.

Warehouse workers treat the items in their warehouse no better than junk yard workers treat their scrap.

I do have a story. A Major friend was in Germany at a storage facility that had nuclear Pershing missiles. Because the warheads were nuclear this was a very high security facility. He was there, for some reason, when an eager beaver warehouse worker decided to be helpful and move a crated Pershing nuclear war head. The worker was not trained to move nuclear warheads or operate a fork lift, and from what bud told me, any time a nuclear warhead was moved, it was supposed to have a ground guide in front of the fork lift, to keep speeds down, and avoid collisions. Anyway eager beaver warehouse worker picked up a crated Pershing nuclear war head, and was driving the fork lift so fast that the crate was bouncing on the tines, and that scared the worker so much he braked hard. That caused the crate to slide off the tines and fall on the concrete. Bud said everyone gasped as the thing fell, as a nuclear warhead could create a hole hundreds of yards wide and deep, and the fireball could go miles and miles. Luckily the warhead did not go boom, due to good design.

Pershing Nuclear rocket on its flatbed launcher.



But, if warehouse workers stupidly drop nuclear warheads, do you think they treat firearms any better?

[Robert1234]

Amazing how people think warehouse workers and troops treat these things as though they were precious works of art.

Far from it. I have a S&W Victory revolver that the previous owner purchased directly from the DCM at Anniston Army Depot. The thing was in a bucket with a bunch of other revolvers. Scratches all over the revolver. The guys who loaded that bucket with revolvers saw no difference between firearms and gravel, in so far as they treated them.

Another bud, who was a Major at the time, visited Anniston and said he observed a warehouse worker removing Garands from portable racks and stacking them in four foot cubed (might have been five feet cubed) cardboard storage containers. These Garands had been rebuilt to new, refinished, and were just back from function testing. The worker was throwing these Garands through the air, into the box. My bud says he saw wood splinters flying out of the box.

Warehouse workers treat the items in their warehouse no better than junk yard workers treat their scrap.

I do have a story. A Major friend was in Germany at a storage facility that had nuclear Pershing missiles. Because the warheads were nuclear this was a very high security facility. He was there, for some reason, when an eager beaver warehouse worker decided to be helpful and move a crated Pershing nuclear war head. The worker was not trained to move nuclear warheads or operate a fork lift, and from what bud told me, any time a nuclear warhead was moved, it was supposed to have a ground guide in front of the fork lift, to keep speeds down, and avoid collisions. Anyway eager beaver warehouse worker picked up a crated Pershing nuclear war head, and was driving the fork lift so fast that the crate was bouncing on the tines, and that scared the worker so much he braked hard. That caused the crate to slide off the tines and fall on the concrete. Bud said everyone gasped as the thing fell, as a nuclear warhead could create a hole hundreds of yards wide and deep, and the fireball could go miles and miles. Luckily the warhead did not go boom, due to good design.

Pershing Nuclear rocket on its flatbed launcher.



But, if warehouse workers stupidly drop nuclear warheads, do you think they treat firearms any better?

There's a reason the military came up with the "mil-spec" standard for their equipment. They knew who was going to be using it.

[neomedic]

Any chance the slide is original finish? I ask because I can see the two tone from the finish (with the area near the muzzle being darker than the back of the slide). I thought I read it somewhere that is due to the heat treating process and over the years that is how it will patina.




Any chance it's the original finish? Thanks.

[Robert1234]

Before CMP started selling these things, you couldn't touch an unmolested one (unmolested means not altered after leaving government ownership) US property 1911 for less than $2k. And you never knew what you were getting unless you were an expert..

Because of CMP there are now another 8,000 or so (and counting) genuine US Property 1911s on the market, and people like me, who are the furthest thing from an expert can get one and not get ripped off.

I'll take my $1,050.00 Ithaca (which looks to be an arsenal refurbished, but all Ithaca gun, but remember, I'm the furthest thing from an expert on these things) and be happy with it. Cause I like collecting and shooting these things.

It goes nicely with my CMP Garand, M1903, M1917, M1 Carbine, and Mossberg Model 44 rifles.

[smle-man]

There's a reason the military came up with the "mil-spec" standard for their equipment. They knew who was going to be using it.

Ain't that the truth!

The story goes that the Army locked a soldier in a completely empty sealed concrete room. The soldier was naked. As he was placed in the cell he was handed two large solid metal balls about the size of a croquette ball. 'Hold these" he was told, "we'll be back in an hour.

An hour later the door was unlocked and the soldier emerged. In that time he had managed to lose one ball and break the other.

And that is why Milspec exists!

[Robert1234]

Ain't that the truth!

The story goes that the Army locked a soldier in a completely empty sealed concrete room. The soldier was naked. As he was placed in the cell he was handed two large solid metal balls about the size of a croquette ball. 'Hold these" he was told, "we'll be back in an hour.

An hour later the door was unlocked and the soldier emerged. In that time he had managed to lose one ball and break the other.

And that is why Milspec exists!

And we won't even start talking about the Marines...

[Enzo rules]

You got a nice one there.

[Milsurp Collector]

Any chance the slide is original finish? I ask because I can see the two tone from the finish (with the area near the muzzle being darker than the back of the slide). I thought I read it somewhere that is due to the heat treating process and over the years that is how it will patina.




Any chance it's the original finish? Thanks.

Hard to tell with flash photography, but unlikely. The frame looks refinished. The slide might be original but I have seen that two-tone from heat treating both with original and refinished slides, so it doesn't help much.

In this picture



it looks like there is pitting and scratches under the finish suggesting a refinish job, but again it is hard to tell with flash photography. The slide is likely not original to the frame.

I wouldn't expect to get a pistol with original finish from the CMP. Just be thankful it doesn't look as obviously refinished as most of the pistols I have seen posted on the CMP forum. Some of them look like they have been refinished multiple times.

For comparison this is my Colt M1911A1 whose serial number is only around 2000 earlier than yours.







Pistols were not shipped in exact numerical order by serial number. Your frame was shipped between Mar. 9, 1943 and Apr. 17, 1943 to the Transportation Officer, Springfield Armory. From there they were distributed to military units.

[divingin]

You may be able to get a frame manufacturing date here:

https://www.colt.com/serial-lookup