Opinion on this 1911 Double Rebuild

[john_ciocca]

Ok I know I've been asking a lot of opinions here and I have been doing my own research but I value your opinions and want to ask your opinion on this. I am in the market for an Arsenal Rebuild 1911. I found a guy that has this double Arsenal rebuild he will sell me for $1295. I'm ok with the price as long as it seems legit to everyone. Here it is:









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[Milsurp Collector]

Ok I know I've been asking a lot of opinions here and I have been doing my own research but I value your opinions and want to ask your opinion on this.

Always happy to help someone who has questions after making at least some effort to do some research, and who appreciates the help. That's far better than those lazy, cheap, and entitled guys who say "I'm thinking of getting an XYZ, but I know nothing about them. School me on XYZ's" and then sit back and just expect to be handed everything and spoon-fed information from people who have invested a lot of time, effort, and money gathering information, after putting out no effort of their own. I don't want to be an enabler of that lazy, cheap, and entitled behavior. Eff that.

That pistol has a replacement slide that is generally believed to have been made by the A.J. Savage Munitions Co. of San Diego, CA, although there is no known firm documentation to confirm it.

Meadows says this:

Regardless of their origin, these slides are usually found on World War I era receivers or on Colt manufactured replacement frames, supporting the hypothesis that they were used as replacement slides during this period.

Clawson says this:

Nevertheless, it is known that some of these slides were eventually accepted into the military supply system as spare parts and assembled on arsenal-rebuilt pistols. To verify these Colt/Savage pistols as authentic, they must retain the old arsenal blackened or parkerized refinish, and the slide and [frame] must always be the same color. An arsenal refinish is usually unmistakable to the trained eye. The remaining Savage slides in Ordnance inventory were sold to commercial interests at a later date, although it is not known if they were surplus or rejected components. These slides were in the original blued condition, so be aware that a pistol with a blued Savage slide may not be a legitimate military issue pistol.

Hard to tell from the pictures, but that pistol appears to have a blued finish. If it really went through two rebuilds it should be Parkerized. Because that pistol even if it is legit is something of an odd bird, I don't think it is the best choice for your first M1911 or M1911A1. In fact, if you are not in a big hurry, I would just wait until the CMP starts selling M1911's and M1911A1's in the near future. Then you can buy with confidence in the same price range.

[john_ciocca]

The owner says it is a Dulite finish from the Arsenal. Would this seem plausible? I just question the finish because most I've seen is the lighter gray. Really it's the finish I am concerned with.





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[Milsurp Collector]

The owner says it is a Dulite finish from the Arsenal. Would this seem plausible?

No. Du-Lite was used by Singer, Remington Rand, Ithaca, and Union Switch & Signal (and by Inland Div. for M1 Carbines) for their early WWII production, but it wasn't as resistant to salt-spray as Parkerizing. Remington Rand and Ithaca switched to Parkerizing in 1943. I am not aware of any arsenals that used Du-Lite for refinishing. I have not seen any arsenal-refinished M1911 types or any other arsenal-refinished firearms that have Du-Lite finishes. I think the seller is making that up.

[musketjon]

I agree with the blued /dulite/park finish. The grips look a little funny to me but I don't have mine in front of me right now.
Jon