What to look for in Colt 1911?

[BHLiu11]

Hello my fellow CalGunners,

I am planning to purchase a few Colt 1911 from an acquaintance tomorrow (I haven't seen them yet but a few people I knew did). They described the guns as "Cool looking, Stainless steel guns". LOL .. One guy did say they are all full size 1911.

Any way, he purchased the guns while he was in Texas under his son in law and now trying to sell them.

1 ) Can he transfer them to me? I spoke with a FFL dealer and he said yes .. As long as the guy sign a form stating that the guns were legally obtained.

2 ) What should I look for? I have several hand guns including Springfield 1911 but never owned a Colt before. I also did the search on google about what to look for as well. They talked about how shaking could be good. LOL

3 ) Where can I get the value of the guns? I looked through www.gunsbroker.com, www.gunsamerica.com, www.gunauctions.com, www.1911forum.com, etc ... to get rough estimate. Is there a way to tell the model or frame size on the guns itself to determine the value?

Any help yould be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[razr]

Ok, I'll go first.
Google: purchasing a used 1911

[tlillard23]

Trick or treat!

[BHLiu11]

He is selling 4 1911 ..

I have been on google all day looking and reading up but never seen a post about the model marking, type of frame, or value.

I will not quote any one when purchasing them tomorrow, but I need to make sure # 1 is correct and the answer to # 3.

So far, I printed out about 100 pages of homework reading materials.

[razr]

If he is a CA resident and the guns are his then you could transfer through your FFL.

To find out the value, you'll need to know the serial number so you can find out when they were made. Look up Blue Book to get an idea of what they are worth based on condition. Then you can go to auction sites and see how people are ripped off buy paying hundreds more than what they are actually worth to get a better feel. In CA expect to pay a few hundred more for classic Colts in near mint condition.

Ok, Im done.

[ClarenceBoddicker]

Any used pistol should be checked for wear on the working surfaces like the frame rail to slide fit. Check that the pin holes are not worn/ovaled. Check for cracks in the frame. Look at the face of the slide for a ring around the firing pin hole.

[beetle]

ok a couple of points

1) Is he a california resident? If yes than you can buy all 4 1911s at one time via a PPT assuming you are meeting him in person.

2) If he is not a california resident and still a resident of texas, then things get a little bit trickier. He will have to transfer them to the FFL's inventory. Your FFL will then transfer them to you, but you can only get one a month* (assuming you don't have a C&R license and COE). Therefore you will have to go visit the FFL four times over the course of four months to get the pistols.

3) as far as value goes, that a tough one without more specific information. Colt started making 1911s in, well, 1911! So you can imagine there have been hundreds of models produced throughout the years. Value can be anywhere from $400 to $40,000 or more depending on what it is.

Without more specific information I'll try to give you some general guidelines to go by. Since the guy said they are "stainless" I am going to assume they are more recent production models. I'm also going to assume they are standard size models and not models like the .380 mustang.

1) The lowest of the Colt line would be the M1991A1 series. The rollmark will say M1991A1. I wouldn't pay more than $700 or so for one in good condition.

2) If it says Series 80 then ballpark around $900.

3) If it says Gold Cup or National Match then figure about $1000

The above is really really loose figures to go by. good luck!

[emelioosluper]

Sounds a little late for due diligence.

Try reading for a while on the 1911 forum.

I'd also get Jerry Kuhnhausens .45 Shop Manual Volume I to get just a little expertise.

EO

[BHLiu11]

So I met the guy at my work today .. He is a regular here .. He only brought one .. I think its 1991 as it was manufactured in 2000 (According to Colts Customer Service based on Serial #). It is a series 80 /90 Government model in Stainless but I did not see any rollmarks but found a few idiot marks by trigger guard.

Looked and checked thoroughly using the guide that I found on the www.m1911.org. Now is the issue of price .. He thinks he can get around $900. I have been searching online this morning and no luck finding what the value of a used gun should be .. From the looks of the gun, it was fired a few times (He said once).

[checkenbach]

$900.00 is pretty high for a used 1991 model. I bought a VERY nice used 1991 SS Commander with some extras for $650.00.
You need to find out what model you're looking at, prices can vary greatly by model.
Also- boxes, manuals, any history will add or subtract to the value of the deal.