1911 picture thread

[farscott]

Fell in love with these more than thirty years ago and finally was in a position where they were available, in great condition, and finances were not an issue. These were made in 1967 and 1968 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the end of WW1. These two are the Battle of Belleau Wood (1968) and Battle of Chateau Thierry (1967) models. The other two commemorate the Battle of Meuse-Argonne and the Second Battle of the Marne and were both offered in 1969.

Not really clones of the WW1 pistols other than the lack of cuts around the trigger guard, thumb safety, and the smooth flat mainspring housing. The rest of the parts are regular pre-Series '70 Commercial Colt parts. The gold-filled engraving and high-polish finish also were nothing like the original 1911. As such, collectors never took to them, so prices are lower than regular pre-Series '70 examples demand. They are all steel and walnut with pretty decent fit and great finish.

Still looking for the other two in the set with the same serial number.

[Lost River]

Hopefully some will find the precursor to the 1911 acceptable enough to grace the 1911 picture thread.





So much about this design really speaks to me about the evolution that will end up occurring.

[JohnK]

Hopefully some will find the precursor to the 1911 acceptable enough to grace the 1911 picture thread.





So much about this design really speaks to me about the evolution that will end up occurring.

It truly is amazing to see. Thank you for posting!

[farscott]

Those pictures of the Colt 1902 show how much progress JMB and Colt made in a decade. New caliber, shorten barrel length, modified action, add safeties, move cocking serrations, change grip shape, etc. Gives the sense of how products improve over time. The 1911 can be seen in the 1902, but the 1911 is a much improved design.

[ssb]

Changed to a new thumb safety and new Herrett’s stocks.

[rcbusmc24]

One of our guys at the shop just finished this one up yesterday... It was his project for the last few weeks when customer stuff was not waiting on the work bench. Might have to have him build me something after handling this one...

[JRV]

Ended up with a Tisas Duty .45 in a bunch of trade fodder.



It’s fine. I sort of get the hype, considering retail prices and the whole “forged steel” hullabaloo, but objectively, there’s room for improvement (soft safety detent, trigger fit and travel, mainspring housing blending, mechanical accuracy is only okay).

No plans for it yet. Might just shoot it for a bit, see how it handles some hotter pin loads.

[Robinson]

Ended up with a Tisas Duty...

It’s fine. I sort of get the hype, considering retail prices and the whole “forged steel” hullabaloo, but objectively, there’s room for improvement (soft safety detent, trigger fit and travel, mainspring housing blending, mechanical accuracy is only okay).

Tisas does a good job filling the niche they fill.

[JRV]

Tisas does a good job filling the niche they fill.

I think they compare favorably, out of the box, to RIA. It’s a usable 1911 for silly money.

Recent RIAs have excelled for me as project guns. Parts from several different makers have dropped in with genuinely surprising ease. But, as they come? Lengths behind the Turks in terms of feel and finish.

[JRV]

I’ve set up the Tisas as a “backup ‘we have a TRP at home’ clone”” of my TRP. All it took was some grip tape and matching grips (sans magwell). They have the same sight picture, control layout, and serrations.

There is definitely something wonky with the Tisas frame dimensions. Nothing that impacts the operations of the pistol, but it actually took a while to fit that set of Herrett slabs. The grip bushings were just a couple thou off from where they are supposed to be (based on how these slabs fit Springfield, Colt, Kimber, and RIA frames). The ambi safety extension is also much thicker than any safety I have ever seen. I had to move some wood around to get this all set up.