1911 no A1

[Suvorov]

Wow. $2200, these days? I would call that a steal. Especially with a great bore.

I thought it was decent, painful but decent. I reminded myself of how I looked at M1 Carbines for years and passed because they seemed too expensive. I finally bought one when I realized they wouldn't get any cheaper and I was just costing myself more money by waffling.

Agreed!

Point is that guns like this don't come around very often and many people will never have the ability to purchase one when they come along one, so really this is kind of an "alignment of the stars" scenarios. In such cases, price is kind of a secondary thought.

[Evil_Ed]

About 12 or so years ago I went into my LGS and found a rig for sale that came with a story...the story was that this gun was used/carried by an officer at the end of WWI; he bought it/somehow kept it/whatever, then it passed down to his son...who then carried it in WWII, and bought it home. No idea if that's even possible, but that was the story sold with the gun.

The gun itself...in bad light I would have thought it was refinished, but looking at all the rollmarks and inspection marks...if it was refinished, it wasn't ever buffed before doing so. Or it was done by an expert (which, between WWI and WWII, or even not long after WWII...certainly possible). But, then you catch it in the right light, like the last photo...and suddenly not so sure it was ever refinished, at all.

But, this was what it was sold with:





And when you catch it in the right light...that beautiful grey-blue comes through.



I don't know crap about mag pouches, but the two bookends are dated from WWI and the mags inside match; the middle one, not sure it's vintage. The mags themselves look in great condition. That green thing...is a green canvas-wrapped mag that I'm not gonna open. I don't know when it dates to, but it's a vintage spare...

The holster is marked Boyt -42- and well, well worn; the front flap's almost torn off sadly. The belt's also well worn, and seems more like cotton than canvas, but ...again, not an expert in WWI or WWII web gear, at all. Certainly softer and more plyable than the nylon 1980s+ web gear/belts, that's for sure..

[Catshooter]

I thought it was decent, painful but decent. I reminded myself of how I looked at M1 Carbines for years and passed because they seemed too expensive. I finally bought one when I realized they wouldn't get any cheaper and I was just costing myself more money by waffling.

I paid $200 plus some work for this 1917 production Colt.

But that is the after picture. Unfortunately I didn't take a before. As you can see it was buffed hard and then blued.

And then Bubba got ahold of it. You can see what he did to the trigger, I guess he like the Gold Cup. He polished the barrel (can't have them be too tight you know) and when you look at the bore you can see that Colt probably did rifle it. Bubba also dumped the grips for the much better Pacmayrs, put some funky hammer on and silver soldered a Buffalo nickel to the grip safety. I really wish I'd taken a pic of that!

Oh yeah, he also did a trigger job.

So it was a job to bring it back to life. The barrel was the hardest part. All I could find were 1911A1s and they are not the same as what this pistol was built for in just about every dimension. This was fun:

I'd rather have yours!

[Trooper224]

I paid $200 plus some work for this 1917 production Colt.

But that is the after picture. Unfortunately I didn't take a before. As you can see it was buffed hard and then blued.

And then Bubba got ahold of it. You can see what he did to the trigger, I guess he like the Gold Cup. He polished the barrel (can't have them be too tight you know) and when you look at the bore you can see that Colt probably did rifle it. Bubba also dumped the grips for the much better Pacmayrs, put some funky hammer on and silver soldered a Buffalo nickel to the grip safety. I really wish I'd taken a pic of that!

Oh yeah, he also did a trigger job.

So it was a job to bring it back to life. The barrel was the hardest part. All I could find were 1911A1s and they are not the same as what this pistol was built for in just about every dimension. This was fun:

I'd rather have yours!

About fifteen years ago, I did the same thing with a 1903 Springfield that was a basket case in every way imaginable. It hadn't fallen victim to Bubba, it was just worn the F' out. I traded for it and the shop got the better end of that deal, but the old war dog simply called to me. I spent the summer restoring it, complete with sourcing an original barrel and making a new stock. I have more into it than was wise, but today it's a great shooting beauty and the last rifle I'd ever sell.

[tango-papa]

Thanks. The bore is in excellent shape. Most of the wear is in the finish, with most of the parts almost as new mechanically.

I paid $2200 for it. Not a steal, but they won't get any cheaper and it's not a CMP mixmaster.

Congrats on the beautiful Colt M1911 and for purchasing it at an amazingly good price.
The price you paid is literally about 1/3 of what an equivalent is selling for in the current market via all the online sources.

[Trooper224]

Congrats on the beautiful Colt M1911 and for purchasing it at an amazingly good price.
The price you paid is literally about 1/3 of what an equivalent is selling for in the current market via all the online sources.

Thanks! If I had any buyers remorse you've helped eliminate it. 😀

[Catshooter]

Definition for labor of love: see above.

[Trooper224]

Agreed!

Point is that guns like this don't come around very often and many people will never have the ability to purchase one when they come along one, so really this is kind of an "alignment of the stars" scenarios. In such cases, price is kind of a secondary thought.

Saying the stars aligned is a good way to describe it. I did a bit of shooting on new years eve. As I was walking out of the range I glanced at the used gun case. "Wait, what's that? BY JUPITER'S COCK IS THAT WHAT I THINK iT IS?" Well, it was and I spent the next few days fretting over it. I looked in the safe for selling stock, a neccesity for my responsible bent at this price. I decided I could part with a couple of my vintage S&Ws.

The range couldn't offer me what they were worth, but they did get me in contact with an old retired cop I know. He's a big S&W collector. I didn't think of him because, honestly, I thought he'd passed. He did loose his legs in an accident years ago and is wheelchair bound. I gave him a call and said, "Jim I've got these two guns...." He advised he wanted one and had a friend down the street interested in the other. He then told me he could meet me in Wichita today, after I got off work, depending on the weather. He lives in a town about thirty miles north of Wichita. I told him, "Hell Jim, you ain't got no magic legs! I'll drive up." In my best Forest Gump voice. (You have to understand old cop humor.)

So, I took a rainy drive north and reconnected with an old acquaintance and sold both guns. I then drove back to the range and paid for the 1911. I was also able to give my oldest son the grand I had left over, to help with his attorney fees in his upcoming custody battle with his ex wife. So, win, win.

[tango-papa]

Thanks! If I had any buyers remorse you've helped eliminate it. 😀

Here's three examples of completed 2022 auctions from Rock Island Auction Company:


https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/86/324


https://www.rockislandauction.com/de...tomatic-pistol


https://www.rockislandauction.com/de...tomatic-pistol

[farscott]

I paid $2200 for it. Not a steal, but they won't get any cheaper and it's not a CMP mixmaster.

I would call that a steal considering what "decommissioned" M45A1 pistols without half of the history are trading for in this market. One served for less than a decade while the other, as originally adopted, served for more than eight decades and four major wars as well as inspiring a whole custom pistol industry.