26 January 2018

Not Quite What It Appears To Be

Willard is the proud owner of a genuine M1911.  Note that there's no A1 there.


If you look on the slide you see:

And:
No Springfield Eagle on this side.

But the serial number says it's a Springfield National Armory gun made in 1915.

It's definitely a refinished gun, with the barrel having marks that date a refurbishment near WW2.

We've several theories and no facts.

It could have been arsenal reworked and parkerized for WW2, then released to civilian hands where someone put it back to blue.

The Colt slide could have been added during an arsenal rework because the original was out of spec somehow; or it could have been added by a previous owner to enhance the value of the gun.

Or a dozen other likely possibilities.

It'd be ironic if the refinishing owner did slide swap to increase the value since a complete Springfield made gun is now more valuable than a "commonplace" Colt, because they made many fewer examples.

Spot the differences!  Willard's Springfield/Colt M1911 and my Springfield Armory M1911A1 clone.
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3 comments:

  1. Old NFO26 January, 2018 18:45

    It's in MUCH nicer shape than my 1918 Colt... sigh

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Old Man27 January, 2018 13:51

    It was good enough for my grandad - and I learned to shoot a pistol in the Army with a 1911A1 - and I carry one now. Mine is from Auto Ordnance. Still a solid occupier-of-the-shoulder-rig IMHO and for my usage... Tis heavy, but deadly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Angus McThag27 January, 2018 14:08

      First handgun I ever fired was my dad's M1911A1. The Army "trained" me on them too, and we carried them for my first two years.

      I packed two different 1911's over the years since. A Springfield Armory .45 (pictured in this post) and a Colt in .38 Super. I like them and shoot them well.

      Also nice to find another shoulder holster toter! Even if I'm carrying an M&P 9 lately, I have a Miami Classic II for the 1911 too.

      Delete

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