Bang-bang Bang

Took the .38 Super Gov't Model out today.

Such a honey!

Of course, that means Mozambique drills!

The nine shot magazine capacity is a natural for these drills too!

I do not regret getting this pistol in the slightest.

Even if the hammer bites me.

What Happened To The Furor?

I remember when the CMP announced the prices for the M1911's all the sturm und drang over the sales.

I was among the early doubters, in fact.

Since then there have been at least four lotteries for whom got a pistol and that's moved on to direct sales of what's left.

And the furor is gone.

Not even sour grapes griping about missing out.

While the lotteries were running, I only recall a couple of people who didn't like what they'd gotten. 

I've seen pics of some very nice guns on various forums. 

Missed My Chance

Darn.

The special commemorative Vietnam editions of the 1911, Vietnam Tribute to Valor and Vietnam War Golden Anniversary Tribute, are no longer available.

Because the web page is dead.

But fear not!

There's a new web page!

A different company.

And a new commemorative 1911...

Only making 500, ten for each of the 50 American states!

How much?  Sign up for their mailing list and they will, most assuredly, let you know!

Interesting Claim

This video:

He says the Super outsold the .45 from its inception to the early '70's.

That's interesting.

Judging by the used guns available, I don't think so.

The OG M1911 In 9mm

I keep reading about 9mm 1911's.

When I look into it, they're not actually 1911's, they're double stack 9mm that look like a 1911, but have almost nothing in common with one.

That sounds like another gun...

The FN Hi-Power is a double stack 9mm that looks like a 1911!

The more things change, the more they stay the same? 

Ye Olde Grande Pussiance ticks a lot of the same boxes as a some of these newer guns do; plus style! 

Update: 

While I was referring to the current fad of 2011's, Willard is correct that a Star Model B is the true 9mm 1911.

And it's as close to the 1911 mechanically as the current crop of 2011's so it still qualifies by their standards!

Representative Sample

Wading into the CMP 1911 pond again...

The lifetime limit has been increased from one to four.

While I defend the idea of buying one for the provenance, I just can't justify four to myself.

This is where I start agreeing with some of the objections and evoke "mixmaster."

It's not a case where you can get one of each maker because the parts were scrambled several times since 1945.

I'm not in the two is one and one is none frame of mind with pistols I obtain for the having, not the using.

But every one of the three I have left in my limit is one more available to someone who wants that single example.

If I were to get another .45 Gov't Model, I'd get a blue one.

I still need me a 10mm example.

PS: Someone checked the market and $1,700 is about where the $1,200 condition guns are trading.

I AM An Expert You Know

D-P-355a refers to a set of drawings.

Rock Island Arsenal last updated them in 1960.

This is some OLD SCHOOL drafting!  They don't make drawings like this any more.  They didn't make drawings like this when I was still drafting.

Of note is the use of geometric tolerancing.  That was state of the art in 1960.

I'd suspect (guess) that Rock Island was told to take the 1928 prints that all M1911A1's were made to and get them up to current engineering standards in case war were declared.

Now, this print tells you WHAT to make, not how to make it.  The processes of how to make this part to this print is called a "technical data package".

Colt, historically, has been VERY reluctant to part with that documentation.  In WW2 they basically had to be forced to give it up.  Even so, Remington Rand lost almost a year's production of parts that were nominally to the print, but wouldn't interchange with other makers guns.

Mil Spec vs Commercial

I remember talking with New Jovian Thunderbolt when he took a 1911 armorer's class and his talking about fitting parts to a gun.

I was reminded of:

D-P-355a 3.3.2 states, "Interchangeability. Unless otherwise specified on the drawings, all parts shall be interchangeable. Pistols and repair parts shall be capable of meeting the interchangeability tests specified in 4.3.3.4 and 4.4.4 (In normal assembly operations there shall be no objections interposed to preferential assembly of parts provided that all parts are dimensionally acceptable.)"

One thing, in particular stuck out and that was the ejector.  It's retained by a notch in the ejector by a pin in the frame.

He described all the careful measuring to properly locate and align that notch in a virgin ejector.

In the Army TM the procedure was to secure the frame in a drill press, install the ejector and drill it in place; effectively using the existing hole in the frame as a fixture.

I am often curious about parts interchange among all the 1911 clones out there.

I know I've watched a lot of vids about how to fit a safety because I'm considering changing the style on my .38 Super.  The safety is one of the drop-in parts on a mil-spec M1911A1.

Software Janitor has spoken of fitting a barrel to a slide once or twice. 

First Come First Serve

CMP has opened up 1911 sales!

Lifetime limit is increased to two.

Prices are in the link, repeated below:

Service Grade $1300. Pistol may exhibit minor pitting and wear on exterior surfaces and friction surfaces. Grips are complete with no cracks. Pistol is in issuable condition. Pistols may contain commercial parts.

Field Grade $1200. Pistol may exhibit minor rust, pitting, and wear on exterior surfaces and friction surfaces. Grips are complete with no cracks. Pistol is in issuable condition. Pistols may contain commercial parts.

Rack Grade $1100. Pistol will exhibit rust, pitting, and wear on exterior surfaces and friction surfaces. Grips may be incomplete and exhibit cracks. Pistol requires minor work to return to issuable condition but is functional. Pistols may contain commercial parts.

SOLD OUT – Range Grade – $1150. These are 1911 pistols for those that want a part of history and a shooter, not a collectable. These are 1911s that have been modified in some way, and may have some commercial parts.  No two (2) pistols are alike, the modifications / parts could be any of the following: Night Sights, extended Beaver Tail, Rubber Grips, Barrels, Oversized Slide Release, Target Triggers, Adjustable Rear Sights, Tactical Match Hammer, Competition Grip Safety, Sight Rib, Slides, Checkered Front Strap, Ambidextrous Safety, Different Finishes. Some of the manufactures of these parts are: Bar-Sto, Wilson, Ed Brown, Pachmayer, Hogue, Caspian and Bomar.  

Auction Grade (Sales will to be determined by auctioning the pistol). The condition of the auction pistol will be described when posted for auction. Click here to view our CMP Auction page.

All pistols are inspected and test fired by the CMP. The shipping cost is included in the price.

 Prices are a bit higher than when I ordered.

But That's Not What You're Buying

$1,300 for the, nicest, M1911A1 from CMP seems steep when compared to Tisas or Rock Island Armory.

It even makes a brand new Colt seem quite affordable.

But what so many people are missing:

You're not buying the gun, you're buying the history.

An extreme example is a beat up old Remington revolver with provenance that it was actually owned someone famous.

Are you buying a beat up old revolver or are you paying for that provenance?

If the provenance means nothing to you, it's just a beat up old gun.

But you gain no moral superiority over the person who wants that provenance and is willing to pay for it.

Though, I suspect that much of the heat from people declaring that they'd never get one is sour grapes.

You Need To Tell Me WHY!

I watched this so you don't have to.

He shows you the "reverse Hi-Power" method of taking a 1911 apart, but never once explains why you should deviate from the Holy text of John Moses Browning (PBUH).

The proper, or GI, method of taking one apart relieves the recoil spring so you're not fighting it all the time.

The why, that he never mentions, is belled muzzles and extra tight barrel bushings.  He thinks he explained it by showing how tight his was, but he didn't explain.

In my mind fighting the spring once is the way to go and moving the slide slightly to the rear to disengage the bushing and barrel from their fitted positions and then rotating the bushing is better.

Wait until you lock up the barrel link in the dust cover trying to put it back together his way and you'll see what I mean.  Assuming you could get the gun back apart to try again.

That's Not Good

CMP has suspended sales of M1911A1's and this appears to be why:

If you recently got a smoking deal on a USGI M1911A1...  You might wanna give them a call.

And, once again, stupid fucking law enforcement wonks:  You're looking for 98 specific stolen guns, serial numbers would go a long ways for someone who'd innocently bought one to get you closer to the thief.

And we know you know the serial numbers or you wouldn't know any were missing.

Remember When

Way back when...

I had a Springfield Armory USGI M1911A1.

I toyed with replacing the locking mainspring housing with a genuine USGI one because they were cheap and available.

They were still widely available when I started looking for a serrated, arched in blue for my .38 Super.

I had to settle for the plastic Colt housing for a long time before I found EGW's offering with a lanyard ring.

In the mean time, the parkerized USGI mainspring housings have evaporated.

Willard and I prefer the arched housing.  Manufacturers and gunwriters prefered flat, checkered housings.

So you're left hunting for a replacement.

You can now get serrated or checkered in matte or polished, blued or stainless.  Sometimes even with a lanyard ring.

But parkerized?  Nope.

Even Gunbroker is devoid.

He's Right

Willard noticed that the Luger P.08 is slightly bigger in every dimension than the M1911A1.

The Luger looks so much slimmer in profile you don't notice it by itself.

Another Round

Have you missed out on the four previous rounds of M1911 sales from CMP?

Are you pleased with the gun you'd gotten in one of the first three rounds and want another?

It appears that good news is on the horizon!

M1911 Pistol Options:  A couple of months ago, we received the fiscal year 2024 tranche of surplus M1911s from the Department of the Army – 10,000 of them, which is fantastic. In terms of orders and availability, we are still in the process of filling M1911 orders for Round 4. We expect to announce Round Five this fall, once Round 4 starts winding down. And, I’ll give you a status update on that in October in my next update. While we are still assessing the pistols we just received, it looks like the quality is pretty good.  

From here.

I've got my single example, but I know of a couple of people who didn't already and might just be swayed to get one this time.

Just For The Record

I did not get my Colt Gov't Model in .38 Super because of its competition lineage.

I got it because I was researching the Prohibition Era and I like 1911's!

I think this explains why.

Old Skinny And Fast

 Old NFO touches on the Government Model.

You don't have to accept slow and fat.

.38 Super works just fine.

If you want fat, but don't want slow, you can always get a 10mm ACP version.  You can.  I can't.  Those things are NOT in the budget at La Casa de McThag.

I reiterate something I've long said about the "1911" and that there's nothing wrong with the M1911.

There's lots wrong with the clones of the M1911 that have tarnished the reputation of this revolutionary design.

I've talked about that too.

Many clones are trying to make the design something it was not intended to be.

The M1911 is a combat pistol, it's a sidearm.

It is not a target pistol.

But too many clones are making target pistols and that compromises the design.

Then people get surprised when it doesn't run right.

Yet they'd understand that while both things are cars, you don't use a Formula 1 car for a road trip and you don't enter a minivan at Monaco.

Gun writers have failed to educate their readers expectations.

Magazine Problem

That 1947 Colt we was shootin' the other day?

The OG style mags that came with the gun ran great.

The 8-shot, stainless, Nighthawk brand mag...

Not so much.

The last round would fail to eject and the slide would munch the spent case about half the time.

I don't think that's acceptable for a $40 magazine.

Gone Shootin'

The daughter of a friend is into guns in a big way.

She's just learning, but has the eager support of us all.

Especially her grandpa.

Sold her this fine, 1947 made, 1911 he's owned for... as long as anyone can remember.

It was nearly bound up from old, solidified lubricants.

So I gave it a detail strip.

It's been a while since I'd had a 1911 apart that far and I, of course, got the sear spring in all wrong.

I did that the very first time I detail stripped one in the Army too, and I had supervision for that!

I got it unfucked, but it's frustrating when you do that with both the sear and disconnect springs UNDER the parts they're supposed to be on top of.

I still don't know how I did it, but...

Proof I got it back together properly.

CMP M1911 Round 4

The CMP has announced that the fourth round of M1911 sales is now open.

What's new is people who want a second one can submit a packet this time.

I am strong.

I can resist.