Sunday, March 24, 2024

Colt 45 1911 Government Model

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What Is A Colt Government Model Pistol Worth

From the Vault: U.S. Army C.I.C. Colt 1911 Commander

A COLT GOVERNMENT MODEL pistolis currently worth an average price of $1,290.18 newand $1,260.07 used.The 12 month average price is $1,258.53 newand $1,278.02 used.

The new value of a COLT GOVERNMENT MODEL pistol has risen $2.37 dollars over the past12 months to a price of$1,290.18 .The used value of a COLT GOVERNMENT MODEL pistol has fallen dollars over the past12 months to a price of$1,260.07 .

The demand of new COLT GOVERNMENT MODEL pistols has risen 17 units over the past12 months.The demand of used COLT GOVERNMENT MODEL pistols has risen 31 units over the past12 months.

Automatic Pistol Caliber 45 M1911a1

Colt produced about 438,527 military model 1911A1s between 1924 and 1945 when it closed out the production for the Army. By comparison, Remington-Rand, Ithaca, Union Switch, and Singer Sewing Machine Company delivered over 1.6 million virtually identical pistols to the military during WWII, pointing out why Colt guns get a premium on the .45 market.

All of these are marked M1911A1 U.S. Army on the slide and most in circulation have been extensively rebuilt by government arsenals, including some being rewelded from surplus guns that were scrapped by the military. These wartime-built guns remained in service with the military well into the 2010s.

Retired Green Beret Jeff Gurwitch covers the re-adoption of the M1911A1 by U.S. Special Forces after 9/11 in the below very interesting video. The half-hour piece covers the timeline, how it was employed, accessories, and its performance in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Gun Review: Colt 1911 Government Series 80 45 Acp

On March 29, 1911, Lt. Col. John T. Thompson of the U.S. Ordnance Department sent a letter to Colts in Hartford, Connecticut. The purpose was to inform them that the military testing held at Springfield Armory just two weeks prior had concluded and John Moses Brownings 1911 design produced by Colt had come out on top.

Just like that, a legend was born. The M1911 served as the standard sidearm for American soldiers for the next 74 years.

In the decades following the guns rise to fame, dozens of companies have put their own spin on the platform, but theres an allure that still surrounds the pistols made by Colt.

The gun up for review is a newly-manufactured Colt 1911 Government Model. Plenty of reviews are done for 1911s from all kinds of manufacturers, but we dont seem to see as many honest-to-goodness Colts put through their paces.

Many a keystroke has been dedicated to the differences between the Colt Series 70 and Series 80 pistols. Ive shot both and like them both. While Colt has reintroduced the Series 70, the gun reviewed here is a Series 80 model, which has an MSRP that is $100 less than the Series 70.

Unboxing

The fit between the slide and the frame is excellent. Unlike the stories you hear of pistols that literally rattled in the hands of GIs in WWII, this gun makes no such sound.

Each pistol ships with two, seven-round flush magazines, both bearing the company name and the Rampant Colt on the floorplate.

At the Range

Performance

Ratings :

Early History And Adaptations

Colt Classic 1911 Series 70 Government Model .45 ACP Semi Auto Pistol 5 ...

The M1911 pistol originated in the late 1890s as the result of a search for a suitable self-loading pistol to replace the variety of revolvers then in service. The United States was adopting new firearms at a phenomenal rate several new pistols and two all-new service rifles , as well as a series of revolvers by Colt and Smith & Wesson for the Army and Navy, were adopted just in that decade. The next decade would see a similar pace, including the adoption of several more revolvers and an intensive search for a self-loading pistol that would culminate in the official adoption of the M1911 after the turn of the decade.

Hiram S. Maxim had designed a self-loading rifle in the 1880s, but was preoccupied with machine guns. Nevertheless, the application of his principle of using cartridge energy to reload led to several self-loading pistols in 1896. The designs caught the attention of various militaries, each of which began programs to find a suitable one for their forces. In the U.S., such a program would lead to a formal test at the turn of the 20th century.

During the end of 1899 and start of 1900, a test of self-loading pistols, including entries from Mauser , Mannlicher , and Colt , was conducted.

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Model Of 1911 Us Army

These were Colts early military contract handguns introduced just a few years before World War I and continued delivery through 1924, with the original guns having a deep charcoal blue finish and guns produced from 1918 onwards carrying a simpler finish whose darker hue earned these late-model guns the moniker of Black Army pistols. In all, Colt would produce some 629,000 of these Model of 1911 U.S. Army marked guns, all with now-classic first generation features such as straight mainspring housings and full trigger wells with long triggers.

The Colt Black Army commemorative recalls the classic Model of 1911 U.S. Army marked guns of about 1918. Note the short sights, straight mainspring housing, and full trigger wells with a long trigger.

Colt Combat Commander Best Colt 1911 Under $1000

The latest version of the venerable Combat Commander features a beavertail grip safety, G10 grips, and durable spring recoil system that Colt claims will reduce recoil. The barrel is 4.25 inches long to make it more preferable for concealment over a full sized model.

The barrel is stainless steel while the frame and slide are blued. The hammer is a classic style Commander hammer. The Combat Commander is available in both Colt .45 ACP and 9mm.

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Colt Government Model Enhanced Xse Stainless 1911 45 Acp Semi

Model: Government Model Enhanced Stainless, 01070XSE

Serial Number: SS32373E

Year of Manufacture: 2005

Caliber: .45 ACP

Action Type: Single Action Semi-Automatic with Removable Magazine

The left side of the slide is marked GOVERNMENT / -MODEL-, COLT, AUTOMATIC / CALIBER 45 and with a rampant colt logo, the right is marked COLT GOVERNMENT MODEL. The right of the frame is marked COLTS PT. F.A. MFG. CO. HARTFORD, CONN. U.S.A. and with the serial number. The top of the barrel is marked -COLT 45 AUTO-. The left of the trigger guard is marked VP in triangle and 5, the right is marked 1.

Barrel Length: 5

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a blade with a white dot dovetailed to the front of the slide. The rear sight is a Novak-style square notch with two white dots dovetailed and screw-set to the rear of the slide.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are two-piece smooth wood with a scoop behind the magazine release to make it easier to engage without adjusting your grip. The grips have no notable wear or damage, only light handling marks. There are no chips or cracks. Overall, the grips are in Excellent condition as not original to the gun.

Type of Finish: Stainless Steel

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bore is bright and the rifling is sharp. There is no erosion.

Colt M1911a1 Commercial Models Pre

From the Vault: Colt Model 1910 Pistol

While Colt had switched to a thick parkerized finish on its 1911A1 military contract guns in 1941, the company largely retained its standard blue finish for commercial models between 1925 and 1970. Also standard were checkered walnut grips rather than the plastic grips used on military models, checkered arched mainspring housing, relief cuts in the frame for improved trigger reach, and longer grip safety spur while retaining the classic grip angle.

In 1929, Colt began offering the 1911A1 commercial models in Super . 38 Automatic in addition to the standard .45ACP , a caliber that remains popular today almost a century later.

Pre-WWII Colt M1911A1 commercial models run the serial number range C138,533-C215,000 while post-war serial numbers until 1950 ran with serial numbers C221,000-C240,227.

After 1950, Colt changed commercial 1911A1 production to using a C suffix rather than as a prefix, i.e., 240,228C, and closed out the series in 1970 with 336,169C.

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The 1911 Has Come A Long Way Since Colts Original 1911 Government Model

The differences between Colt 1911 Models in .45 ACP:

  • Government: 5-inch barrel, 8+1 capacity .
  • Commander: 4.25-inch barrel, 8+1 capacity.
  • Officer: 3.5-inch barrel, 6 and 7+1 capacity.
  • Defender: 3-inch barrel, 7+1 capacity.

The venerable Model 1911A1 was manufactured by Colt until 1971. Shortly after the war, Colt introduced a new gun, the Commander, which was based on the Colt 1911 Government design. This gun was essentially a shortened version of the A1 and was manufactured with a 4.25-inch barrel. Formerly, a 5-inch barrel had been the standard for full size semi-autos. The new gun was the first to feature an aluminum frame. It was a startling innovation at the time because the handgun mindset was mostly limited to steel. Nevertheless, the shooting public readily accepted the Commander.

Military Issued 1911 Serial Number Tables

This John Browning patent gun, Model 1911, was so named for the year it was officially adopted for use by the United States Army. The Browning design was so great, that it has been changed little in over 100 years of production.

This gun shares the nick-name “Colt .45” with Colt’s other famous .45 caliber handgun, the Single Action Army “Peacemaker” revolver, but, that is the cartridge it firesnot a proper name for the handgun.

The MKIV Series 70 Government Model Colts were available in blue or nickel plate and were chambered in .45, .38 Super, 9mm and 9mm Steyr . There’s nothing I can say about these guns that hasn’t already been said a thousand times, by a thousand others. The 1911 Colt is without a doubt, “the most copied and most modified gun in the world”.

The two guns pictured on this page are both MKIV Series 70 Government Model Colts in .45 caliber. I like them all, but the Series 70s are my favorites.

In 1992 Colt introduced the Enhanced Government Models which included new features such as a flattop slide, angled rear slide serrations, scalloped ejection port, combat style hammer, beaver tail grip safety, relief cut under trigger guard and long trigger. In 1999 Colt released the XSE Series Model O Pistols. Features of these guns included front slide serrations, adjustable McCormick trigger, three dot dove tail rear sights, ambidextrous safety, enhanced tolerances, aluminum frame and stainless steel slide.

Use the Colt Serial Number Database Lookup Tool.

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Colt Government Model 1911 45 Acp

$1,399.00

For sale is a Colt Government Model 1911 semi-automatic pistol in .45 ACP. Serial number- 300626-C. Manufactured in 1966. This Government Model is in great condition and comes with a 7-round magazine. The M1911, also known as the Colt 1911, or the Colt Government, is a single-action, semi-automatic, magazine-fed, recoil-operated pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The U.S. military procured around 2.7 million M1911 and M1911A1 pistols during its service life. The pistol served as the standard-issue sidearm for the United States Armed Forces from 1911 to 1985. It was widely used in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The 1911 is generally viewed as one of the finest combat pistols ever designed and the first successful self-loading pistol. 1911 was designed by American firearms inventor John Browning and is the oldest service pistol in the world, still used in over 25 nations for over 100 years it has proven itself to be one of the most popular and timeless handguns ever made. V2-I3 Barrel Length: 5 Bore condition: Good Year Manufactured: 1966

Serial Number: 300626-C

Change To The M1911a1 Standard

Colt Classic 1911 Series 70 Government Model .45 ACP Semi Auto Pistol 5 ...

The A1 designation came about in 1924 after Army-mandated upgrades to the standard Government model to include a thicker front sight, an arched and checkered mainspring housing , a longer hammer , a shorter, lighter trigger pull with checkering and relief cuts in the guard to help those with smaller hands, and a longer grip safety tail .

Colt also requested 40 additional changes to update the gun from its circa 1912 manufacturing practices to the companys more current production line. These adjustments included a new-style slide stop, alterations of spring sizes, and many dimensional changes for example, the rear sight aperture was changed from .06 to .07 wide and from .04 to .05 deep (i.e., from .003 to .0035 radius. In other words, changes only the QC guy would have noticed.

While there were about 10,000 so-called transitional models) made in 1924 that incorporated some features from both standards largely to use up old stocks of components that had already been paid for and accepted the new 1911A1s would start at about SN 710,000 for military contract guns and C138,533 for commercial models the next year.

Further, the bright blue finish only carried over on the military models until about SN 740,000 when Colt switched to a more utilitarian parkerized finish.

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Commander Officer And Defender Sizes

Introduced in 1950, Colts Commander series pistols were an effort to make the 1911 Government into a more compact-sized handgun. Cutting the weight, they had an alloy frame and mainspring housing. Cutting the length, the barrel length was only 4.25-inches with a correspondingly shorter slide, slicing almost an inch off the overall length of the gun. This left a full-sized grip and the 7+1 shot .45ACP capacity but in a gun that could be more easily carried.

This was augmented by a 9+1 capacity of 9mm, which offered soft recoil along with the additional capacity.

Colt produced these in their original format until the late 1960s when they unsuccessfully submitted the design to the Army as the M1969 General Officers Pistol in an attempt to replace the aging Colt .32 ACP Model M General Officers pistol.

The company subsequently updated it into a Series 70 gun in 1971 and a Series 80 in 1983. Today, Colt still makes Commander-length 1911s in the Colt Combat Unit Rail Gun , Combat Elite, Combat Commander, and Lightweight Commander series.

Going smaller than the Commander-sized 1911s, Colt introduced the Officer series in 1985. Using a 3.5-inch barrel format and a grip frame that was shortened in height to the point that it could only use a 6-shot magazine, the Officer was a salute to the Armys converted M15 General Officer Model guns that were custom made from standard M1911A1s by government armorers.

Available Models Of The Colt 1911

Colt Series 70

There are many variants of the 1911 offered by Colt today. For a long period of time, Colt was one of the few manufacturers of the 1911 and as a result faced minimal to no competition on the civilian market.

Today of course, it seems that every gun manufacturer out there has at least one 1911 out, but each of these Colts are still a perfectly viable option to choose from:

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The 1911 Has Come A Long Way Since Colt’s Original 1911 Government Model

The differences between Colt 1911 Models in .45 ACP:

  • Government: 5-inch barrel, 8+1 capacity .
  • Commander: 4.25-inch barrel, 8+1 capacity.
  • Officer: 3.5-inch barrel, 6 and 7+1 capacity.
  • Defender: 3-inch barrel, 7+1 capacity.

The venerable Model 1911A1 was manufactured by Colt until 1971. Shortly after the war, Colt introduced a new gun, the Commander, which was based on the Colt 1911 Government design. This gun was essentially a shortened version of the A1 and was manufactured with a 4.25-inch barrel. Formerly, a 5-inch barrel had been the standard for full size semi-autos. The new gun was the first to feature an aluminum frame. It was a startling innovation at the time because the handgun mindset was mostly limited to steel. Nevertheless, the shooting public readily accepted the Commander.

Current Users In The Us

From the Vault: Colt Model 1900 Pistol

Many military and law enforcement organizations in the U.S. and other countries continue to use M1911A1 pistols including Los Angeles Police DepartmentSWAT and S.I.S., the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, FBI regional SWAT teams, and 1st Special Forces Operational DetachmentDelta .

The M1911A1 is popular among the general public in the U.S. for practical and recreational purposes. The pistol is commonly used for concealed carry thanks in part to a single-stack magazine , personal defense, target shooting, and competition as well as collections. Numerous aftermarket accessories allow users to customize the pistol to their liking. There are a growing number of manufacturers of M1911-style pistols and the model continues to be quite popular for its reliability, simplicity, and patriotic appeal. Various tactical, target and compact models are available. Price ranges from a low end of around $400 for basic models imported from Turkey and the Philippines ” rel=”nofollow”> Armscor, Metro Arms, and SAM Inc.) to more than $4,000 for the best competition or tactical versions .

The Springfield Custom Professional Model 1911A1 pistol is produced under contract by Springfield Armory for the FBI regional SWAT teams and the Hostage Rescue Team. This pistol is made in batches on a regular basis by the Springfield Custom Shop, and a few examples from most runs are made available for sale to the general public at a selling price of approximately US$2,700 each.

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