Post by CXM on Jun 7, 2020 13:46:40 GMT -5
Well at last!!!
After going through a bunch of contortions that would do Gulliver proud, I finally received the Colt's 1911 GI WWII pistol from 1942 I ordered... While the convolutions required to buy one of this pistols is daunting, I have to say the people I talked to at CMP South (where 1911 sales are done) are some of the nicest people you could want to meet and I also have to concede they have had some draconian restrictions imposed on them... and whilst their logic for not shipping to C&R FFLs isn't logical it has lawyer finger prints all over it. So anyway, here I am with the pistol finally in hand (all I had to do was walk into my LGS and hand the owner a copy of my C&R FFL and $20 and walk out with the gun.) So far so good...
The CMP ships their 1911s in very substantial polymer boxes... something a gorilla could not damage like the old Smamsonite adverts used to proclaim...
I certainly could not ask for better packing... The little tag in the box proved interesting too... but more of that later...
To my extreme pleasure, the color of the gun is nothing like that shown in the CMP photos... it is darker... basically the color of fresh military grade parkerization. The best explanation I can think of is they use some sort of very intense lighting...
Here is the pic from the ODCMP auction site...
I was also very pleased to discover this gun (as recalled by my imperfect memory) looks exactly as I remember my very first GI 1911 I acquired as a youngster about 1957 or so... Looks the way a GI 1911 should look...
The CMP represented this pistol as 'un-issued' and after careful examination I can't argue that that claim...
The roll stamps on the gun show no indications of refinishing and are sharp and clear... There are though there are a few curious things about the gun.
The magazine release and mainspring housing are not parkerized they are both blue... but I understand this was not uncommon in early war time production guns... parts were used as available to facilitate production to meet war demands... land that might very well explain one of the curious things about this pistol...
In examining this pistol, I discovered an unusual thing...
To my considerable surprise, the gun has a National Match Barrel bushing... with a parker finish that matches the gun... curiouser and couriouser said Alice...
Ok, back to the hang tag that came on the gun...
The tag indicates the gun is a Navy issue pistol. I know at some point the Army became the executive agent for small arms procurement, but I don't recall precisely when... more research is needed here... I also need to see if I can find out if this gun was purchased for the Navy. Again more research needed...
So that is where this gun stands for now... if anyone knows more on this subject I would appreciate hearing your comments...
Thanks
Chuck
After going through a bunch of contortions that would do Gulliver proud, I finally received the Colt's 1911 GI WWII pistol from 1942 I ordered... While the convolutions required to buy one of this pistols is daunting, I have to say the people I talked to at CMP South (where 1911 sales are done) are some of the nicest people you could want to meet and I also have to concede they have had some draconian restrictions imposed on them... and whilst their logic for not shipping to C&R FFLs isn't logical it has lawyer finger prints all over it. So anyway, here I am with the pistol finally in hand (all I had to do was walk into my LGS and hand the owner a copy of my C&R FFL and $20 and walk out with the gun.) So far so good...
The CMP ships their 1911s in very substantial polymer boxes... something a gorilla could not damage like the old Smamsonite adverts used to proclaim...
I certainly could not ask for better packing... The little tag in the box proved interesting too... but more of that later...
To my extreme pleasure, the color of the gun is nothing like that shown in the CMP photos... it is darker... basically the color of fresh military grade parkerization. The best explanation I can think of is they use some sort of very intense lighting...
Here is the pic from the ODCMP auction site...
I was also very pleased to discover this gun (as recalled by my imperfect memory) looks exactly as I remember my very first GI 1911 I acquired as a youngster about 1957 or so... Looks the way a GI 1911 should look...
The CMP represented this pistol as 'un-issued' and after careful examination I can't argue that that claim...
The roll stamps on the gun show no indications of refinishing and are sharp and clear... There are though there are a few curious things about the gun.
The magazine release and mainspring housing are not parkerized they are both blue... but I understand this was not uncommon in early war time production guns... parts were used as available to facilitate production to meet war demands... land that might very well explain one of the curious things about this pistol...
In examining this pistol, I discovered an unusual thing...
To my considerable surprise, the gun has a National Match Barrel bushing... with a parker finish that matches the gun... curiouser and couriouser said Alice...
Ok, back to the hang tag that came on the gun...
The tag indicates the gun is a Navy issue pistol. I know at some point the Army became the executive agent for small arms procurement, but I don't recall precisely when... more research is needed here... I also need to see if I can find out if this gun was purchased for the Navy. Again more research needed...
So that is where this gun stands for now... if anyone knows more on this subject I would appreciate hearing your comments...
Thanks
Chuck
