Shooting Collectibles

I happen to be the proud owner of a Colt M1911 and a Remington Rand M1911A1. I believe each pistol is 100% original. Up until this point, I only owned one handgun that I have never shot, a 1910 Imperial Luger. It, too, is all original and all matching, although I swapped out the grips to preserve them.

It has been a hard decision not to shoot the Colt "Black Army" M1911 that I recently acquired, but I've come to the conclusion that not shooting it will be the best decision for me. It has taken me almost seven years to find this pistol at an all original price I would pay. If I do not shoot it, I can always install a new recoil spring and a shock buffer and take it to the range at any given time in the future.

I am fortunate to have found an original M1911 that I could afford. I'm also fortunate to own a Remington Rand in excellent original condition. While still scouring gun shows and pawn shops for these pistols, I built a M1911A1 copy from a Springfield GI45, and I purchased a Colt WWI Reproduction. Scott Gahimer says they all basically shoot the same. As a collector and enthusiast, Scott has shot a lot of M1911s. More than myself. I trust his advice.

It is an odd thing how some humans acquire objects of desire simply to possess them. But possession is not the goal. Learning about the things and showing others is a large part of the pastime. I have several 1911 pistols that get regular workouts as well as the ones I keep in my carry rotation. I have no driving need to shoot the old grey veteran I have found.

There may come a time when I will shoot the Colt "Black Army." I suspect that when the thrill of simply owning the genuine article wears thin, I will put a few rounds down range to confirm function if nothing else. That time is not now, however. I still have not shot the Colt M1911 reproduction. I suppose the Springfield M1911A1 copy will keep me going for a while longer.

To Shoot or not to Shoot

One of the dilemmas of owning a historical firearm is whether to shoot it. In the thread about my Colt "Black Army" M1911 at the 1911 Forum, I brought up shooting it. The responses ranged for cringing at the thought to allowing that risk was minor.

M1911s were not heat treated as 1911s commonly are today. They are know for cracking at the dust cover of the frame, and the ejection port and recoil tunnel of the slide. My M1911 has none of these issues. Once cracked, an all original M1911 becomes either a paperweight, or a mix master after the owner is forced to substitute parts.

I am thinking that the usual cracking occurs from stress fatigue as the parts batter each other. If I do shoot the pistol, it will be in conservative amounts with conservative ammuniton, and I will install a (Lord help me) recoil buffer.

I highly respect several of the members of the 1911 Forum who urge caution. Even though this particular pistol is weathered on the outside, the gun is 100% original. Evidence inside the gun shows it has been shot very little in it's lifetime. As has been pointed out, losing that to regular shooting is a loss in and of itself that can't be replaced.

Perhaps I should just make my Colt WW1 Reproduction a shooter, and let the Colt "Black Army" rest. The WWI Repro has all the hardening of a modern shooter, and once it begins to show appreciable wear, I can send it in to Colt to have the flats polished and re-blued to more closely approximate the real deal.

The Colt "Black Army" M1911

In May of 1918, to meet the demands of the US Army in the war to end all wars, Colt changed the way it finished the Model of 1911 pistol. The Army wanted production increased, and requested that Colt eliminate the final polishing process prior to bluing the M1911. As a result, the surface of the pistols would be left with a rougher appearance, unlike previous Colts. In addition, Colt began using a gas fired oven blued process. Between these two factors, the appearance of the M1911 changed from a lustrous blue to almost black. Collectors have since coined the term "Black Army" to denote the last of the M1911 pistols, with the finish phased in after serial number 312000.

To be sure, Hartford was cutting corners to produce as many pistols as possible. Many of the small parts such as the slide stops and thumb safeties were outsourced or previously manufactured, and were still polished and blued in the previous manner. Over time, the weaker "Black Army" finish wore off many of the slides and frames while the small parts remained blued. After ninety years, the uneven appearance from different rates of wear often gives the impression that all original pistols were put together from scavenged parts. Because of the mix master appearance when weathered and a greater chance of wear on these wartime pistols, many collectors are still seeking the elusive Colt "Black Army" pistols with a high amount of finish. When such a pistol appears on the market, it can command high prices.


All "Black Army" pistols will have the rampant Colt in the center of the slide. The prancing pony moved there sometime between serial number 275000 and 290000. They will also have the typical characteristics of a M1911, a smooth flat mainspring housing with a lanyard loop, an early M1911 slide stop, and a wide spur hammer with an itty bitty spur on the grip safety. Walnut double diamond grips are de rigueur.

I was fortunate to find my Colt "Black Army" walking into a gun show at a fair price. Although the wartime expedient finish is mostly absent on the exterior of my pistol, it has seen very little actual use. The interior parts are still as new, and the bore is bright. Prior to being accepted by the US Army, this M1911 was given the nod by Springfield Armory inspectors. The eagle proofmark is visible above the magazine release. I am happy to have an all original M1911 that can be handled without hesitation.

While the "Black Army" pistol is often viewed as a World War One pistol, it must be remembered that the Great War ended with the armistice signed on 11 November, 1918, a scant seven months after the "Black Army" variation began. Thousands of Colt "Black Army" M1911s languished in the armories of the US military, where they sat ready until war was again declared in 1941. The "Black Army" Colts were a common sidearm in the combat theaters of WWII until 1943, when production of the M1911A1 reached it's zenith. It's ironic that many pistols often associated with WWI finally saw combat after Pearl Harbor, and were brought home by the GIs of WWII.

Sunday Decisions

I have finally acquired one of my last "holy grail" guns, a Colt M1911. The question this morning is.... Do I return to the gun show? I have not managed to sell the Browning 22 Auto, nor the SW1911. Selling either would make the purchase of my M1911 less.

The crowds were larger than during past shows, with obviously new gun buyers pouring in. I was surprised to see black rifles at reasonable market prices, and used 30 round AR mags in plentiful supply for between 10 and 15 dollars each. New AR magazines from Brownells were twenty bucks. Yes, they are eighteen bucks each from Brownells. The thing is, the same mags were for sale at reasonable prices. There were no whispered rumors of another AWB. It seemed the dealers were not trying to feed on hysteria this time around.

I still have to do weekend chores around the house, and it remains cold and dreary outside. I could just cradle myself in a wing back chair by the fire and research my new old Colt. If it doesn't rain, after I get my laundry done, I could take it to the range for a bit of shooting and a photo session. To really get a good idea of what I have, some high resolution photos on the 1911 Forum's USGI section will be illuminating.

Thus far, I've been able to ascertain the pistol is a 1918 gun, likely to have left Hartford with a "Black Army" finish. It was inspected by Springfield Armory. I have not yet found anything amiss.

I suppose I will go back to the gun show. There are things to see, people to meet, magazines to stock up on, and laughter and camaraderie to be had. After all, a gun show is "the last bastion, the last gathering place, of a free people." The doors open again at 11:00.

A Good Scrub Down

I had to go to a Burns Supper with my wife this evening, but when I finally arrived home, I took out my BreakFree, and assorted tools to detail strip the Colt M1911. The barrel bore the P on the hood as it should. The interior of the pistol looked like it had been lubricated with dirty motor oil. There was a bit of rust underneath the mainspring housing.

Once I cleaned the barrel, I was amazed to find sharp rifling. The sear, disconnect and trigger bow looked to be hardly used. The hammer hooks were perfect. The barrel and slide lugs were sharp. This pistol had not been fired much at all.

I used brake cleaner to dissolve the oily gunk. Then a copper penny as a scraper, along with a bronze brush and a liberal application of BreakFree to remove the rust. Once the pistol was clean again, I lubricated and reassembled it.

This pistol is going to be a sweet shooter indeed.

Two Hundred More

Gun shows are a lot like flea markets and garage sales, just more specialized. The same characters haunt gun shows. At the local gun show, a grizzled old coot that I chose not to deal with is always present to sell mix master M1911s at inflated prices. All of his guns are sacred relics, if you believe the stories he tells. In the past, I might have purchased one, but the money he wants is astronomical. I don't mind a mix master M1911. I just want a fair price.

As usual the doors were late to open this morning. Several men were in front of me, and a couple of them had gun rugs. I watched as their handguns were checked by the police officer at the ticket counter. The first fellow looked promising. He was a tobacco chewing gent past Medicare age, with a Brookshires sack. I watched as he reached inside and pulled out a.... Glock. So much for stereotypes.

The fellow in front of me was a bald headed guy in a digital BDU jacket. He held a black leather gun rug. When it was unzipped by the police officer, the bare metal beauty inside caught my eye like a pirate gazing on a chest of doubloons. He had a Colt M1911. My uneducated eye saw it as being correct. I stepped around him, paid my entry fee and waited.

As soon as he placed the old WW1 pistol back in the gun rug, I tapped him on the shoulder and said "See me after you pay your entry fee." He smiled and paid his six bucks.

"Do you mind if I look at your pistol?" I asked.

"Sure."

I am not an expert on M1911s, but to me, this pistol appeared untampered with and 100% correct. The wear on the grips was consistent with the gun's finish wear and age, and the small parts looked to be correct to my neophyte eyes as well. "I bought this one from the son of a vet," the man said. "His father paid for it when he left the Army. It's a 1918 gun."

Dadgummit, I thought, he knows the gun. This won't be cheap. "What do you want for it?" I inquired.

"What will you give me for it?" he countered. I knew how much I had total, in three different pockets, and I knew it was still low. I told him anyway. Cash.

"Ive got to have two hundred more than that," he said. He was right, the pistol was worth what he was asking.

"Would you take a Smith and Wesson 1911 and some cash?" I asked.

"No, I really just want to get cash."

I had not seen a M1911 walk into a gun show in over seven years. "I'll have to make a run to the bank," I said. "Here's twenty bucks to hold on to it for the next hour. If I don't make it back in an hour with the money, the twenty is yours and you can sell it to whoever you like, deal?"

"Sounds good to me," he said. "I really want to take it over to Joshua and see what he thinks anyway." I knew he was referring to the mix master monger.

"I'll be right back," I told him, and I walked quickly back to the Jeep through the misty cold rain. I dialed my wife to see if she had two Franklins on her. She would not pick up her cell phone. I don't use ATMs. If the bank wasn't open........

As I pulled up into the banks parking lot, the green OPEN light over the drive beckoned through the haze like the beam from a lighthouse. John Moses was smiling on me. I wrote the teller a check, got my cash, and tried not to speed on the way back to the gun show.

The crowd was thick as I strode across the convention center floor again. Finding the fellow in this crowd would be a chore. Finally, I saw him showing the pistol to Cowboy Bob. I could see the disappointment in his eyes as walked up.

"You know, Joshua offered me what I'm going to sell this to you for," he said. "Bob says it's worth more." I looked unconcerned. I knew what I was willing to pay, and I had the money.

"Well, that's up to you," I told him, ready to walk.

"This one is a fantastic shooter," he said, "It's been my baby."

"Yeah, that's why I'd like to buy it. I want a M1911 that I can shoot, not just oil and fondle," I replied. I asked if I could field strip the pistol to check it out. He agreed. Inside, as far as I could tell, it was correct. There were no cracks. The bore was good.

"Like I said, this one is one hundred percent," he said. I reassembled the gun and counted out the hundred dollar bills on a bare table area. The seller was hesitant. He held each note up to the light to verify it wasn't counterfeit. Finally, when he saw that I was not going to offer more, he said OK. We shook hands. The M1911 was mine. I zipped it back in the black leather gun rug and thanked him for a fair deal.

More later........

Colt "Black Army" M1911 at auction

An exceptional Colt "Black Army" M1911 is up for grabs at Rock Island Auction.

all original (near new) and unaltered example of a late WWI "Black Army" M1911 pistol as manufactured by the Colt Manufacturing company. This pistol is a late all blued Model 1911 that has the block style marking and the Black Army type finish that is found only in the last of US Army Model 1911 contract pistols. This Black Army finish is actually a collector term to identify and differentiate these pistols from the earlier all blue Model 1911s. This type of finish was actually due to a change in the bluing process that occurred in 1918 when Colt went to a gas-fired oven blued process which gave the pistols a rougher finish with a dark black color. This specific pistol falls into the generally accepted serial number block (285,000-350,000) when this change took place. The left side of the slide is marked "PATENTED APR. 20.1897. SEPT.9.1902 / DEC. 19. 1905. FEB.14.1911. AUG 19.1913" followed by "COLT'S PT. F.A. MFG. CO." over "HARTFORD, CT. U.S.A." with the Rampant Colt in the middle of the markings and the left side of the slide is marked with "MODEL OF 1911. U.S. ARMY". The left side of the frame is marked, "UNITED STATES PROPERTY" and it has the circled "JMG" proof of LTC J.M. Gilbert, the government inspector assigned to the Colt factory. The right side of the frame has the serial number of the pistol, behind the slide stop pin hole. It still has the correct early WWI parts such as the Colt wide checkered spur hammer, smooth flat main spring housing, checkered slide stop and thumb safety, and the Colt barrel which is marked with the single separated "P" and "H" proof on top of the chamber area. It has the original diamond checkered walnut grips and is complete with one half-tone magazine.

Estimated Price: $5,500 - $7,500