1911s are my favorite pistol! It’s fair to assume that pistol served in WW2, Korea, Vietnam, and who knows where else. You have a beautiful piece of history there!
The pistol shown here has defiantly been through the arsenal!! The slide is from a Remington rand, but the frame is absolutely a Union Switch and Signal frame! If you look on the other side you will see the R.I.A showing that it has been though the arsenal, while the inspector mark is R,C,D and that stands for Robert C. Downie, Lt. Colonel Pittsburgh Ordinance district July 1942-October 15, 1945. He was the inspector for Union Switch And signal. Still a great example of a WWll M1911A1 Great thing about that gun is you can shoot it and share it with other people and you don't have to worry about hurting the value of the gun!!!! As far as the magazine goes, it is not original to the gun because there was no such thing as an 8 round magazine back then, Only 7 rounds.
Yup, they shoot like a type writer. Now if it had an ergonomic Sig 210 like target grip your control might improve. Remember 80 - 100 years ago this was cutting edge. No polymer, no striker firing pins, crude slab side grips. Model T cars!! Nice history flash back. 👍👍 My dear late uncle graduated West Point 1936. I'm sure he trained with a 1911 💔 🇺🇲
I was lucky enough to get a nice 1911 from the CMP. It’s a 1943 RR frame and Colt slide with 77 markings on the grips with the original finish. I put 3 mags through it and it will be passed down to my daughter. Nice video…
Outstanding! I love history, firearms, and intrigue, and this pistol has a little bit of all 3. I cannot recall the channel name unfortunately; however he detailed filing a FOIA request for info on a CMP 1911 he purchased. When all was said and done, it listed the dates & locations where his pistol went in & out of service, re-arsenaling, etc which helped clear up some of its markings. I thought I'd mention it in case you were interested in finding out more about this great pistol you shared w/us today. 👍👍
The frame is a US&S, FJA is stamped on both Remington Rand & Ithaca. The inspector stamp on your gun indicates the frame should be US&S. The trigger appears to be an early Colt, slide is obviously a Remington Rand. The gun appears to be a CMP release. The main give away of your gun being a mishmash of parts is the RIA stamp on the RH side below the Serial#. The pistol was re-arsenaled. Still a cool piece of history.
This is correct, also the arched MS housing should be checkered in1943, like the trigger, hammer, & slide release. The Ser# says it is US&S, according to my Colt book. It's definately a keeper!!!
Just came back from vacation in the Philippines and last minute before my flight a friend come to my place and brought this type of gun I saw 1911A1 U.S. ARMY and UNITED STATES PROPERTY with SN 1353... I do search in YT and I watched your channel. Some of the markings you mentioned is not present to the gun. I keep safe the gun and planning to refurbished when I come back there. This type of 1911 era 1940's is one of a kind. Thank you for the information.
Really enjoyed the walk down memory lane. Thanks for doing the research and producing this video. My dad had this type of 45 during his time in WW II. He always said that if you ran out of ammunition with this 45 you could throw it at the enemy's head if close enough and kill them that way😂. The gun was heavy!
2:34 yeah the barrel is shot out unfortunately, id advise send it off to mk3 firearms to fit a new barrel and retain the aesthetic look of a old barrel .
Consider yourself lucky to have a beautiful condition GI Joe 1911!!. Great presentation... except for your accent 😂!! Just kidding lol. I just picked up an all original Ithaca made 1944. It has a Colt frame. It's listed on Colt's registration and Ithaca. JCA was also the inspector general from 44-45!! Mine has no inspector markings. Just the P's. Union Switch made they're own slides as did Remington! Mr Colt 45 has some excellent videos for reference on this channel. As for the slides they were only 7 rnds not 8!! Either a S or R would be on the Tang. Springfield or Remington. The dimples on the bottom of the mags two on each side are original although i forget what period. Early 1911's had different manufacturing mags with different seems. The silde release is blued and is normal that way. Also a good identification for the mag's is how its blued. You didn't focus on the slide long enough for me to eyeball it. Since you didn't take the slide off there should be prof marks under the dust cover! Should you be interested in selling your peice lmk
RCD stands for Lt.Col. R. C. Downie, the Ordnance Acceptance Inspector at the Union Switch and Signal Company in 1943. 55,000 Union Switch and Signal pistols were delivered serial numbered from 1041405 to 1096404 with peak production reaching 650 pistols a day. This frame's number, 1085215, is well with that block. Another evidence of US&S manufacture is the absence of the Springfield cross cannons. At 6:06 we can see RIA stamped between the serial number and the finger scallop on the right side. When 1911s were refurbished they often received replacement components from other manufacturers. Postwar slide/frame mismatches are not uncommon. As a general rule, if a 1911A1 has SA (Springfield Arsenal) or RIA (Rock Island Arsenal) stamped on the right side of the frame, typically under the model designation line, the weapon has been refurbished with replacement parts. Unlike the roll-stamped lines such as the serial number and the government property markings, the arsenal markings were made by hand with a stamp and a hammer. Consequently, they vary in exact location, strike depth, and clarity. Since this gun is probably an RR/US&S hybrid, likely the barrel isn't an ideal match as well. Though five major contractors were making M1911A1 pistols between 1940 and 1945, there were several sub-contractors. For example, US&S relied on High Standard for barrels, which were well-made, but if a High Standard barrel got matched with a Remington Rand bushing, for example, the result could be poor accuracy. An excessively worn toggle link could be at fault as well. I advise MDpolo to check the fitment of the barrel at the muzzle and at the ejection port for excessive movement.
I am curious as to how you dated the piece. The only thing on the frame that really matters is the serial number. The serial number on yours was issued to US&S.
I don’t claim to be an expert on these guns, but from the research that I did, it was from the serial number and the markings next to the serial number.
Given it is a RIA post war rebuild, this gun is probably a hodgepodge of parts , mixed from ANY manufacture. All respects , your target indicates massive flinching so common with the .45 ACP.
Hey, your shooting was fine. The enemy would have exploded with just one round wizzing by them on it's way to blow up a tank. So yeah you totally blew them away :)
