Colt To Deliver New Black Army M1911 To Market

guns.com ^ | Oct. 15, 2019 | Chris Eger

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Based on the original WWI-era blueprints, the new Black Army replicates the guns Colt made for the military during 1918 and early 1919. (Photo: Colt)

For those looking for a GI M1911 with classic Great War styling without the classic Great War price, Colt could have just the ticket.

Teased by the Colt Collector’s Association as coming soon, the new Colt Black 1911 Black Army is listed on the company’s website as a “vintage limited run.”

The so-called “Black Army” .45s is a term often used by collectors to describe the late World War I finish techniques applied to Colt’s 1911s from about mid-1918 through early 1919. Although given the standard brushed Carbonia Blue finish, like the pistols that preceded them, it was applied to more roughly finished frames and slides, which resulted in a noticeably darker hue that looked almost black in certain light. As few of these wartime guns escaped later arsenal parkerization and modification to the follow-on M1911A1 standard, correct “Black Army” models are highly sought after, commanding prices in the $7K range.

Colt’s new take on the Black Army of yesteryear carries a dark matte blued finish complete with the vintage longslide’s replicated rollmarks and inspector’s marks. While externally it looks ready to crawl across No Man’s Land in the hands of a Doughboy to hunt for the Kaiser– with a smooth straight mainspring housing, WWI style manual thumb safety, and lanyard loop– on the inside, it is a 70 Series Colt.

MSRP is $999, a price that puts it on par with the current production Colt 1991 Government. Sorry, due to state restrictions in California, Massachusetts, and Maryland, it is not compliant in those states– even though its ancestor was a hundred years ago.

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Anyone interested?

At around a thousand bucks, it's a little pricey. The trigger is that of the earlier M1911, as are the wooden grips. It's also sporting the flat M1911 mainspring housing rather than the later arched M1911A1 type, and some of those I've seen are of plastic instead of machined steel, as were the originals. The plastic versions also lack the GI lanyard loop, which makes a handy pop bottle cap opener if you don't happen to have a church key, Leatherman tool or Boy Scout knife.

Also beware earlier M1911-type slides with their short disconnecter notches, as some M1911 slides found their way onto M1911A1 frames during Government rebuild programs. Those which have passed through the CMP inspection and release program are okay, but not all ex-GI guns came from that source.

I far prefer my old wartime M1911A1, built by Ithaca, which has served me since 1970, coincidentally the year of my discharge from my first enlisted 4-year tour. In May of next year, we'll have been together for 50 years, longer than some lesser relationships endure. The Colt is okay; my old Ithaca Rattler is very nearly a part of me.