Posted on 08/27/2008 4:05:36 AM PDT by sig226
It was adopted in 1911 and is probably the longest serving military weapon ever devised. Although the English Webley revolver lasted a few more years of continous service, the Colt 1911A1 was shelved, then returned to service.
Some folks just like the caliber, others love the pistol. It was adopted because.38 caliber revolvers failed to stop the Mauro Tribesmen in the Phillippine Insurrection. .30 caliber Krag - Jorgenson rifles also failed to stop the Mauros, most likely because they ate opium, but the United States decided to standardize a larger caliber.
They first took up the Colt Model 1911 designed by John Browning. They changed it to the 1911A1 in 1924, after reviewing complaints from soldiers in World War I. This photo shows the differences.
The trigger was one of the best found on a military sidearm due to the single action fire control. It was used in Bullseye matches and a small industry evolved to modify the pistol to make it more accurate. Over the years, plenty of gunsmiths earned a comfortable living doing just this.
Of course, it evolved into the highly modified 'race guns' used in IPSC matches; pistols that have almost no practical utility at all, but are a hoot to fire on a timed course.
After the United States switched to the Beretta M9 9mm pistol, plenty of gun people thought the 1911 was destined to die an ignominious death at the hands of the 'wonder nine.' But along came Bill Clinton, who took away the high capacity magazine and thus eliminated the advantage of the 16 shot 9mm over the 8 shot .45. If you have to carry a thin gun anyway, it might as well make a big hole . . .
You can get a new 1911 for around $500.00 for a Springfield 1911 GI (the plain Jane model) all the way up to $4,000.00 if you want the top of the line from makers like Nighthawk. Or you can get your Brownell's Catalog and make your own.
The 1911 can fire 1,000 rounds in less than 11 minutes and have fired over 250,000 rounds without malfunction.
Hard to beat!
long story short, pistol was found in a lake bed at winter pool, the previous owner couldnt get it 'unstuck', so he used it as 'yard art' in a concrete flower box on the weather side of the porch...
6-7 yrs later I noticed it and asked if I could try to get it moving again, two weeks alternating between ATF baths and 'FReeAll' it was completely stripped and re-assembled and test fired...
I stripped and scrubbed and re-blued [my first attempt] a finish that has etchings of leaves and barnacles etc permanently engraved in the metal...and with the addition of new mags [the spring was weakened too much] it goes BANG EVERY TIME...
perfect carry piece cause I know I cant hurt the finish...
LFOD...
British Land Patter Musket (Brown Bess): adopted in 1722, officially replaced in 1838. Some were still in service in the 1850s.
They were Muslim Terrorists.
Smith & Wesson SW1911 .45ACP
Colt MK IV Series 80 .38 Super
Colt 1991 Commander .45ACP
Rock Island 1911 .38 Super
Remington Rand 1911A1 .45ACP
The store tampered with the Federal Firearms Log Book and my Commander was gone.
Bookmark
That’s the first time I’ve seen “Mauro” as a spelling. Usually, it’s “Moro.” My Dad and his family is from the southern Philippines, where most of the Moros are concentrated. When my sister and I were growing up, he’s often talk about how you can’t trust the Moros, or Muslims in general. We didn’t take this seriously, because we weren’t in the “old country.” Then 9/11 happened, and my Dad was proved right in my mind.
>pistol was found in a lake bed at winter pool,<
That sounds like a good fishing sidearm!
L
It's one of the longest, but not the longest.
That would either be the Mosin-Nagant rifle or the masterwork of John Moses Browning, the M2 .50 caliber Heavy Machine Gun.
L
What kind of grip is that?
yeppers, its the 'doitall' pistol, like I said I aint afraid of a scratch or a 'little water'...
Also, on a side note, Ive still got my Security Six .357 mag that was lost off a swim dock on one of our lake trips...dropped in approx 20 ft of water, and I couldnt reach it [ears/sinuses couldnt handle the pressure], fortunately one of the neighbors stopped to talk and asked why I was 'fishin' straight down...
he dropped in and came back up with it first dive...
still a great shooter...
The M1911 is par, the standard to which others are judged, and to date, the best compromise of power, accuracy, maintainability and simplicity available. Other specialized pieces can perform their specialties more effectively, and other designs have approached the M1911s capabilities using more modern or lighter materials, or in smaller sizes, but none have yet equalled the M1911s record in service for 73 years and more.
Yep, I've got the *family heirlooms* that include my maternal Granddad's M1911 and my Dad's former USAF M1911A1...as well as my own GI M1911A1 and Argentine M27-based Swenson *Bobcat* Commander. and though at present my own kid is happier using a .38 revolver similar to the one my paternal Granddad favored, there's a M1911A1 in the rack available for him too, and pretty soon another for his boy, the fifth generation of our family to enjoy the protection and servioce a good M1911 can provide.
I should never of removed the mainspring housing. But it seems like there’s something disconnected up by the hammer. The connecting rod from the hammer down to the mainspring still does what it’s supposed to, there must be some other ‘safety’ interlock that came undone.
It’s a SA 1911 with ILS. Any suggestions?
Watch this video. If you like a version with music to work by, watch this one.
If any of the components don't resemble those in the video, they're probably part of the SA ILS rework of John Browning's design. They can be replaced with original G.I. components if you're a purist or desire the reliability of the design the way John Browning believed it should be.
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