The Annual 1911 Auto Thread!

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Well, here it is. Time once again to talk about all things 1911 and to display your hardware through photos. Open to all who love 'em, hate 'em, want to fix 'ex, have stories about 'em, want to learn about 'em, and already know all about 'em. Anything 1911.
Collector ones, outrageously expensive, ones, made from a kit---whatever. Not at all limited to .45 ACP-- .38 Super, 9mm, .460, .50, .22 conversions, all welcome. Ballester-Molina, Llama, Star....close enough! Who knows...if enough timeless knowledge is imparted it may become a "sticky!!

To get things rolling, here's a couple of mine.






DG

[Texas by God]

I'm thinking of getting a Turkish 1911 to go with my Turkish shotguns and Turkish tractor.....seriously! In .45 ACP for me, no rails please....
I've been a 1911 fan since the first one I ever fired as a teen. My favorite auto pistol, period. My maravilla pistola Ballester will hang with the 1911.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[Butler Ford]

[trails4u]

My R1 commander being the only one I can bring.....I love it. Outshoots my S&W .40 I've been shooting since the early 90's.

[Bigslug]

To slightly edit Ernie Hudson's line from the original Ghostbusters:

"John (Browning), when someone asks you if you're a god, YOU SAY YES!!!"

[M-Tecs]

I have a bunch in 22LR, 38 Super, 9mm, 10mm and 45 ACP. At some point I will have a 460 Rowland and maybe a baby Browning in 380.

[imashooter2]

I’ve posted this several times before…
A 1917 vintage commercial Colt 1911. It was Grampa's, then Dad's, now mine. Grampa and Dad shot competitive Bullseye with it and there is no telling how many thousands of rounds have been down the pipe. I remember the very first time I was allowed to shoot it. Grampa drove us down a dirt road on the outskirts of Raymond, NH and we put some old cans up on a wooden fence. Grampa had it stoked with his competition loads, an H&G #130 over some tiny charge of Hercules Bullseye. Real softball loads they were, but I was 8 years old and had only shot .22's up to that point. Old slab sides made quite an impression on this kid.

Grampa was the one that soldered on the Patridge front and bobbed the hammer. No doubt killed any collector value, but no matter... It's priceless to me. I have a lot of handguns that I shoot more, but they are just things. This gun is my heritage.

[MGD]

Commander Light Weight in 38 Super and a Delta Elite with 10mm & 40 S&W barrels.

[jdfoxinc]

Colt combat commander given to me by my FIL. Parkerized RIA NIB. Chiappa 1911-22 NIB. I did have a green gas recoiling air soft for practice till it got destroyed in the fire.

[badguybuster]

Wilson Combat Tactical Supergrade, the finest production 1911 available. In GODs caliber, 45 acp.

[ioon44]

The last 1911 I got is a Colt Defender in .45ACP, fun little gun to shoot and easy to carry.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I'm thinking of getting a Turkish 1911 to go with my Turkish shotguns and Turkish tractor.....seriously! In .45 ACP for me, no rails please....
I've been a 1911 fan since the first one I ever fired as a teen. My favorite auto pistol, period. My maravilla pistola Ballester will hang with the 1911.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

Ahhh...a Turkish 1911! I get e-mail ads from CDNN every morning, and sometimes more than once, and Turkish .45s are among the offerrings. They look good, and I haven't heard anything at all negative about them....so why not?

A Turkish tractor? I guess...I've never seen or heard of one, but no doubt they exist. Mine is S. Korean (Kioti), there's Mahindra (Indian), Kubota (Japanese), so why not a Turkish tractor.

Ballester Pistols-- really great pieces of ordnance, and for those unaware of their existence, they were made in Argentina.

The Argies had been buying the Colt 1911, known to them as the M1927 and really a 1911A1. Then, like most larger countries they wanted to produce them in their own country, so Colt sent a crew of technicians to Argentina and they made them in- country. A very fine product indeed. It is said that they purchased their steel from Sweden and that it was denser than U.S. made steel, and that the Argentine-made M1927s weigh a couple of ounces more than a U.S. M1911. I have never proven this interesting tidbit of knowledge as I've never had an appropriate scale. You'll find U.S.-made (Colt) Argentine M1927s, Argentine- made M1927s marked Sistema Colt, and Argentine-made M1927s marked D.G.F.M. (F.M.A.P.), all high quality.

Argentine-made M1927.

Then it was decided to design a new pistol based on the 1911, but one which would be a native design. National Pride, I think you'd call it. The result was the Ballester pistol, known as the Ballester-Rigaud for approximately the first 20,000, and thereafter the Ballester-Molina when one partner left and another came on board. The pistols are identical except for the name. They were produced by Hispano Argentino Fabrica De Automoviles, SA (Corp.), H.A.F.D.S.A., and were without exception a high quality product fully equal (my opinion) to the M1911. Only the barrels and magazines are interchangeable with the M1911. Production extended from the mid-1930s to the mid-1940s, and a number of them were purchased by the British in WW II for issue where they didn't want British-made firearms to appear. These were stamped with a "B" prefix. Other Ballesters do not have a prefixed serial number. The one shown below was in my collection for several years before I self-educated. Prior to then I had thought the number to start with an "8", but closer examination showed it as a "B".

Ballester-Molina with "B" prefix

Although at first glance a M1911, the design has significant differences. There is no grip safety, and the trigger/sear mechanism closely resembles the lock work of the Spanish Star pistols. The result was a highly reliable pistol. Apparently 80,000 + was enough to satisfy their needs and production ended about 1944. If you run across a nice one grab it! It was replaced in Argentine service by the Browning Hi-Power, also made in Argentina.

DG

[Scrounge]

I'm thinking of getting a Turkish 1911 to go with my Turkish shotguns and Turkish tractor.....seriously! In .45 ACP for me, no rails please....
I've been a 1911 fan since the first one I ever fired as a teen. My favorite auto pistol, period. My maravilla pistola Ballester will hang with the 1911.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

I have a Zig M1911 from Turkey. I traded my old 1911 frankengun, with the alloy frame & an Ace .22LR conversion kt to my dad in the mid-80's for an anvil. Years later, he gave me back the broken frame, and a different slide. Ratfink kept the Ace kit, though. A few years ago, I got to missing shooting a lot. And I'd finally gotten a decent job after several years of medical problems and no good jobs because of them. I was checking out my favorite pawn shop, and they had a new 1911 from Turkey for $375, and tax. Grabbed it, and shook it, and it didn't rattle as bad as the old GI 1911's Dad taught me to shoot when I was 12. So it followed me home. I love it!

Bill

[rondog]

My latest, a new Rock Island Ultra FS in 10mm. Totally paid for by selling brass I picked up off the ground for free.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

One morning back in the late '70s I had an appointment and was running a bit early, so grabbed the latest G&A magazine on the way out the door, and stopped at a coffee shop. When I turned my attention to the magazine I couldn't believe my eyes, because there on the cover in full color was the 1911 of my dreams. Finally, after almost 70 years, someone had made a stainless steel 1911. The AMT Hardballer. It had a lot going for it, both for the consumer and the manufacturer. The big draw, of course, was enhanced corrosion resistance. Most of the pistol was investment cast, frame and slide, and in general it was patterned after the Colt Gold Cup with adjustable target sights and adjustable trigger. When I got mine I found that the manufacturer recommended using a mixture of white lithium grease and 30 wt. motor oil as a lubricant, as the pistol was made of the same grade of stainless throughout and the parts tended to gall themselves with conventional gun oil. I followed the lubrication instructions and never had a problem at all. It remains one of my very favorite pistols.


The AMT (Arcadia Machine Tool) company went through several phases and relocations and ceased to exist about 2001. So much for lifetime warranties! They had a lot of innovative firearms, and I was sorry to see them go. I think the earlier products were a bit nicer in quality than those that came along later, but once again, just opinion.

It was just a couple of years later when the next stainless 1911 appeared, made by a company called Vega in Sacramento, CA. This one used different grades of stainless and didn't require special lubrication. They weren't around too long, and you seldom see them come up for sale. Mine was an early one and had sight problems, but like most 1911s it was highly reliable. I replaced the original tall fixed rear sight with an adjustable sight, then returned it to the factory for a taller front sight. It ended up being very satisfactory. I've read some clues that indicate that Vega had some connection with Pacific International Merchandising, a name probably familiar to some of you older surplus buyers, and they also disappeared.



A good e-mail/PM friend of mine (you know who you are!) calls stainless steel "soulless steel". I confess a penchant toward blued pistols with walnut or rosewood grips, but how can you turn up your nose at something like this?



DG

[Char-Gar]

I have a long and deep connection to the Colt 45 Automatic pistol. It comes from a time, many years ago when a Rem-Ran 1911A1 was the only center fire pistol I owned. I pressed it into service for all kinds of things it was not designed to do. It rose to the challenge and did what it was called on to do. There is always one close to hand and I have never been let down. For me it is always "The Pistol", but I do realize that for some tasks there are better choices.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

If and when this primer shortage ends I'm going to get another in .45 acp. Target model with adjustable sights and match grade barrel. Shot my first one over 40 years ago and bonded immediately.

[condorjohn]

RIA 1911A1. The holster came to me from the estate of a WWII B-26 pilot. I don't think it is GI.

[44MAG#1]

I have six 1911's. Five 45 Autos and a 10MM.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

RIA 1911A1. The holster came to me from the estate of a WWII B-26 pilot. I don't think it is GI.

I've got one of those myself (RIA)-- very good gun at a very good price! I modified mine a bit, as it was giving me the traditional bite between thumb and forefinger.


DG