You can typically find the base model nowadays from $440 - $499 depending on where you look. Just yesterday I picked up a lightly used one at my LGS for $400, it came with two Wilson Combat mags and a 50 count Winchester White box. The grips looked to have taken some abuse but other than that it's in excellent shape.Are they still $399 ? My local store shows them for $499
Then you have a three possible problem areas, ejector issues, too heavy a recoil spring or over powered rounds.Only thing I don't like is it tends to eject empties forward. At indoor range I have to stand 5 feet from the table if I want to recover my brass
The low-profile GI sights are a feature, not a bug. GI .45's were meant to be carried a lot more than they were meant to be fired. (In effect, this was a last-ditch weapon.) The low sights fit into the holster better. The whole thing -- gun, holster, web gear -- is a system that is supposed to work together. That's why the sights were not changed from the adoption of the M1911A1 (wider Patridge notch) to the end of issue.I'd buy a model with better sights, as GI sights are sketchy minimal
The low-profile GI sights are a feature, not a bug. GI .45's were meant to be carried a lot more than they were meant to be fired. (In effect, this was a last-ditch weapon.) The low sights fit into the holster better. The whole thing -- gun, holster, web gear -- is a system that is supposed to work together. That's why the sights were not changed from the adoption of the M1911A1 (wider Patridge notch) to the end of issue.
I don't think the U.S. was ever as blatant about this as, say, the Soviets (see Enemy at the Gates). The pistol (including the M1911) started out as a cavalry weapon, with every trooper having one. In WW1, besides officers, it was issued to machine gunners, mortar crews, etc., as a secondary weapon. In WW2, these roles were mostly taken over by Carbines, which also armed rear-area support personnel.Let's face it, the purpose of a side arm in the days of the world wars, was for officers (both commissioned and non-commissioned) to shoot soldiers who disobeyed orders at critical moments
I must have been out that day as I have no recollection of that. Never saw a sidearm on patrol.
Mitch
I don't think the U.S. was ever as blatant about this as,
That was Pvt. Eddie Slovik. He was a known troublemaker, and practically dared the authorities to do their worst. They gave him plenty of off-ramps to avoid his fate. He just didn't believe they would go that far. Anyway, the execution was by firing squad, and took place on Jan. 31, 1945. It wasn't a spur of the moment thing with a .45.While not common, 49 US soldiers were sentenced to death for desertion, though only one was put in front of a firing squad.