What can you tell me about this old Colt?

It is not a 1911. It could be a 1911A1, Government Model, or maybe Argentine. It was made no earlier 1927 I would think. Whatever it is, it is a shooter type so value is 400$ to 500 to me.

gunfish said:

It is not a 1911. It could be a 1911A1, Government Model, or maybe Argentine. It was made no earlier 1927 I would think. Whatever it is, it is a shooter type so value is 400$ to 500 to me.

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What's the difference between a 1911 and a 1911A1? I mean, what makes you say, "It's not a 1911, but it might be a 1911A1"?

^ the relief cuts behind the trigger
Arched MSH
Tang for grip safety

In the absence of clear pictures showing serial number and other markings or a very detailed and knowledgeable description of same, all we can say is that it is a 1911A1 or post 1925 Government Model.

The stocks are Herretts, not Colt or Army.

Is this some kind of a test??

Finish ain't bad. Get your butt out of bed in 34 days and bid on it like bobson quoted.

It's very hard to tell in that pic how low the ejection port goes... it looks to be very high to me. Grips don't look factory either. It has the A1 profile on the receiver and a short trigger, but that's about all you can tell from that picture.

That pistol's had the serial number changed. The serial number on the right by the trigger NEVER looked like that, and there were never numbers like that on the left side of any slides either. I'd stay far away from it!

Sorry.

The 7790314 slide is a government contract replacement slide made in the 50's or 60's.

It could also be an early National Match "hard" slide, they were also marked with only the 7790314 contract number.

Article on them here:

http://www.sightm1911.com/lib/history/nm.htm

No clue on the frame number.

45 auto's probably right about the slide. But the frame number looks waaaay too fishy, IMO. The finish in the area where that number is even looks like it's been altered.

I have never seen a contract slide marked by Colt on the right side. I thought they simply had the part number.The frame is aftermarket or foreign. It is a pistol made from parts and may be a good shooter but would have no collector value and a value much less than an original firearm.

I suspect that what you have is an Argentine .45 auto made under Colt license with a replacement Colt slide made in the 50's or 60's.

The Argentine made 1911 and 1911-A1 pistols had serial numbers that used that font style.
An American made Colt commercial gun from that era would have a serial number that starts with a "C" as in C12345.
A USGI issue .45 made by any government contractor will have a serial that starts with "No" as in No12345.

Best guess: An Argentine military contract frame with a replacement American GI slide.

Seriously! Is this a test?
The gun screams "FAKE" & "Run Away!"

The slide is an Early Colt commercial someone has added a Canadian Arsenals replacement slide number onto the left side.
These slides were made in the late 70s early 80s as USGI replacements and were commonly used to build Match guns
No Colt made slides were ever marked with that 77 number I am aware of and certainly not in the era the slide was produced.

The frame numbers, at least the first two digits, look to be Argentine 1927 markings, the last two digits were stamped later and are missing the Serifs.
The trigger appears to be Argentine, as does the hammer.

Look closely at the mainspring housing. If the checkering is impressed instead of being raised, it is a dead giveaway the frame is from an Argentinian made pistol. HTH

It is a Colt Ace frame and the number is perfectly proper for that gun. The slide is a U.S. contract replacement slide. The number is an Ordnance material stock number and was used by all countries that used U.S. supplied ordnance materiel. It is not an FSN or NSN.

I wouldn't call it a "fake" unless it is being passed off as something it is not. It IS a mixmaster but the parts are of good quality and it should be fine for shooting.

Jim

When I first saw the numbers I thought the same thing, an ACE frame, so I dug Clawson out.
The numbers just don't look right for a 1933 production ACE receiver, the numbers look altered.
That is why I suggest looking at the mainspring housing.
If they just stamped some numbers to fool and weren't too careful in other areas,,,,,

Bobson said:

What's the difference between a 1911 and a 1911A1? I mean, what makes you say, "It's not a 1911, but it might be a 1911A1"?

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1911



1911A1