Billy Shears
Member
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2008
- Messages
- 1,020
I just picked up a nice new Colt M1911 reproduction. It's a gorgeous replica of the WWI vintage 1911s carried by the doughboys "over there." My guess is that Colt chose this, rather than an earlier M1911, when deciding to make a WWI reproduction for two reasons. First, the earliest M1911s had "ball cuts" at the front of the slide, which would have required additional tooling, driving up the cost of what is already a $1000 pistol. Second, duplicating an earlier production M1911 would, in order to maintain authenticity, have required a much finer polish, driving up the cost of what is already a $1000 pistol. Choosing to replicate a 1918 production pistol, made when the war was well underway, allowed Colt to duplicate the rougher wartime finish. And since 1918 was the only year of WWI which saw any really significant action by US troops, it probably felt right from a nostalgia standpoint.
First off, my hat's off to Colt for the level of authenticity they achieved in this pistol. Unlike Smith & Wesson, which was content to slap an old-fashioned pair of service stocks on a modern 5 inch-barreled N frame and proclaim it a replica of the M1917 revolver, while leaving numerous details completely wrong (e.g. the ejector rod, lack of pinned barrel, front sight, etc.), and even left that abominable internal lock on the gun; Colt reproduced the original M1911 as accurately as possible, even taking the trouble to replicate even such fine details as the original roll marks on the slide, and having a specialty shop reproduce the old-style, charcoal heat/chemical bluing (often erroneously referred to as carbonia bluing, which was a proprietary S&W process). Then to top it off, the gun comes packaged in an original style cardboard box, and a reproduction WWI vintage army M1911 manual. You have to give Colt top marks for the level of accuracy they achieved with this pistol.
As for how it performed at the range... it was a blast (no pun intended). The gun is surprisingly accurate. For slow, precision, bullseye shooting, even the tiny, vintage-style sights work quite well. For rapid fire, of course, the sights are almost useless, being so tiny they are almost impossible to pick up quickly. This is the nature of the beast, since the gun is an accurate replica of the WWI original. But forming a crude "sight" picture by simply looking down the slide while firing at silhouette targets at ranges of five yards or less works well enough to put a full magazine into the center mass of the target while shooting as fast as one can press the trigger, and I suspect this is how shooters of the period did it when shooting at actual enemies, the modern technique not having been invented yet.
Incidentally, I also found that shooting this gun one handed, as period shooters did, works best. When I take a proper, two hand grip, with my thumbs pointed forward along the left side of the frame, the web of my hand is so high up on the tang of the grip safety that I get a nasty bite from the hammer. (The A1 modifications, specifically the lengthening of the grip safety tang, and the shortening of the hammer spur, were intended to address this, but having fired plenty of A1 configurations Colts, I can tell you they didn't fix it in the slightest; it takes a beavertail grip safety for that when you take a high grip on the gun.) However, shooting one handed, and lowering the thumb of the shooting hand to make contact with the middle finger, instead of keeping it high up near the safety lever, allows me to shoot the gun without getting bitten. Others with fleshier mitts might not be able to rid themselves of the problem so easily.
The trigger is surprisingly good for a military grade pistol, and the gun rattles significantly less than authentic military .45s I've handled. I don't know whether or not that's because this gun is tighter than what the military got, or because none the military .45s were made later than 1945, and have all had tens of thousands rounds through them and been rebuilt multiple times. Functioning was flawless, but this gun, being a replica of an early M1911, has a feed ramp configured only for hardball. There might well be a brand or two of hollowpoint that would feed through it, but I haven't tried. This isn't a gun one buys for self-defense purposes anyway (though of course, loaded with FMJ, once certainly could use it for that in a pinch). The only issue I have with function is again, probably just an inevitable consequence of the gun's accurate reproduction of original features: the ejection pattern. Out of a hundred rounds, I got three or four cases thrown right at my forehead. This is not an issue with any of my other 1911s, but then again, all my others have lowered and flared ejection ports, and throw the empty cases out more to the side.
All in all, I'm well pleased with this gun. For accuracy of period detail, the gun is absolutely outstanding. Ditto for reliability of function and accuracy. The hammer bite, tiny sights, and ejection pattern are simply inseparable from the gun's vintage features. Purists must consider this all part of the weapon's charm. For those wishing to own an original style M1911 pistol in good, shooting condition, this gun is a great buy. Original M1911s of this vintage command high prices these days, and their value is only rising. Moreover, for all their quality, the originals were made with softer steels and inferior heat treatment processes to those of today, and decades of wear and tear have taken their toll on some of them. With this gun, one can shoot to one's heart's content, and never worry about breaking a part, for even in the unlikely event that there is a breakage, this is a new gun, covered by a warranty. With this gun, you get the best of both worlds: old school craftsmanship, and modern metallurgy.
First off, my hat's off to Colt for the level of authenticity they achieved in this pistol. Unlike Smith & Wesson, which was content to slap an old-fashioned pair of service stocks on a modern 5 inch-barreled N frame and proclaim it a replica of the M1917 revolver, while leaving numerous details completely wrong (e.g. the ejector rod, lack of pinned barrel, front sight, etc.), and even left that abominable internal lock on the gun; Colt reproduced the original M1911 as accurately as possible, even taking the trouble to replicate even such fine details as the original roll marks on the slide, and having a specialty shop reproduce the old-style, charcoal heat/chemical bluing (often erroneously referred to as carbonia bluing, which was a proprietary S&W process). Then to top it off, the gun comes packaged in an original style cardboard box, and a reproduction WWI vintage army M1911 manual. You have to give Colt top marks for the level of accuracy they achieved with this pistol.
As for how it performed at the range... it was a blast (no pun intended). The gun is surprisingly accurate. For slow, precision, bullseye shooting, even the tiny, vintage-style sights work quite well. For rapid fire, of course, the sights are almost useless, being so tiny they are almost impossible to pick up quickly. This is the nature of the beast, since the gun is an accurate replica of the WWI original. But forming a crude "sight" picture by simply looking down the slide while firing at silhouette targets at ranges of five yards or less works well enough to put a full magazine into the center mass of the target while shooting as fast as one can press the trigger, and I suspect this is how shooters of the period did it when shooting at actual enemies, the modern technique not having been invented yet.
Incidentally, I also found that shooting this gun one handed, as period shooters did, works best. When I take a proper, two hand grip, with my thumbs pointed forward along the left side of the frame, the web of my hand is so high up on the tang of the grip safety that I get a nasty bite from the hammer. (The A1 modifications, specifically the lengthening of the grip safety tang, and the shortening of the hammer spur, were intended to address this, but having fired plenty of A1 configurations Colts, I can tell you they didn't fix it in the slightest; it takes a beavertail grip safety for that when you take a high grip on the gun.) However, shooting one handed, and lowering the thumb of the shooting hand to make contact with the middle finger, instead of keeping it high up near the safety lever, allows me to shoot the gun without getting bitten. Others with fleshier mitts might not be able to rid themselves of the problem so easily.
The trigger is surprisingly good for a military grade pistol, and the gun rattles significantly less than authentic military .45s I've handled. I don't know whether or not that's because this gun is tighter than what the military got, or because none the military .45s were made later than 1945, and have all had tens of thousands rounds through them and been rebuilt multiple times. Functioning was flawless, but this gun, being a replica of an early M1911, has a feed ramp configured only for hardball. There might well be a brand or two of hollowpoint that would feed through it, but I haven't tried. This isn't a gun one buys for self-defense purposes anyway (though of course, loaded with FMJ, once certainly could use it for that in a pinch). The only issue I have with function is again, probably just an inevitable consequence of the gun's accurate reproduction of original features: the ejection pattern. Out of a hundred rounds, I got three or four cases thrown right at my forehead. This is not an issue with any of my other 1911s, but then again, all my others have lowered and flared ejection ports, and throw the empty cases out more to the side.
All in all, I'm well pleased with this gun. For accuracy of period detail, the gun is absolutely outstanding. Ditto for reliability of function and accuracy. The hammer bite, tiny sights, and ejection pattern are simply inseparable from the gun's vintage features. Purists must consider this all part of the weapon's charm. For those wishing to own an original style M1911 pistol in good, shooting condition, this gun is a great buy. Original M1911s of this vintage command high prices these days, and their value is only rising. Moreover, for all their quality, the originals were made with softer steels and inferior heat treatment processes to those of today, and decades of wear and tear have taken their toll on some of them. With this gun, one can shoot to one's heart's content, and never worry about breaking a part, for even in the unlikely event that there is a breakage, this is a new gun, covered by a warranty. With this gun, you get the best of both worlds: old school craftsmanship, and modern metallurgy.
