Shiny blued GI spec 1911 for under 1000?

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RayTheGreat

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Hello everybody, I've been hunting for a particular 1911 for a while now and cannot find what i'm looking for. I'm starting to doubt it exists apart from in my mind. I dearly want a GI 1911 with a shiny blued finish (not matte or black). Preferably with an old style spurred hammer and thumb safety, as well as a flat mainspring housing; pretty much as close to the original GI guns as possible. I thought the WW1 reproduction that Colt made was perfect, but the only ones I can find are selling at least for $1850, and I just don't have that much. Can I get anything close to that WW1 repro gun under 1 grand? The range I could do is maybe 750-1000 (a grand is really pushing it, to be honest). The Series 70 guns are close to what i'm looking for (i'm at peace with the rollmarks), but i'd still want to replace the thumb safety and the hammer (i'd probably replace the mainspring housing as well).
And the Series 70 itself is already $900. I found repros of the thumb safety and hammer, but they together cost 174 dollars, and the hammer isn't even in stock (it is backordered, as you can see).
Here are the links >

Spurred hammer - http://www.brownells.com/handgun-pa...-reproduction-wide-spur-hammer-prod58347.aspx

Old style thumb safety - http://www.brownells.com/handgun-pa...oduction-safety-undercut-blued-prod58028.aspx

What would you folks advise I do? Is there any hope that my specific 1911 lust can be satisfied for the cheap (under 1000, much less 1850)? And please excuse my ignorance, gentlemen. I am no connoisseur of 1911s by any means (i just love them). Thank you all in advance, and hope you had happy holidays.
-Ray
 
Here's my high luster blued 1911 from Cimarron Arms. It has the WW1 frame. I replaced the hammer and thumb safety with old Colt parts on eBay and sent them to be blued by the same company that Blues Cimarron Arms pistols so they match perfectly. This is my EDC.
4B3942D2-8D91-4FAA-82E1-767199A7DAE3.jpg
 
Yup I was just about to suggest the cimarron as well they are very pretty, made ria so should be very reliable did I mention pretty
(Obviously not my pic) 2ptawy1.jpg
 
Thank you so much for sharing everybody, it means a lot. The R1 does look nice but it doesn't have the shiny blued finish that brings me to my knees. Jimster, your 1911 is exactly what I had in mind! Would you mind giving me a bit more information on that beauty? Is it this model, the one selling for 649.99? > http://www.cimarron-firearms.com/pr...5-acp-5-barrel-polished-high-luster-blue.html

Could you tell me what the hammer and thumb safety ran you, and what company blued them (as well as what it cost)? Did you install the parts yourself, and did they need any fitting after they were reblued (the Cimarrons are supposed to be interchangeable with Colts, parts wise)? I'd assume the gun is a quality piece since you're recommending it. Sorry for all of the questions, hope you don't mind! Thanks so much! -Ray
 
Well, excuse me.
But those look like over buffed refinished guns to me.

Colt never ever made anything like that, ever.

They just look like old used & bubba refinished 1911's to me.

rc
 
This isn't mine, but it's a Colt 01911 WWI repro that was refinished by the Colt's Custom Shop. Don't think there was any Bubba involved. The photos were posted several years ago on the M1911.org site and I saved them.

Sho' is purty.....

BTW - I have a Colt 01911 WWI repro just like this, but mine is still the original finish. It's a reproduction of the original WWI issue pistols with the Carbonia Blue finish, just about as "GI" as you can get.

picture4.jpg

picture.jpg

picture2.jpg

picture5.jpg

This is mine....

DSCN1139.jpg
 
rcmodel said:
Well, excuse me.
But those look like over buffed refinished guns to me.

Colt never ever made anything like that, ever.

They just look like old used & bubba refinished 1911's to me.

rc
Click to expand...
Hate to poo poo on your party rc but the first 1200 1911s ever made and sent off were a bright shiny blue with blue niter finished small parts it took two finish changes to get to the dull flat black/blue of the 1911a1 ever one is familiar with

Gun and finish from December 28th 1911
17pj6c.jpg
 
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Ray, my over buffed finished bubba gun is the $649.99 Cimarron and it is manufactured by Armscor. Cimarron has a place in Florida called Fords do all their bluing which is where I sent those parts and I can't remember the cost but it wasn't too expensive. The parts I got off eBay weren't that expensive either and they were a direct replacement. Even the thumb safety was a perfect fit. I've never seen another reproduction of an early 1911 with the proper frame like this one has. Not bad for an old bubba history buff. Thanks for asking and good luck.
 
Did you have a good experience with Fords? How long ago? I sent them a desert eagle to be refinished about 2 years ago. They told me it would be done in 5-6 weeks. Long story short, they had it for over 6 months and never refinished it. Everytime I called they would say it would be done next week. Then when I finally had enough I had to fight with them to send it back to me. If you google reviews about them you will read others like them. I am still pretty angry over it.
 
I had those parts blued about a year ago and it took about 2 weeks.
 
Thanks again everybody!! Rondog, those Colts are magnificent. The Colt WW1 repro was exactly the gun I was trying to find, and would be the one i'd choose, if it wasn't so expensive.
And yes, the Cimarron's finish is glossy, different from the carbonia blue of the original 1911's. But it is as close as an original as I can find for the price range.

As for the Cimarron being a bubba gun, as long as it is no worse quality-wise than the original GI guns were, I would be happy with one, I am sure. Since they are made by RIA, i'd guess it is comparable to the parkerizedd 1911's RIA offers? How is the trigger of the Cimarron? How heavy is it, and is the break clean, smooth and crisp? I might be happy with just getting one as it is and replacing the hammer and thumb safety later.

I'm going to try out a Springfield and a ATI 1911 today, basic "GI" models (as in no bells and whistles, not repros). Is the Cimarron comparable to those? Thank you so much everyone!
 
I had those parts blued about a year ago and it took about 2 weeks.
Click to expand...

Beautiful Armscor manuafactured 1911 and a great touch with the Colt parts. And I remember when you sent them off to Ford's. How ya doing Jimster?
 
Did you have a good experience with Fords? How long ago? I sent them a desert eagle to be refinished about 2 years ago. They told me it would be done in 5-6 weeks. Long story short, they had it for over 6 months and never refinished it. Everytime I called they would say it would be done next week. Then when I finally had enough I had to fight with them to send it back to me. If you google reviews about them you will read others like them. I am still pretty angry over it.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's kind of strange reading the negative comments about them. Never knew anyone to have any issues with Fords. Hope they got their act together.
 
Funny thing about my RIA- We all "know" that there are no drop-on parts for the 1911-pattern pistol, that they must be fitted to work properly. Every aftermarket part or spare that I have for mine did indeed drop right in, and the pistol functions fine with any and all of those parts. The OP need not be scared of the Cimarron. In fact, if I didn't like the hammer I already installed on my RIA GI, I'd seriously consider a Colt wide-spur version.
 
RayTheGreat

Back in 1968 Colt made four different 1911s to commemorate the U.S. battles fought in WWI. They had some engraving on the slide and were done in Colt's Royal Blue finish. These can still be found on gun auction sites like Gunbroker for considerably less than the new Colt WWI 1911 reproductions are going for.

Like you I wanted one of these new Colt 1911s but knew I could never afford one so a few years back I picked a new Colt Government. It has the "100 Years of Service" rollmark on it and sort of looks to me like a slightly updated version of the original 1911, complete with a flat mainspring housing, double diamond walnut grips, and long trigger. Granted it doesn't have the smaller thumb safety or the bright shiny blued finish you're looking for but it certainly looks great and quite authentic for a modern day version of a Colt 1911.

guns2038_zps417946b5.gif
 
Hello, imashooter. Glad to hear from ya! Just as an FYI about WW1 style 1911 frames ,they did not have the crescent moon shaped cut out at the rear of the trigger guard. I'm sure that doesn't matter to some but I thought I would mention it.
 
Thanks for the info about the parts, Ajumbo! That eases my fears and lowers my reserve about the Cimarron.
Bannock, thanks for the information! I've now spent some time looking for some 1968 commemorative Colt pieces, but the cheapest i can find is 1350, which while considerably lower than 1850, is still out of my price range. Regardless, thanks for informing me about that model! I didn't even know they existed.
And I've been considering the Colt 1991 series guns for a long time; they are certainly attractive to me. However, I have a lust for a shiny blue surface and some old fashioned looking rollmarks. I think i'm leaning towards the Cimarron at this point, and would likely choose it over the 1991, unless anyone can persuade me otherwise! On another note, i just got back from the range after firing 100 rounds w. a Metroarms American classic 2 > http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...+AC45G2+1911+American+Classic+II+8+1+45ACP+5"

I love the 1911 platform, so I enjoyed the weapon naturally, but the beavertail, serrations, hammer, and generally all of the "improved" parts of the gun turned me off. Am I alone? The action was fine, and the trigger was pretty crisp and clean (it was lighter than i expected, too) ... To anybody who has used the 1991 Colt and/or (especially) the Cimarron, how does the Metroarms compare? I know it comes from the Philippines, like the Cimarron. Are they made both by RIA? How is the trigger on the Cimarron? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks so much! -Ray
 
RayTheGreat

Glad to be of help! Most of my shooting experiences have been with Colts. The ones being made today are probably the best built guns I have seen from the factory in a very long time. I bought four new Colts a few years back and all of them were great; clean and light triggers, snug fit with the slide to frame and barrel to slide, and top marks for overall fit and finish.

I have also handled a few RIA 1911s and while they don't have quite the overall quality that Colt offers, they do give you a decent gun at an affordable price. Worked on a friend's nickel plated RIA 1911 and the quality of the plating was very good; even and consistent coverage inside and out. I would say something like the Cimarron 1911 gives you the closest thing to a bright blued finish.
 
Here's my over-buffed, refinished Cimarron. All original except for grips.

p8K5yil.jpg
S0fXSrM.jpg

Kind of polished (not much) blue Colt repro.

sLAz3SK.jpg
UjoV6Qi.jpg
 
Great photo comparison, imashooter! The first shows the early frame and the second shows the post 1924ish changes with the trigger guard cutout.
 
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