CMP 1911’s-they started shipping!

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Well. Here we are in mid May, 3 months since my last post. Eight months into the program. Still no gun. I checked the cmp forums today and learned a few things. They're shipping guns today to order numbers in the 5000 range. The other thing I learned, and this really pisses me off, is that it appears that cmp is processing orders and paperwork, as well as assigning order numbers for all 19k orders received. Rather than processing and shipping the 8k guns they have, they're wasting time on the 11k orders they can not, nor likely ever will, fill.
 
Yep - though I'm not sure that they'll *never* be able to fill them. Army would hopefully send a few thousand more over to CMP. I guess it's defensible that CMP is granting numbers for the next shipment for those folks who applied for the first. However, does this mean that they won't likely take new applicants for the next go-around, assuming there is one?

And here's an interesting aside - my friend just received his CMP 1911 - Colt frame and GI replacement "generic" slide. He's not too amused for plunking down over so much for it. Dark gray parkerization, and looks like a complete mixmaster of small parts (need to check the s/n when he shows it to me again, but looks like Ithaca slide stop and thumb safety with a Colt frame, and the replacement contractor slide. I tried to give him solace by noting this would be a GI gun, probably just as issued, after having seen service for over 4 or 5 decades before being boxed up. I suppose for nearly a grand, he was hoping at least not to get one with the generic slide, and was probably pumped up at seening these wonderful specimens pictured on various forums - - - but so it goes with luck of the draw ...
 
Yep - though I'm not sure that they'll *never* be able to fill them. Army would hopefully send a few thousand more over to CMP. I guess it's defensible that CMP is granting numbers for the next shipment for those folks who applied for the first. However, does this mean that they won't likely take new applicants for the next go-around, assuming there is one?

And here's an interesting aside - my friend just received his CMP 1911 - Colt frame and GI replacement "generic" slide. He's not too amused for plunking down over so much for it. Dark gray parkerization, and looks like a complete mixmaster of small parts (need to check the s/n when he shows it to me again, but looks like Ithaca slide stop and thumb safety with a Colt frame, and the replacement contractor slide. I tried to give him solace by noting this would be a GI gun, probably just as issued, after having seen service for over 4 or 5 decades before being boxed up. I suppose for nearly a grand, he was hoping at least not to get one with the generic slide, and was probably pumped up at seening these wonderful specimens pictured on various forums - - - but so it goes with luck of the draw ...


What did he expect? His sounds a lot like mine. 1943 Colt frame and 1950's Colt replacement slide. I bet most 1911's after the late 1950's at best were mix masters. Did he think the 1911's hanging from a GI's belt in Vietnam or Grenada weren't mix-master's?
 
Not sure what he expected, probably hoping for a slide with any "brand" rather than the generic replacement hard slide.

His Colt frame came with a replacement hard slide with a cage code of S3140, which means the slide was contracted from IMI (Israel) in the 1980s. After field stripping it, I'm pretty sure the barrel is a contractor replacement as well.

Might not tell him that - non US parts would be a double bummer for him.

it is what it is. Personally, I don't think he received a thousand-dollar 1911 either, but YMMV...

What did he expect? His sounds a lot like mine. 1943 Colt frame and 1950's Colt replacement slide. I bet most 1911's after the late 1950's at best were mix masters. Did he think the 1911's hanging from a GI's belt in Vietnam or Grenada weren't mix-master's?
 
Personally, I don't think he received a thousand-dollar 1911 either, but YMMV...

You may be right. And if mine is like that, I may reject it. I'm interested in a WWII gun to pair with my Garand. If I wanted a foreign made gun, I'd buy one from Springfield Armory.
 
You may be right. And if mine is like that, I may reject it. I'm interested in a WWII gun to pair with my Garand. If I wanted a foreign made gun, I'd buy one from Springfield Armory.

There's truth to that. I know for many (including myself) these CMP 1911s are not about "the money" - its about the provenance and the history. It's just that ... this particular pistol of my friends does not IMHO have a lot of history to its many 1980s issue replacement parts. And, taken together, I just can't come to a fair market value (or "insurance value" for your Antiques Roadshow fans) that comes reasonable close to what he paid for the pistol.

In my case, I decided not to jump on the CMP bandwagon for the 1911s (though CMP has treated me very well for my Garands, M1 Carbines, and 1903A3s). But for my "GI" 1911s, to merely paired a replacement USGI hard slide (off ebay for $119 !) with a RIA lower, and dropped in a surplus barrel, GI hammer, Gi trigger, slide stop and thumb safety. And GI grips as well. Total investment in this was about $450 or so ... and arguably my franken-GI has less "foreign" parts than the CMP 1911 my friend received. And I just went down the Springfield route too. Yesterday, I picked up a GI model Springer (a few years old, but untouched). $425. Swapping out some parts over the next week to bring it closer to a real GI conf.

Either way, I'm going to hold my tongue with my friend about his CMP 1911. I know he's waffling about it already.
 
Never heard of a slide with no manufacturer.

As for a WW II gun, hope you get what you want. I’m happy with mine. 50’s slide certainly saw Service. War time or not, it was carried by American GI’s. But I’d accept the gun. You could flip it for more than you paid.

As for the history, they all have them. They were carried by American GI’s. Saving $400 for a Springfield clone can’t claim ANY history at all.
 
Colt was the only manufacturer to put its name on replacement slides - they had the first contract (and I think in later runs they removed their rollmark from the slide as well). All the rest simply put their cage code. Numax was (I think) the more common supplier of these replacement hard slides.

Like I said, I did not put myself into the CMP 1911 game. Just didn't strike me at the time.

Never said the Springer could claim any history in and of itself. It's just my latest fun shooter. And will have fun frankensteining it into a better GI-style config. The other pistol though - the only non GI part is the frame - I've pretty much replaced everything with GI parts (including slide). I presume that carries some tiny spirit of history? My GI pistols (US) include a Colt 1917 revolver, S&W 1917 revolver and S&W Victory model. The Colt carries a lot of history - it was my grandfathers' from the Mexican Campaign and then WWI. It followed him home when he came back from France.
 
So I was just over at the CMP1911 forum looking at photos of guns delivered in the past couple days. They all had manufacturer marks (Remington Rand, Ithaca, and Colt) on them. Guess I'll just wait and see what shows up at my LGS. I can always return it for a refund less shipping costs.
 
As for the history, they all have them. They were carried by American GI’s. Saving $400 for a Springfield clone can’t claim ANY history at all.

True, but it depends on what history you are looking for. That's the interesting thing about "collecting." You find an event, timeframe, era, theme or style that interests you, and focus on it. My girlfriend's dad said something to me recently about why I don't "collect" guns, because, to him, "collecting" is just buying guns, preferably on the cheap. (He recently came home with an RG revolver.) I didn't tell him this, as I didn't want to offend, but I am collecting; I'm just not buying "whatever" and I'm only buying good condition. So if this 1911CMP doesn't have a solid connection to WWII, I'll send it back.

PS: This is especially true for this 1911 as I don't actually like 1911s, so this gun will probably almost never be fired much.
 
True, but it depends on what history you are looking for. That's the interesting thing about "collecting." You find an event, timeframe, era, theme or style that interests you, and focus on it. My girlfriend's dad said something to me recently about why I don't "collect" guns, because, to him, "collecting" is just buying guns, preferably on the cheap. (He recently came home with an RG revolver.) I didn't tell him this, as I didn't want to offend, but I am collecting; I'm just not buying "whatever" and I'm only buying good condition. So if this 1911CMP doesn't have a solid connection to WWII, I'll send it back.

PS: This is especially true for this 1911 as I don't actually like 1911s, so this gun will probably almost never be fired much.
Well, the Frame should definitely be WWII. It will most likely be mixed parts, but that is just the way the US Military works. I am still waiting on mine as well. I'll keep it whatever I get. I am hoping for a 1911-not-A1 with WWI heritage. I'll probably shoot it at my range's Memorial day and Veteran's day shoots, and that's about it. I have a stack of 1911's, and either the one i built from scratch or the Springfield that was my first pistol I bought myself will still be my favorite. Probably.
 
True, but it depends on what history you are looking for. That's the interesting thing about "collecting." You find an event, timeframe, era, theme or style that interests you, and focus on it. My girlfriend's dad said something to me recently about why I don't "collect" guns, because, to him, "collecting" is just buying guns, preferably on the cheap. (He recently came home with an RG revolver.) I didn't tell him this, as I didn't want to offend, but I am collecting; I'm just not buying "whatever" and I'm only buying good condition. So if this 1911CMP doesn't have a solid connection to WWII, I'll send it back.

PS: This is especially true for this 1911 as I don't actually like 1911s, so this gun will probably almost never be fired much.


Don’t send it back. Plenty of people didn’t make the lottery. You can easily break even without even trying if you sell it privately. You’d even make money.
 
Well, the Frame should definitely be WWII. It will most likely be mixed parts, but that is just the way the US Military works. I am still waiting on mine as well. I'll keep it whatever I get. I am hoping for a 1911-not-A1 with WWI heritage. I'll probably shoot it at my range's Memorial day and Veteran's day shoots, and that's about it. I have a stack of 1911's, and either the one i built from scratch or the Springfield that was my first pistol I bought myself will still be my favorite. Probably.
Yeah if I got a 1911 (WW I era) I'd probably be giddy and shut up about it. I've been thinking about looking for a 1917 enfield and 1917 revolver, so a 1911 would start that as well.
 
If you get a WW1 frame, it's most likely going to have been rebuilt into 1911A1 configuration. From what I understand, rare items (like all-matching original 1911A1s or WW1 era intact) are going to be auctioned by CMP, or some may go to a CMP in house display. And that's supposedly just a small handful - the rest are going out to applicants as-is.

Well, the Frame should definitely be WWII. It will most likely be mixed parts, but that is just the way the US Military works. I am still waiting on mine as well. I'll keep it whatever I get. I am hoping for a 1911-not-A1 with WWI heritage. I'll probably shoot it at my range's Memorial day and Veteran's day shoots, and that's about it. I have a stack of 1911's, and either the one i built from scratch or the Springfield that was my first pistol I bought myself will still be my favorite. Probably.
 
If you get a WW1 frame, it's most likely going to have been rebuilt into 1911A1 configuration. From what I understand, rare items (like all-matching original 1911A1s or WW1 era intact) are going to be auctioned by CMP, or some may go to a CMP in house display. And that's supposedly just a small handful - the rest are going out to applicants as-is.
Some have been sent out already. A couple of M1911 (non-A1) frames have been posted on the CMP forums, as well as a WWII Colt/Colt that looks to be all original after a rebuild. Makes me wonder what they are holding back for auction...as you are correct: the best ones will be auctioned.

You never know what you'll get. I'll probably get a frame with no interesting markings and an ummarked arsenal slide. Rust pitted. I'm just happy to be getting a mystery box. Eventually.
 
I believe the CMP has to dispose of the first shipment before they get another one. I think the Army has to evaluate how well the program is working. If they're just now getting to 5000 it will be this fall before they dispose of all of them. Man, that's a long time to wait for a frankengun, even if it did come from the Army.

I received my # a few months ago but it was way above the 8000 guns they had to sell. I'll wait and see what happens because it doesn't cost anything to wait but I'm not expecting an opportunity to purchase. If I do I'll decide at that time if I still want one. Right now I don't but I could change my mind, it's been known to happen. In the meantime I'll just shoot my faux USGI 1911 which is a Colt 1991 A1. The sights are about the only noticeable difference. It even has a factory parkerized finish. That might be as close as I ever get to a USGI pistol. I had one issued to me in the Navy but they took it back. Cheap SOB's.
 
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Having paid a year ago $850 for a 98% pristine Sig-Sauer P228, the CMP price for a 1911 doesn't seem extreme, if these are true collector guns from any perspective.

Even though they are cool,1911s are not one of my gun interests (and only carry DA/SA guns), but I'm happy for true collectors who can have one.

You know about the vast numbers of surplus US military small arms stored at the Navy's Crane IN logistics base? Other weapons are there, but multiple buildings with them are tantalizing...
The base commander about nine-ten years ago (as told by a friend on the Navy Rifle Team) delayed his retirement to somehow hinder the White House (Obama) learning about what was/is stored there in locked containers.
The items could go back to WW1. Imagine the potential threat to US commercial gun sales if what they suspect is true. >>>Of course, these can't enter the US markets<<<
 
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I got my phone call from CMP earlier today...and I missed the call by just a few seconds. They left a voicemail. I immediately returned the call...and left a voice mail. Haven't heard back. =( I just sent an email.
 
I wonder how many they still have left to sell? I knew it’d take a while to make it through the first batch of pistols but 8 months seems kind of long.
 
Been seeing pictures over the past week or two of CMP 1911s that are in pretty amazing condition. Seems like a crate of 1911s (not -A1s) was opened and sent out in one back to lucky recipients. Many nice examples. Now I really regret not getting into the CMP 1911 lottery. Looks like the examples being shipped have gotten even more interesting as time goes on.

Some have been sent out already. A couple of M1911 (non-A1) frames have been posted on the CMP forums, as well as a WWII Colt/Colt that looks to be all original after a rebuild. Makes me wonder what they are holding back for auction...as you are correct: the best ones will be auctioned.

You never know what you'll get. I'll probably get a frame with no interesting markings and an ummarked arsenal slide. Rust pitted. I'm just happy to be getting a mystery box. Eventually.
 
other than wait for a cmp 1911 A1, I bought this 1911 A1 comersial colt made in 1948 that is the same as a military pistol other than the finish. it has sat in a holster for about the last 25 years and has minor finish stains(no pits) for less than half of what cmp wants.
 

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I lost my chance. I'm at the end of the line. I'm done. I just physically could not get to the phone before it went to voicemail. I got to the phone one or two seconds too late. I got an email from them that said they don't hold pistols. They make one attempt, and if they can't make contact, they put your packet at the end of the line. I waited from September to almost August and missed it by one or two seconds. They won't return my call, and they won't call me back. I will never have anything to do with CMP again.
 
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