I was poking around at used guns and ran across a sad sight in a pawn shop. It's a nickel frame with UNITED STATES PROPERTY and NO 1933336 on the side. There was something else stamped on the front but I don't recall what it said. There were no mfg names on the frame. The left side of the frame had an FJA stamped into it.
The number puts it into 1944 Remington Rand wartime production but the inspection mark drops it into Ithica territory if my info is correct.
The sad part is the butchery. Brace yourselves. It's not pretty.
The trigger guard was welded up and squared off. It's got the bow wave breaker on the front too. Not being satisfied with that alone, the "builder" took his sharpest punch and "stippled" the bottom of the guard as well as the front of it somewhere between sixty five thousand and eleventy billion times. The marks are deep and pointy.
A mag well was grafted to the frame. I couldn't see it well because of the wrap around grips but I imagine it was welded.
The main spring housing was blued with a crosshatch pattern. An old school (non-functional) high gloss stainless beaver tail with the really round stubby profile had been fitted. The hammer was a smallish lightweight affair that had been worked on top. On the side was an antique nickel Pachmayr slide stop and nickel thumb safety. The trigger was an aluminum three hole piece.
Upstairs it was slightly better. It was topped with a (mostly worn off) blued Ithica slide and Colt Mk IV Series 70 barrel. The sights were an early form of "tactical" or otherwise hot rod items dovetailed in. The rear was a peculiar two piece affair with the white outlined notch sights floating above and behind the pinned on dovetail. The front was an orange post. Naturally, it sported a prehistoric full length guide rod.
Now the demons set in. I've been man-handling all kinds of 1911s lately. I'm simply grabbing them and doing a quick point. The muscle memory is still there. The 1911 feels like a gun should.
This one points for me like none of the others have. It feels right. The trigger feels pretty nice. The slide is fairly tight on the frame.
The gun is calling my name. I can hear it still.
The asking price is cheap. Dirt cheap.
I don't normally take any interest in stuff like this but I just gotta know.
Should I do it?
The number puts it into 1944 Remington Rand wartime production but the inspection mark drops it into Ithica territory if my info is correct.
The sad part is the butchery. Brace yourselves. It's not pretty.
The trigger guard was welded up and squared off. It's got the bow wave breaker on the front too. Not being satisfied with that alone, the "builder" took his sharpest punch and "stippled" the bottom of the guard as well as the front of it somewhere between sixty five thousand and eleventy billion times. The marks are deep and pointy.
A mag well was grafted to the frame. I couldn't see it well because of the wrap around grips but I imagine it was welded.
The main spring housing was blued with a crosshatch pattern. An old school (non-functional) high gloss stainless beaver tail with the really round stubby profile had been fitted. The hammer was a smallish lightweight affair that had been worked on top. On the side was an antique nickel Pachmayr slide stop and nickel thumb safety. The trigger was an aluminum three hole piece.
Upstairs it was slightly better. It was topped with a (mostly worn off) blued Ithica slide and Colt Mk IV Series 70 barrel. The sights were an early form of "tactical" or otherwise hot rod items dovetailed in. The rear was a peculiar two piece affair with the white outlined notch sights floating above and behind the pinned on dovetail. The front was an orange post. Naturally, it sported a prehistoric full length guide rod.
Now the demons set in. I've been man-handling all kinds of 1911s lately. I'm simply grabbing them and doing a quick point. The muscle memory is still there. The 1911 feels like a gun should.
This one points for me like none of the others have. It feels right. The trigger feels pretty nice. The slide is fairly tight on the frame.
The gun is calling my name. I can hear it still.
The asking price is cheap. Dirt cheap.
I don't normally take any interest in stuff like this but I just gotta know.
Should I do it?
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