Interesting Bill: Turn over old surplus 1911's to CMP

[leadcounsel]

On one of my deployments to Iraq, there were 1911s in our Group. One guy researched his serial number and learned it had been made decades earlier and never issued until he received it. It looked brand new, and I actually held it and inspected it. I wish I had taken a picture of it, but that would have seemed gun nutty.

I don't think gun makers would care to oppose it. That number of guns won't make a dent in sales, and it would be bad publicity for any gun maker to oppose this. And besides, I doubt people would buy these for casual use or carry, so historical pieces are not competing with daily use, carry, or custom match pieces.

 

[Hacker15E]

Ok, let me rephrase that. Do you think that the CMP is politically contentious? I didn't think so. They currently sell overpriced historical antiques like M1 Garand rifles to people with more money than sense. There should not be any political pushback from them offering 1911s. I would only hope that the 1911s are reasonably priced, because their tired, cracked, pitted and rusty Garands are marked up 5 times what they're really worth. If they could offer the 1911s at, say, $350 per, that would be excellent. But it would be a shame if they followed their M1 Garand pricing model with the 1911s and then offered them for sale at, say, $1500 each.

Pure comedy gold, thanks.

 

[DT Guy]

The ones we were issued in the early 90's (I was a tanker on an M60A3) rattled so bad we always figured that's how the Russians would eventually find us.

And I still remember 'cleaning' them after range use; open the slide, hold the pistol by the lanyard, drop it into an ENORMOUS vat of CLP, and walk down the armorer's line pulling the pistol, fishing lure style, alongside you for 10-12 feet. Get to the armorer's station, pull it out, shake it off, hand it in.

I was always surprised that they always worked...

Larry

 

[dogmush]

Ok, let me rephrase that. Do you think that the CMP is politically contentious? I didn't think so. They currently sell overpriced historical antiques like M1 Garand rifles to people with more money than sense. There should not be any political pushback from them offering 1911s. I would only hope that the 1911s are reasonably priced, because their tired, cracked, pitted and rusty Garands are marked up 5 times what they're really worth.

I'm confused. You think that CMP's Garands are up to 5x overpriced? You must not have tried to buy a Garand at a gunshow, store , or on Gunbroker in the last 15-20 years.

I can understand if you, personally, think an M1 isn't worth that much, but the market will obviously bear quite a bit more $/rifle then the CMP chooses to sell for. It is also generally considered that CMP's grading is the lowest you might ever get. It's certainly true that the "Service Grade" M1's I've seen have all surpassed functional and been pretty nice rifles. Mine certainly is neither tired, cracked, pitted, nor rusty.

just going by a quick scan of my favorite sites, a Genuine GI 1911 in any condition at all is worth $600-$700. CMP sells Garands at about 65% of what the same rifle goes for on Gunbroker. I would buy a several genuine Colt 1911's at ~$425 a piece.

But poo-poo them if you wish. More for me.

 

[MICHAEL T]

Not as long as Obama is in Whitehouse. He's not about to let us have any old military weapons. If they wanted to sell old Civil War Muskets . He would stop it .They would be called assault muskets and need ban. Worst president America has ever had. Family vacation's have cost taxpayers over 56 million dollars. More than any other 1st family in our history.

Like man said. How many times did they go to Aspin skiing or Hawaii before he was president . They think their King and Queen Not President and 1st lady .

 

[Old Fuff]

This isn't a new idea. Back in the 1960's a government agency named the, Director of Civilian Marksmanship (DCM) sold surplus field grade 1911 and 1911A1 pistols to NRA Club members who participated in they're marksmanship program. The DCM went all of the way back to Teddy Roosevelt, and was intended to provide a way young civilians could be trained to shoot. Supposedly these pistols were "unserviceable," but the one I bought was recently rebuilt and refurbished. It was delivered to my door for the outrageous price of $21.00 plus shipping.

For the record: There is no evidence that the DCM's distribution of .45 pistols ever caused any kind of crime or public safety problems, but it did result in creating some very fine marksmen.

 

[kBob]

Old Fluff,

My Cousin Wayne kept his DCM 1911 in his desk drawer at work as a bank loan manager. His Springfield 03 might still bee in the back of his hall closet un noticed by his widow for all I know.

-kBob

 

[bannockburn]

Doubt it will happen but I would be interested in getting one that was in halfway decent shape and at reasonable price. I would consider it more as a personal collectible than as a shooter.

 

[Captains1911]

Ok, let me rephrase that. Do you think that the CMP is politically contentious? I didn't think so. They currently sell overpriced historical antiques like M1 Garand rifles to people with more money than sense. There should not be any political pushback from them offering 1911s. I would only hope that the 1911s are reasonably priced, because their tired, cracked, pitted and rusty Garands are marked up 5 times what they're really worth. If they could offer the 1911s at, say, $350 per, that would be excellent. But it would be a shame if they followed their M1 Garand pricing model with the 1911s and then offered them for sale at, say, $1500 each.

 

[Captains1911]

just going by a quick scan of my favorite sites, a Genuine GI 1911 in any condition at all is worth $600-$700. CMP sells Garands at about 65% of what the same rifle goes for on Gunbroker. I would buy a several genuine Colt 1911's at ~$425 a piece.

Just curious, where do you find Genuine 1911s for $600 - $700? Thanks.

 

[Paul7]

If Obama gets wind of this he'll probably have them destroyed. You know, 'we must keep guns off the streets', etc.

 

[dogmush]

Just curious, where do you find Genuine 1911s for $600 - $700? Thanks.

You know I was going off of the last time I went looking for messed up, mixmaster guns. clancing around the 'net this morning it looks more like low $1000's is the start. I stand corrected.

Makes the CMP idea even better.

 

[clang]

I was in a Combat Engineer Battalion that transitioned from a wheeled unit to Mechanized in the mid 80s.

Along with the tired M113s we received 2nd hand from the infantry (they were getting Bradleys), APC drivers were also issued 1911s.

Every one of them were mixmaster rattle traps that were difficult to hit the broad side of a barn with even if you were standing inside it. They do go bang every time though.

I wouldn't get my hopes up too much that the government has many surplus 1911s in dece t shape.

The recovery vehicle guys in the motor pool were issued M3 grease guns.

 

[reddog81]

I'd buy at least one, however I won't be holding my breath.

I'm sure the federal government wouldn't want more LARGE CALIBER MILITARY GRADE HANDGUNS loose on the streets...
These are guns meant for wartime use. Civilians can't be trusted with them...
Just think of all the crime we could prevent by having them destroyed...

I'd bet they end up at the bottom of the ocean before they would be released into the CMP's hand.
Hopefully I'm wrong.

 

[Dframe]

It'll NEVER happen while the current occupant of the white house is in residence.

 

[Fishbed77]

Ok, let me rephrase that. Do you think that the CMP is politically contentious? I didn't think so. They currently sell overpriced historical antiques like M1 Garand rifles to people with more money than sense. There should not be any political pushback from them offering 1911s. I would only hope that the 1911s are reasonably priced, because their tired, cracked, pitted and rusty Garands are marked up 5 times what they're really worth. If they could offer the 1911s at, say, $350 per, that would be excellent. But it would be a shame if they followed their M1 Garand pricing model with the 1911s and then offered them for sale at, say, $1500 each.

But, getting back on topic - I'd sure be inclined to order a CMP 1911 if they ever came to fruition.

To be honest, though, I would think it would take quite a bit of effort on the part of the CMP to get them ready to sell and provide customer service for, considering the the quality of grading the CMP puts into rifle sells, the high level of training and skill of their rifle armorers, and the high standard of after-the-sale customer service the CMP provides.


.

 

[HankB]

Last time I saw some USGI 1911s for sale was in the Gun Room at Cabela's . . . they were made by Ithaca and, IIRC, carried tags of up to $2000.

Given that Cabela's routinely overprices their used guns by at least a third, that's still pretty expensive.

Based on what the CMP sells Garands for and what the last lot of M1 Carbines went for a few years back, I'd expect "service grade" 1911s to go in the $400 - $500 dollar range at most. With so many really good 1911s on the market, buying service grade guns will appeal mostly to collectors who want a piece of history, not so much for practical or target shooters who want a "base" gun they can spend $$$ on to accurize and customize.

 

[mgkdrgn]

the CMP currently sell overpriced historical antiques like M1 Garand rifles to people with more money than sense.

Please, if you would, tell me where I can get a better quality M1 Garand at a better price than I can at the CMP?

 

[SSN Vet]

Based on the 54 year old 45s we had in the small arms locker while I was AD, I suspect these may need a lot of TLS.

Perhaps they should include a complimentary copy of Kunhausen's shop manuals, as he goes into great detail about how to evaluate and trouble shoot the old Gub'ment models

 

[BLB68]

Agree with SSN Vet and others regarding likely quality of GI 1911s. When I was arms room NCOIC in my unit (late 80s), the armorer (guy with the actual MOS that fixed things we weren't allowed to) for our base told me the Army hadn't bought a new 1911 since WWII.

The only tight guns we had were those that had been sent to depot in the states for major repairs. The rest were extreme rattle traps that would be hard to hit the broadside of a barn from the inside with. I'd have rather carried one of our revolvers (S&W Model 10s, some Detective Specials, and some Rugers, not sure which model), but those were reserved for the females. I'd take a surplus revolver any day over a GI 1911 if I was looking for a shooter.

That said, I'd probably get one for nostalgia and take my chances as to its shootability if they were available.

 

[Swing]

Pure comedy gold, thanks.

LOL! True.

That said, I'd probably get one for nostalgia and take my chances as to its shootability if they were available.

+1.

 

[Japle]

During my days as an armorer in the Army, I had experience with hundreds of 1911s. They were almost all from 1942-43 and few, if any, wore the original slides, much less barrels, etc.

The best one I remember was s/n SM11131. The “SM” stood for “Service Match” and told me that the frame was from a .22 match pistol. I don’t recall who made the slide, but it and the barrel and bushing were a good fit. With good magazines and a full-power recoil spring, it was 100% reliable.
No doubt the gun was thrown together in a Depot rebuild somewhere along the line.
The gun was quite accurate and shot right on the sights at 25 yds. I used it to earn my first 10 EIC “LEG” points.

I carried SM11131 for years, sometime in situations where I wasn’t supposed to be armed, but thought it might be prudent to skirt the regs just a bit.

 

[Old Fuff]

When the DCM was selling 1911/1911A1 pistols they were classified as, "unserviceable."

I learned later that this simply met that had picked them out of inventory without further inspection.

The one I got, and others I looked at were brand new and unfired after renovation/refinishing.

At $21.00 plus shipping (usually $3.00) I never heard anyone complain.

At the time new commercial Colt's were about $54.00

 

[alexander45]

I'd be first in line for a $500 mill spec rattle trap just to have one

 

[pharmer]

Even with the mismatched parts guns, probably 20% are original excellent examples from several manufacturers, enough to play havoc on the USGI 1911 collector's market. Problematic, even with a change in regime. Joe