#Were remington rand 1911a1 us army issued to navy serial

These had a “C” prefix in the serial number. “Government Model” is a Colt trademark used in the early days to differentiate between military contract pistols and civilian…or commercial pistols. If you happen to encounter an old Government Model with a rectangular port in the slide without a plunger…that’s one of the experimental models. It was deemed too complex and unreliable for regular production and shelved. Caveat Emptor and all that.Ĭolt…not Kimber…pioneered the Swartz system in the 30s.

#Were remington rand 1911a1 us army issued to navy series

If the gun left the factory after 7/1/83, it’s probably a home-built cobble job with the barrel and bushing installed into a straight-up Series 80, in hopes of commanding a premium price for a “Rare Transitional” model. These were pretty rare, and seldom seen…and when they are, it’s a good idea to check with Colt to determine the production date. Early on, there were also some few Series 80 pistols with the Series 70 collet bushing and Accurizer barrel…technically making them Series 70/80 pistols…but were all roll-marked as Series 80s. Series 80 pistols were introduced in 1983, during which time Colt was still producing Series 70 pistols. There is no such thing as a Series 70 Springfield or Kimber or anything else that doesn’t come with the Rampant Colt on it. “Series 70” and “Series 80” are Colt trademarks. Note that there are also a few pistols without the Series 80 system that are marked 80S and 80B. If it says 70B…the finish was originally blued. That tells you that the pistol was built in the 70s, and that its original finish was Electroless…or “Satin” Nickel.

#Were remington rand 1911a1 us army issued to navy serial number

That your Combat Commander has 70S in the serial number matters not. (The Norinco barrels being the notable exception.) No Commander or Combat Commander was so equipped. Series 70 denotes the implementation of the collet bushing and the “Accurizer” barrel ™ from which all modern barrels were spun off with a slight modification. There were no Series 70 Commanders or Combat Commanders. Series 70 pistols were built between 1973 and late 1983.

To the Mexican Bandistas in 1916…it was known as… “The Yankee Fist.” To its American fans and historians, it’s simply the Model of 1911 US Army. “Old Slabsides” “Old Ugly” “Old Bigmouth” and “The Army Automatic” to name a few of the more memorable ones…but none was so colorful…and maybe even romantic…as that given it by Villa’s Bandistas who…after having been fortunate enough to survive being shot by the big Colt…reported that it felt like being punched by a large man. The 1911 has had many unofficial nicknames attached to it over the years by the men who carried it into the killing fields. The excursion was unsuccessful, but the US Cavalry met Villas “Bandistas” on several occasions. Bliss, Texas into Mexico for the purposes of capturing or killing Mexican revolutionary Francesco “Pancho” Villa. “Blackjack Pershing led a mounted expeditionary force of the US Army 8th Brigade out of Ft. The pistol was phased out in 1985 due to so many simply being worn out, and replaced, with the 9mm Beretta M92/M9 pistol becoming the US Army’s general issue sidearm…though many viable examples were pulled from armories and rebuilt by US Marine and Navy armorers for issue to Marine MEU-SOC units operating in the middle east today. Browning in cooperation with Colt, it was adopted in the spring of 1911 and dubbed “Model of 1911 US Army Calibre 45.” With a few modifications to make the pistol more user-friendly, it appeared in WW2 as the Model of 1911A1 US Army, though all parts…including the ones modified…remained fully interchangeable with the originals.

The pistol has a long and distinguished history with the US Armed Forces.