I headed to the range again with my custom 1911, and while it looked great and shot well, reliability wasnt where it should have been. Lost your password? Apparently it wasnt staked right at the factory. Normally his 1911 lectures are held during downtime at the range when he is repairing his 1911. The finish is a bit slick which is offset by the rather deep cocking serrations both front and rear on the slide. This added weight, in addition to the dual spring slap back, provide for noticeably less recoil. The instructor basically told us the Air Force felt the Army .45 was too much gun for us. Wayne is one of the premier pistol smiths in the country. The Colt incorporates the dual recoil spring assembly of the firms recent commercial models, which seemed to dampen recoil somewhat. The gun ran well. I brought it into the dealer. I was an active duty Marine from 1992 to 1996, and at that time the standard issue. The venerable Colt 1911 semi-automatic pistol a design that's now well over 100 years old has long been replaced in its role as the official sidearm for the United States Armed Forces, so much indeed that its substitute is on its way to replacement itself. Therefore, almost all of these pistols are marked M45A1 and only a small percentage have the USMC rollmark. The first contract, as published on July 20, 2012, bound Colt to deliver 4,000 samples initially, and up to 12,000 samples in the following years; the contract was said to be worth $22.5 million to Colt. M45A1 MARINE PISTOL. All tests most notably those carried on by civilian and military experts in the U.S. with a wide variety of commercial and service-grade ammunition show an incredible and constant accuracy level, with an average group width of 10 cm at around 20 metres (4" groups at 25 yards). Minimum price for the offer must be greater than 0% of the Product. Years later, my father-in-law bought it from me for about 40% of what I paid for it, to this day I consider it an act of mercy. Colt's Manufacturing Company - firearms, handguns, pistols, rifles, revolvers. The silence was deafening, though, when they became available and Colt continued to produce a civilian variant. The company made its humble start in 1963in Gussago, Italywhen Giuseppe Pietta made a commitment to produce guns as authentic and true-to-original as possible. The pistols are exceptional purely as shooters, and scarce and significant for several military and historic reasons. Colt Custom Shop M45A1 (NO USMC MARKINGS) "EGA" serial number. We had to shoot the .38 military special (which was horrible). A close-up of the rear portion of the gun with its hammer cocked. In an effort to makegunsthat are traditionally built with steel more affordable, gunmanufacturers have created a process to mold low impact gunparts rather than forge or mill each one. The one-of-a-kind markings are all there. And yet, it is still to completely abandon the battlefield, being a favourite of many special operation forces. By far, the most common of the USMC rollmarks is the Custom Shop Pelican cased version, and is very likely to be the one anyone encounters. Depends on what version of the USMC rollmark. My buddy brought his daughters Remington R1 1911 to test out. I know what you are thinking, why carry a gun that holds twice as many rounds, weighs less, is more compact, more reliable and costs a third as much- I must be nuts? Novak was contracted for rear sights, Wilson Combat provided extractors and mag release buttons, while King's Gun Works supplied ambidextrous thumb safeties. See also [ edit] Colt CR6940. The quality and engineering on the National Match barrels is exceptional. Support NRA American Rifleman DONATE. The trigger was eminently usable and a good match for a combat pistol intended for highly trained special operations forces. Manufacturer: Colt Model: M45A1 Marine Government Width: 1.25" Height: 5.5" Accessories: Manual, Lock Action: Single Barrel Finish: Polished Barrel Length: 5" Barrel Twist: 1:16 Barrel Type: Match Caliber: 45 ACP Capacity: 7 # of Magazines: 1 Frame Color: FDE Frame Finish: Decobond Frame Material: Steel Front Sight: Novak Night Sight The rollmark changed around 006700EGA as far as I can tell. The Colt M45A1 CQBP pistol is based on the tried and true Series 80 platform: it comes with a single-action trigger, a skeletonized enhanced hammer, an automatic firing pin safety, an ambidextrous frame-mounted manual safety, and an improved and crisp trigger pull - about two kilos or just under 6 lbs. Originally the Colt Custom Shop pistols had the Marine USMC roll marks on the slide, but the United States Marine Corps filed a cease & desist letter with Colt Manufacturing regarding the use of USMC on pistols not actually going to the Marines. The firearm felt like it had close tolerances, with everything locking up firmly, but without that hand-fitted exactness one can feel in a custom M1911. We ended the session shooting the old FBI pistol qualification course on a counter shaded QIT-99 (you can see the course of fire here). The Picatinny accessories rail is machined on the slide, Colt's M45A1 comes with a 5" National Match barrel, The sample of this pictures mounts Trijicon night sights. USMC O1070M45 regular production, blue box - unknown how many released, probably less than the pelican cased version. The coarse checkering on the multi-colored G10 panels does assist in anchoring the handgun, and the Marine pistol has an undercut trigger guard to allow a high hand hold. An MEU(SOC) 1911 pistol, built by PWS at Quantico, Virginia. Solid aluminum grip and hammer If the highest accuracy and best trigger is your goal, get a custom shop model. Fans of the 1911 expressed their disgust as nearly 4,000 of the handguns were de-commissioned. it is in the cerakote finish with "USMC" rollmark, complete with original 2 mags. I bought a used Generation 2 Glock 19 to shoot the rest of the time I was home, before heading back to my duty station in MCAGCC, 29 Palms, CA, a few thousand miles away. It was largely (maybe entirely) unannounced and seemed odd, or even suspect, but there was a factory letter from Colt to guarantee authenticity. Maintaining the simple recoil assembly, 5-inch barrel (though using a stainless steel match grade barrel), and internal extractor, the ICQB is not much different from Browning's original design. Springfield Armory entered a variant of the full-sized Loaded MC Operator M1911A1 pistol with a military-standard 1913 rail, tritium night sights and finished with a two-tone black slide with an olive-drab green frame. this isnt your cheapie m45a1 model. JHP handload 1.20" Wilson Combat 200-gr. Davids Articles at GUNS, American Handgunner & Shooting Industry Magazines. Reviews (0) After a rigorous selection process, the United States Marine Corps selected this Colt Rail Gun as their Close Quarters Battle Pistol (CQBP). Bill Marr [8], A Marine operator may shoot as many as 80,000 rounds from this pistol during a training-cycle and subsequent deployment. Springfield and Colt have done a great job in making these MIM parts extremely strong, thus increasing the durability and reliability of MIM-equipped firearms. Professional dedicated to training and equipping people to live safely in a dangerous world. The thumb safeties are ambidextrous and slightly larger than the original 1911 thumb safeties. Does anyone know? Three pistols were offered to the USMC as a replacement for current M45 Pistols. [2] The last four digits of the weapon's serial number are stamped on the top of the barrel, on the right-side of slide assembly, inside of the beavertail grip safety, on each side of the ambidextrous thumb safety, and on the inside face of the mainspring housing group. A large number of certified modern U.S. military handguns on the market is mostly unheard of. IT12346351005. Despite a host of refinements and enhancements, the new models method of operation and construction remain essentially unchanged from those of the John Browning-designed original. The Custom Shop price list indicates theyll checker the front strap at either 20 or 25 lpi for $260. The pistols shipped in the original cardboard container with the contract-correct black Wilson Combat seven-round magazine. (camp). The Colt M45A1 CQBP comes with a cold-hammer forged, polished stainless steel 5" National Match barrel and a NM bushing. He refuses to touch a polymer gun, expect for the Springfield XD I sold him around 2000 (I think he sold it within days). Two bigthings happened to me when I turned 18, I joined the Marines and I bought my first pistol (in the state I live in, you used to be able to obtain a handgun license at the age of 18). Outside of the mentioned ambidextrous manual safety, the controls configuration is the same as on any other 1911 variant. A round indexed in the chambering position on feeding ramp of the M45A1, The M45A1 skips the mainstream Cerakote finish for a more resistant IonBond Decobond coating. Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review. It is $50/year and gives you access supposedly to some good deals. Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives. I've been looking for holsters for mine. The finish on the pistol is a brown Decobond designed to hold up through hard use. I fired representative groups from a rest with several loads rather than the full five-group protocol typically used in product reviews in order to minimize the rounds and wear on the Colt. Fit and finish were OK, but the Marines use it, so that is worth the premium. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. While the Colt Model 601 was the first AR-15 to be mass-produced, there were several design variations that came before during the platform's development. I cleared the pistol, engaged the safety, and couldnt take it off safe. The M45A1 ships with Wilson Combat 47 7 round magazines, and is a production grade weapon, rolling off the same line as the commercial M45A1 with identical markings and parts. was not the question, rather, it was how tightly I could group the splatter marks. View all posts by David Freeman. Get your piece of American history before is gone. You just need to be willing to spend the money it takes to grab a true jewel of firearm technology. My M45A1 has had hundreds of rounds put through it, both ball and JHP, and has not experienced any type of failure. Some of the early Marine pistols began showing excess wear and 1,000 of these pistols (470 used and 530 unissued) were traded by the Marine Corps under warranty back to Colt in exchange for newer Ionbond finished replacements. Marine Corps HQ demanded that Colt stop using the USMC rollmark, so all subsequent pistols were marked M45A1. The decommissioned pistols and the custom shop pistols all appear to be in the hands of collectors. This is very unique and very rare COLT 1911 USMC ROLLMARK U.S. MARINES M45A1 SEMPER FI FDE. Head to the range this week with American Rifleman staff as they discuss a trim little repeater from Savage Arms that comes chambered for the .22 WMR cartridge. A source request was sent out to Springfield Armory and the Springfield Operator, based on the FBI's TRP pistol was built. And yet, a lot of gun enthusiasts andcollectors have been happy to wait to get one. Colt offered a modified version of their O1980RG (Rail Gun) pistol, which is derived from their existing XSE line of 1911-style pistols with a desert sand-colored surface treatment and Novak night sights. This handgun has never been fired! Under this point of view, the Colt M45A1 CQBP is definitely the 1911 of the 21st Century. The decision had been anticipated in February 2015, when the USMC first officially authorized its special operation units to carry Glock pistols in lieu of the 1911, at the operator's will. The M45A1 proved exceptionally stable and accurate at the range. I believe there was also a run of grey M45s with front strap checkering that were not CS guns. This year, H&R announced an expansion of its AR-15 lineup, bringing additional "retro" models to the market, including a 9 mm Luger-chambered Colt SMG clone, an M16A2-styled rifle and the carbine-size 723. [14] In 2010, requirements were once more issued for an off-the-shelf system to replace the custom-built pistols. Buy 2013 Colt Government CQBP .45 ACP Desert Sand *ULTRA RARE USMC ROLLMARK* : GunBroker is the largest seller of Semi Auto Pistols Pistols Guns & Firearms All: 967208438. . In July 2012, the United States Marine Corps System Command announced that Colt Defense LLC of Hartford, Connecticut, was the winner of the new CQBP pistol contract. The pistols are exceptional purely as shooters, and scarce and significant for several military and historic reasons. This is important in a gun meant to endure nearly as many rounds in the weeks-long Marine Raider training regimen as the original M1911 was intended to see throughout its entire service life. (LogOut/ I have other Colt 1911s with smooth front straps, so I guess its just not something thats in Colts playbook for their stock pistols. It was the kind of day that a gun guy can never forget. This is very unique and very rare COLT 1911 USMC ROLLMARK U.S. MARINES M45A1 SEMPER FI FDE. What started off as sending my officers ACP off for new Lo-Mount sights, turned into over two thousand dollars worth of work. Passionate Caretakers of Our Historic Military Firearms and Americas Wartime Heritage. Second Media Inc., 30800 Telegraph Rd, Suite 1921, Bingham Farms, MI 48025 USA. VERY RARE AND VERY COLLECTIBLE! It is hand fit, hand tooled and came with a snazzy green Pelican case and cleaning kit. Shooting theM45A1feels different than shooting other 1911s. While most will instantly recognize that the Officers sized guns arent known for reliability, I didnt know it at the time. With the exception of the overtly poor, reloaded cartridge, the Colt M45A1 was 100% reliable and the front sight didnt fly off. The M45A1 feels heavy compared to other full-size 1911s. As the time went by and the adoption of the M9 pistol depleted the stock of spare parts, making the old M45 MEUSOC pistols unserviceable, a replacement had to be found. The letter also confirms the features including Desert Tan Cerakote finish, under barrel accessory rail, National Match grade barrel, forward and rear cocking serrations on the slide, long solid aluminum trigger, extended ambidextrous thumb safety, extended beavertail grip safety, flat serrated mainspring housing with a lanyard loop, Novak 3-dot night sights, and desert camouflage G10 composite grips.