Posted: 2/1/2017 3:53:12 PM EDT
| Looking for some help here. One of my co-workers has come into a couple handguns. One of them is an auto ordnance 1911. As I know nothing about these I'm looking for you guys to help me out. From what he says the gun is in decent shape with two sets of grips. As of right now I have not seen the gun. Can you guys give me a ballpark as to what this thing could be worth? Are they decent guns? I do not have a 1911 but I have a bunch of ammo from when my brother had his sr1911. I looked on gunbroker and there are some listed at $400-$450 with no bids. Am I correct in thinking that they are not worth $450 then? Any help would be great. |
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The older AO 1911's were very poorly made and had very little secondary market value...as one other poster
noted, $400 in NIB condition is a maximum retail value IMHO. Seems like the new models (new production) are better built but by no means stellar. Good luck. |
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Spotty. I had an older one fifteen, twenty years ago. As long as I fed it 230 grain hardball from a GI mag it worked. Any variation on that theme and things would go south in a hurry.
For an older one in today's market I doubt you could get more than $200. Maybe $300 tops for one in perfect condition, box and papers. For roughly $400 you could pick up one of the Philippine guns new. |
| Thanks for the replies guys. I was thinking of offering him right around $200 for it and see where it went from there. I don't "need" it but I was looking at it like a starter gun. If I grew to like it I would invest in a nicer gun later on. Like you said, for $400 or $450 I could buy a new one. Anything else I should look for? My experience in 1911s is limited as I have only held/shot a couple and they were newer. |
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Quoted:
The older AO 1911's were very poorly made and had very little secondary market value...as one other poster noted, $400 in NIB condition is a maximum retail value IMHO. Seems like the new models (new production) are better built but by no means stellar. Good luck. 100% what he said. |
| Different 1911 today, meaning the auto-ord from Hurly, NY isn't even in the same league as the ones made today in Worcester, Mass. by Kahr by better factory, machines, and people. I own several 1911's from the Colt M45A1 all the way down to the RIA's and others. I just picked this Auto-Ord 1911BKO to try it out for a Mil-Spec model with traditional wide spur hammer and short thumb safety(G.I.) and plain grip panels. It ran fine on the firing line with no problems. Pretty basic piece with very tight fit and it hits a 8" pie plate at 20yards very consistently. However the trigger is crap but I know it'll work into a better one with rounds downrange. |
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So I got to look at the gun quick today. The gun sat in a safe for the last seven years as the previous owner died and no one knew the combination. It looks to be in decent, not perfect by any means, shape. From what I could see it has an older set of pachmayr grips on it. According to him there are a couple magazines, some ammo, another set of grips and a holster. It needs to be taken apart and cleaned completely. The barrel looks to be in decent shape but the entire gun is dry. Like really dry. I did rack the slide and it moved freely. I was told the magazine release was stuck but the local gun shop where they were stored freed it up. I would think that with a good cleaning and lubing the gun will function as it should. He was told the gun was worth somewhere around $250. I was thinking of offering him $200 for the whole setup and see where it went from there.
He inherited them and it was a pretty decent score to be honest. There was this 1911, a pretty nice S&W 17-2, a mark II 22-45, a ruger Blackhawk, and some blackpowder pistols as well. All of them need to be cleaned and lubed very badly. I think his plans are to keep the mark II, the smith and the Blackhawk and sell the rest and the accessories. |
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The old ones were junkers. I tried to have my local shop order me one back in the '90s, they told me they were tired of fixing them for customers when they don't work so they refused to even order it for me. May the one you're looking at has already been gone over my a Smith, maybe not? I really never hear about anybody owning the new kahr AOs.
As far as price. How much is a possible headache worth to you? Now my local pawn shop would likely ask $400~, but heck last time I was in there they has an old Llama 45 for $429.  they also had a new RIA for the same price. If you want your fist venture into 1911s to be a good one just go buy a RIA for sub $400. You can order from sportsmans guide, cdnn or a handful of other places if you can't find one locally.
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