Posted: 3/27/2009 8:21:46 PM EDT
This was a gun I had on display at the last SHOT Show in Orlando... and, true to the gunsmiths timeline, I’m only just now getting around to posting some pictures.
This gun was actually a special project on many levels... the gun had been with me for some time and was a gun I had shot, not a lot, but with somewhat regularity over many years past. It was also a gun that had certainly seen better days and, since its beginning at the Colt factory in 1918, probably wasn’t cared for in a manner that one would want. In 1918 the pistol started life in service to this country and, like many others, was a tool from day one. Sometime between its initial completion and now the gun had see many rounds, lots of parts swapping, and some seriously misguided modifications and general kitchen table gun-plumbing. Among many other misdeeds done to this old warrior was a the drilling and tapping of a hole at the root of the trigger guard in order to insert a machine screw to act as a really foolish way to make for an over-travel stop. The gun had also been subjected to a very backwards frame and slide fit... not a traditional “peen and squeeze”, which would have been marginally acceptable, but rather a misguided effort to - as best I could tell - realign the slide raceways to the frame rails. And the word goofy can’t even begin to describe what was going on inside the gun. In addition to all that the gun was in a general state of disrepair. It was pitted, heavily, and had numerous large dents, dings, and couple of serious spots of misshaped metal. This was a gun that, once the Parkerizing was removed, showed a metal surface that was more like craters on the moon. So after all the cringing, wincing, and ugly discovery what better to do than build it up into a full-house Retro gun... 
Starting with the easy stuff... after fixing the slide the gun got a welded frame and slide fit. A Kart barrel and EGW bushing were fit, as were the usual host of internals such as a Wilson Combat Bulletproof extractor and ejector, EGW firing pin stop, machined slide stop, short trigger, tool steel sear and disconnect mated to a Colt Commander hammer, and a machined mag-catch. A silver soldered ramp front sight with gold line insert was used in conjunction with a Yost Retro rear sight, the mag-well was beveled, front strap serrated with matching serrated mainspring housing, and rounding out the retro theme I fit one of our retro beavertails and our “BM” thumb safety. The hard part... in this particular case the hardest part was the cosmetic clean up. Years of pits, dents, dings, and general abrasion - not to mention some goofy gunsmithing - made for some interesting fixes and remedies. After removing all of the cosmetic offenders I sent the gun to our good friend JR French for a freshening up of the roll-marks... JR, as usual, hit this one out of the park. After that the rest seemed simple... polish and blue with nitre blued accents and fit ivory stocks complete with antiqued Colt medallions. Toss in some good leather and helping of 230gr hard-ball and it’s once again ready for service to its new owner. Enjoy! 
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I'll take it!
Gents, thanks for the kind words! 
I had wanted to do this gun for a long time and am glad I waited to get it just right... it went to a good and well deserving home. I think if there was one mistake I made it was not taking the time to do some “before” photos. The downside of getting on a roll is sometimes you just keep on rollin’... Quoted:
Is that grip safety a contour you do, or do you buy it that way? I've seen it twice now on your pistols and wondered what kind it is. The grip safety is one we make up for each pistol. To the best of my knowledge there is nothing like it that is available commercially. Quoted:
... How'd you work out the pitting? Lots and lots of file work... 
Quoted:
... Can you tell me about the grip panels? They are truly outstanding too. The stocks are made of Elephant ivory and have the old style antiqued Colt emblems inlaid. Quoted:
The title says "Retro", not "Repro", and according to the OP it is an original 1918 Colt. Quoted:
This is a beautiful pistol, but it was not built on an original 1911 but rather...as the title says...on a repro available from Colt for around $900 or so. Mike92GT is correct... the base gun for this build was indeed an original 1911 made in 1918. |
Its still down range.
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Quoted:
This is a beautiful pistol, but it was not built on an original 1911 but rather...as the title says...on a repro available from Colt for around $900 or so. Erm, no, it's not built on a Repro. The frame's date places it in early 1918. It unfortunatly looks like the inspector's cartouche was a victim of the pitting.. My 1918 has a serial of 240xxx,. so his is probably a month or so younger than mine. They cranked out a hell of a lot of guns in 1918. |