colt m45a1 usmc rollmark

By clicking anywhere on the page, or scrolling down the content you can temporarily hide this banner. While Maj. Butler might be taken aback by the tritium capsules in the M45A1s sights or perhaps a mounted SureFire light, it is likely that he could operate and fieldstrip the new USMC Colt with no difficulty. The one with the intact usmc is a custom is not the same gun as the the decoms. And yet, a lot of gun enthusiasts andcollectors have been happy to wait to get one. It will still feed from any type of 1911-compatible single stack magazine, as demonstrated by our test through the use of aftermarket MEC-GAR magazines. There were only 20 of these made and this one is the 17th of the series. A large batch, rumored to be nearly 1,000 pistols, hit the Gunbroker auction site (gunbroker.com) described as decommissioned USMC 1911 M45A1s. Get your piece of American history before is gone. VERY RARE AND VERY COLLECTIBLE! The improved M45A1 CQBP features several changes to the original M1911A1 design. The Colt incorporates the dual recoil spring assembly of the firms recent commercial models, which seemed to dampen recoil somewhat. Unique and very rare COLT 1911 USMC ROLLMARK U.S. MARINES M45A1 SEMPER All content Copyright 1998-2018 Rifleshooter.com, FTC disclosure: some links on this site are monetized, Sig Sauer MCX Virtus PCP Air Rifle Review- Initial Impressions, Project Guns- Gunsmithing articles and posts, 1911 Rear Sight Installation (Novak style cut), Quick rifle bedding tip: Easy removal of bedding material from pillars, Tactical Shotgun Build: Back Boring a Barrel and Lengthening a Forcing Cone to Increase Performance, Back when Sears sold a Mauser: The J.C. Higgins Model 51, Short and Loud: The 16 inch 308 Win Precision Rifle, 224 VALKYRIE- Effect of barrel length on velocity, Bipod rail installation (Atlas bipod adapter). See also [ edit] I ran a series of 6-dot and 5-circle drills with my Colt M45A1. A case of 230 grain Winchester ball, and a few cardboard targets and I was ready. The pistol wears bilateral thumb safeties, which have somewhat oversize, though low-profile, ledges designed to be easily disengaged while not interfering with the non-firing hands grasp. M45a1 Marine Pistol - Gun Shop Usa All rights reserved. The prices seemed to stabilize in the mid-$3,000s, and then the pistols largely stopped moving, presumably occupying prized places in safes across the country. The triggers were uniformly pretty good. Sticky for all Colt USMC CQB/ M45 FACTUAL information Colt released these original Marine Corps pistols to the public. The pistol is, IN 92% ORIGINAL CONDITON WHICH IS ALMOST UNHEARD OF IN A RUSSIAN WW2 TOKAREV, WE HAVE A 1942 PRODUCTION TOKAREV, IN 98% ORIGINAL CONDITION, WE HAVE A VERY CRISP EXAMPLE OF A RJ MARKED WALTHER PP. I found a Don Hume 715 MC IWB holster that it fit-good enough. The authors example of the M45A1 exhibited tight fit and shot well at the range. 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. 0. 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. pistols to be offered on the civilian market since the Director of Civilian Marksmanship (DCM) stopped handgun sales over 50 years ago. These were going right to work, and they looked promising. Never miss a post! The one-of-a-kind markings are all there. Handguns, Reviews Colt decided to employ a National Match barrel in theM45A1instead of their normal barrel option. The ejection port was modified by widening it and flaring it out. The "U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, Model of 1903," better-known as the M1903 Springfield, has become one of the most popular U.S. military small arms to collect. Marine Corps Systems Command announced February 17, 2005, that it was going to purchase 150 Springfield Armory Professional Model pistols for use as MEU(SOC) pistols. I have a local company that can make a kydex holster but I dont like kydex. My opinion is that both of these were likely due to Colt learning the quirks of a new coating process. Quick view Out of stock. [8] Slides were ordered from Springfield Armory, with front sight pins, beavertail safeties and recoil spring guides from Ed Brown. Comes with the original box, paperwork, and two magazines. [13] This is the same pistol used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation SWAT and Hostage Rescue Teams; however, it had previously been rejected for adoption as the ICQB. Support NRA American Rifleman DONATE. of weight, with a very short 0.1"/2mm reset. 2.939,00(Europe). The pistols shipped in the original cardboard container with the contract-correct black Wilson Combat seven-round magazine. I went through the boxes with the armorers, examining a few random Colts to get a sense of the pistols. I have it in quotes for a reason, it kinda looked like a 45 ACP cartridge, only it was bent and weird looking. Stack upon stack of crisp-cornered cardboard boxes weighed down a work bench in the armory of what is now called the Marine Raider Training Center. The earliest production samples had isolated instances where the application of the tan coating was suspected by the end users to be causing reliability issues. 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 am very interested in the pricey but very cool looking new Colt 1911 M45A1 Marine Close Quarters Battle Pistol. I am considering having the dealer I bought it from send it back to have Colt correct the finish so it actually covers the entire frame and slide, but Im worried they may go out of business or bankrupt before I get it back. I was able to lay my hands on one of the decommissioned M45A1s to examine and evaluate it. One feature is the dual recoil spring system that spreads out the recoil force of the .45 ACP round by lowering the peak force of the recoil pulse. This particular sample earned every bit of the National Match stamping on the barrel hood. NEW IN THE BOX, WE HAVE A COLT USMC CLOSE QUARTERS BATTLE PISTOL M45A1. Colt inspected the M45A1s and issued a letter of authenticity with them and x out the USMC to show they had been demilled. He told me this happens all the time with Colts and sent it back for repair. 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. COLT M45A1 MARINE PISTOL For Sale - Colt Armory USA We decided to install Heine Ledge sights on our Series 80 Stainless Officers ACP. If you would like to make an offer for this gun please send an email to southeastgunshots@gmail.com. My buddy brought his daughters Remington R1 1911 to test out. That short resurrection of the M45A1 as the primary sidearm for U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) Marine Raiders and the Corps Force Reconnaissance Marines resulted in some fine hardware becoming available to those of us who appreciate fine shooting gear and others who have the resources and desire to collect unusual and limited issue guns. Davids Articles at GUNS, American Handgunner & Shooting Industry Magazines. ) Black Hills 200-gr. 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. Following some stop-gap and interim solutions, in 2012 the United States Marine Corps adopted an upgraded variant of the Colt CCU Rail Gun for its special operations capable units aptly dubbed the M45A1 CQBP Close Quarters Battle Pistol. Cleaning kit. Out of stock. Southeast Guns 2023. THE GUN IS MATHCHING, IN 90% ORIGINAL CONDITION, WE HAVE A VERY RARE AND HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER POLICE EAGLE F MARKED WALTHER PPK WITH, IN 96% ORIGINAL UNMESSED WITH CONDITION, WE HAVE A VERY NICE EXAMPLE OF A 1944 PROUDCTION FN HIGH POWER PROUDCUED, IN 90% CONDITION, NICE BLUE BUT ALOT OF PITTING, WE HAVE A FANTASTICALLY RARE WALTHER MODEL 6 PISTOL IN 9MM, Colt General Officer & Rare US Property Pistols, SOLD GERMAN G43 ORIGINAL MOUNT AND ZF4 SCOPE EARLY DUV CODE, SOLD RARE ORIGINAL SIMSON EAGLE 6 LUGER TOOL, sold 1913 DWM LUGER VERY NICE AND HARD TO FIND, Sold RUSSIAN TT 33 TOKAREV 1942 WITH MATCHING MAG. MIM parts are widely accepted as the standard in the industry. NIB Rare Colt 1911A1 *USMC* Rollmark CQBP in Pelican Case Many of the issued pistols that came to market have the tells of service life: paint pen or spray paint stenciled rack numbers, holster wear, dings or gouges from rough use. 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. [12] External enhanced hammer, automatic firing pin safety, Ambidextrous frame-mounted manual safety, extended beavertail grip safety, 127 mm / 5" National Match barrel JHP handload 1.20" Wilson Combat 200-gr. Interestingly, many of these very same pistols recently hit the civilian market in a way that took military enthusiasts and collectors completely by surprise. Each knotted tight groups that would do a custom pistol proud, averaging 1.48" for five separate loads. all 1911 type pistols still used by its special operation units would be replaced by the Glock 19, eyeing the Glock 19 as the next standard service pistol, Extrema Ratio 25 years: Misericordia Desert, IWA OutdoorClassics 2023: highlights on a revolutionary edition, Chiappa Firearms M6 X-Caliber: the survival rifle coming from the sky, Safety recall for Smith & Wesson M&P-9 and M&P-380 Shield EZ pistols, Kel-Tec KSG410, the small-caliber bull-pup pump shotgun. Description. In the mid 1990s he was the go-to 1911 gunsmith and made the best combat style sights around. Description: COLT USMC MARKED M45A1, Cerakote blue box edition, slide has the very rare USMC rollmark. JavaScript is disabled. [15] The pistol was redesignated the M45A1 Close Quarter Battle Pistol (CQBP) and up to 12,000 will be delivered. Was it hand held of benched? But if you just want a shooter get the current one with the Ion Bond. 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. A large number of certified modern U.S. military handguns on the market is mostly unheard of. Pistol, Model of 1911 to the Marine Corps. They feature Novak three-dot night sights, M1913-spec Picatinny rail and Decabond brown coating with nicely matching Desert Tan G10 grips. The M45A1 CQBP could very well be the 1911 for the 21st Century battles, but deep at heart it's still the same gun engineered by John Moses Browning over one century ago. How did the pistols get to market? The trigger is smooth even by series 80 standards and breaks cleanly at 5 lbs. Many small parts, including the hammer and trigger, are manufactured out of aluminum, but both the slide and frame are machined in solid stainless steel and Decobond-finished in desert tan color. The revised parts list included barrels, bushings, link pins, sear springs, ejectors, firing pin stops, mainspring housings and mainsprings, all from Nowlin Manufacturing. The Picatinny rail on the bottom of the frame is a full-size Mil Standard 1913 rail which holds accessories nice and tight as compared to its competitors with smaller lower rails. Outside of the mentioned ambidextrous manual safety, the controls configuration is the same as on any other 1911 variant. The USMC-marked pistol is from one of the early runs when Colt was using the same rollmark that they applied to the actual USMC guns. 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. 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. In Oct. 2016 the U.S. Marine Corps announced Glock 19s would replace the .45 ACP-chambered Colt M45A1s carried by members . [16] The Marine Corps issued the M45A1 to Force Reconnaissance companies, MARSOC and Special Reaction Teams from the Provost Marshals Office. Colt M45A1 Custom Shop (O1070CQB) - Clyde Armory Inc. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. The M45A1 CQBP pistol is issued with Wilson black metal single-stack magazines, holding 7+1 rounds. Collectors and shooters reacted predictably, and the Colts began to flip over on Gunbroker at two-week intervals, each time gaining several hundred dollars in asking price. Remember me, IN 95% ORIGNAL CONDITION, ALL MATCHING WITH AN EXCELLENT BORE, WE HAVE A NICE SOLID MAUSER C96 BROOMHANDLE IN 9MM, IN 97% VERY CRISP ORIGINAL CONDITION, WE HAVE A VERY RARE AND SIGNIFICANT LUGER. The feed ramp on theM45A1is polished and coated to make the surface extremely smooth. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo. At 40 yds. Copyright2016-2023 DigitoolmediaSrls VATNo. Match 1.60" Winchester 230-gr. It is assigned NATO Stock Number 1005-01-370-7353. That cartridge didnt cycle my gun either. The Colt M45A1 is the new USMC service pistol. Rogers, Patrick A. [11] Kimber shortly began producing a limited number of what would be later termed the Interim Close Quarters Battle pistol (ICQB). We had to shoot the .38 military special (which was horrible). Just over 100 years separated the issue of the M1911A1-based Marine M45A1 Colts from the Corps initial shipment of the M1911. The Colt M45A1 is the new USMC service pistol. Colt also offers a custom shop civilian model to achieve higher accuracy; but the Marine issue model is the production grade pistol. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); S&W CSX Is it Really the New ChiefsSpecial? Sweet! Six months later, I was home on leave and my gun was back from Colt. The M45A1 has the traditional military lanyard loop in the flat, serrated mainspring housing. [9][11] Tritium Novak LoMount sights replaced the originals which were made in-house by the Marines.[9][11]. The action incorporates the Series 80 mechanism that blocks the firing pin until the trigger is pulled. Jun 21, 2013 1911, 45 Auto, Colt .45, Colt 1911, Colt M45, Colt Marine Corps 1911, Colt O1017CQB, feature, Marine Corps pistol. (LogOut/ The only other USMC-marked pistols on the market are the real ones that had been returned to Colt and then re-sold to the civilian market. When the enemy breaches the position, any of them will do. MSRP comes in at $1,699. The silence was deafening, though, when they became available and Colt continued to produce a civilian variant. Whatever side you're on in the neverending "Metal Vs. Polymer" battle, the facts remain: back in the 1980s, the well known Austrian company paved the way for the future and still leads the market, but nonetheless the 1911 pistol is still a pillar of the firearms industry and given its enduring popularity among law enforcement professionals and civilian shooters worldwide, it's likely to hold its position for decades to come. When I sat down to write this story, I did my best to research the quantities of each type of pistol made and to get an idea of what might be available. If the highest accuracy and best trigger is your goal, get a custom shop model. Representative five-shot group (25 yds. The rollmark changed around 006700EGA as far as I can tell. The grip safety features an extended beavertail. Wayne is one of the premier pistol smiths in the country. Second Media Inc., 30800 Telegraph Rd, Suite 1921, Bingham Farms, MI 48025 USA. JavaScript is disabled. I was able to put five of eight shots onto my 3"-wide truth teller steel targeta task that is normally a tough slog at 25 yds. 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). THIS IS 1913 DATED DWM MADE, In 97% original unmessed with condition, we have an early war high polish Czech made CZ27 pistol. June 4, 2015 An MEU(SOC) 1911 pistol, built by PWS at Quantico, Virginia. USMC Colt Custom Shop, Pelican case - might be as high as 800 made. Each time I handle the M45A1, though, I silently bemoan Colts decision to leave the frontstrap untextured, particularly in a .45 that is often fired while wearing gloves. The low number of malfunctions also proves the reliability of a handgun system that was built to save lives. The Marines bought it and I had to have one. A huge proponent of the system, he has been lecturing me about the benefits of the 1911 platform for nearly two decades. Out of stock. The included factory letter affirms that this is a genuine U.S.M.C. By the time my gun came back from Wayne, years had passed since the original purchase date. This pistol utilizes the Series 80 fire control system which means it has an internal firing pin safety. M45A1 MARINE PISTOL. The Colt incorporates a slightly beveled magazine well to facilitate reloads. We are fortunate that they found their way onto the public market.. Brand new IonBond blue box can be had for less than $1500. Before word could even circulate in casual conversation, the pistols were snapped up at prices that were lower than comparable commercial Colts. I was an active duty Marine from 1992 to 1996, and at that time the standard issue. [17], The original pistols were hand-selected standard government issued Colt M1911A1s that were gutted, deburred, and prepared for additional use by the USMC Precision Weapon Section (PWS) in Quantico, Virginia. Colt's M45 Marine Close Quarters Combat Pistol - David Freeman When this holster is brand new it will be a "snug" fit. I was at my local gun shop when a Marine was picking up two that he had won. Fit and finish were OK, but the Marines use it, so that is worth the premium. Examples of both are usually exorbitantly-priced and something only a former Marine or hardcore collector of USGI 1911s would want to pursue. And yet, it is still to completely abandon the battlefield, being a favourite of many special operation forces. As an avid Glock shooter, digging through my holster box to find one that fit was a chore. It is bug enough - yet snug enough to retain the M45A1 and other railed 5" 1911s. Models mustered out of the Marine Corps are scarce today and fetch lofty prices, but factory-fresh models with nearly identical features are still available from Colt. The Civilian Model M45A1 Ships in a Colt Blue Plastic Box 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 contract was said to be worth $22.5M to Colt. Now before you could even buy one you had to sign up for the Gunbroker Gold program. it is in the cerakote finish with "USMC" rollmark, complete with original 2 mags. Customer experience was, and still is, the primary focus, a key to the firms longevity and success. Colt M45A1 CQBP: the MARSOC pistol | GUNSweek.com You may have read our first reviewhere, or our second here. The only factory parts Ill typically use are the receiver and bolt assembly, everything else is upgraded. Change). Those should be Novak LoMount sights, according to the official technical specs, but some M45A1 CQBP samples ours included are issued with Trijicon sights. Clearly I had no clue. These pistols are the first U.S.G.I. It turns out the rear stake of the safety plunger tube broke off causing the safety lock detent to move over the bottom edge of the factory safety. The Colt appeared to be unissued and had probably not been fired since leaving the factory. Even more so considering these guns were largely expected to be the last government-issue M1911s and, further, models specific to Marine Raiders and Force Reconnaissance. Due to wear and tear of the MEU(SOC) pistols and increasing numbers of Marine personnel in Force Recon and MARSOC, the U.S. Marines are looking commercially for replacements. The .45 maintains a traditional military lanyard loop in the flat, serrated mainspring housing. Allrightsreserved. I was at my local gun shop when a Marine was picking up two that he had won. Fans of the 1911 expressed their disgust as nearly 4,000 of the handguns were de-commissioned. More importantly, this feature was intended to decrease the battering the pistol takes on recoil. 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. The thumb safeties are ambidextrous and slightly larger than the original 1911 thumb safeties. which was officially adopted in 1986. Every piece of steel in theM45A1is machined to specific tolerances and tested to the specifications put forth by the United States Marine Corps. Six right-handed grooves, 1 twist in 16", Novak LoMount or Trijicon high-visibility sights with Tritium dots, Machined stainless steel frame and slide Is it just a collector mentality To have the USMC? In the first post, we field stripped the gun between shots to verify that it []. It is $50/year and gives you access supposedly to some good deals. Genuine Marine Corps M45A1 Coltsused by Marine Raiders and Force Reconnaissancewere decommissioned and became available on the civilian market complete with their original packaging and. The Marine Corps objected to Colt doing that so they had to change the rollmark on commercial pistols to "M45A1" instead. when unloaded. Therefore, almost all of these pistols are marked M45A1 and only a small percentage have the USMC rollmark. Corporal Gravenese demonstrates the power of the pistol as shown as above. At any given time, one or two may show up on Gunbroker.com with prices that would only appeal to collectors. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo. sidearm was the Beretta M9 (92FS) chambered in 9mm Luger. As much as its dress may change, this is still John Moses Browning's old reliable battlehorse. The Colt M45A1 CQBP semi-automatic pistol is the latest iteration of the .45 caliber 1911 pistol, as adopted in 2012 by the United States Marine Corps, The M45A1 was conceived for the USMC Special Operations Units. Dave I use a Galco Model Number FL212. The pistols with no front strap checkering are production line guns. They were certainly the genuine article, with the exception that Colt had marked through the large USMC on the slide with a laser-etched X to signify the decommissioning. Tradition: The Colt M45A1 Marine Corps Pistol :: Guns.com We are fortunate that they found their way onto the public market. And after all, the ongoing XM17 MHS (Modular Handgun System) program which is slated to lead to the replacement of the Beretta M9 as the standard service pistol for the U.S. Armed Forces seems to have narrowed down its entrants to a number of strictly striker-fired, polymer frame pistols. On July 20, 2012, the Colt 1911 Rail Gun was selected and won a contract to initially deliver 4,000 pistols for MARSOC and Force Recon. [9] However, it is more common for a Marine to return the pistol to the PWS at Quantico for a rebuild after 10,000 rounds have been fired. These decommissioned Colts will continue to be a hot item among both shooters and collectors for the foreseeable future. Colt M45A1 Review: USMC Pistol Review - rifleshooter.com A forum community dedicated to all 1911 firearm owners and enthusiasts. When it was first launched, the Colt M45A1 was described as "a highly enhanced version of an already excellent combat weapon" by William F. Keys a retired Lieutenant General of the United States Marine Corps who was also Colt's President and CEO back then. About that time, the Custom Shop was downsized and no more of the Custom Shop M45A1s were made. 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 If youre interested in a unique, firearm with a military history at around $1600, go for it. 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. in the shooters hands was the measure of the pistols accuracy. The decommissioned pistols and the custom shop pistols all appear to be in the hands of collectors. Colt. Quick view Add to Cart. It's a carry gun, not a collection piece. The frame comes with a machined MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny accessory rail, and also sports highly textured G10 panels that make the grip basically slip-proof, if a bit wide: with a circumference of about 7" (that's almost 18 cm! Note the X through the USMC marking. Decommisioned M45A1 - AR15.COM The gun ran well. They were certainly the genuine article, with the exception that Colt had marked through the large USMC on the slide with a laser-etched X to signify the decommissioning. It . Colt USMC M45a1 for sale - gunsamerica.com Despite the planned purchase of the commercial pistols, Marine Corps Systems Command has continued to solicit parts to build additional MEU(SOC) pistols. Colt's crown jewel is sold at a little less than 3000 in Europe; and while the current MSRP in the United States is set at $1,699.00, the suggested retail price for the early models was way above the $2,000 threshold. (LogOut/ However, the group all remarked that the pistols certainly seemed to be accurate using the government-issue hardball ammunition. There is the EGA serial suffix (for the Corps iconic eagle, globe and anchor insignia), the U.S. markings, and the small set of numbers and CQBP denoting the official description of Close Quarters Battle Pistol. The inboard side of the handgun has a rather large COLT***USMC marking that struck me at the time of issue as gaudy and a blatant attempt by Colt to mark the government-contract pistols in such a way as to facilitate marketing the look-alike commercial version. Colt M45A1 Custom Shop (O1070CQB) $2,149.95 Colt Out of stock Quick view Out of stock Colt Government Model With Rail - (O1980RG) $1,154.95 Colt Quick view Add to Cart COLT LE6920 $1,349.95 Sale Out of stock Quick view Out of stock Colt Government Model Stainless With Rail - (O1070RG) $1,198.00 $1,079.95 $1,198.00 NEW IN THE COLT ISSUED BLUE BOX EXACTLY AS WAS SHIPPED TO THE USMC. My friend, a 1911 aficionado accompanied me to the range. Having read quite a bit of gun rags (this was the in mid 1990s during the pre internet days), I knew I needed a 1911 chambered in a mans cartridge, 45 ACP. Normally his 1911 lectures are held during downtime at the range when he is repairing his 1911. It was the kind of day that a gun guy can never forget. Cycling the pistols revealed the fit to be smooth but clearly tighter than a typical commercial M1911. This handgun has never been fired! The finish on the pistol is a brown Decobond designed to hold up through hard use. It would be hard to improve on this trigger with any kind of upgrade. I can clearly recall the day that I met up with our Close Quarters Battle instructors to try out the new M45A1s for the first time. Here are the features to watch out for. [9] The frame is inspected and reused if it is still within military specifications. 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