Model 1911

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On This Day In History

February 14, 2023 by 1 Comment

While some know today as St. Valentine’s Day or just Valentine’s Day, it is also the 112th anniversary of the patenting of one of the most significant firearms in history. For it was on this day in 1911 that John Moses Browning was awarded Patent No. 984,519 for what became known as the Colt Model 1911.

The United States Army would adopt this pistol, with a few modifications, the next month on March 29th. The official designation was Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911. The Navy and Marine Corps would adopt it as their service pistol in 1913. The US military procured approximately 2.7 million of these pistols including in the M1911A1 version over its service life. I know my father was issued one when he served in South Vietnam as I have his issued equipment inventory.

In civilian life, the 1911, in its multitude of forms, would be used by law enforcement, competitors, and shooters of all ages and all sorts. It would come in different sizes from large to small. It would be chambered in everything from .45 ACP to 10mm to .22LR. Even today, new models are being released such as the recent offerings from Savage Arms.

I doubt that even such a forward thinker as Browning could have envisioned just how popular his invention would become. You can read the full patent application here. Unfortunately, it was too large to embed.

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An Excellent Proposal

May 6, 2015 by 4 Comments

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) represents the 3rd District of Alabama. Within that district sits the Anniston Army Depot, the CMP-South sales and administrative operations, and the new CMP Talladega Marksmanship Park. Given that parts of Ft. Benning and Maxwell-Gunter AFB are also in his district, it is not surprising Rep. Rogers sits on the House Armed Services Committee. He is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces and is a member of the Readiness Subcommittee which handles much of defense budget.

Rep. Rogers has come up with a budget saving idea that warms my heart. Currently, the Department of Defense spends about $200,000 annually to store approximately 90,000 M1911A1 pistols. Rogers is proposing that these pistols be transferred to the CMP and offered for sale. He made an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2016 on this proposal and it was passed.

“As a gun owner and strong believer in the Second Amendment, my proposal is a common-sense approach to eliminating an unnecessary cost to the Federal government while allowing the very capable CMP to handle the sale of these vintage firearms that otherwise would just sit in storage. This amendment is a win – win for the taxpayer. I was pleased the amendment passed the committee and appreciate the support my colleagues on this proposal,” Rogers said.

Currently, the Army stores excess M1911A1 pistols, which used to be the standard U.S. Armed Forces sidearm, until it was replace by the Berretta 9mm pistol. Besides the 8,300 pistols that have been sold to law enforcement and transferred to foreign countries for a small price, the rest of the M1911A1 pistols are now being held in storage costing the taxpayer around $200,000 a year.

Transferring these vintage pistols to the CMP would allow them to inspect, grade, prepare for sale and sell these pistols. The CMP would reimburse the Army for costs associated with transferring the pistols. CMP South, headquartered in Anniston, Alabama, oversees sales. CMP North is headquartered in Camp Perry, Ohio.

 WTVM 13 in Birmingham has more on the story here.

I agree with the congressman that this is a win-win. Now I need to rejoin a CMP-affiliated club and get on their approved rolls in order to purchase one of these (and perhaps a Garand or two).

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Lightguard Now Available For The 1911

May 9, 2012 by 5 Comments

Crimson Trace has just released their Lightguard weapon-mounted light for 1911s that don’t have accessory rails. At this time, it is only for 1911s from either Kimber or Smith & Wesson.

Here are the details from Crimson Trace:

Crimson Trace today announced the release of their eagerly-anticipated addition to their Lightguard™ platform for Kimber and S&W 1911 pattern pistols. The new weapon mounted light features an incredible 130 lumen output and the patented instinctive activation that made Crimson Trace the industry leader in laser sighting systems – simply hold the pistol in a normal firing grip to activate the light, with no additional buttons or switches to press. Available through their regular dealer network or from crimsontrace.com, the unit will retail at an MSRP of $199.

Whereas previously, 1911 owners would have required the services of a gunsmith to install a light on their non-railed pistols, the new 1911 Lightguard requires no gunsmithing and fits seamlessly over the trigger guard for snag-free operation. Operating on one, easily sourced CR2 lithium battery (included), the unit boasts an impressive 2 hour run time. With its narrow profile the Lightguard extends no wider than the slide, or longer than the dust cover on compact guns, holstering is a non-issue.

“Although the 1911 is justifiably the most popular handgun in the USA, it’s always lacked the ability to easily mount a light and, if you did, the options were large, encumbering choices that detract from both the function and look that 1911 fans crave,” said Kent Thomas, Director of Marketing for Crimson Trace. “Now, 1911 owners can take advantage of this life-saving self defense tool without permanently altering their guns in a slim, intelligent and highly functional way that befits the classic and trusted 1911 frame.” As an added bonus, the engineers at Crimson Trace designed the Lightguard to be fully compatible with their existing Lasergrips® including the hugely popular Master Series™ line.

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Thank You, John Moses Browning

March 29, 2011 by

Today is the centennial of the War Department’s adoption of the the Caliber .45, Colt Model 1911 automatic pistol. It replaced the Colt, Model 1901, Caliber .38 Revolver and the Colt, Model 1909, Caliber .45 Revolver shown below.

Colt Model 1901

Colt Model 1909

The semi-automatic pistol submitted by Colt and designed by John M. Browning bested the design submitted by Savage Arms and was adopted on March 29, 1911. The rest, as they say, is history.

UPDATE: To read about the Model 1911 that wasn’t – in other words, the Savage submission, go here. There is an excellent article about it.