Sidearms & Scatterguns 1943 Remington Rand M1911A1 US Army

[usmc3439]

WW2 Vintage! 1943 Remington Rand m1911a1 US Army with a year matching Graton & Knight holster.
I have 3 original Risdon magazines, a 1942 Avery mag pouch, and a repro belt. I would like to have an original.

BTW, I love the patina on the finish!!

 

[17874]

That is a thing of beauty!

 

[konabully]

Very nice!

 

[Centuriator]

Very, very nice. Thanks for sharing pics.

 

[ZLBubba]

Man, that pistol is really awesome. I've always wanted a vintage WWII 1911. I hope you're going to take that sweet piece out to the range a time or two!

 

[usmc3439]

Man, that pistol is really awesome. I've always wanted a vintage WWII 1911. I hope you're going to take that sweet piece out to the range a time or two!

I do take it to the range from time to time. I can't have a gun that I can't shoot. I am careful of what ammo I use with it, because I don't want the frame or the slide to crack. All springs are new old stock USGI. I put 50 rounds thru it every 2 or 3 months. I can tell you I really enjoy shooting this gun and wearing the ww2 pistol rig. For a ww2 buff as myself that is super fun! Working on acquiring a Luger, a P38, a S&W Victory revolver and a Nambu Type 14.

 

[ZLBubba]

My cousin's best friend, who was an Marine infantry LT in Vietnam, has his father's USMC 1911 from WWII. His dad carried that pistol throughout the Pacific campaign until he was wounded and transferred home. The lockup is still tight and it's easy to hit a steel silhouette at 35 yards. It's the one pistol I always request my cousin's buddy brings when we have range days in Arizona. What a pistol!

Once I get myself educated on the ins and outs of WWII era 1911s, I'm going to buy a nice collectors piece. Until then, I'll just keep coming back to this thread and drooling at yours.

 

[usmc3439]

My cousin's best friend, who was an Marine infantry LT in Vietnam, has his father's USMC 1911 from WWII. His dad carried that pistol throughout the Pacific campaign until he was wounded and transferred home. The lockup is still tight and it's easy to hit a steel silhouette at 35 yards. It's the one pistol I always request my cousin's buddy brings when we have range days in Arizona. What a pistol!

Once I get myself educated on the ins and outs of WWII era 1911s, I'm going to buy a nice collectors piece. Until then, I'll just keep coming back to this thread and drooling at yours.

I can provide you with some information resources for military 1911's if you like. I can also tell you my personal experiences with them

 

[ShtrRdy]

Is this a commercial version? I'm thinking the military versions were parkerized.

 

[usmc3439]

Is this a commercial version? I'm thinking the military versions were parkerized.

It is a military parkerized version.

Remington Rand used Du-Lite (blued over sandblasting) from 1942 to early 1943. By mid/late 1943 they switched to parkerizing. According to the serial number, this pistol was manufactured in late 1943, so it has the correct finish.

 

[Equus]

Sweet pistol. I'm envious.

 

[Unknown]

That is one fine looking 45. I'm jealous, and happy for you.

 

[Tanman]

That's awesome! I have a very similar one that belonged to my granddad. Where did you find the mags, and how much were they, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[usmc3439]

That's awesome! I have a very similar one that belonged to my granddad. Where did you find the mags, and how much were they, if you don't mind me asking?

That is a very nice pistol! I love the patina on the holster!

As for the magazines, Remington Rand pistols were shipped from the factory with two 7 round magazines manufactured by some contractor companies, namely Risdon, Scovill, Little and General Shaver. You can identify them by a letter on the top of the front lip of the magazine plate. R (Risdon), S (Scovill), L (Little) and G (General Shaver).

There are plenty of these magazines on ebay, they usually run about 30 bucks each in good condition. At least all my three mags are Risdon.

 

[Gary Smith]

Real deal US 1911-A1, carried one like it for 13 months, keeper of the flame.

 

[Tanman]

That is a very nice pistol! I love the patina on the holster!

As for the magazines, Remington Rand pistols were shipped from the factory with two 7 round magazines manufactured by some contractor companies, namely Risdon, Scovill, Little and General Shaver. You can identify them by a letter on the top of the front lip of the magazine plate. R (Risdon), S (Scovill), L (Little) and G (General Shaver).

There are plenty of these magazines on ebay, they usually run about 30 bucks each in good condition. At least all my three mags are Risdon.

Thanks for the info! I think mine is also a 1943, but mine has a grooved mainspring housing rather than a checkered. One thing I am not clear on is the barrel.
The only markings are on the hood, not near the lug like most seem to be, and I think it may have been chrome plated at some point. There is a "P" and another faint stamp that appears to be an "H" or some thing similar..
Here's a few more pics, sorry for the poor quality.

 

[usmc3439]

Thanks for the info! I think mine is also a 1943, but mine has a grooved mainspring housing rather than a checkered. One thing I am not clear on is the barrel.
The only markings are on the hood, not near the lug like most seem to be, and I think it may have been chrome plated at some point. There is a "P" and another faint stamp that appears to be an "H" or some thing similar..
Here's a few more pics, sorry for the poor quality.

You can find a bit more information about barrels here:
http://www.coolgunsite.com/
It is possible that the marks on the lugs are very faint. Is the P on the lugs?

On the website you can also findthe year of manufacture by the serial number, there you can see if all the parts are still correct. I can't see clearly if its a grooved slide stop, but I think that Remington Rand started using grooved mainspring housings and slide stops in late 1943-early 1944. I might be wrong. They were still using checkered parts in early-mid 1943.

 

[usmc3439]

Real deal US 1911-A1, carried one like it for 13 months, keeper of the flame.

Yes Sir! Always will!!

 

[Tanman]

You can find a bit more information about barrels here:
http://www.coolgunsite.com/
It is possible that the marks on the lugs are very faint. Is the P on the lugs?

On the website you can also findthe year of manufacture by the serial number, there you can see if all the parts are still correct. I can't see clearly if its a grooved slide stop, but I think that Remington Rand started using grooved mainspring housings and slide stops in late 1943-early 1944. I might be wrong. They were still using checkered parts in early-mid 1943.

That's the site I found the majority of the info on this pistol.
If you look closely in the first pic you can see the "P" near the center of the barrel hood, and mine does have a grooved slide stop.

 

[usmc3439]

I think the only ones marked like that were the Springfield barrels. Not sure.

 

[Tanman]

Just took another look at the site, and it appears to be a refinished Colt barrel from serial # range 120,000-400,000. I think that's the only non matching part.

 

[usmc3439]

If you guys want to show your US 1911a1's, please feel free to post pictures!

 

[usmc3439]

Just took another look at the site, and it appears to be a refinished Colt barrel from serial # range 120,000-400,000. I think that's the only non matching part.

Are you going to leave it like it is or thinking of an original barrel?

I have seen several High Standard barrels for sale on ebay lately.

 

[Tanman]

Now that I know it's not the original barrel, I'll probably try and get a correct one. The rifling and rest of the interior of the barrel is not in very good shape anyways, it's got some pitting and the chrome plating is flaking off on some parts.
Doesn't shoot too bad though! I've only shot 50 rounds through it. Groups were relatively tight, but low and to the right.

 

[Perazziboy]

Sweet pistol. I have one very similar but yours is in a little better condition. I still take mine out and shoot
it occasionally. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine.

 

[VJJPunisher]

Awesome pistol. If you like the old pistols there is a thread on here in vintage section called "vintage pistol" this would be perfect for. All the pistols you mentioned wanting are in it. I'd link it if I wasn't on my phone

 

[usmc3439]

Now that I know it's not the original barrel, I'll probably try and get a correct one. The rifling and rest of the interior of the barrel is not in very good shape anyways, it's got some pitting and the chrome plating is flaking off on some parts.
Doesn't shoot too bad though! I've only shot 50 rounds through it. Groups were relatively tight, but low and to the right.

I checked on ebay a few days ago, and they had a couple High Standard barrels and one Flannery. Check it out, maybe the price is right.

 

[usmc3439]

I was feeling that my gun needed a spring overhaul, so yesterday I received a complete set of USGI springs and a new un-issued firing pin. Replaced everything with no problems at all.

Most of the parts were still covered in Cosmoline, I made sure to keep the Remington Rand plunger spring package. Just want to make sure that the pistol stays in good working order because, to be honest, I carry it more that my other guns.

 

[usmc3439]

Latest picture. Finally got my hands on an original WW2 production pistol belt, so now I have the complete vintage pistol rig. The gun has a pair of near mint original Keyes Fibre grips that I found on ebay for a reasonable price.