Colt Model 1911 .45 ACP

This John Browning patent gun, Model 1911, was so named for the year it was officially adopted for use by the United States Army. The Browning design was so great, that it has been changed little in over 100 years of production. This gun shares the nick-name "Colt .45" with Colt's other famous .45 caliber handgun, the Single Action Army "Peacemaker" revolver, but, that is the cartridge it fires—not a proper name for the handgun.

The most widely produced, copied, used, talked about, written about and debated handgun in the world. The Colt Government Model 1911 is referred to by many as "the world's greatest handgun". Colt introduced this model in 1970 as a newer version of the Model 1911A1. The major changes were a slightly heavier slide and a slotted collet barrel bushing. From 1970 to 1976 the serial numbers had a prefix of "70G", from 1976 to 1980 they had a suffix of "G70" which changed to a prefix of "70B" from 1980 until 1983 when production ceased. In 1983 the Series 80 Models were introduced with an additional passive firing pin safety lock and the half-cock notch was also redesigned.

There's nothing I can say about these guns that hasn't already been said a thousand times, by a thousand others. The 1911 Colt is without a doubt, "the most copied and most modified gun in the world".

All of these modifications to the John Browning designed and Colt produced Model 1911 remind me of a couple of things. I have a really good friend in Memphis that once told me, "those folks in Nashville have been looking for somebody that can sing better than old George Jones for years, and they ain't found them yet". People have been trying to make a better 1911 Colt for years and with all of the modifications they've come up with, I think the old original holds its own very well indeed.

It also reminds me of something my younger brother once said concerning Mexican food. I'm a pretty big fan of Mexican food, but my brother on the other hand, can only tolerate it. He said, "you don't need a menu, you might as well just order this food in dollar amounts, $5 worth, $10 worth, etc. depending on how hungry you are, because it's all the same stuff, just arranged differently".

1-800-962-COLT

The serial number tables on this page are for the Commercial line of 1911s. I wont' be much help in dating one of these guns after 1976. As always, I suggest you call the Colt Archive at 1-800-962-COLT.

The Model 1911 and Model 1911A1 Military and Commercial Pistols, 3rd Edition, totals 566 pages. It includes 84 tables detailing parts and markings and 678 photos and drawings. This book is part of North Cape Publications, Inc.® For Collectors Only® series of books on collector’s and antique firearms. Parts are described in chapters organized by subassembly receiver, slide and magazine. Serial numbers are listed in individual tables by military and the individual commercial models such as the ACE and Service ACE, National Match, .38 Super, Commander, Gold Cup, British, Argentine, Norwegian, and Canadian military models, etc. An appendix also contains a serial number listing organized by shipping date. Check to see when a pistol was manufactured, then to see when it was actually shipped.

Parts are described in chapters organized by assembly receiver, slide and magazine. Each part of each assembly, i.e., trigger system, magazine release, sights, etc. are then described and photographed complete with markings and other identifying characteristics. Parts are differentiated by model and manufacturer, i.e. Colt, Springfield Armory, Remington Arms-UMC, Singer, Ithaca, Remington Rand and Union Switch & Signal. All Colt commercial model and variation parts are also described and compared to the military .45 ACP part. Serial number ranges are provided for every model and manufacturer of the Model 1911, Model 1911A1, and Series 70/80 in separate tables.

Development and Design - John Browning began working on the design in the late 1890s, seeking to develop a reliable, semi-automatic pistol. Patent and Initial Design

Browning patented his design, which was initially developed in response to the U.S. military's desire for a new sidearm. The design was refined through a series of military trials.

Caliber Selection

The pistol was designed to use the .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) cartridge, also developed by Browning. This was in response to reports of the ineffectiveness of the then-standard .38 caliber revolvers in military engagements.