The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post

Japle · December 30, 2012, 07:55 PM

I was an armorer in the Army for 9 years. During that time, all our sidearms were 1911s made between 1942 and 1945. I had a serial number sheet showing when and by which company all the guns were made. It was common to find slides from one manufacturer on a frame from another. Finding any gun that looked original was rare and probably a coincidence. A frame might be from Remington and have a Remington slide, but odds are that slide hadn’t shipped with that frame.

The 1911 I used in Army competition was a bit odd. The serial number was SM11131. The SM was for “Service Match”, meaning the gun started as a .22 and was switched to .45 in a depot rebuild at some point. That gun was quite accurate, very reliable and shot right on the sights for me. I won my first “LEG” points with it.

Sadly, all those great guns were probably destroyed after the switch to the M9.

December 30, 2012, 07:55 PM	#32
Japle Senior Member Join Date: October 12, 2004 Location: Viera, Florida Posts: 1,340	I was an armorer in the Army for 9 years. During that time, all our sidearms were 1911s made between 1942 and 1945. I had a serial number sheet showing when and by which company all the guns were made. It was common to find slides from one manufacturer on a frame from another. Finding any gun that looked original was rare and probably a coincidence. A frame might be from Remington and have a Remington slide, but odds are that slide hadn’t shipped with that frame. The 1911 I used in Army competition was a bit odd. The serial number was SM11131. The SM was for “Service Match”, meaning the gun started as a .22 and was switched to .45 in a depot rebuild at some point. That gun was quite accurate, very reliable and shot right on the sights for me. I won my first “LEG” points with it. Sadly, all those great guns were probably destroyed after the switch to the M9.