Model 1911, military series before 1924

What this entry covers

ATF lists "Colt, Model 1911 semiautomatic pistols, all original variations of the military series, S/N range 1-629500, produced prior to 1924, regardless of manufacturer."¹ The wording sets several conditions at once: the pistol belongs to the military series, it is an original variation, its serial number falls in the stated range, and it was made before 1924¹. Its closing phrase, "regardless of manufacturer", extends it beyond pistols made by Colt¹. Whether a particular pistol fits this entry depends on the ATF wording above.

Colt's commercial Model 1911 pistols are a separate entry, worded "S/Ns Cl - C130000"¹. Later Model 1911A1 pistols are not named here; the class entry for military pistols and revolvers made before 1946 has its own wording².

Identifying it

• Makers. Before and during the First World War, complete M1911 pistols came from Colt, Springfield Armory and Remington-UMC, plus a pre-production run of about 100 from North American Arms Co. of Quebec³.
• Springfield Armory pistols. Slides are marked Springfield Armory/U.S.A. with the Colt patent dates, and serial numbers run from 72,571 to 133,186³. The armory made 25,767 in fiscal years 1914 to 1917³.
• Remington-UMC pistols. Slides carry the circular Remington/UMC logo and the Bridgeport, Connecticut address, and the pistols were numbered in their own series from 1 to 21677³. That series lies numerically inside ATF's range^1,3.
• Common markings. Military pistols from all three makers carry United States Property on the left side of the frame³. They were finished in rust blue with checkered walnut grips³.

Common confusions

• Rebuilt pistols. Most First World War pistols were overhauled after the war, and few survive in factory condition³. In the Second World War, many older M1911s were refurbished with replacement parts, refinished by Parkerizing, and stamped on the frame with the rebuilding facility's initials⁴. The entry's phrase "all original variations" is the wording against which such pistols are read¹.
• The 1920s changes. In the early 1920s the Army and Colt revised the design: larger sights, a longer grip-safety tang, relief cuts in the frame behind the trigger guard, a shorter checkered trigger and an arched mainspring housing⁵. These changes took several years to complete⁵.
• Two different dividing lines. In 1926 the Ordnance Department named pistols numbered under 700,000 M1911 and those from 700,000 up M1911A1⁴. ATF's entry uses a different number, 629500, and a date, before 1924¹. A pistol called an M1911 under the 1926 rule may therefore still lie outside the serial range this entry states^1,4.
• Modern 1911-pattern pistols. Many current makers offer pistols based on the design, often mixing 1911 and 1911A1 features⁵.

History

The pistol was officially adopted on 29 March 1911⁵, and the first examples left Colt's Hartford plant late that year³. Springfield Armory made its first 3,030 in fiscal year 1914³. When the United States entered the war in 1917 there were only about 75,000 on hand³. Remington-UMC received a contract on 29 December 1917 and delivered its first pistols in August 1918; production ended in early 1919³.

Further reading

• American Rifleman's article on non-Colt M1911s³ is the most detailed of these sources on markings and serial ranges for Springfield Armory, Remington-UMC and North American Arms.
• Its question-and-answer piece on production⁴ explains the 1926 naming rule and the marks left by rebuilding.
• Its short piece on the M1911 and M1911A1⁵ lists the design changes of the 1920s.