1911

[johns44]

Hello ,has anyone ever seen or read were someone altered a 1911 frame by making trigger relief cuts   to pass it off as a transition colt to make it more valuable thanks

[St. George]

No.

The cuts 'were' made on existing M1911s in the mid-'20s when the weapon was being refurbished at the Armory or Arsenal, though - I've owned a handful of them - some were dated, too.

'Transition' Colts can be tracked by serial number, if commercial Colts - Government work can't.

Scouts Out!

[johns44]

got a photo  this is a 1914 made  colt, if it was updated to an  A1 would it have any arsenal stampings or inspectors markings,,, as you can see it looks like the relief cut go's thru the inspectors mark. this colt has no other markings 

[St. George]

Like I said - some 'had' dates when done before WWII - many didn't.

Since 'most' of them went through the huge 'Clean and Repair' program in 1947 after the initial upgrade, along with the WWII-issued carbines, Garands and other TO&E weapons that weren't going to be declared obsolete - those got Inspector's marks and location of modification marks applied at that time.

By the time of that program - the military had ceased to make the finger cut-outs and just detail-stripped them, cleaned and finished them and then reassembled them with no regard to whether they were installing a WWI or WWII-made part.

They just reached into the parts bin - slapped them together, and put them in storage.

Many, many of these would eventually be released by the DCM, through the NRA - for under $20.

My advice to you is this - 'if' you're worried about being scammed - WALK AWAY NOW.

I can't handle the piece personally, and without being able to do that important thing, I can't really help - and no one 'really' can.

'You' have to make that decision based on your personal experience with rebuilt .45s - who you're dealing with and his price - and what his reputation might be - and if he's an on-line dealer, you had better get a three-day inspection and the ability to get your money back.

In today's world of collecting, and with the excellent books available, it's damned difficult to locate a 'sleeper' .45 - way too many guys are scouring America for them.

'Personally' - having owned so many - they don't do anything for me and I merely think of them as re-works - but other guys want every iteration, no matter what, so they pursue them.

Good Luck!

Scouts Out!

[johns44]

Thank you for your reply  and knowledge , I really appreciate it

[St. George]

De nada - happy to help.

You can always PM me, if you need more.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!