Tracing the roots of my inherited 1911A1

[Porteza]

Hey, first of all, this is really a cool site, specially for all 1911 enthusiasts.

I've recently inherited my father's 1911A1, since he has not been using it anymore, and just kept in his dusty old drawer. I am really new to the world of pistols, and just started recently with basic shooting modules. Since I was a kid, I was really fascinated with pistols and many different firearms, and it is just now that I am beginning to get exposed to the real thing.

I think I would appreciate more the great universe of shooting, if I start knowing more about the fine pistol I own. I need help in veryfying the origin of my Remington Rand M1911A1. Sorry, i do not have pictures of it yet, but for now, the only information I can give is that it has the marking "Remington Rand Inc. Syracuse, N.Y. U.S.A." on the left side of the slider and the markings "United States Property, M1911A1 U.S. ARMY" on the right side of the receiver. It starts with the serial number 2235XXX.

Sorry, these are all the info I can give as of the moment, but I will post pictures as soon as I take some. Any information about my fine pistol would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!!!!

[exitwounds]

2235xxx is 1 of 110,400 pistols made by Remington Rand in the sn group 2134404 - 2244803 in 1945. You can verify your pistols markings and correctness by visiting www.coolgunsite.com and viewing the detailed pictures and info under the 1911 Gallery and ID Pages.

[Porteza]

Now, that's a good starting info sir. Thanks also for the link. I will check it out in a while. Also, any idea where my pistol was first deployed to?

[exitwounds]

Unfortunately, Remington Rand records do not currently exist, and are believed to be lost or destroyed, but one can hope that someday some might be found. It wasn't to long ago Ithaca shipping records were found in storage. You may try to run your serial number through the SRS database at: http://www.armscollectors.com/srs.htm and see if you are lucky enough to get a hit. Keep in mind that only a direct hit would be relevant to the pistol, and generally will only give reference to the pistol at some point in history, and not necessarily where it started out or ended. Records are constantly being updated and you may try returning a few months later and rechecking. I know of several instances where people have re-entered their info months later and got a hit. There are also some nice pictures of these pistols with some info, at: http://www.model1911a1.com/ you can compare yours to.

[Porteza]

Sir, again, many thanks. I checked out the links you gave me, and I learned more historical facts about my 1911A1. Now I really appreciate the value of the fine pistol I have. I noticed one thing though, comparing my pistol against all the pictures I've seen that are posted in the links pertaining to the specific batch/year my pistol was manufactured. All the pistols I see come in single tone, whereas mine is two-toned; silver receiver with a black slide. It makes me think then that mine has already been altered from its original state. Nevertheless, I like it better having the two-toned color combination.

[TattooPaul]

Hi Porteza,
Welcome aboard and congradulations on aquiring that vintage A1. Family history makes it even nicer. You'll find access to many articles on the home site here and the forums are loaded with experts willing to share what they know. I just recently aquired my first WWII era 1943 A1 and have already learned much from the posts here and experts such as Exitwounds. I have studied Colt's history for a long time and been a longtime fan but just recently stepped up and bought a vintage piece. As Exitwounds has said, the RR records aren't to be found but I would still recommend reading up on the history of 1911 service pistols if you are so inclined. There is a good book available from this link that covers a lot of info about service .45's. http://www.coolgunsite.com/ The Commercial Series book isn't available here anymore but we're interested in the Service one anyhow. Click on the "bookstore" button to access it. Mr. Karash also has a very cool photo CD with over 5000 interesting photos of all makes of 1911's 1911A1's of service vintage. The pair can be had for $57 and makes for interesting reading and viewing. There are a lot of other books out there as well.

Enjoy your A1, look forward to some pics. I have some detail pics of my A1 in the works. Gotta love the venerable 1911!

[exitwounds]

I noticed one thing though, comparing my pistol against all the pictures I've seen that are posted in the links pertaining to the specific batch/year my pistol was manufactured. All the pistols I see come in single tone, whereas mine is two-toned; silver receiver with a black slide. It makes me think then that mine has already been altered from its original state.

Originally, your pistol would have had a parkerized, so it was indeed refinished at some point in it's life. There was a time when you could buy these pistols dirt cheap and many were snatched up and converted into "hardball" pistols, chromed, nickel plated, exotic grips, engraved, etc. Today, they are highly sought after in their original military configuration. Still you have a nice family heirloom and a great piece of history.

[Porteza]

Hello Sir Tatoopaul, Sir Exitwounds,

It's been quite a while since I last logged in to this forum. I know I still owe you guys some pictures of my RR1911. Well, as the saying goes, better late than never....

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t239/porteza/Guns/Photo_041207_002.jpg
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t239/porteza/Guns/Photo_041207_001.jpg

For your appreciation...

Good Day!!!

[bigwagon]

Looks like the frame has been hard-chromed and the grips are replaced. It is definitely not original, but should make a great shooter, so you might as well enjoy it. Certainly far worse things have been done to many an ex-GI pistol.

[vikz]

nice looking pistol..have you try shooting it yet?if so how did it perform?

[T.J. Marks]

I was pretty lucky with the Arms collectors serial number research site, as the data base also listed ranges of numbers that were distributed to certain places or units. It basically verified what I was told about my 1911A1. Unfortunately, the sight has shut down. The heading says they are on vacation and will set up a new data base later on, but last Monday, they said they had restricted the info due to "mis-use". That is too bad since you could get a pretty good idea what any US martial arm`s origin might be...

TJM