Treasure From A Barn

[texagun]

An old friend of 53 years recently found out I liked old Colts and he mentioned he had 3 old Colts out in his barn that had been stored there for the past 30 years or so. We agreed on a price, sight unseen, and one of them turned out to be a 1918 model of the 1911 in very nice condition. It is not totally original at all. The "U.S. Property" mark has been very neatly removed. The serial number is 508XXX indicating a manufacturing date of 1918. The finish is Black Army and appears to be mostly original. The sights have been changed to some kind of "high visibility" sights, the hammer appears to be original, although thinned down. The trigger is excellent, smooth and crisp. The barrel does not have the "HP" mark on it but is in excellent condition with clean and crisp rifling and lugs. There is no sign of peening or undue wear on the barrel or lugs. The grips have been changed. My friend says he has the original grips somewhere in the barn but is unable to find them. He took them off because they looked shabby and had a chip in one of the panels. He is trying to locate them for me. Any help or comments in identifying this gun would be appreciated. I would like to find out more about the hammer as it is not original or has been modified. The after-market sights are a no-brainer but I would like to know what kind they are. The magazine is a WWII mag with the letters C-S, typical of many WWII Colt out-sourced magazines. Any info you can offer on my new toy would be appreciated.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/w5lx/19181911LeftSide.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/w5lx/19181911RightSide.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/w5lx/19181911RearSightandHammer.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/w5lx/IMG_1867.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/w5lx/IMG_1901.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/w5lx/IMG_1905.jpg

[Jim Watson]

The sights are fixed Micro or something very similar. It looks in nice condition.

If you wanted to scare up sights, hammer, grips, and have it remarked, it could be brought back close to original appearance.

[rondawg]

That's pretty sweet! What about the other two?

[texagun]

That's pretty sweet! What about the other two?

Hi Ron,
One was a 1927 Colt Sistema, all original in excellent condition with original magazine:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/w5lx/SistemaRightSide.jpg


The other was an original Series '70 Colt Government Model in 99% condition (no box or papers). I was expecting a "beater" that I could tuck into my belt and not worry about it's condition, but this one is too nice for that. I was pleasantly surprised. I also got a couple of old Army flap holsters, a couple of books on Colt .45's, and 6 full boxes of .45 ACP ammo and some other goodies

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/w5lx/Larrys70SeriesLeftSide.jpg.

[rondawg]

Man, what a score! Was it a decent deal?

[texagun]

Man, what a score! Was it a decent deal?

It was the best kind of deal....he was very happy and I was enormously happy. Can't get any better than that.

[clughog]

Excellent! Fantastic find. Congratulations. :appld:

[rondawg]

Man, why can't I find deals like that.....

[Bud White]

What a Score congrats

[1saxman]

When you said 'out in the barn' I expected to see hunks of rust. That was a major score - congratulations!

[Tom]

When you said 'out in the barn' I expected to see hunks of rust.
Me, too. I'm amazed how well preserved they are. Bravo Zulus on your finds!

[texagun]

Me, too. I'm amazed how well preserved they are. Bravo Zulus on your finds!

They have been cleaned up quite a bit. I spent the better part of a day with some Gun Scrubber (de-chlorinated brake cleaner), Hoppes #9, a brass brush, and some Breakfree CLP. The Sistema was full of heavy grease, the 1911 was dry as a bone, and the 70 Series just needed re-lubed and wiped off. All are now cleaned up and well-lubed and have an honored place in my gun safe. Doubt if they will be out in the barn again.

[Landman]

Texagun,

You might already know this but according to my research the Sistema was made in 1950. Does the serial number on the magazine match the frame, slide and barrel? If so, that's pretty rare.

[texagun]

I knew it was made in 1950. The serial number on the slide, frame and barrel match. The serial number on the magazine is different but very close to the others.

[Paulinski]

Awesome finds. Congratulations.

[glockguy68]

those are beautiful pieces,a heck of a deal ,wish I could get my hands in a deal like that one...

[OD*]

Congratulations Tex, wonderful score.