Info on my 1911

[cjist1]

Can anyone here give me any info on this particular 1911. I dont know anything about it other than it was my uncles. I took it to a local gun shop and the guy there just wanted to buy it but didnt really give me any info be on the date of manufacture or wether it was original. I figured this would be the best place for info. Thanks in advan

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/7352/dsc0164md3.jpg

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/1558/dsc0165kb2.jpg

[Axel]

Your .45 has been around. If only they could talk.

It was made around 1917 and started out as a Government Model for the commercial market or possibly a foreign government.

It looks to have been a WWII rebuild as the slide. trigger, hammer and grips have been changed along with a parkerized refinish over pits.

It may have been rebuilt and sent to England in WWII as part of the lend lease program as the British proof marks on the slide, frame and barrel indicate it spent some time there.

[cjist1]

Hey thanks for the info. I guess thats what the BNP stampings mean. Not that I would want to sell this gun, but do you know what a ballpark price would be on this? In other words, is it worth too much to take it to the range every once and awhile to shoot it?

[Axel]

Try posting in the government issue forum for a better response.

I would say it is worth $800 to $1,000.

I like that the frame, slide and barrel have British proofs which indicate that the gun has been together this way for some time and that it is not a recent put together gun.

The grip safety and mainspring housing look to have been replaced with newer parts too during the arsenal rebuild.

I would shoot it a few times. For a regular shooter I would buy a newer 1911.

[Scott Gahimer]

The British proofs on your pistol are commercial proofs that were applied when the pistol was to be sold on the commercial market. They are not military markings.
There is a good chance the pistol was put together in England as late as the early 1970's by someone other than the military. Are the British proofs struck AFTER finish, or BEFORE finish? Either way, that will only tell us when the pistol was refinished with respect to the date of the commercial British proofs. The British proofs were applied in 1972. WWII ended in 1945. A lot of water went under the bridge between 1945 and 1972.
If you plan to keep the pistol, you might consider a Colt factory letter. That would tell you where the frame was originally shipped. But the cost of that letter is $100. That's a hefty price to pay to simply satisfy curiosity.