ID on Remington Rand 1911A1

[gbratina]

My father retired as a County Sheriff in WI in 1972. I have inherited his favorite pistol, a 1911A1 Remington Rand; however, there are several things about it that I do not understand. The SN is 390090, and there is no U.S. Property stamp. He told me that he got it from an acquaintance, who had worked at the plant during WWII and took it out. I know it has in the family for roughly forty years, perhaps more.

Both the frame and slide are parkerized, and seem to match fairly well. The grips are the standard brown, plastic GI grips. The barrel is stamped M and P on the left side of the barrel, on either side of the hole for the toggle pin. On the other side there is a second stamp that might be H&P, but is is slightly obliterated by machine work.

The top of the barrel is stamped 45 AUTO and 7791193.

I do not see any other markings on it. The family joke is that it was used in the last indian uprising, the occupation of a building in Shawno, WI, which was my father's last task before he retired.

What is your take on this gun?

[exitwounds]

The barrel is a post war USGI replacement, is it chrome lined? The M indicates the barrel was Magnaflux tested. The P is a proof mark, and the H&S is most likely H&R (Harrington & Richardson). The sn# is that of a 1918 Colt 1911, not a R-R. The UNITED STATES PROPERTY stamp would have been on the left side of the frame forward the slide stop, it was probably ground off. Are there any other markings on the frame, perhaps on top under the slide? It is a mismatched slide and frame, unfortunately.

[gbratina]

Thanks for the quick response. I took it apart again and could not find any marks on the frame, under the slide. There are no indications that the U.S. Proberty mark was ever ground off. The whole frame is nicely and evenly parkerized. It is in the 1911A1 configuration. The barrel doesn't appear to be chrome lined. I knew the SN was proper, but I've always wondered about the story that it was a "lunch box special."
1/9 Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Div (Head Hunters 63-64)

[exitwounds]

Not all of the 7791193 barrels were chrome lined, just curious if that one was. Remington Rand serial numbers started at number 916405. That is not an R-R serial number even though it is on a 1911A1 frame. It may be an after market frame that happens to have a 1918 Colt 1911 serial number, if it were an actual R-R frame smuggled out of the plant it would have as much value as an aftermarket frame because there is nothing (stamps) to link it to R-R production, and the serial number, again, is not an R-R number. The weapon may have been assembled from parts and parkerized to match finishes.