Hi everyone, I'm 22 and I'm from Midwest City, Oklahoma. I love my 1911 because of the history it has, and because, of course, it's a 1911. It was my great grandfather's as far as I know. I would find out for sure but my grandfather has alzhimers and couldn't tell me if he wanted to. Now I'm a bit confused about something. I did some research online and looked up the serial number and found out that this gun was produced in 1917, but I recently took it to a local gun shop and had one of the people up there quote it for me and he told me that it was produced in the 1940's. Now I know for a fact that this is not an M1911-A1 because the trigger is longer than the A1 and it doesn't have the tapered area behind the trigger, am I right? Were there reproductions made of these guns in the 1940's or is this guy just an idiot that doesn't deserve to be anywhere near a gun shop? Or am I the idiot for thinking I have something nice that's really just a knockoff? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Oh and the guy also gave me a retail quote of $400 or less. And of course I assume that if it's actually from 1917 that it would be worth a bit more. Not that I want to sell it, but as with anything of value, it's nice to know how much other people would pay to have what you have. And no matter what the verdict is about this gun, real-deal or not, I'll still love it because my grandfather gave it to me, and he was the only father figure I had and I still have all the love and respect in the world for him and would do anything for him. And in this case, that means learning all I can about this beautiful firearm so that I can truely appreciate his history and the history of his father who died when my grandfather was 13. And once again thank you so much for any help that you can give me.

Pictures:
http://www.concealedcarry.info/modu...ting//Colt2.jpg
http://www.concealedcarry.info/modu...ting//Colt3.jpg
http://www.concealedcarry.info/modu...ting//Colt4.jpg
http://www.concealedcarry.info/modu...ting//Colt5.jpg
http://www.concealedcarry.info/modu...ting//Colt6.jpg

Btw, what is SRS and where do I find it?

The first thing you want to do is never go to that Gun Shop ever again, he may not be a complete and total idiot, but for sure you can't trust him.

I am not any where close to being an expert, but from the photos, any thing less than $800 - $1000 would be thievery for sure.

Springfield Research Service. Type that in Google.

Yeah, that thought had crossed my mind too patrickj. He also seemed awfully anxious to buy something that he had just basically told me was worth next to nil. And he was a police officer to boot. Go figure. And I agree that anything less than that would be an insult, but in all honesty any amount of money would be because of what that gun means to me. You just can't put a price on something like that. And thank you for taking the time to answer my question.

Wow, now that is cool. They didn't have an exact match for my serial# but I'm definately still going to have them research my gun in the very near future. Will be fascinating to see what they can find out about it. Thank you very much Doran. Between the information I spent hours reading on the website, and seeing the passion everyone here has for 1911's, I have fallen in love with this darned old gun all over again. It may be old, but it feels like a new gun again. Ahhh, bliss.

Your Colt Model of 1911 was shipped on March 12, 1917 in a shipment of 1000 pistols to the Commanding Officer, Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island, Illinois.

That's a very nice-looking pistol! Whatever you do, take care of it and don't modify it or neglect it. If you shoot it, lube it well and do so in moderation.

As for the gun dealer, unfortunately I've dealt with the same thing myself. After being insulted about a nice original 1942 Colt I was selling the flea market salesman then tried to buy it off me, saying the $450 he'd give was well above what anyone else would give me "for a refinished parts gun". Unfortunately I am seeing more and more of this sort of thing as potential buyers become more desperate, and often even combative with each other. I see a lot of it online as well, where posters will badmouth a gun on auction to scare away potential bidders, presumably so they can get it for themselves at a reasonable price.

Whatever you do, I'd say get it appraised by a local collector then make sure it's mentioned in your will. Its value will only go up.

I think that 1911 definitely falls into the collector's category. Don't mess it up! Have it appraised by a collector and let the collector know that you are not interested in selling, but you need an accurate assessment for insurance. A collector with questionable scrupples might low ball it and try to buy it from you, knowing that he can make a quick profit. I think the removal of a sale potential might result in a better estimate. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm just paranoid.

I don't know what you had to go through to find that info for me, but no matter whether it was a lot or a little, you have my deepest gratitude. Everybody in this forum has gone out of their way to help me learn more about my 1911 and 1911's in general. In the time I've been on this forum, I've learned more than I could have learned with 5 years of research on my own. You guys just keep amazing me every time

thx stans and dsk, and believe me I don't plan on doing anything to jeapordize that gun. even before I knew this much about it I wouldn't have changed it a bit because of where it came from. And I take VERY good care of it. I don't holster it even though I do have the original holster somewhere amongst my grandfather's things, and it stays on it's own part of the shelf at least 5 inches away from anything else on either side and wrapped up tightly in a clean towel (I don't have a gun locker or a case yet but I will be getting one as soon as I can afford it). I don't fire it, never have, probably never will. I'll get a newer gun for that. And as far as having it appraised, now that I have more information about it and I know a little bit more about 1911's in general, nobody will be able to tell me that it's not what it is. Thanks to all of you. If there's ever a way that I can help any of you, I will do anything in my power to return the favors that I consider to be very big ones.