Hello All,
I have had my Grandfather's m1911a1 (he joined the Army as an officer at the age of 40 right after Pearl Harbor) for a number of years, now. When I got it, I cleaned and oiled it following the instructions on Bob Tuley's site and have kept it in a gun safe ever since.
It is a Remington Rand No.987XXX. There is no rust or big scratches. I also have the black GI holster and two clips with leather cases. I remember my Grandad shooting it once at a family target outing 37 years ago.
I would like to shoot this pistol. It seems a shame for it to languish in a safe. Would using the gun affect its value? Should I insure the weapon?
Thanks!
See pictures further down the thread

My opinion (and I am sure some of you will disagree) is that the true value of that .45 is as a family heirloom. I personally would shoot it, a little. To me, collecting things to look at and not use is silly. Imagine having a victorias secret model for a girlfriend and just looking at her naked but not touching her.

The Victoria's Secret model will age and shrivel with time, perhaps losing some of her perceived beauty.
An original collectible .45, well taken care of, will last for generations upon generations to admire.
There are shooters and there are collectibles. Without a much more thorough description, I don't know which this gun is. Either way, with an heirloom, I would prefer having just the way my grand dad left it to me. The real value IMO lies in the fact it was his just like it is now.
I personally would relegate another gun to use as a shooter. But as Chief says, there are many equallly valuable opinions one might consider.

If the gun is not MINT, I would at least shoot it once just to get it out of my system. Then I would clean it, and admire it. You'll never sell it and part of enjoying it is to shoot it. Maybe 50 rounds a year. This way you can keep its condition while enjoying everything it has to offer. We'd love to see it, so take some pictures and post!


Here is my Remington:

http://mathewc.com/remingtonrand/

Thanks for the responses. I plan on taking some photos and posting them. It looks to me that the gun is in really good shape and it would be nice to confirm that it has all the right stuff. I do treasure the 1911 and feel very lucky to have it.

I say shoot it. If you don't shoot thousands and thousands of rounds it will hold up just fine, Personally, I think putting a gun in and out of a holster does more damage to it than shooting it does.

BTW your grandpa, must have been a good man to join the army at 40 years of age. These days if there is an attack on america, most 40 years olds just put an american flag on their car antenna and leave it at that.

Slabsides,
Thanks for your input. Interesting story about my Ol' Pap:
He was a PT instructor and also went from new base to new base across the states pulling together training and rec facilities. At his first assignment in North Carolina, he was the only officer with a real side arm (all the other weapons on base were wooden). He would check out his .45 to the sentry at each watch. It was that gun that he turned back in at the end of the war. He kept the Remington Rand as it was in much better shape. Just before the surrender of the Japanese in the face of the atom bomb, he was getting ready to ship out to the Pacific for the invasion of Japan. It shows you how bad they thought it was going to be if they were sending 40+ year olds into the fighting. He was a good man. I miss him.
Stageman

Here are some photos of my Ol' Pap's 1911
Cheers,
Stageman

Wow that's a decent looking Rand,

Thanks. What is the best way to maintain the finish? I don't keep it in the holster. It is kept in a locked gun safe. I have cleaned and oiled it a couple of times.