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Thread: AO 1911A-1 Delux-80 - Impulse Buy

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  1. #1
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    AO 1911A-1 Delux-80 - Impulse Buy

    I was after a cheaper 1911 that I could shoot as well as take apart and tinker with without worrying about it being a collector piece. One of the threads someone was talking about the AO (post Kahr) where the gun was a good shooter for the price so I was looking at the various bare bones 1911 A1 WWII replicas when I stumbled on one called a 1911A1 Delux-80. It was different with a prominent Thompson logo next to an oversized Auto Ordnance roll stamp on the left side of the slide. I called Kahr customer service who ID'd the gun for me as a Delux-80 model made in 2006. The price asked was right about $300 which (I think..) is in the "affordable range" though my wife would probably say otherwise.

    I'm gathering that one of the features is the gun is blued vs the parkerized WWII-clone variant. It also has a curious leather-like grip that wraps around the front strap. I read somewhere that the sites are white-dot vs the black GI sites. Looks to be in decent shape but we'll see when I get her home. I'll come back to this thread and post photos at that time.

    Question: Has anyone here heard of the 1911A1 Delux-80? If so, would you mind commenting on any other improvements/features you're aware of? The Kahr Customer Service person I spoke with admitted that he had never seen this model himself before.

  2. #2
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    I remember those being on offer even from before Kahr. I don't know how many they sold but they were in the catalogs for a while.

    I think the grips you refer to are AO's attempt at imitating the grips on Colt's Enhanced models from the 90s (also seen in Delta Elite guns).

    Assuming it hasn't been shot too much or modified, $300 for a Kahr-era AO sounds OK to me.
    Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.
    M. Setter

  3. #3
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    I look forward to seeing those pics.
    Likes (1) :
    AustinWiseguy (14th July 2019)


  4. #4
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    Here's a photo of an old AO that I found in my computer... look familiar?

    AO1911WGSE.JPG
    Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.
    M. Setter

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spyros View Post
    Here's a photo of an old AO that I found in my computer... look familiar?

    AO1911WGSE.JPG
    Yes, that’s the configuration. I read that the grips are rubberized. Much of the early write ups from late 90’s-‘11 that I could find reflect a piece that’s somewhat hit and miss, that will either be good out of the box, to one that may need some work. I think the early posts (one or two may have been here on M1911.org) reflected some of the worst critique, but where latter write ups toward the end of this model’s run were a little more positive.I’d like to try my hand at smoothing a trigger and being bold enough to do a complete disassembly.

  6. #6
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    Well yours was made in 2006, which means it was produced under Kahr's ownership, so it should be somewhat better than those that helped create AO's hit-n-miss reputation in the '90s. Heck, even this one in my picture has a couple of odd details... check out how the rear edge of the frame changes angle, between the mainspring housing and the grip safety.
    Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.
    M. Setter
    Last edited by Spyros; 14th July 2019 at 12:20.


  7. #7
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    Most of the unevenness between the rear edge of the frame and the rear edge of the grip panel appears to be in the grips.

    Both the rear and front edges of the grip panel are bowed forward. Possibly the panels are being stretched forward by the wrap around portion.

    The rear edge of the frame doesn't look quite right though either.

    -

  8. #8
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    Now that you mention it, I do see the swell on the back strap. It appears when the grip safety is employed it would come in to alignment with the lower part of the back strap. The change in angle appears to maybe follow the curve of the palm of the hand? I understand the frames are cast metal. Would these have been also originally designed and manufactured in the US? Would this design feature really be different to other OA 1911s?

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by AustinWiseguy View Post
    Now that you mention it, I do see the swell on the back strap. It appears when the grip safety is employed it would come in to alignment with the lower part of the back strap. The change in angle appears to maybe follow the curve of the palm of the hand? I understand the frames are cast metal. Would these have been also originally designed and manufactured in the US? Would this design feature really be different to other OA 1911s?
    Please note, we're talking about some really old AOs here. Even this picture, although it was on AO's website during the Kahr years, probably shows a much older gun. Makers and magazines didn't really bother updating their photos unless some new feature cropped up.
    Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.
    M. Setter

  10. #10
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    Thx Spyros, LSJeff and Megafiddle. As soon as I take possession I’ll get some good photos posted. Definitely appreciate the help and the interest!

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