Builders of 1911s like Rock Island, Springfield, Kimber and Colt use MIM parts extensively in order to produce a competitively priced product. Rogers, Patrick A. The M45A1 serves still today, but it will almost certainly be the final chapter in the U.S. military service life of the M1911. While the Colt Model 601 was the first AR-15 to be mass-produced, there were several design variations that came before during the platform's development. These decommissioned Colts will continue to be a hot item among both shooters and collectors for the foreseeable future. (camp). Maintaining the simple recoil assembly, 5-inch barrel (though using a stainless steel match grade barrel), and internal extractor, the ICQB is not much different from Browning's original design. The silence was deafening, though, when they became available and Colt continued to produce a civilian variant. I still like my M45A1 (not the Custom Shop or USMC Issue gun) with it's matching knife by Ohio Knife Maker, Mickey Yurco: Dave I use a Galco Model Number FL212. In a corridor of the Pentagon there is a larger-than-life mural showing a circa-1915 Maj. Smedley Butler leading his men in the recapture of Fort Rivier during the Banana Warsthe newly issued M1911 in hand as he and his Marines engaged the Caco rebels in hand-to-hand combat. Description. Quick view Add to Cart. Buy 2013 Colt Government CQBP .45 ACP Desert Sand *ULTRA RARE USMC ROLLMARK* : GunBroker is the largest seller of Semi Auto Pistols Pistols Guns & Firearms All: 967208438. . My buddy brought his daughters Remington R1 1911 to test out. Novak was contracted for rear sights, Wilson Combat provided extractors and mag release buttons, while King's Gun Works supplied ambidextrous thumb safeties. The earliest production samples had isolated instances where the application of the tan coating was suspected by the end users to be causing reliability issues. Reviews (0) After a rigorous selection process, the United States Marine Corps selected this Colt Rail Gun as their Close Quarters Battle Pistol (CQBP). So I headed to the store and purchased a new-in-box lightweight Colt Series 80 Officers ACP. IT12346351005. [8] Slides were ordered from Springfield Armory, with front sight pins, beavertail safeties and recoil spring guides from Ed Brown. 3. The M45A1 has the traditional military lanyard loop in the flat, serrated mainspring housing. MIM parts are widely accepted as the standard in the industry. The FDE Cerakote finish was average at best, but it still looked cool. In February 2015, the Marine Corps approved the Glock 19 for MARSOC units. The instructors had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the pistols, the first new military-issue Colt M1911s since 1945. When the enemy breaches the position, any of them will do. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community. I have other Colt 1911s with smooth front straps, so I guess its just not something thats in Colts playbook for their stock pistols. Colt AR15A4. The coarse checkering on the multi-colored G10 panels assists in anchoring the handgun, as does an undercut trigger guard which allows a high hand hold. The "U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, Model of 1903," better-known as the M1903 Springfield, has become one of the most popular U.S. military small arms to collect. The USMC is about double the price and if I understand correctly, its a production gun from Colt whereas the civilian version goes through the custom shop - is that correct? That was me who snagged. By clicking anywhere on the page, or scrolling down the content you can temporarily hide this banner. Colt's crown jewel is sold at a little less than 3000 in Europe; and while the current MSRP in the United States is set at $1,699.00, the suggested retail price for the early models was way above the $2,000 threshold. The company made its humble start in 1963in Gussago, Italywhen Giuseppe Pietta made a commitment to produce guns as authentic and true-to-original as possible. I was able to lay my hands on one of the decommissioned M45A1s to examine and evaluate it. [15] The pistol was redesignated the M45A1 Close Quarter Battle Pistol (CQBP) and up to 12,000 will be delivered. Colt inspected the M45A1s and issued a letter of authenticity with them and x out the USMC to show they had been demilled. There is a production version or a custom shop version available. I headed to the range with my 1911, a case of Winchester 230 grain ball and a couple hundred rounds of Cor-Bon 185 grain JHP (the gun rags of that day told you to shoot 200 rounds of your defensive load of choice). When it was first launched, the Colt M45A1 was described as "a highly enhanced version of an already excellent combat weapon" by William F. Keys a retired Lieutenant General of the United States Marine Corps who was also Colt's President and CEO back then. If the highest accuracy and best trigger is your goal, get a custom shop model. Copyright 2023 National Rifle Association. ) The M45A1 proved exceptionally stable and accurate at the range. Never miss a post! Hitting an 8" plate at 50 yds. Six months later, I was home on leave and my gun was back from Colt. He told me this happens all the time with Colts and sent it back for repair. It is hand fit, hand tooled and came with a snazzy green Pelican case and cleaning kit. With the exception of the overtly poor, reloaded cartridge, the Colt M45A1 was 100% reliable and the front sight didnt fly off. This handgun has never been fired! The third version was the Colt Custom Shop edition, also known as the Civilian version. The finish is a bit slick which is offset by the rather deep cocking serrations both front and rear on the slide. A close-up of the rear portion of the gun with its hammer cocked. Sold WALTHER PP REICHS JUSTICE MARKED VERY CRISP! VERY RARE AND VERY COLLECTIBLE! By clicking the "OK" button, you are giving your consent for us to set cookies. All rights reserved. Out of stock. described as decommissioned USMC 1911 M45A1s. A variant of the M1911, it has been the standard-issue side arm for the Force Recon Element of the United States Marine Corps' Marine Expeditionary Units since 1985. The only other USMC-marked pistols on the market are the real ones that had been returned to Colt and then re-sold to the civilian market. Wayne is one of the premier pistol smiths in the country. Maybe they are worried theyll run out of hand grenades? Does anyone know? You must enable JavaScript to remove this banner. $ 1,649.00. Not all civilian M45s go through the Custom Shop. Examples of both are usually exorbitantly-priced and something only a former Marine or hardcore collector of USGI 1911s would want to pursue. It is bug enough - yet snug enough to retain the M45A1 and other railed 5" 1911s. It is assigned NATO Stock Number 1005-01-370-7353. Tan cerakote finish. AS THIS IS A MODERN PEOPLE KILLING GUN, WE WILL NEED YOU TO PROVIDE AN FFL FOR TRANSFER. This particular sample disproved decades worth of gun magazine lore about a combat-grade .45 needing to be loose for reliability and thus incompatible with custom-level accuracy. I overlooked that the fit for a gun, that cost me $1,600 plus tax ($1,748 total), was similar to a $800 gun. When Remington offered a [], 1911 Rear sight installation (Novak style cut) Aftermarket sights are a common upgrade on 1911 pistols. Interestingly, many of these very same pistols recently hit the civilian market in a way that took military enthusiasts and collectors completely by surprise. It . A round indexed in the chambering position on feeding ramp of the M45A1, The M45A1 skips the mainstream Cerakote finish for a more resistant IonBond Decobond coating. 2.939,00(Europe). The pistols with no front strap checkering are production line guns. The Picatinny-railed 1911s were officially adopted by the elite troops in 2012, and featured all the special touches required by those operating on or behind the front lines in the global war on terrorism. He refuses to touch a polymer gun, expect for the Springfield XD I sold him around 2000 (I think he sold it within days). JavaScript is disabled. Glocks uses MIM parts and a polymer frame yet are widely considered to be among the most reliable and durable firearms ever created. They were certainly the genuine article, with the exception that Colt had marked through the large USMC on the slide with a laser-etched X to signify the decommissioning. View all posts by David Freeman. I have it in quotes for a reason, it kinda looked like a 45 ACP cartridge, only it was bent and weird looking. [2], In 2012, the Marine Corps awarded Colt a contract for up to 12,000 M45A1 pistols with an initial order of 4036 pistols. I know what you are thinking, why carry a gun that holds twice as many rounds, weighs less, is more compact, more reliable and costs a third as much- I must be nuts? I was looking at the first shipment from that contract, and my Marines would be the first to be issued the .45s. In 2016, USMC command stated that MARSOC had replaced the M45A1 with the Glock 19, largely from a logistic standpoint, not from a performance and reliability standpoint, as a result of other SOCOM branches using the Glock 19. 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A large number of certified modern U.S. military handguns on the market is mostly unheard of. With the exception of the overtly poor, reloaded cartridge, the Colt M45A1 was 100% reliable and the front sight didn't fly off. At 40 yds. A slight bevel at the magazine well enhances reload speed and the thumb safety is ambidextrous. A large batch, rumored to be nearly 1,000 pistols, hit the Gunbroker auction site (gunbroker.com) described as decommissioned USMC 1911 M45A1s. The finish on the pistol is a brown Decobond designed to hold up through hard use. Come join the discussion about optics, gunsmithing, styles, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more! (LogOut/ it is in the cerakote finish with "USMC" rollmark, complete with original 2 mags. Shooting theM45A1feels different than shooting other 1911s. Desert tan Decobond finish, $1,699.00 (MSRP U.S.A.) The one-of-a-kind markings are all there. Apparently it wasnt staked right at the factory. This year, H&R announced an expansion of its AR-15 lineup, bringing additional "retro" models to the market, including a 9 mm Luger-chambered Colt SMG clone, an M16A2-styled rifle and the carbine-size 723. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); S&W CSX Is it Really the New ChiefsSpecial? Remember me, IN 95% ORIGNAL CONDITION, ALL MATCHING WITH AN EXCELLENT BORE, WE HAVE A NICE SOLID MAUSER C96 BROOMHANDLE IN 9MM, IN 97% VERY CRISP ORIGINAL CONDITION, WE HAVE A VERY RARE AND SIGNIFICANT LUGER. Despite the planned purchase of the commercial pistols, Marine Corps Systems Command has continued to solicit parts to build additional MEU(SOC) pistols. I bought a used Generation 2 Glock 19 to shoot the rest of the time I was home, before heading back to my duty station in MCAGCC, 29 Palms, CA, a few thousand miles away. [2], The pistol's components are hand-fitted and are not interchangeable. The M45A1 CQBP could very well be the 1911 for the 21st Century battles, but deep at heart it's still the same gun engineered by John Moses Browning over one century ago. Since 2017, Colt has been offering a commercial variant of the M45A1 CQBP with either a Decobond FDE or a two-tone finish over a stainless steel receiver and slide. Among its key improvements over its predecessors is the use of Colt's patented Dual Recoil Spring System, which heavily mitigates the recoil impulse of the powerful .45 ACP caliber allowing faster target re-acquisition and quicker follow-up shots, potentially a key factor in gunfighting and boosts the recoil springs' own service life. in the shooters hands was the measure of the pistols accuracy. However, the group all remarked that the pistols certainly seemed to be accurate using the government-issue hardball ammunition. That short resurrection of the M45A1 as the primary sidearm for U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) Marine Raiders and the Corps Force Reconnaissance Marines resulted in some fine hardware becoming available to those of us who appreciate fine shooting gear and others who have the resources and desire to collect unusual and limited issue guns. Particularly for specialized 1911 collectors, a pistol with the history and background of the Colt M45A1 CQBP is a must-have. USMC O1070M45 regular production, blue box - unknown how many released, probably less than the pelican cased version. Here are the features to watch out for. Fans of the 1911 expressed their disgust as nearly 4,000 of the handguns were de-commissioned. My only experience with a military .45 was at AFROTC summer training. I have a DECOMM and an unfired NIB Pelican case Custom Shop USMC. The M45 serves on with a few specialized Marine Corps units and is expected to for a few more years when most think it will be replaced by a polymer-frame, striker-fired 9 mm, thus ending a long and historic run for the M1911 and its .45 ACP cartridge. The letter also confirms the features including Desert Tan Cerakote finish, under barrel accessory rail, National Match grade barrel, forward and rear cocking serrations on the slide, long solid aluminum trigger, extended ambidextrous thumb safety, extended beavertail grip safety, flat serrated mainspring housing with a lanyard loop, Novak 3-dot night sights, and desert camouflage G10 composite grips. MSRP comes in at $1,699. I had left the Marines as a Sergeant and was starting civilian life as a full time college student and worked part time at a gun dealer. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. The .45 maintains a traditional military lanyard loop in the flat, serrated mainspring housing. Cycling the pistols revealed the fit to be smooth but clearly tighter than a typical commercial M1911. Three pistols were offered to the USMC as a replacement for current M45 Pistols. Head to the range this week with American Rifleman staff as they discuss a trim little repeater from Savage Arms that comes chambered for the .22 WMR cartridge. Which do you guys would think would be more desirable down the line.. The USMC-marked pistol is from one of the early runs when Colt was using the same rollmark that they applied to the actual USMC guns. NEW IN THE BOX, WE HAVE A COLT USMC CLOSE QUARTERS BATTLE PISTOL M45A1. The company made its humble start in 1963in Gussago, Italywhen Giuseppe Pietta made a commitment to produce guns as authentic and true-to-original as possible. A source request was sent out to Springfield Armory and the Springfield Operator, based on the FBI's TRP pistol was built. The Colt M45A1 CQBP pistol is based on the tried and true Series 80 platform: it comes with a single-action trigger, a skeletonized enhanced hammer, an automatic firing pin safety, an ambidextrous frame-mounted manual safety, and an improved and crisp trigger pull about two kilos or just under 6 lbs. Beyond the tan color, forward slide serrations and the section of M1913 Picatinny accessory rail immediately standout and separate the pistol from the typical service M1911. Normally his 1911 lectures are held during downtime at the range when he is repairing his 1911. Many small parts, including the hammer and trigger, are manufactured out of aluminum, but both the slide and frame are machined in solid stainless steel and Decobond-finished in desert tan color. [11] Kimber shortly began producing a limited number of what would be later termed the Interim Close Quarters Battle pistol (ICQB). Based on the classic 1911, which has served the United States since 1911, the M45A1 CQBP continues the tradition of having John Brownings classic pistol filling the holsters of our nations finest weapons.The jacket worn is a Tru-Spec 24/7 softshell available on Amazon or at Gander Mountain.PLEASE SUPPORT MAC ON PATREON: http://www.patreon.com/militaryarms-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-Please watch: \"BCM Mk12 with AEM5 Silencer and some cool winter rigging!\" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf1bGpc0aHo-~-~~-~~~-~~-~- After a rigorous selection process, the United States Marine Corps selected this Colt Rail Gun as their Close Quarters Battle Pistol (CQBP). Clearly I had no clue. What should the discerning collector look for in a potential buy? I didnt think much on it at the time, but as we received those first tan Colts and issued them out to our Raiders it was just a few months more than 100 years since Colt had delivered its initial shipment of the U.S.