Lucked into a RIA NM 1911
Well, as you may remember from my previous posts, I wound up in Round 4 of the CMP 1911’s program. After sending in my packet in the summer of 2023, I pulled Random Generated Number (RGN) 46295 in the lottery on 10 October 2023.
Then, I waited.
And waited.
Finally, on 25 February 2025, I got the magic call and was told all four grades were available. As I already have a pretty neat Service Grade that I lucked into during Round 2, I went “Range Grade” which typically have aftermarket parts installed and were usually either A) late-use guns issued out to SF units in the 1990s and early 2000s, or B) guns used by the military marksmanship teams in target completion.
Requesting a Colt (if possible), my gun shipped the next day and I recently managed to break free and swing by my local FFL to pick it up.
And here we are:
Delving into it piece by piece, the frame is that of a Colt Military Model M1911A1, SN# 824784, which was made in 1942.
CMP Forums books notes: It shipped to Springfield between September 18 and October 22, 1942 probably destined for Europe with the Army. For example, SN 823189 went from Colt to Springfield on 10/02/42 and from Springfield to the NY Port of Embarkation on 10/13/42. The very closest SN is 824446 was with the 6th Army on 07/09/46.
The rest of the gun quickly points to that fact that it was subsequently selected for upgrade to a National Match competition-grade pistol in 1968 at Rock Island Arsenal (RIA and NM marked on right side of frame) with a Colt NM 7791435 marked slide including 1/8” .358 high front sight, a Colt NM 7791414 marked barrel, NM7267718 barrel bushing, large U.S. marked Kensight rear sight, aluminum trigger, milled front strap, straight mainspring housing, checkered thumb safety, and black checkered grips. The right side is marked: Colts PT. F.A. Mfg. Co. Hartford, Conn. U.S.A. Lightly scratched into the rear of right slide is “WC.”
It was likely issued out to a division, post, regional, Army, state, or other-level Marksmanship Training Unit post-1968 until finding its way to Anniston Army Depot and the CMP. It has a UID label (an animal only introduced in 2005) on the dust cover, a clue that, along with the more modern grips, may mean that it was still in use with a team until very recently.
I have a FOIA request for its history and will update you guys with what I find out.
