Serial Number Question for M1911A1?

[Ssteve]

Hello all,
I have an opportunity to buy two M1911A1 pistols from a WWII Vets family. I was wondering what you have to look for to see if their mismatched parts or all original?

The first one is a Colt that has COLT's PT FACMFG CO along with a bunch of patent dates written on the slide. On the frame is written United States Property M1911A1 U.S. Army Serial#NY1090707. The NY looks hard to read, but I'm almost certain its NY.

The second is a REMINGTON RAND INC. SYRACUSE NY USA this is written on the slide as well. On the frame is NO.1440909 and on the otherside is written United States Property M1911AI U.S. Army.

Does anyone know if the serial numbers match the maker on the slide? Also, does the U.S. Army want their 1911's back or can you legally register these pistols?

Any help and all information would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks for your time!!!

Warm regards,
Steve

[Ronnie Fry]

Serial #'s

Steve,
Both the S/N's you listed fall within the assigned range of the mfg. you state. Both pistols would have been mfg. in 1943. On the Colt, there may be the matching S/N on the slide, under the firing pin retainer. They quit putting the S/N there in 1943, but I can't remember just when. You'll have to take the pistol apart to take the firing pin retainer out. Many other qualifying facts, but these are basic.

r

[Ronnie Fry]

P.s.

Steve,
Sorry I can't help you about the problem with registering in NY. We don't have that kind of concern here on the High Plains of Texas. However, many of these pistols were sold thru the DCM in the 50's and 60's. The govt. didn't want them then, and still are selling off surplus stuff to the CMP as it's now known.
The value of these pistols have gone thru the roof in the last 4 - 5 years. If they are in good shape, and you can get them worth the money, DO!!

r

[Ssteve]

Hello Ronnie,
Thanks for your time and all the useful information. I bought the pistols and I'll post some pictures in a new thread. Thanks again, Steve

[Matt Wilson]

Ssteve,

Shame on you - you are opening old wounds for me!! j/k

My buddies back in NY have not informed me of any changes in the gun laws that would cause you difficulty. Provided you have your pistol permit, all you need is a notarized bill of sale to transfer the weapons to you. For your own piece of mind, it might behoove you to contact the local law enforcement & provide them w/the serial numbers, so they can check them for stolen. They may ask you for make/model/caliber, but that is all Hollywood - all that is needed to check NCIC is the serial number. If they get a hit on a number, it will give the make, caliber, etc. If it sounds like either of the weapons you are interested in, I would advise you to stay away. Under circumstances such as you describe, it is not the federal government that wants the guns back, but there is the possibility they were stolen from a collector. Uncle Sam gave up on the hardware that disappeared into duffle bags a long time ago. Hope this is some help.

Now for the horror story. Back in the early 90s, I was in charge of the firearms training unit for a PD in western NY. The local politicos had decided that they needed one of those PC "feel good" initiatives to placate the citizenry, so they conjured up a "buy back" program to "get guns out of the hands of criminals." $25 for a long gun, $50 for a handgun - no questions asked. Think about it. Now I do believe that we rounded up a sawed-off single shot .22 rifle, & we did get a couple stolen handguns that had been so badly mutilated as to be almost inoperable. But I also know of some guys (dealers, police officers, hobby gunsmiths) who had accumulated piles of old broken-down RG revolvers (the type you must REMOVE the cylinder to load), & Jennings-style pistols (that could be purchased NEW for $39.95...), who took advantage of this opportunity to turn their trash into cash. The program was essentially useless at getting weapons used in crimes. & that's not the horror. About a year later, after the serial numbers had all been checked, & ballistic comparisons made on any promising samples, I was down in the property clerk's, sorting these evil objects for destruction in a local industrial incinerator. THAT was when I got to examine the perfect, unmolested k98 (I want to say it was a byf 43), & the 98% US&S 1911A1. Museum-quality war trophies. & I knew in a heartbeat that these arms had not been used in a single street/drum crime, or ANY crime, since at least 1945. These were personal trophies, possibly acquired in violation of regulations in the 40s, that some aged vet had worried about for decades, still imagining some severe penalty for their past "transgression." Now they had a means of disposal, quiet & anonymous, to soothe their conscience. Sadly, for no real reason. Or perhaps a widow of such a warrior, who after all those years of admonishing, "I don't know WHY you keep THAT old thing around!" could finally unburden themselves of the imagined yoke. Tragic, not so much for the loss to the collector community like ours - although it certainly is - but the economic loss to the elderly owners, who could have been so much better served if they were directed to collectors, or someone who would have offered more than the paltry 25 or 50 dollars the city paid. Remember - gun control = public service. Uh-huh...

Sorry for the digression. Hope your .45s turn out to be keepers, & you get them at a fair price. Keep us posted.

Best,
Matt