Military 1911 A-1 NM question

[SJDE]

Recently viewed a SA, NM pistol with a stippled front strap. The pistol is an original military rebuild at the Springfield Armory and in near unissued condition. The hammer spring housing is also stippled. The stippling is to perfection.
I have in my collection a similar hammer spring housing that was acquired from a fitter who worked on the original NM line at the Armory, also in new condition.
I have read that the Marines used 1911 A-1 match pistols with stippling.
My question: Is such a NM pistol considered an original military NM pistol?
My first post, hope I am on the right page.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[jmoore]

My question: Is such a NM pistol considered an original military NM pistol?

If it can be verified by old DCM paperwork or similar, then yes. There are folk who can judge them by eyeball, but I'm not one. Quite a few parts "escaped" the system, and many were built from standard pistols AFTER purchase from the DCM, even by folk still in service. So...

[SJDE]

The pistol I refer to is the real deal. I own a few. I guess the specific question to ask is if the Marines stippled the front strap of there match pistols. I own enough NM pistol parts to be able to compare the parts of a regulation NM 45 pistol.
When the Armory was open, a school for armorers was conducted to teach them how to rebuild 1911 A-1 Pistols. When the armorers returned to there units, the pistols that they rebuilt were not stamped SA on the slide. Also, such rebuilt pistols lacked the front strap knurling of the later date rebuilt pistols. The Armory had a special milling machine set up to knurl the front straps only. This information was garnered from an engineer who worked on setting up the project. The sear adjustments on these NM pistols are unbelievable. No creep at all.
Genuine NM pistols are a priority collectors item.
I hope someone down the line comes up with a definitive book on NM 1911 A-1 pistols.
There isn't a whole lot of accurate information on NM pistols. I checked my Clawson book, and he doesn't go into NM pistols deeply.

Thanks jmoore for your input.

SJDE

[Johnny Peppers]

I have to disagree on the stippled front straps on a Springfield Armory built National Match pistol. Originally the NM pistols had nothing done to the front strap, in 1957 a stippled neoprene grip pad was added to the pistols, and then in 1959 checkering (knurling) was added to the front strap.
Springfield Armory would trade pistols with a shooter every year so that the shooters would have the latest improvements in the pistols. A few were returned with stippled front straps done by their owners, and a decision was made to accept the pistols with the stipple front strap only if the stippling had not damaged the magazine well where the receiver could be refinished and used. None of the stipple front strap pistols were reissued as NM pistols.
Match pistols built at facilities that did not have the equipment to checker the front straps did use stippling, but not Springfield Armory.

[SJDE]

I went on to a 1911 forum and got the following information re. front strap:
"I know the USMC did it on all the match pistols as standard operating procedure in the 1960s..At least at Quantico, thats where mine were built.."
It would appear that the Marine rebuilt 45's incorporated stippled front straps. From the previous posters point of view, it would seem that when such 1911 A-1 pistols were sent in to the Springfield Armory for rebuild, the pistol in question went through the NM line and was updated. What happened to such pistols after being up dated is another mystery question. I know for a fact, anyone working at the Armory could bring in there own U.S. legal Military Surplus weapon and run it trough the NM line. In almost all private 1911 build ups that I have seen, the SA and NM imprint, was left off of the pistol.
It's a shame that most of my friends who worked at SA are gone along with the wealth of information that they had.
The Armory encouraged marksmanship in the old days and even had there own pistol team that competed with other factories and clubs in the Springfield area. Even our local school systems had shooting teams and it wasn't uncommon for a school kid to bring his rifle on the bus to school, in containers of course.
How the world has changed.

SJDE

[Johnny Peppers]

There is a difference in what someone did to their own pistol and what Springfield Armory sold as a NM pistol. I doubt the Marines ever let their match pistols get out of their hands, as they had a hard enough time getting equipment to start with, and they didn't send it back to Springfield to be refurbished. When Springfield put SA and NM on the pistols, they were the very best they could turn out.