Original 1911's ???

This is exactly what i'm talking about. Your experience knowledge and stories are very valuable and important to this hobby we all seem to love. Thankyou, thank you.

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Originally Posted by kraigwy

I'm not too sure about the "Correct" 1911a1s. To me correct means all USGI parts. The 1911s were made to allow interchangable parts. The term "orginal" as in all parts that came with the gun is unrealistic to me. I question that term

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I don't agree with your definition, and I don't think many collectors would.

Let's use a 1918 "Black Army" M1911 as an example. Such a pistol might well have gone through a rebuild or two before finding its way out of the military and into a collector's hands. Maybe it was a unit rebuild rather than an arsenal rebuild, so it didn't get Parkerized and updated. But maybe the slide got switched and the one on the gun dates to 1914, with the higher polish blue. And maybe the barrel was replaced, either with a better barrel taken from a latwer M1911A1, or perhaps with a service replacement part that had never been installed in a pistol.

All USGI parts -- but the pistol is no longer in the configuration in which it left the factory. Seeking out a slide from a 1918 Colt (with the rampant colt in the correct location on the slide for 1918 manufacture) and seeking out a 1918 M1911 barrel would make the pistol "correct" -- but would not make the pistol "original" because the parts were not all originally on that pistol.

Heck, there are any number of military rebuilt mixmasters with a Colt receiver and Remington Rand slide (or similar combinations). All USGI parts, but would nonetheless be regarded as mixmasters and not as "correct."

I have been collecting M1 Carbines since the late 70s. I like my carbines and any other guns to be period correct if possible. Even when they don't color and wear match. Because that keeps somewhat at least correct parts togeather. If better color and wear matching parts showup they can be swapped. I had a friend who also collected carbines. But didn't care about period correct. He matched his carbines by color and manufacturer only. He died a few years ago. I bet there are collecters out there with his carbines thinking they have original M1 Carbines. When they are ones we put togeather at gunshows years ago. Remember a late WRA we had put togeather and he showed it to a well known collecter. The guy looked it all over and said now thats the way a 6 mil. Winchester should look. We just laughted to ourselfs and said nothing.

Not too many of the M1 Carbines escaped being rebuilt, but in years past I have seen Carbines that were original that collectors would argue wasn't original because all the colors didn't match.