North American Arms 1911 Question(s)
I posted this on another forum, but I found this thread from 2009 in a search, so I figured I'd sign up and ask here. Hi :wave:
I recently got to handle a North American Arms marked 1911 (slide), but the frame appears to be a Colt (per the serial number and "Government Model" markings). Upon further research, the frame appears to be a British contract "foreign service model", as the serial number is: C 49,XXX. Per this site:
3) Colt M1911 British Contract: S/N W29117 to W97000 and S/N C29 to C74,200 = May 1912 to April 1919 (Approx. 17,500 pistols were shipped to England. Serial numbers that begin with a “C” were .45 ACP and serial numbers that begin with a “W” were .455 Webley calibers.
But, if I put it in Colt's serial number search, it comes up with: 1916 "1911 .45 (COMMERCIAL) WITH C PREFIX, INCLUDING 1ST MODEL NATIONAL MATCH (1933-41)"
Can someone better interpret this for me? I am certainly no M1911 expert.
Would it make any sense for this combination to be a "factory" configuration, or were the slide and frame mismatched at some point?
Can anyone point me in the right direction on this, or where I could better research this information? There appears to be only very limited information on the 'net about the North American Arms guns.
The gun is not for sale, but I'm just curious to this combination of slide/frame and the potential valuation of such a thing. Not that I could ever afford it. I just enjoy the history of old milsurp guns and "the hunt" of finding the info is half of the fun :D
I'm working on getting some pictures up as well.
Thank you all in advance!
