1924 Argentine Navy Contract Colt Government Model

[jmoore]

The Argentine Navy was an early adopter of the new style Government Model patterned after the US M1911a1. They ordered 150 in 1924, of which 75 were delivered in 1924 and the rest in '25. Not much mystery in determining where in the lot that a specific example falls, as they were marked with sequential issue numbers. (This one is #30.) However the markings are rather different than the earlier Army contract shown in this thread:

1915 Argentine Army Contract Colt Government Model (see Post #11 for a 1914 Navy Contract)




z

Information

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[jmoore]

Try #4: (Having fits with the photo hosting site.)








And, yes, for a number of years it wore an ambidexterous safety:

Mostly because even though the bore is really not the best, it's bank vault barrel lock-up and general goodness make this my favorite Colt. Shot it in quite a few CQC matches and did quite well against the new fangled gear, except during night shoots. It might have even been shown in one of the Ft. Benning newspapers around 2000 or so.

It's retired from any large amount of shooting now, so the old safety is back in place.

Of note, this batch did not have the barrels numbered. Nor was the Argentine crest applied.

[DaveN]

I know pristine is what makes or cost you money but I still love the idea of a well used well worn 1911A1. And war time ones are the ones you can only imagine what the've seen?

[jmoore]

I know pristine is what makes or cost you money but I still love the idea of a well used well worn 1911A1. And war time ones are the ones you can only imagine what the've seen?

There seems to be mighty few pristine Argentine Government Models. Most of the examples in Clawson's book on the subject show some degree of use or finish degradation. Had the opporunity to handle one of the Brazilian (Navy?) Colts a number of years ago which, IIRC, is the very one shown in the book. It surely wasn't "pristine"! Somehow I missed getting it. Probably because I had sqaundered my money on something else at the time...

The one shown above hasn't changed much since I got it. Possibly a little more holster wear at the muzzle. It surely had been fired a fair amount beforehand! Not nearly as hard a life as the 1915 example in the linked thread above, though.

A big difference between US M1911s and M1911a1a and the Argentines is the frequency of major overhauls. Pristine US pistols usuallyt have little history beyond their construction details and association with the military. Your "combat veteran" pistols have been generally been completely rebuilt at least once. Which means refinished and likely not only mostly replacement small parts, but are generally "mixmasters" thoughout. The Argentines often never saw any overhaul beyond the absolute minimum required to keep them functional.

[DaveN]

They all seem to have matching numbers which would seem to support your theory. I might have to look into one of these. Thanks

Before I finally bought my 43 colt I was seriously considering getting one.