Safety Pin Hole Specs

[Scott Gahimer]

There were some Colt pistols that had out-of-spec holes. The ones I am referring to were 1943 pistols and typically around 950xxx. The marks from where Colt tightened up the holes are under the finish and were done by assemblers who fitted the pistols together.

There are numerous listings in the SRS database in that Colt serial range where pistols are listed as Defective and/or Unsafisfactory. Some pistols in these serial ranges have signs of barrels that were specifically fitted with modified lugs. I've got a couple in the 95x,xxx range.

Later, in November 1943, the Pistol Committee recommended to the Ordnance Dept. that tolerances be relaxed a bit due to pistol rejections in the previous months and to better achieve interchangeability. At that time, Colt apparently relaxed their tolerances to the point they no longer had to number slides anymore.

I'd say most marred surfaces seen on pistols that are done after finish could have done by anyone after the pistols left the factory...or even left the military. Those marks under the original finish are clearly marks made at the factory prior to finish being applied.