OT - Remington 1911A1

[Barcelona Rick]

Just read on a shotgun site that Remington was reintroducing their 1911A1 pistol.....carried a Remington Rand 1911A1 many hours in the USN....has anyone heard this or does anyone know anything about it ??

jumbeaux

[J Miller]

I've not heard anything about it, but if it is an Honest To God 1911a1 and not one of those gee gaw dooded up wonders sold by every body else I'm gonna be really interested.

Joe

[Blaine]

I've not heard anything about it, but if it is an Honest To God 1911a1 and not one of those gee gaw dooded up wonders sold by every body else I'm gonna be really interested.

Joe

The orginals really had a couple problems, like feeding, sights that worked, and reliable ejection that Gee-Gaws fixed up

[Hobie]

Didn't have those problems in INFANTRY units.

[Blaine]

Didn't have those problems in INFANTRY units.

The Arms Room, or you, worked them over, then.....

[Barcelona Rick]

Blaine ours fed just fine and the sights were good enough for the intended use.....they went bang every time.....

jumbeaux

[Blaine]

I grew up in the late fifties and sixties reading about qurky, orginal spec 1911s and what you had to do to make them reliable. The ones used in the Pre-Model 92 era were improved....Hobie, you should know that. All the ones made these days, even the "GI Models" are improved.

[Dave]

I had a Remington Rand that was issued to a corpsman in WW II. He then brought it home. It was very tight. It ran great and was accurate. I only shot ball out of it though. I think a lot of the problems with 1911's in the military was caused by shot to death guns. The gun I had was wonderful but it had not been shot much.

[Thunder50]

I have Dads WWII/Korea aircrew gun. Guess he had it nickle plated. Shoots great! No problems with anything I have fed it.

[model55]

My father was issued one and had nothing but complaints, had the armory get a well used colt. I guess it would have done better then the Airweight 38 he had issued later during Vietnam but he sure was dissapointed with it.He also had bad luck with a Model 1894 but I'm thinking it was just that rifle-now I'm a fan of those!

[cas]

Has anyone heard if Remington will actually be making them, or just selling a re-branded import?

[win40-82]

I grew up in the late fifties and sixties reading about qurky, orginal spec 1911s and what you had to do to make them reliable. The ones used in the Pre-Model 92 era were improved....Hobie, you should know that. All the ones made these days, even the "GI Models" are improved.

I've had no fewer than a dozen or so WWII era 1911A1 pistols over the years. Rem-Rand, Colt and Ithica and never had one that had a feeding problem when using ball ammo. As for accuracy, they all shot well enough to hit a man out to 50 yards and that's what they were suppose to do and with a couple of them capable of much better.

[Hillbilly]

a couple of GI issued 1911 passed my way over the years... most were ok.

The problem child wouldnt make 5 hits on a sheet of plywood from 30 feet. In fairness to the pistol.... it was flat worn out.

A bushing, barrel and having a 'smith peen the slide and do some refitting we were back in business. Any stock GI 1911 will need a little massage to feed hollow points...most series 80 commerical guns do to.

[Charles]

Re: Remington 1911A1 and gee-gaws.

In the early days, when money was hard to come by and a dollar was a big as a wagon wheel, a good Remington-Rand 1911A1 was all the centerfire handgun I could afford at $35.00. I carried it, slept with it, hunted with it and in general placed my trust in it for about five years. About five years in (1965), I bought a NIB Colt Gold Cup and the Remington went into semi-retirement. Here is what I learned about said pistol.

1. Both the Remington and the Gold cup shot better than I could hold standing on my hind legs.
2. Both were 100% reliable with decent ammo.
3. Both shot the Keith 452423 with reliability and accuracy.
4. The only difference between the itty bitty GI sights and the Colt target sights was speed.
5. The only difference between the GI trigger and the Colt target trigger was the Colt required less concentration.
6. The only thing a lowered ejection port accomplished was to not dent the mouth of the brass on the way out.
7. The aformentioned Keith bullet would kill a deer grave yard dead when fired from either pistol at ranges of 50 yards or less.

I guess I am stuck in the past, but I don't see much use for the gee gaws stuck on most 1911s these days. I still prefer the 1911A1 format. To this end I have three 1911 pistols in my fleet and none are for sale.

1. A 2003 vintage Colt Govt Model retrofitted with a short steel trigger and an arched steel mainspring housing. It is now sorta 1911A1ish.
2. A Norinco 1911A1. A heck of a fine pistol that I fitted with a set of King hardball fixed sights and touched up the trigger a mite. If a fellow can get by the "Made in China" stamp, these pistols are as good or better than an GI 1911 or 1911A1. They have forged and milled frames and the slides are milled from one piece of tool steel. They are as hard as a woodpecker lips for long life yet not brittle. The barrels are of good quality chromed inside and out.
3. Another Norinco set up the same way.
4. All three pistol are fitted with mesquite grips.

About 2002 I bought a Springer GI and it proved problematic. I hunted down and cured most of the problems, but the 25 yard groups were 6" or better. I replaced the two piece Springfield barrel with a good Colt barrel and bushing and the groups droped to 2.5 inches instantly. Even after all of this, I never trusted the pistol and that is why I bought the Colt GM. I bought the Nork becuase it was cheap at $280.00 and I thought I could turn it for a profit. After a little use, I traded the Springer GI for another Nork because they are just that good.

I would welcome a good Remington 1911A1, although I would have no need to buy one. The three pistols I have, are all worthy sucessors to the GI Remington 1911A1, that sided me through some wild and wolly years and a young man who was limber and could jump a five stand fence. Only two times in my life have I needed to point a gun at another human being and the first time the old GI Remington was in my hand. A shot over the other fellow's head from the 45 was enough to bring and end to the confrontation and was I glad.

I do like them 45 Automatics!!

[Blaine]

I guess all the old masters, including Col Cooper just didn't know what they were talking about.

[InTheWoods]

If I am not mistaken, Remington never made 1911s. The company was Remington-Rand, the typewriter folks.

[Charles]

Blaine.. Today's 1911s are indeed improved, but the improvment doesn't lay in the added features. CNC machining has enabled pistols to come out of the box fitted to tolerances that would require the skills of a fine pistolsmith in days gone by.

I shot Bullseye with a 1911A1 all tricked out by Bob Chow who was one of the greats in those days. My 2003 out of the box GM is as tight and well fitted as anything that came out of Chow's shop.

[Blaine]

Blaine.. Today's 1911s are indeed improved, but the improvment doesn't lay in the added features. CNC machining has enabled pistols to come out of the box fitted to tolerances that would require the skills of a fine pistolsmith in days gone by.

I shot Bullseye with a 1911A1 all tricked out by Bob Chow who was one of the greats in those days. My 2003 out of the box GM is as tight and well fitted as anything that came out of Chow's shop.

I understand....I'm talking about the WWII and before models......even some of the later ones were not up to snuff: witness the success of Wilson putting out GewGawed pieces

[Charles]

I guess it all depends on what "snuff" is. Lots of the well used military weapons were rattleing junk, but a good condition 1911 or 1911A1 had plenty of snuff in it. Many, many folks military, law enforcement and civilian considered them them to be the nee plus ultra combat handgun. Here in the borderlands, gun savy folks shed their old Colt Model Ps and grabbed a 1911 as soon as they could put their hands on one. Until just a few years ago, they filled holsters all up and down the river and they didn't have any of the bolt on, screw on doo dads that folks think necessary now.

I guess folks will always have own opinions, but Jeff Cooper never did much for me. His main accomplishment seem to be promoting himself as a guru and the "modern technique" as if it were handed down from heaven enscribed on golden tablets.

[Hillbilly]

Blaine... in all fairness... I handled a STI the other day...Novacs... a glass rod trigger... and the slide felt like it was on ball bearings.

Not to bad for the price tag... I dont think I could rebuild a stocker for that price.

[win40-82]

I understand....I'm talking about the WWII and before models......even some of the later ones were not up to snuff: witness the success of Wilson putting out GewGawed pieces

Wilson, Clark and others make great stuff but I wouldn't want to take one to war. They may be accurate but I think if you dropped them in a mud puddle they would cease to function. Not so with the WWII and prior military 1911 and 1911A1. As designed and manufactured they functioned flawlessly. The bad rep they got may have been war returns that had just plan shot out. Like I said before, none of the ones that I bought ever had a problem while using ball ammo. As a matter of fact I bought more than a few in your area, at the old Tacoma gun show and the WAC show in Puyallup. As far as the old masters not knowing what they were talking about, I think I'll take the word of all of the WWII, Korea and VetNam vets who loved them.

[Hobie]

I grew up in the late fifties and sixties reading about qurky, orginal spec 1911s and what you had to do to make them reliable. The ones used in the Pre-Model 92 era were improved....Hobie, you should know that. All the ones made these days, even the "GI Models" are improved.

Nothing I had was "improved". They were stock albeit like George Washington's hatchet. The slides, barrels, frames were all original. Had Remington-Rands, Ithacas, etc... One guy reported that he'd been issued a Singer but who knows. They shot, shot well enough and were used right up until they were turned in and the 92 issued. Honestly, I used those things in an intel unit, a air traffic control unit, CDEC and infantry units. All worked when loaded with ball. I once put 7 consecutive shots on an E-silhouette at 200 meters (auto-rifle range) from a stock, as issued 1911A1 with issue ball ammo (emphasis on once ). If the springs were good the guns worked.

[KSRtrd]

Army and Navy life with em lft me with a feeling of confidence in them. The never jammed with milspec ball, guess the armours new thier stuff.

[awp101]

Stolen from another board...

PSALM 19:11

1. In the beginning was the 1911, and the 1911 was THE pistol, and it was good. And behold the Lord said, thou shalt not muck with my disciple John's design for it is good and it worketh. For John made the 1911, and lo all of his weapons, from the designs which I, the Lord, gave him upon the mountain.



2. And shouldst thou muck with it, and hang all manner of foul implements upon it, and profane its internal parts, thou shalt surely have malfunctions, and in the midst of battle thou shalt surely come to harm.



3. And as the ages passed, men in their ignorance and arrogance didst forget the word of the Lord and began to profane the 1911. The tribe of the gamesman did place recoil spring guides and extended slide releases upon the 1911 and their metal smiths didst tighten the tolerances and alter parts to their liking, their clearness of mind being clouded by lust.



4. Their artisans did hang all manner of foul implements upon the 1911 and did so alter it that it became impractical to purchase. For lo, the artisans didst charge a great tax upon the purchasers of the 1911 so that the lowly field worker could not afford one. And the profaning of the internal parts didst render it unworkable when the dust of the land fell upon it.



5. And lo, they didst install adjustable sights, which are an abomination unto the Lord. For they doth break and lose their zero when thou dost need true aim. And those who have done so will be slain in great numbers by their enemies in the Great Battle.

6. And it came to pass that the Lord didst see the abomination wrought by man and didst cause, as he had warned, fearful malfunctions to come upon the abominations and upon the artisans who thought they could do no wrong.



7. Seeing the malfunctions and the confusion of men the lord of the underworld did see an opportunity to further ensnare man and didst bring forth pistols made of plastic, whose form was such that they looked and felt like a brick, yet the eyes of man being clouded, they were consumed by the plastic pistol and did buy vast quantities of them.

8. And being a deceitful spirit, the lord of the underworld did make these plastic pistols unamenable to the artisans of earth and they were unable to muck much with the design, and lo these pistols did appear to function.



9. And the Evil One also brought forth pistols in which the trigger didst both cock and fire them and which require a "dingus" to make them appear safe.



10. But man, being stupid, did not understand these new pistols and didst proceed to shoot themselves with the plastic pistol and with the trigger-cocking pistols for lo their manual of arms required great intelligence which man had long since forsaken. Yet man continue to gloat over these new pistols blaming evil forces for the negligent discharges which they themselves had committed.

11. And when man had been totally ensnared with the plastic pistol, the lord of the Underworld didst cause a plague of the terrible "Ka-Boom" to descend upon man and the plastic pistols delivered their retribution upon men. And there was a great wailing and gnashing of teeth in the land.



12. Then seeing that the eyes of man were slowly being opened and that man was truly sorrowful for his sinful misdeeds, the Lord did send his messengers in the form of artisans who did hear and obey the teachings of the prophet and who didst restore the profaned 1911s to their proper configuration, and lo, to the amazement of men, they didst begin to work as the prophet had intended.



13. And the men of the land didst drive out the charlatans and profaners from the land, and there was joy and peace in the land, except for the evil sprits which tried occasionally to prey on the men and women of the land and who were sent to the place of eternal damnation by the followers of John.

[Jaguarundi]

+1 awp101

[Aussie Chris]

Awp101. That was gold!

[coachise]

For the record, Remington-UMC did make some M1911s in 1917. They produced 21,000+ before the contract was cancelled at wars end.... I have a few 1911's in the safe with my levers and single-action revolvers, unfortunately, none of them original "Remingtons"