Two weeks back, I came a cross a really nice looking Ithaca M1911 A1 in the used gun display of my favorite local GS. The finish looked great, and the pistol literally smelled of Cosmoline and grease. If had been used, it was gentle use.
I left, thinking about the gun, and started doing a little research... then a little more research. I came back to take a second look, dissembled the gun, examined it for wear and corrosion, etc. Took notes of the stamps and markings. Left for another two days.
Came back a third time, armed with a magnifying glass, and a preliminary go-ahead from "She Who must be Obeyed"... decided to pull the trigger. Seventy-two hours later (IL waiting period), this veteran was sitting on my work bench, getting a good, thorough cleaning:
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In the above photo, only the magazine on the left -- with the spot weld marks -- is original issue (Colt-manufactured), the other is from another source.
First range session after cleaning... last two magazines (14 shots) at 7 yards:
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Shooting this GI 1911 was a real surprise -- a very pleasant surprise!
The darn thing shoots really nice! No issues at all after ~100 rounds of 230gr FMJ. I was worried that the springs might need replacement after 66 years... recoil spring, firing pin spring, magazine spring... heck even the mainspring... all worked fine after a thorough cleaning when I picked it up last Saturday.
Empty casings eject fine, no failure to feed, no failure to fire... and once I got used to the GI-style sights (really lousy, BTW), I was able to put all 14 shots from the last 2 magazines into one of those Shoot 'N C' neon targets.
Lastly,
I picked up a couple reference books on military weapons and the 1911 specifically (The Model 1911 and Model 1911A1 Military and Commercial Pistols, by Joe Poyer). I went through all the stampings, proof marks, barrel marks, manufacturing codes, etc. and I'm satisfied that this Ithaca is the real deal... all original parts, original finish, no arsenal reworked components... woo-hoo!
The barrel came from the Flannery Bolt Company, on contract with the with the War Dept in WWII as a supplier to Ithaca; the magazine is a Colt Type 5, unmarked, manufactured by Colt for supply to Ithaca.
Date of manufacture for the gun is 1943, toward the end of the year.
Just wish there was some way to track where it was shipped, and to whom it was issued to while in the service.
I left, thinking about the gun, and started doing a little research... then a little more research. I came back to take a second look, dissembled the gun, examined it for wear and corrosion, etc. Took notes of the stamps and markings. Left for another two days.
Came back a third time, armed with a magnifying glass, and a preliminary go-ahead from "She Who must be Obeyed"... decided to pull the trigger. Seventy-two hours later (IL waiting period), this veteran was sitting on my work bench, getting a good, thorough cleaning:
In the above photo, only the magazine on the left -- with the spot weld marks -- is original issue (Colt-manufactured), the other is from another source.
First range session after cleaning... last two magazines (14 shots) at 7 yards:
Shooting this GI 1911 was a real surprise -- a very pleasant surprise!
The darn thing shoots really nice! No issues at all after ~100 rounds of 230gr FMJ. I was worried that the springs might need replacement after 66 years... recoil spring, firing pin spring, magazine spring... heck even the mainspring... all worked fine after a thorough cleaning when I picked it up last Saturday.
Empty casings eject fine, no failure to feed, no failure to fire... and once I got used to the GI-style sights (really lousy, BTW), I was able to put all 14 shots from the last 2 magazines into one of those Shoot 'N C' neon targets.
Lastly,
I picked up a couple reference books on military weapons and the 1911 specifically (The Model 1911 and Model 1911A1 Military and Commercial Pistols, by Joe Poyer). I went through all the stampings, proof marks, barrel marks, manufacturing codes, etc. and I'm satisfied that this Ithaca is the real deal... all original parts, original finish, no arsenal reworked components... woo-hoo!
The barrel came from the Flannery Bolt Company, on contract with the with the War Dept in WWII as a supplier to Ithaca; the magazine is a Colt Type 5, unmarked, manufactured by Colt for supply to Ithaca.
Date of manufacture for the gun is 1943, toward the end of the year.
Just wish there was some way to track where it was shipped, and to whom it was issued to while in the service.
