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Over the holidays, I showed my wife's grandfather my new RIA 1911. He served in the Air Force and was telling me about the 1911 he was issued while serving. Unfortunately, he has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and we can already see its effects on him. I would like to get him a 1911 to thank him for his service as a memento, but I am concerned that, with his Alzheimer's, he cannot be safe with a fully functional firearm. I was wondering if any of you knew of a source for a GI 1911 that has been rendered un-fireable. I thought about trying to get him a working GI 1911 and having some of the internals removed, but I would fear that he might get it repaired.

I don't want a toy/airsoft replica. I want something that will look, feel, and (to a large extent) function like a 1911 (I just don't want it to be able to fire). Thank you for any help you can provide.

Just how far do you want to go? Because you could always weld the firing pin or something like that... But if it is a real firearm, then it can always be fixed. Heck, he could always buy a new one as well.

How about one that fires blanks?? There is a nice one here: http://www.iar-arms.com/worldwarblanks.htm

What about a Springer GI model? Have his name or someting laser engraved on it and seal it up in a shadow box. It wouldn't be non-firing, but maybe it being in a shadow box would help, and still be sentimental. I think it's awesome that you want to honor him like that, and I hope you find something that will work for both of you. My wife's grandfather was a Marine, and before he died, we got him an M1 Garand from the Civilian Marksmanship Program. Those old guns mean ALOT to them!

While I think it's a nice gesture on your part, I would not buy any kind of gun [real or toy or blank] for an Alzheimer's patient. My mother had Alzheimer's and the disease made her do some strange things. Once she got up in the middle of the night and walked down the street [in her pajamas] and knocked on the door of the fire station. I hate to think what could have happened if she were carrying a 1911. Maybe a nice WWII book would be a better gift.

P.S. My mom shot an M1 Garand, a .357Mag and a 12 gauge. She was pretty good too!

I just did a search and found http://www.replicadungeon.com maybe that'll work.

It's a nice gesture but I too would not get him a working firearm. Therefore to avoid any kind of ill feelings I wouldn't get him any type of firearm. It's just too risky. The great man you know can (unwillingly) become someone you don't with that disease.

Keith B wrote:How about one that fires blanks?? There is a nice one here: http://www.iar-arms.com/worldwarblanks.htm

Weight looks right. I think this is the perfect idea. Mount it in a shadow box, he never needs to know it won't fire...right?

WildBill wrote:While I think it's a nice gesture on your part, I would not buy any kind of gun [real or toy or blank] for an Alzheimer's patient. My mother had Alzheimer's and the disease made her do some strange things. Once she got up in the middle of the night and walked down the street [in her pajamas] and knocked on the door of the fire station. I hate to think what could have happened if she were carrying a 1911. Maybe a nice WWII book would be a better gift.

P.S. My mom shot an M1 Garand, a .357Mag and a 12 gauge. She was pretty good too!

You are right, he could wander the street with it and be shot. I have to agree, nice gesture, but it puts him at risk. I thought the blank gun is a fine idea otherwise.

barres wrote:Over the holidays, I showed my wife's grandfather my new RIA 1911. He served in the Air Force and was telling me about the 1911 he was issued while serving.

When did he serve?

I'm sorry for his and his family's misfortune. Altzheimer's is a terrible disease.

- Jim

seamusTX wrote:When did he serve?

I'm sorry for his and his family's misfortune. Altzheimer's is a terrible disease.

- Jim

I don't know the exact dates of his service, but I know he served during the Berlin air-lift. I was concerned about him hurting someone else with a functional firearm when he is not himself, but I honestly never thought about the possibility of him carrying it and alarming others with it, which could get him shot. Maybe this isn't such a great idea, after all. But you should have seen the gleam in his eyes as he looked over my 1911.

I know Alzheimer's is a terrible disease. My wife lost her paternal Grandmother to Alzheimer's long before she died of pneumonia. My Mother-in-law's maternal grandmother and now father have been diagnosed with it. That means there is a history of Alzheimer's on both side of my wife's family and at least one case in each generation older than her parents.

barres wrote:I don't know the exact dates of his service, but I know he served during the Berlin air-lift.

As WildBill suggested earlier, he might appreciate a book. A picture book might stir his memories.

Here's some interesting material: http://www.nytstore.com/ProdDetail.aspx?prodId=1138

I'm also thinking you might find something like a flag related to his unit, but I can't find anything in a quick search.

- Jim

Combine ideas; get a real one, remove the firing pin, and then mount it in a well-secured shadow box; he has a real gun that he's unlikely to get to, and if he does, he still won't be able to fire it without being lucid enough, long enough to recognise the problem, get a replacement part, and install it. Unless he lives in Cabela's, that's going to take long enough that someone should notice.

Even better, get a cheap replacement firing pin cut down so that it can't possibly contact a primer, that way it can even be mounted cocked and locked without showing that anything's modified. Bonus; he'd actually have to be lucid enough to strip the slide and recognise the problem before he got around to ordering the part.

If he's still early enough in the progression that you can take him to the range for some supervised shooting, having the box made with a key lock and keeping the key away from him would even allow you to let him shoot it from time to time, then swap pins surreptitiously during cleaning and lock it back in the box.

What about a replacement mainspring housing with no spring? If you want it displayed cocked, you could even have the plunger welded in the right spot, and still have something that could be swapped easily (and sneakily) by someone who knows the gimmick.

Make sure everybody else around him knows the gun's disabled; if he does get it out of the box, you don't want anybody to panic.

If he served during the Berlin airlift, especially if he participated in the operation, perhaps a scale model of a C-47 or C-54 would be more appropriate.

IMHO.

Make sure everybody else around him knows the gun's disabled; if he does get it out of the box, you don't want anybody to panic.

If anybody ever wondered when would be an appropriate time to be wearing a depend that might be it ,It'a a good thing he served early, on when i served they issued` S&W model 15 38 spl.If i keep going at the rate i'm going they'll be giving me rubber guns to play with