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Edited name in hopes of more feed back,

Very long story short, my grandfather was giving me a hard time about the recent theft of my nova, and offered me 1 of his guns to replace my “duck� gun. Knowing full and well I would not take it, even if he let me, I reached for his Purdy . He quickly told me I need a gun to use, and that was a collector piece. I was expecting this, and replaced it stating I had never touched it. He had a double auto and an Model II I had never shot, that I was interested in having but knew I would never “use�. Back and forth a bit, I asked him about his 1911. Only to learn he had 2, and a smith 22, and a Colt 380 auto of his fathers… I never knew. Both the 1911’s were gifts from his Uncle whom I never met, but my mother was particularly fond of. The gun was given to my grandfather when he enlisted in WWII. He carried it with him in the south pacific. The other 1911 he received upon the death of my GGU. Both had similar serial numbers. But from the condition, he knew this is the one he had taken overseas.

The serial is C 76XXX, best I can tell it was manufactured in 1916 and mostly likely slated for a foreign government for or shortly after WWI? I will never know how my GGU acquired it. (please corect me)

Someday I get up the nerve to ask to touch the Purdy again. When I get time, I’ll post up how he got it, it’s a great story.





So, although this is not a museum piece, it means a lot to me, I do want to shot it, as that is what he will expect of me. Can anyone recommend a trustworthy smith in the central texas to austin area? I want to get it checked out and replace any springs and what not so that it can go to the range with me from time to time. It has probably sat in his nightstand (loaded) for 50+ years.

Real Character!

I have to say that is real purdy. I love anything 1911 and that one is a true M1911, not an M1911-A1. I don't know any smiths in that area but once found I would call the smith before hand and ensure they have all the springs for the gun (I would not let that gun out of my sight for more than an hour or so).

That is a nice old Colt 1911 there - not the 1911 of WWII, but the older variant that was issued in the first World War. The C before the serial number indicates that it was sold commercially, not as a military gun. Aside from that, it's identical to the pistols our GIs carried in the trenches.

Blue Book's list of serial numbers places your pistol as being made circa 1917.

And may I say, your grandfather must be an incredible fellow. While "commercial" 1911s are not rare, per se, they're not exactly common, either. And it looks like it's in rather good condition, from your pictures. I'd say your grandfather took good care of it.

I'd not hesitate to shoot it, although I'd stick with standard 230-grain ammo (no +P stuff). Be advised, it may or may not feed hollowpoint; those older 1911s were designed around ball ammunition.

And nice WWII-era magazine too. That's also somewhat desirable from a collector's standpoint.

That's pretty cool. I have my dad's old Ithaca 1911 that he carried for a while in WW2. I used to shoot it regularly, but lately, I've put it out to pasture, and I just enjoy looking at it. It still has better than 95% of the original finish. The only thing I've done to it is put Pachmyar wrap around grips on it because my wedding ring was starting to leave a mark on it when shooting. I looked up the serial number, and it was made in 1943. The old guns are pretty neat.

My father was a 2nd Lt in the Marine Corps when he shipped out bound for Iwo Jima. Like a lot of young officers at the time, there weren't enough 1911s available for issue to officers (enlisted men kept squirreling them away ), so he went out and bought his own civilian version from a hardware store in Glendale, California (his home town) before shipping out. Dad was WIA at Iwo, and he was relieved of his weapons at the aid station before being flown back to Guam for surgery, including his personal 1911. Later, after recovering from his wound, he was promoted to 1st Lt and given command of a rifle company which was training for the pending assault on Japan when Japan finally surrendered. During this training, one of the enlisted men in his company was in possession of this particular pistol and was goofing around with it in his barracks tent when he accidentally shot himself in the hand (losing about half of the hand in the process). My dad confiscated the weapon and, figuring that Ma Green owed him one personally purchased 1911A1, he kept it. That is how the gun got into my family's possession. I inherited it in 1990 when my dad died, and that is how I came to be a gun owner.

Here it is:

It’s interesting to know there was a shortage of GI 1911’s, I had wondered why he was able to take a gun that my GGU had given him (personal weapon for deployment), but certainly did not question him. He is not a man to miss lead or miss inform.

TTT, with new title for more feed back, there must be some old pics and old stories out there.