CMP 1911s are BACK! Info thread - UPDATE/EXTENDED

[Wakko]

https://thecmp.org/sales-and-service/1911-information/

Ok, boys and girls, the next round for the Civilian Marksmanship Program's 1911 program has been announced and is NOW READY TO GO!!! Fill out the packet (carefully!) and mail it during the month of September, and at some point during the next couple of years, you'll get a call for a pistol. The prices are UP from two and four years ago:

Service Grade $1250. Pistol may exhibit minor pitting and wear on exterior surfaces and friction surfaces. Grips are complete with no cracks. Pistol is in issuable condition. Pistols may contain commercial parts.

Field Grade $1150. Pistol may exhibit minor rust, pitting, and wear on exterior surfaces and friction surfaces. Grips are complete with no cracks. Pistol is in issuable condition. Pistols may contain commercial parts.

Rack Grade $1050. Pistol will exhibit rust, pitting, and wear on exterior surfaces and friction surfaces. Grips may be incomplete and exhibit cracks. Pistol requires minor work to return to issuable condition but is functional. Pistols may contain commercial parts.

Range Grade $1100. These are 1911 pistols for those that want a part of history and a shooter, not a collectable. These are 1911s that have been modified in some way, and may have some commercial parts. No two (2) pistols are alike, the modifications / parts could be any of the following: Night Sights, extended Beaver Tail, Rubber Grips, Barrels, Oversized Slide Release, Target Triggers, Adjustable Rear Sights, Tactical Match Hammer, Competition Grip Safety, Sight Rib, Slides, Checkered Front Strap, Ambidextrous Safety, Different Finishes. Some of the manufactures of these parts are: Bar-Sto, Wilson, Ed Brown, Pachmayer, Hogue, Caspian and Bomar.

Service grade pistols are always in better shape, but often lack the character of the lesser grades, since they've been more recently redone. They often have fresh parking. There ARE some unusually nice service grades, especially some that came out of the museum system. Below is my 1918 Colt/Colt that is one of those unusually nice ones. This was from the first round.

Field and Rack are a bit more of a crapshoot, as you're likely to get more character, but you may get mismatched pistols or a modern replacement slide. For a shooter, those are the best slides, but if you're looking for an original pistol, it's hit or miss. Below are two Rem Rand/Rem Rand pistols, one is rack and one is field. The rack is BARELY more worn than the field.

Whichever you get, you're getting a weapon that left service as you're getting it, so it's a no brainer.

For club membership, there are quite a few options. Garand Collector's Association tends to be the most popular, but there's a list on the website. Any questions, ask and I'll try to help.

https://thecmp.org/sales-and-service/1911-information/

[lighteye]

You know, I carried a 1911 in Iraq in '91, still have the holster and magazine pouches for it. The historical and sentimental side of me buying one is appealing, but they're not exactly practical for me these days. I was more than agitated when we switched to the Beretta when we returned, as I LOVED our annual qualifications with the 1911. I could actually see that speeding 230GR bumblebee heading downrange with my peripheral vision. I KNEW it would go bang every time, and I was lethal with it. Good luck fellas!

[Wakko]

Since when is practical a requirement for collecting guns?

[45caldan]

Since when is practical a requirement for collecting guns?

Exactly!
Many collectable/historical guns I'd love to have and in some cases wish I STILL had.

NOTHING whatsoever at all to do with a carry gun or home defense gun!

[Chigger]

Since when is practical a requirement for collecting guns?

No truer statement has ever been said, ever.

[lighteye]

I remember sending over 1,000 rounds downrange one day and the lack of a beavertail was pretty apparent , as the grip safety had literally taken all of the skin off between my thumb and index finger. No gloves, and apparently I was getting tired and let the recoil run roughshod over me.

I was bruised up for quite awhile after that day, but hey, when we had to dispose of those rounds RFN and couldn't return them to the arms room, why, I stepped up and did my part. I still have a scar from that afternoon, lol. I can assure you that every other one I acquired after that had a nice fat beavertail grip safety to spare me that misery again. It was one of my favorite weapons of my career.

[cvasqu03]

Damn, $1,050 for a rack grade. I guess I better just send it in anyway and hope by the time they call me I can afford it.

Ah, the things we do for love.

[cvasqu03]

BTW, I'm sure this has been covered at some point, but when the call does come and you have to send the funds, do you have to send cash equivalent, or can it be paid via credit card?

[George W]

BTW, I'm sure this has been covered at some point, but when the call does come and you have to send the funds, do you have to send cash equivalent, or can it be paid via credit card?

Credit card is fine.

[tcpip95]

Once upon a time I was all set to get me a government issue 1911 through CMP. Here I was thinking that I'm going to get a matching parts & pieces of a piece of history.

Then I learned that by the time these things go through government refurbishment and service over the years (decades), in the end you might have a complete mishmash of parts that in the end just makes it a USGI used, beat up 1911 that probably has no real history other than the frame.

Yes, I'd love to have a 1911 that came ashore at Anzio, or Normandy, or Guadalcanal but the reality is that those guns are long in the collectors safes now. In the end, I opted for a couple of new Colt 1911s that I had engraved and customized that will be family heirlooms for my kids and grandkids.
The black one is a special Colt offering that has no roll marks on the slide. These are only intended for engravers. It depicts my family history of coming to America in 1633, founding Hartford, CT on one side, and the American Revolution on the other.

The silver one depicts my time in the Air Force, dates, commands that I served under, etc. Hopefully the grandkids will say "this was grandpa Jim's gun", or "my great, great grandfather Jim used to shoot these guns way back in the 2020s."