1911 inquiry, need some information

[mav]

Today was my first day back from vacation, and one of the people I work with told me he bought a new-to-him handgun. He has been really wanting a Colt 1911, and he found one for what I was told was a really good deal. Being a 1911 fan, I asked if I could see it. When he showed it to me I saw something that I found puzzling. His gun is a Colt slide on an Auto Ordnance frame. I did a small amount of googling to see what I could find, and it wasn't much. The only thing I could find is AO started making 1911s in the 80s and the quality really wasn't that good. It almost looks like someone had pieced together a 1911.

When I conveyed my concerns to him, he seemed to be a little irritated that he may have gotten burned. My knowledge of firearms, especially history, is very limited, so I told him I would post a couple of pics on the forum to see if anyone has some insight on the matter. I would rate the gun at 60-70%. It is definitely in good enough shape to be shot (needs a good cleaning though). I field-strippe dthe gun for him to show him how, and I noticed some rust on the slide and frame. The gun has been shot a lot, and there are some chips and dings around parts of the frame and slide. Here are the pics.

I was hoping some of you wiser gentlemen could educate me on this gun so I could give him some information. He paid $650 for the gun, which seems to be way too much if it is what I think it is. Hopefully I am wrong and can give him some better news. Thanks.

Edited September 4, 2012 by mav

[Dolomite_supafly]

Your gut feelings are correct. It is a pieced together gun that has ZERO collector value and $650 was way to much for that gun. Even in what would appear to be a near mint condition you would be hard pressed to sell it for that.

But it is not all bad news.

The good news, he should have zero concerns with shooting it because he is not going to ruin the value of it. He should shoot it until his heart is content. As long as it runs fine and is reasonably accurate tell him to enjoy it guilt free.

I would do a very, very detailed functions check. Paying special attention to the thumb safety to make sure it works correctly. Having a faulty grip safety isn't that big of a deal but having a faulty thumb safety is a dangerous weapon. The thumb safety locks the sear against the hammer making it impossible for the gun to fire even if it is dropped or handled roughly. The grip safety does not, all it does is prevents the trigger from being pulled but the sear can still be bumped off the hammer hook.

Dolomite

[nightrunner]

And its not really a Colt, like he was wanting

[lewisbd]

A guy I work with did the same exact thing, but what he bought was a Colt slide with fusion frame.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

Edited September 5, 2012 by lewisbd

[Lumber_Jack]

I would have it ceracoated, since it has no collector value, to keep it from deterioration. And then shoot it until its nothing but a nub.

Yeah he got burned, but thats water under the bridge.

[kellyII]

Yea sucks to be him right now. Sure wasn't worth the 650 he dropped on it. Bad thing is for a few more coins he could have had a new one in all original condition.

[Moped]

Live and learn. Shoot the thing and enjoy it. Learn to detail strip it. Add some new parts. Make it a race gun. It will make a super learner pistol! Your friend can have a lot of fun with it. He just needs to remember the lesson of "know what your are buying".

[TNWNGR]

Plane old parts gun, most likely a used Colt slide on the Auto Ordinance frame. I don't recall AO selling the frame only but its not unlikely as I've bought other frames for a couple of 1911 builds. Sorry about your friends luck, I would have passed on that deal but at this point he's stuck with it. Either Duracoat or rebule it, put a better set of fixed sights on it and call it a day.

[mav]

Okay, thanks for the info. I might just link this thread to him and let him read it instead of telling him. He will be irritated.

[RobertNashville]

It's a shame he spent more than the gun was worth but as had been said, as long as it's safe and is reasonably accurate he can still wring a lot of enjoyment out of it!

[mav]

I relayed your information today. He was very upset about it, which is certainly understandable. However, there is a positive side to the story. The guy who sold him the gun was unaware of the problems I mentioned in the OP and will give him his money back. He was very lucky. Anyway, thanks for the info guys. I appreciate it.

[kellyII]

If he gets all of the 650 back I would say he is very lucky

[tnhawk]

If he can get his money back, for a few more dollars he can get a pistol that will keep it's value.

[Moped]

He could offer the guy what it's worth and pick up a good beater pistol. It's probably worth $300. Did your friend ever get a chance to shoot it?

[gregintenn]

You guys say $650 was too much for a piecemeal gun. What does one bring nowadays? An original Comlt seems to be $1k and up. I'm not sure he got burned too bad for a decent shooter.

[Lumber_Jack]

You guys say $650 was too much for a piecemeal gun. What does one bring nowadays? An original Comlt seems to be $1k and up. I'm not sure he got burned too bad for a decent shooter.

See post #14

I was gonna say $400, so I guess it's variable. But $650 was too much. I'm sure he was buying "collector value" to some extent.

[mav]

See post #14

I was gonna say $400, so I guess it's variable. But $650 was too much. I'm sure he was buying "collector value" to some extent.

Yes, he was wanting a collector gun. He only wanted a Colt because it was a Colt.

[Guest Razz]

Tell him to join the forum!

[Dave Shooter]

Brand new Colts can be had for under $1k and the quality of the ones I've seen has been lots better than from a decade ago.

[10-Ring]

Glad the seller did what was right. On the other hand this thread had me feeling really good about the like new Kimber Ultra II I paid $700 for last week with 250 rounds of ammo, an extra mag and a Serpa. I would pay $300 for a gun like this that shoots okay though.