The pistols with no front strap checkering are production line guns. All rights reserved. Representative five-shot group (25 yds. sidearm was the Beretta M9 (92FS) chambered in 9mm Luger. The USMC-marked pistol is from one of the early runs when Colt was using the same rollmark that they applied to the actual USMC guns. You will hear different stories, but the simplest is that the M45A1 was Colts first large-scale run of Cerakoted pistols. The FDE Cerakote finish was average at best, but it still looked cool. 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I was able to lay my hands on one of the decommissioned M45A1s to examine and evaluate it. The silence was deafening, though, when they became available and Colt continued to produce a civilian variant. This one likely sat in the armory or in a warehouse waiting its turn in the arena. The Marine Corps objected to Colt doing that so they had to change the rollmark on commercial pistols to "M45A1" instead. We had to shoot the .38 military special (which was horrible). Rogers, Patrick A. At more than 100 years old, theres undeniable attraction to the John Moses Browning design, even brand new ones with elegant upgrades that enhance performance without compromising his vision. Models mustered out of the Marine Corps are scarce today and fetch lofty prices, but factory-fresh models with nearly identical features are still available from Colt. SO WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS AN EXACT SAME AS ISSUED USMC CQB PISTOL THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BEING THAT IT HAS THE EGA SERIAL NUMBER. I suspect it will only be worth more as time marches on. A source request was sent out to Springfield Armory and the Springfield Operator, based on the FBI's TRP pistol was built. The M45A1 has a dual recoil spring assembly which seems to dampen recoil somewhat. A forum community dedicated to all 1911 firearm owners and enthusiasts. And yet, a lot of gun enthusiasts andcollectors have been happy to wait to get one. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Thats because at 40 oz., it is heavy. was not the question, rather, it was how tightly I could group the splatter marks. Depends on what version of the USMC rollmark. 4. Builders of 1911s like Rock Island, Springfield, Kimber and Colt use MIM parts extensively in order to produce a competitively priced product. Outside of the mentioned ambidextrous manual safety, the controls configuration is the same as on any other 1911 variant. Just four short years after the M45A1s were initially issued to the Marines, on September 30th, 2016, the USMC announced that all 1911 type pistols still used by its special operation units would be replaced by the Glock 19. which was officially adopted in 1986. [6][7], In 2002, an article in American Handgunner stated that "Marine armorers from the Precision Weapons Section, MCBQ" are making 789 MEU (SOC) 1911's. The decision had been anticipated in February 2015, when the USMC first officially authorized its special operation units to carry Glock pistols in lieu of the 1911, at the operator's will. One thing that makes this particularpistolso much more than a normal Colt Rail Gunor similarly railed 1911 is the absence of MIM (or Metal Injection Molding) parts anywhere in the gun. Copyright 2023 National Rifle Association, Women On Target Instructional Shooting Clinics, Volunteer At The Great American Outdoor Show, Marion P. 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Allrightsreserved. great shape, this is not the decom model either. The decommissioned pistols and the custom shop pistols all appear to be in the hands of collectors. COLT MFG CO INC Marine M45-A1 Colt CCS O1070M45 M45-A1 SA 45ACP 5" 7+1 HAS USMC ROLLMARK on slide PRODUCT INFORMATION Slide Material: Stainless Steel Frame Material: Stainless Steel Slide Finish: Cerakote Brown Coating Frame Finish: Cerakote Brown Coating Model Name: GOVERNMENT Left Slide Mark: COLT*** USMC Right Slide Mark: Colt Government Model Six right-handed grooves, 1 twist in 16", Novak LoMount or Trijicon high-visibility sights with Tritium dots, Machined stainless steel frame and slide [8], A Marine operator may shoot as many as 80,000 rounds from this pistol during a training-cycle and subsequent deployment. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. A case of 230 grain Winchester ball, and a few cardboard targets and I was ready. Im thinking having that done would make my pistol less valuable as a collector item, plus its not a gun Ill shoot very often so my front strap will remain smooth. The authors example of the M45A1 exhibited tight fit and shot well at the range. A huge proponent of the system, he has been lecturing me about the benefits of the 1911 platform for nearly two decades. This is the so called blue box Colt pistol, model 01070M45. Clearly I had no clue. Under this point of view, the Colt M45A1 CQBP is definitely the 1911 of the 21st Century. A forum community dedicated to all 1911 firearm owners and enthusiasts. Not all civilian M45s go through the Custom Shop. Colt decided to employ a National Match barrel in theM45A1instead of their normal barrel option. Change). USMC O1070M45 regular production, blue box - unknown how many released, probably less than the pelican cased version. Colt also offers a custom shop civilian model to achieve higher accuracy; but the Marine issue model is the production grade pistol. June 4, 2015 This particular sample disproved decades worth of gun magazine lore about a combat-grade .45 needing to be loose for reliability and thus incompatible with custom-level accuracy. The ejection port was modified by widening it and flaring it out. Similar to the Custom Shop CQB pistol, this is a production line version of the pistol that the Marines bought for the MARSOC units. Maintaining the simple recoil assembly, 5-inch barrel (though using a stainless steel match grade barrel), and internal extractor, the ICQB is not much different from Browning's original design. I cleared the pistol, engaged the safety, and couldnt take it off safe. Minimum price for the offer must be greater than 0% of the Product. Three versions ofM45A1were made. Many of the issued pistols that came to market have the tells of service life: paint pen or spray paint stenciled rack numbers, holster wear, dings or gouges from rough use. The .45s had a number of features that jumped right out: the light rails, the aggressively checkered G10 stockswhich replaced the Pachmayrs we had used for so longtritium vials in the Novak sights, and unique markings on the frames and slides. Not all civilian M45s go through the Custom Shop. I have a DECOMM and an unfired NIB Pelican case Custom Shop USMC. Customer experience was, and still is, the primary focus, a key to the firms longevity and success. [17], The original pistols were hand-selected standard government issued Colt M1911A1s that were gutted, deburred, and prepared for additional use by the USMC Precision Weapon Section (PWS) in Quantico, Virginia. I was able to lay my hands on one of the decommissioned M45A1s to examine and evaluate it, one author for American Rifleman wrote two years ago. Related Products. Years later, my father-in-law bought it from me for about 40% of what I paid for it, to this day I consider it an act of mercy. THE GUN IS MATHCHING, IN 90% ORIGINAL CONDITION, WE HAVE A VERY RARE AND HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER POLICE EAGLE F MARKED WALTHER PPK WITH, IN 96% ORIGINAL UNMESSED WITH CONDITION, WE HAVE A VERY NICE EXAMPLE OF A 1944 PROUDCTION FN HIGH POWER PROUDCUED, IN 90% CONDITION, NICE BLUE BUT ALOT OF PITTING, WE HAVE A FANTASTICALLY RARE WALTHER MODEL 6 PISTOL IN 9MM, Colt General Officer & Rare US Property Pistols, SOLD GERMAN G43 ORIGINAL MOUNT AND ZF4 SCOPE EARLY DUV CODE, SOLD RARE ORIGINAL SIMSON EAGLE 6 LUGER TOOL, sold 1913 DWM LUGER VERY NICE AND HARD TO FIND, Sold RUSSIAN TT 33 TOKAREV 1942 WITH MATCHING MAG. Corporal Gravenese demonstrates the power of the pistol as shown as above. This is important in a gun meant to endure nearly as many rounds in the weeks-long Marine Raider training regimen as the original M1911 was intended to see throughout its entire service life. The M45A1 CQBP pistol is issued with Wilson black metal single-stack magazines, holding 7+1 rounds. I am very interested in the pricey but very cool looking new Colt 1911 M45A1 Marine Close Quarters Battle Pistol. Cycling the pistols revealed the fit to be smooth but clearly tighter than a typical commercial M1911. Two bigthings happened to me when I turned 18, I joined the Marines and I bought my first pistol (in the state I live in, you used to be able to obtain a handgun license at the age of 18). Some of the early Marine pistols began showing excess wear and 1,000 of these pistols (470 used and 530 unissued) were traded by the Marine Corps under warranty back to Colt in exchange for newer Ionbond finished replacements. The included factory letter affirms that this is a genuine U.S.M.C. Since he edits this website, Ill pretend that I was there when one of them worked flawlessly. Come join the discussion about optics, gunsmithing, styles, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more! Genuine Marine Corps M45A1 Coltsused by Marine Raiders and Force Reconnaissancewere decommissioned and became available on the civilian market complete with their original packaging and letters of authenticity. These decommissioned Colts will continue to be a hot item among both shooters and collectors for the foreseeable future. ) Black Hills 200-gr. Two Wilson Combat magazines. Colt inspected the M45A1s and issued a letter of authenticity with them and x out the USMC to show they had been demilled. Marine HQ requested Colt to stop marking the pistols as such. [16] The Colt design is considered an upgrade of the previous pistol, not an entirely new design. I scored a 92-20X. Professional dedicated to training and equipping people to live safely in a dangerous world. These decommissioned Colts will continue to be a hot item among both shooters and collectors for the foreseeable future. My opinion is that both of these were likely due to Colt learning the quirks of a new coating process. The "U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, Model of 1903," better-known as the M1903 Springfield, has become one of the most popular U.S. military small arms to collect. Colt M45A1 USMC rollmark in the blue clam shellUltra rare version 01070M45, USMC Rollmark in Blue Box ( Not Pelican Box ) AboutPressCopyrightContact. Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives. Description: COLT USMC MARKED M45A1, Cerakote blue box edition, slide has the very rare USMC rollmark. The frame comes with a machined MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny accessory rail, and also sports highly textured G10 panels that make the grip basically slip-proof, if a bit wide: with a circumference of about 7" (that's almost 18 cm!