Colt 1911 ownership question

[HootmonSccy]

I have a friend (no, really, I do!).
He has a Colt 1911 .45 that is Olive Drab and is stamped US Government on it.
This pistol became his after his dad passed away.
His dad purchased the pistol in the early 1960's...
Now the question..
Did the government sell these pistols?? Or did someone leasantry:misappropriateleasantry: this gun from the government prior to his dad buying it??
My friend is afraid to carry the pistol as he is unsure of the status of this gun. He legally obtained the firearm, but is not sure it was originally legally obtained by someone else.

Anybody know the answer to this??

 

[Cocked _and_Locked]

Get a LEO friend (gotta be a real friend, not a casual friend) to find out if it was ever registered outside the govt. I think alot of them were auctioned off back in the day when they went to the Beretta as the standard sidearm. It's probably legit, but you never know....

 

[HootmonSccy]

Get a LEO friend (gotta be a real friend, not a casual friend) to find out if it was ever registered outside the govt. I think alot of them were auctioned off back in the day when they went to the Beretta as the standard sidearm. It's probably legit, but you never know....

This is the reason I mentioned it was purchased in the early 60's, I don't believe there were registrations at the time.. His father never registered it... Now my friend lives in Florida where there is no registations.
The switch to Beretta's didn't happen until quite a bit later..

 

[Ektarr]

Get a LEO friend (gotta be a real friend, not a casual friend) to find out if it was ever registered outside the govt. I think alot of them were auctioned off back in the day when they went to the Beretta as the standard sidearm. It's probably legit, but you never know....

The problem with this is that if the item happens to trigger an alarm, somebody's going to be asking a lot of questions and there's no way, by that time, that you can just make believe you never checked.

 

[HootmonSccy]

The problem with this is that if the item happens to trigger an alarm, somebody's going to be asking a lot of questions and there's no way, by that time, that you can just make believe you never checked.

So you do you perform this check without triggering the alarm??

 

[Hounddog]

For what it's worth, I remember the DCM selling 1911's to NRA members right around the time we're talking about. It was sellling M1 carbines and 1903A3 Springfields back then too.

 

[HootmonSccy]

For what it's worth, I remember the DCM selling 1911's to NRA members right around the time we're talking about. It was sellling M1 carbines and 1903A3 Springfields back then too.

What does DCM stand for??? Department of Colt Management??

 

[Hounddog]

What does DCM stand for??? Department of Colt Management??

DCM stands for Director of Civilian Marksmanship, which was established back in 1903 by Congress. It became the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP).

 

[Ryan H]

FWIW, there is a real WWII 1911 at the local gun shop going for $3,100 on the shelf. Has "Property of U.S. Government" on the frame..

 

[HootmonSccy]

Thanks folks.. I think this will help my Ex-New York buddy to relax a little...
Appreciate the input!!!

 

[Ropadope]

FWIW, there is a real WWII 1911 at the local gun shop going for $3,100 on the shelf. Has "Property of U.S. Government" on the frame..

This is not a WWII gun.

One can simply call Colt Fireams and provide them with the serial number of the pistol and they can give your the month and year that the firearm was maunfactured.

I have a Colt MkIV Series 70 1911 .45 that was manufactured in March of 1970. It was given to me by a friend who found it after his father passed away. It's worth app $899

If this pistol was manufactured in the 60's then I don't expect it to be worth much more than mine.

However, if Colt say's it was manufactured in 1940 then it's a curio and relic collectors type item.

Give Colt a call. They will look up the serial number for you.