Might as well give this 'Ol warhorse it's own thread! I looked back (way back) and we had (have) one but many of the photos are lost. How 'bout it? Let's see your Colt 45 Autos!
Best, Capt. Chris
PS: My Colt Series 70, made in a small number by Paul Pachmayer!
CCS

I have several 1911's but this is my only 'Colt' from their Custom Shop. It's called a Custom Comp.

I have an AMT Automag III in .30 Carbine. Even though it is based on the 1911 platform I don't count it as a 1911.

:-)Rocky

My engraved office model!!
please notice the non perforated trigger....

:-)Rocky

through for the night
the cocktails....

:-)Rocky

A memory...

One of two done for me by Swenson.

Larry

Hi, the two at the top are Springfield Inc. The left was built by me on the low end Springfield they marketed in the 70's. The one on the right is a 9mm ( I cheated). The two on the left are both CMP pistols the top is a 1911 made in 1918 and the other is a 1911a1.On the other side is a 1911 that was made into a target pistol and below that is a Commercial 1911 XPD. Last is a Colt Defender. I purchased my first colt in 1971 and it was a nickel LW Colt commander it was $125. I made $150 a week as a rookie PO, so that was a lot of money, regards, Mike
PS don't ask how many I've sold over the years.

I only have a couple.

This one is USGI, rebuilt/refinished mixmaster. I picked it up from the CMP a few years back.

I liked the mix masters because… well, they worked.
Walker

These two came from my dad...top is a 1951 .38 super...the bottom is a 1958 .45 National Match...I have no idea if they were original to him...it never occurred to me to ask...all the questions never asked...
I put on the ivory...original grips are put up.

:-)Rocky

Larry's Pistola.
CCS

Thanks, Captain!

I am not that capable with the posting. I might need to re-size images so they appear in the post itself?

Larry

Yeah: This one was at 14.6 Mg...It's under 300Kb now.
Capt. Chris

no history on this one, I got it while we still can !

buy early....buy often!!

:-)Rocky

Recently found at the ever-diminishing local shops.

I'll bet they are diminishing in your state!!

:-)Rocky

online is cheaper for some items now unfortunately

A new set of grips arrived today...threw them on my "dark horse" for a shot....thanks out to Dan Chinnock!!!

:-)Rocky

Dan comes up with some beautiful grips - just not often enough!

Those are good looking grips for sure.
Walker

No doubt about it,the 1911 is a classic,timeless design.

Back in 1968,El Monte,CAPD armed it's officers with Colt 1911s and they carried them cocked and locked in Safariland holsters. Thier motorcycle officers also carried 870s in a unique Lecco lock mount on their bikes.

A bank robber chose to cross swords with the MC officers and lost real quick.

The safest way to carry the 1911 is cocked and locked,just like the way John M Browning designed it.
I know in "Nam,the "book"said to carry the piece hammer down on an empty chamber. Yep,right,sure...uh-huh.

Cocked and locked with a 7 round magazine in place for a total of 8 rounds.

Wayne

Wayne--

Cocked and locked was the tactically correct way.

Remember seeing a security camera video of a security guard engaging some bad guys...pulling his pistol and trying to rack the slide to chamber that first round, only to be shot before he could do it.

I might have posted this previously...

I happened to talk to Armand Swenson one day in 1970 right after a shooting in which four California Highway Patrolmen had been killed by two men who attacked them with a shotgun and pistols after they had been pulled over in a traffic stop.* Armand was incensed, saying there was no way the officers would have been killed if one of them had been armed with a .45 automatic and had been properly trained in combat shooting. He said that such a properly armed and trained officer could have taken out both shooters, including the one armed with a shotgun.

*Newhall incident - Wikipedia The Newhall incident, also called the Newhall massacre, was a shootout on April 5–6, 1970, in Valencia, California,[a] between two heavily armed criminals and four officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). In less than five minutes, the four CHP officers were killed in the deadliest day in California law enforcement history.[1]

Larry

Larry,
Armans Swenson made some seriously nice 1911s back in the day.

The knife maker Bob Loveless also made a Colt Commander "smoothy" which he had taken his belt sander to and took off all the sharp edges. Made it like a used bar of soap.

The Newhall incident showed serious training flaws that had to be corrected. Some officers were found with spent shells in their pockets as they were taught to do at the academy so empty brass could be scrounged up.

Also they trained and qualified with 38 spl rounds and not the magnums they carried. Big difference.

My "Commander smoothy" is not,unfortunatley,a Colt Commander but a Glock Model 36.

Wayne

Wayne--

In the past few days I saw an online auction catalogue that included one or more of Bob Loveless's pistols.

I thought it might have been Morphy Auctions' September sale but looking through that catalogue and searching on his name I do not see the items that I viewed wherever!

And I do not see other emails from auction houses that I usually get.

If I come across it again, I will post it "for interest."

Larry

Found it:

Rock Island Auctions:

https://www.rockislandauction.com/catalog/89?utm_source=Rock%20Island%20Auction%20News&utm_campaign=6ee4ff21ed-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_07_21&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1f4b8db853-f049ba699e-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&keywords=loveless

Larry,

Some years ago,I had entertained the thought of getting a lightweight Combat Commander and sending it to Bob Loveless for his "smoothy" treatment.

Fortunately,I did not as he has passed away sometime later and probably the piece would have languished away in storage for some estate sale.

Like his knives,his gunwork had a long turn around time.

I do have a Colt 1911 that was accurized by Jim Clark back in 1970. Less than $200 and two week turn around. You are not going to see that again for sure.

Wayne

I did not know that Loveless worked on firearms, but I learn something new every day.
No Bob Loveless markings that I can see, but sure is different.

David--

When I read the description of the Loveless pistol, made me wonder about the attachment of the stock...which I think was prohibited under ATF/whatever rules.

I see there is some contention recently over adding shoulder stocks to modern pistols.

Now sure how all this might affect the sale of the Loveless pistol.

But that is for others to figure out.

Larry

Good Point.
Does it qualify to Form 1 it?
As unusual as this may be, with the right provenance, it could be a cool collectible.

If I am not mistaken,I think that the attachment of any shoulder stock to a pistol now makes it Class 3 but I could be wrong on this.

However,I liked the idea of the Loveless "smoothy"and only wish that that I knew about it and would have been able to ship him a lightweight Commander to have the work done.

I think that the "smoothy" is in the class of the Fitz Special revolvers.

My friend,has the late Col Rex Applegate's Fitz Special.

The closest thing I have to that is my Charter Arms Bulldog 44 that I had magnaported and dehorned the hammer. I DID NOT CUT AWAY THE TRIGGER GUARD.

Wayne

Hi, I'm not a lawyer and I don't play one on the internet but some stocked pistols are legal. They are declared Curio & Relic's. The Artillery Luger, Mauser Broomhandle and FN Hi Power being just a few. Having shot these they are not that accurate. The FN shown below is listed in Anthony Vanderlinden's new FN book, " FN Browning Pistols", regards, Mike

Mike,
That Broomhandle Mauser with the shoulder stock/holster is a classic. And I consider the Browning HP to be next in line with the 1911 as for being the perfect design,

The one I really like is the Marbles Game Getter which fell victim to the GCA "34 and made it class 3.

I don;t know of any crime being committed with using one but it was lumped in with all the "bad guns"

Shame it couldn
t have been listed as "any other firearm: but it is not. Obviously it has not been made for decades.

Wayne

In the latest edition of Dillon Precision Blue Press there was a nice article on an old GI issues 1991 from WW1.

He criticized the sights and trigger pull but in my opinion missed the entire point of the design of the pistol. It was designed for trench warfare and not Nation Match Course. He test fired it and it performed flawlessly which is why it has stood the test of time.

Wayne

Wayne
Since I don't have my Colts or Remington Rand anymore.Thought I'd
show you the Kimber's I have left

I didn't know they still had the catalog.
I had to sign in as a new customer on their website.
I guess it has been a long while.
Thanks for the reminder.

Billy,
The 2nd one from the top pretty much looks like a "smoothy" to me.

Just slip it into an IWB holster and you are good to go.

Back in 1968 a building contractor uncovered a 1911 that had been stored cocked and locked since about 1918 (50 yrs).

He brought it to my PD and I unloaded it,cleaned and lubed it and test fired it with fresh ammo. Functioned just fine.

With the exception of a Clark Custom 1911 I do not own any plain jane 1911s. My "smoothy" is a Glock 36.

I did,at one time,own a Les Bear Commander but it was too fine tuned to my taste and ammo finicky.

Wayne

Wayne
The bottom 2. Pro Tactical I carried and the TLE I shot when I was doing IDPA. Only other 2 45's I have is a Glock 36 and Sig P220

Billy,
The 220,is it the original European model with the heel type magazine release or the newer 1911 type magazine release.??

I must admit I do have a fondness for the Glocks. Take it out of the box,load and shoot all day long.

No offense but in the late 80's,Glock and SIG came over here and kicked S&Ws and Colt's butt. They never were the powerhouse in the police and military market anymore.


The beauty of the 45acp cartidge is that you rerally don't need and super duper ammo,the plain old FMJ works just fine.

I f you reload,watch out now as some ammo companies are using small pistol primers so be sure to check your cases.

Wayne

My P225 is like that. It's an import from Switzerland.

Of course it's 9mm instead of "God's Caliber."

Wayne
All my Sig's are USA.My P232 380 mag release is on the bottom

In all honesty,in my opinion,the heel type mag release is more secure.

You really don't need a 1 second reload. Look great in the movies but not in real life when motor skills are in the trash when the pop corn hits the fan.

Nice to look at all those photos of great guns.

Wayne

Wayne, I support the same thoughts. Fine motor skills kind of disappear when it gets hairy.
Walker

Walker,
Yep,no way things go to plan when things get "interesting"

Always something has to "occur" to throw a monkey wrench in the works.

The KISS plan works best.

Wayne