While old 1911 pistols certainly aren't fragile, they are getting more valuable by the day and to take even a small risk of damage from shooting the pistol usually isn't worth it. Back then 5,000 rounds was a lot of ammo to put through a single pistol, unlike today were some IPSC shooters fly through that much in a month. WW1-era slides should be shot little, if at all, unless you don't mind having to replace it eventually. WW2-era slides are a lot tougher than WW1-era slides, but are still less durable than modern 191 slides. During WW2 Remington Rand figured out how to fully harden a 1911 slide, but wasn't implimented until after WW2 after Remington Rand had already ceased production. The slide locking lugs remained unhardened, as there was no way to do so without warping the slide. In 1925 Colt began hardening the front of the slide using the heat & quench method, and then in 1943 the area around the slide stop notch was flame-hardened as well. Pre-1925 Colt 1911 slides were not heat treated at all, and were prone to cracking or peening wear after only a few thousand rounds. 1911Tuner, an acknowledged 1911 expert, posted the same thing earlier today: If you're not lucky enough to find a "correct" replacement slide, you're left with either a mongrel or a box of parts with a value of maybe a couple of hundred bucks.ĭon't take my word for it. So even with a replacement slide the value is reduced by a third to a half. If you break the slide because you insist on firing a collector piece, even if you find a "correct" replacement slide the weapon will never, ever again be all-original. Secondly, collector value is heavily grounded in originality. First, of course, is that if an owner of an all-original 1911 breaks a slide because he insists on firing it after being advised not to, he can't just requisition a replacement slide. Now that M1911s and M1911A1s are highly collectible, we have a couple of issues that the military didn't face. Slides were considered expendable and, if a slide fractured, it was simply replaced. military, the military maintained huge stocks of spare slides (along with other parts). When the M1911 and M1911A1 were the sidearms of regular issue for the U.S. I am not drawing any incorrect conclusions, and I rarely half-read anything. What MATTERS is the total number of rounds through the pistol and whether or not it has been MAINTAINED properly. Many people still shoot WW2 pistols on a regular basis. I myself used an Ithaca made gun during Army AIT. Many 1911A1s made during WW2 were used in service right up into the 1970's. You are drawing an incorrect conclusion from something you half-read. I would definitely NOT suggest using it for self defense." If you want to shoot it as a "shooter," since it's a mixmaster and doesn't have huge monetary value as a collector - it's your gun. They were not fully heat treated until after the war (commercial models only). "Any WW2 or earlier slide is an "early" slide.
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