I received an email a little while ago from the CMP regarding my application to purchase a U.S. surplus 1911. I filed this application last year for the current round of pistol sales, but the more I thought about it, I really just wanted a 1911 to shoot. I have an early 1980's vintage Colt MKIV Series 70 that I have customized with many upgrades for shooting bowling pins. It is not set up for personal defense or casual shooting and has a shiny blued finish. The CMP pistols are pretty expensive for what they are, and that is strictly a case of supply and demand. They are allowing individuals to buy up to four now. There are four grades of pistols for sale and you get to choose the grade from what is available, but not the actual pistol. From the CMP website:
Service Grade $1300. Pistol may exhibit minor pitting and wear on exterior surfaces and friction surfaces. Grips are complete with no cracks. Pistol is in issuable condition. Pistols may contain commercial parts.
Field Grade $1200. Pistol may exhibit minor rust, pitting, and wear on exterior surfaces and friction surfaces. Grips are complete with no cracks. Pistol is in issuable condition. Pistols may contain commercial parts.
SOLD OUT – Range Grade – $1150. These are 1911 pistols for those that want a part of history and a shooter, not a collectable. These are 1911s that have been modified in some way, and may have some commercial parts. No two (2) pistols are alike, the modifications / parts could be any of the following: Night Sights, extended Beaver Tail, Rubber Grips, Barrels, Oversized Slide Release, Target Triggers, Adjustable Rear Sights, Tactical Match Hammer, Competition Grip Safety, Sight Rib, Slides, Checkered Front Strap, Ambidextrous Safety, Different Finishes. Some of the manufactures of these parts are: Bar-Sto, Wilson, Ed Brown, Pachmayer, Hogue, Caspian and Bomar.
Rack Grade $1100. Pistol will exhibit rust, pitting, and wear on exterior surfaces and friction surfaces. Grips may be incomplete and exhibit cracks. Pistol requires minor work to return to issuable condition but is functional. Pistols may contain commercial parts.
When I initially filed my application, I was planning on requesting a "Service Grade" pistol. After all, if I were to spend $1100 on a junk 1911, I'll spend $200 more for the best I can get. There were a couple of updates regarding the rate of order processing and it was going slow. Initially my application was supposed to come up late April/early May. Then that got changed to July. Well here it is the 7th and I got my email stating my order is in process. Here was my brief response:
"I am going to pass on purchasing one of these 1911's. I cannot justify the cost for a gun I just wanted to shoot. Instead, back in February I purchased a Tisas CMP 1911 which fills my needs perfectly."
That's right. Long after I filed my application, the CMP offered up these Tisas CMP 1911A1 pistols for $499.99. This is how they come.
A close up of the special CMP markings.
The guns are Cerakoted instead of parkerized, and I replaced the walnut grips with the plastic ones I seem to remember the ones in my unit having. They are stamped "United States Property" and "M1911 A1 US Army CMP". I have only had it out for one range outing and was having issues with the gun going fully into battery using my reloads. I could force it into battery with a rap from the heel of my hand, but it did this once with each mag of ammo. It definitely is not a spring issue because it is quite stiff. I have not gotten back to it yet, but I believe I need to tweak the extractor because that what it feels like, but may also try a box of commercial hardball ammo. Accuracy at 25 yards was what I expected since I fired it from a rest first and I should improve my marksmanship with updated eye glasses.
I had problems with my .45 ACP handloads on...some...of my guns.
ReplyDeleteThey would fail the plunk test, and pass on others.
I cant recall which ones had the tight chambers, since I started using a lee factory crimp die to smush them into spec.
Works a treat.
@markshere2: From a later post called "Range Report 8-3-25"
Delete"I field stripped it, and taking just the barrel while holding it muzzle down, plunked (dropped) some random Winchester factory rounds of 230 gr "hardball" into the breech. Every round settled all the way in as expected. I then tried it with random rounds of my target reloads. AHA! most of the rounds did not seat properly. It turns out that the end of the case is not crimped. Next time I load some .45ACP I need to check to make sure the die is a little lower in the turret, and back off the bullet seat adjustment to get a proper crimp and case overall length."
The gun functioned flawlessly that day with some Winchester 230 gr "Hardball" ammo I had kicking around. I guess I need to keep a closer eye on my die adjustments. They might be getting moved from use.