Granddads 1911 Heading My Way

[steve_k]

A couple weeks back my last remaining grandfather passed away at the age of 92. And many years ago I called dibs on his 1911 since two of my uncles are either deadbeats and or have criminal records, my aunt probably couldn't figure out which end the bullets come out of, and my mom knows it will stay in the family if its in my possession, although it may be passed down to a different side of the family. I probably haven't seen this thing in person since the late 70's or early 80's while on a weekend trip to the grandparents cabin in the sticks outside of San Diego and that's probably the last time its been used. My mom will be sending it to me shortly and upon its arrival Ill put some rounds through it for test and probably re-spring it. Also need a holster for BBQ's and some additional mags.

Pix from my mom.

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[SEANSTRAIT]

Beautiful. Glad it is going to a family member who will appreciate it and not pawn it. Congratulations.

[KarlinPhoenix]

Nice pistol.

Keep in mind that with military ball ammo, your sights should be about right for 50 yards, point of aim, point of impact. (Don't change nothin)

[P.D.]

It looks like mine, except I have wooden grips on mine.

I had a case of that same vintage ammo once. All but one box went down range.

[apamburn]

I have one very similar to that, also inherited from grandfather. One of my most prized possessions.

Take care of it.

[Ragsbo]

Fantastic!

[scottscarparts2u]

Beautiful gun! I’m happy to read it will stay in your family


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[Sharkbite]

1953 manufacture. I'm glad it's on it's way to you.

Very nice!

[H60DoorGunner]

You should blur the serial number from images.

Really nice 1911 though, and awesome it came down from your grandpa. There's something about the appearance of an oft carried gun thats hard to beat.

[LawDog]

That's gorgeous. I confess, though, that I'm terrible at maintaining historically-correct pieces. If I got my hands on the Derringer that shot Lincoln, the first thing I would do is clean it out, load it up, and go shoot it. I'm eyeballing that gun and wondering if the trigger needs work. You don't have bear paws, so the old-school grip safety should be fine for you, and the sights are workable. With that holster, I think you're ready for the BBQ. Maybe you should throw one in honor of grandpa.

I wonder if our grandchildren will be as excited about inheriting a suitcase full of Glocks.

[Badger]

I wonder if our grandchildren will be as excited about inheriting a suitcase full of Glocks.

Unfortunately, I think they will. I think we might be in the halcyon days of cheap, plentiful guns....

Time will tell.

Beautiful pistol, btw!

[P.D.]

"I wonder if our grandchildren will be as excited about inheriting a suitcase full of Glocks."

My sons have already laid claim to which of my guns each wants ("All of them -- split down the middle"). I've taught their kids to shoot, and I know they each covet a share too.

And yeah, there's a Glock in there too.

[Forklift]

Very nice, congrats.

[steve_k]

Thank you everyone for the kind words. Looking forward to this sitting in the safe and passing it down at some point.

[Marco Innocenti]

Wonderful piece.

Give it a careful, gentle cleaning. Maybe replace the recoil spring.

And then shoot it!

Some of my most precious possessions have little value other than the family/memento/heirloom factors.

A wonderful tribute.

[WinstonSmith]

Looks nice!

[chad newton]

I still like mine, too bad they are in Texas or I would screw up my sight picture doing dry work with them....

[Francisp]

Classic 50s commercial model

[Papa]

Classic 50s commercial model

Not many left that haven't been butchered. If I were going to shoot this regularly I would remove the running gear and grips and store them, replace them with identical "shooters" and a later OEM factory throated barrel.

Load it up with standard pressure hardball or 200 gr hard cast SWC and fire up the wayback machine.

[RedLeg0811]

Steve, That looks great! Super cool that it was your Grandfathers. I am big into things like that handed down through the family. Family heritage is important.

[RedLeg0811]

Not many left that haven't been butchered. If I were going to shoot this regularly I would remove the running gear and grips and store them, replace them with identical "shooters" and a later OEM factory throated barrel.

Load it up with standard pressure hardball or 200 gr hard cast SWC and fire up the wayback machine.

Yeah on my WW1 1911 I swapped the "original" spring with a modern one and labeled it. Everything else is original, but no true idea on the spring.

[steve_k]

Just a little update on this vintage piece....

Picked it up this last weekend and took it out for a little test drive. First it got a quick cleaning before a few mags of Winchester White Box .45AARP were ran through it flawlessly. My uncle who really wanted it, yet has a lengthy record told me it was a gift from my grandmother and she paid around $50 for it back around 1953 or 1954. Serial number dates it to 1953, so that seems to line up. Also recently got the original box and paperwork that came with it, although the box is jacked up and the paperwork is soaked in gun oil.

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[Cacti Rat]

Nothing but the utmost respect.

[steve_k]

A fun little update to this post. My one uncle who couldn't have my grandfathers gun, stopped here for the weekend while doing a motorcycle ride through CA, NV, ID, and WA so he could shoot his dad's (my grandfathers) gun... And it turns out he never got to shoot it as a kid, so he was very excited to have that spiritual connection while shooting. He had a great time shooting a couple magazines through it. Also set him up with my MP5 clone and a 22 pistol, both suppressed so he could try that out as well.

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[45Smashemflat]

That is truly special. When my Dad passed, I got most of his guns. I did move a few to his grandkids already (college grads) knowing they would receive the balance at some point. I made a point of “gifting” them some of his more commonly carried/used guns. It was important to me that they receive not only Grandpa’s piece, but also “a piece of Grandpa.” Both still use and carry them as well. Grandpa would be proud.

[HeavySmoke]

I got a pair of 1911s when my dad passed. I shoot them every year on his birthday. Luckily dad was a gun/ ammo/ whiskey hoarder so after I shoot the 1911s I have a drink of some of the whiskey he had in a safe.

[Forklift]

Very nice, that's a special one for sure. I can only wish I had the like, my mother was anti gun and so, Dad never had one. Congratulations.