Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

Hello everyone,

I Just bought my 3rd gun for the year and it is a beautiful Colt 1911 .45. I took it to the range today and it is amazing! Had some questions though...
1. The slide says its a National Match Colt Autoatic calibre .45 which werent really supposed to be produced until 1933 but the serial # is from 1932?
2. It has been entirely chromed from the research I have done I know it should be blued, what does this mean/do for the history of the gun?
3. There are numerous markings that I do not know what they mean. There is a RT in front of the hammer, a TG on the inside of the slide, a W and the Colt VP in a triangle on the guard, and then on the other side of the guard there is a small 20.
4. The grips are obviously not original and I do not really like the feel of them, should I keep them for the history sake of the gun or feel free to change them?
5. Some of the research I have done about National Match barrels show that they have a marking of MB in a circle on the side of the barrel, however, mine does not but is stamped Colt .45 Auto on the top of the barrel, what does that mean?

Info.
Serial # is C163591 says government model above it
Checkered trigger pull and checkered back
Fully Operational
Bought 3 days ago

I will post up some pics to help out. Any information is appreciated, I love shooting with it but I also love antiques and the history of the gun so I want to know all I can about it. Thank you in advance.

O and Forgot one more thing. There is an importer marking on the bottom of the gun that says Odin Alex VA, which I did some research and was an importer during the 60s. Seeing as how Colts were made in the USA why would it have an importer mark?

I can't tell you much but I do know that that is one super fine gun!

We have a 1911 collector that may be able to tell you something. I'm sure he'll see this thread in a day or two.

Thank you very much I really like it! It is my first 45!

What it sounds like you have is a "Frankengun", somebody or several people have made various changes to the pistol through it's roughly 80 year life. As far as collectors value, it is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. It has been chromed and some of the parts have been changed. What I would say is that you have a good pistol to shoot without an fear of hurting it and the chrome should make it easier to clean. Enjoy it and if you find another set of grips you like better go ahead and change them.

Legallyme88 wrote:O and Forgot one more thing. There is an importer marking on the bottom of the gun that says Odin Alex VA, which I did some research and was an importer during the 60s. Seeing as how Colts were made in the USA why would it have an importer mark?

Simple, the gun was exported sometime after it was made and subsequently re-imported. It happens, I have a Smith & Wesson Highway Patrolman with an import marking. In your case, you can know the gun was probably imported after 1968, which is when that form of import marking became required (before that, all that was required was the country of origin, which is why you sometimes see old US-made rifles with "ENGLAND" stamped on them).

Does Colt offer factory letters? Might be worth the fee to you, if they do, so you'd at least know when it was made and how it left the factory. May even tell you who it was shipped to first.

Here's a site that gives a lot of info on the pre- WWII National Match Colts.
http://www.coolgunsite.com/nm_comm/colt_nm.htm

Thanks for the help everyone! I looked into the Colt Factory letters and am submitting an app to have one done for my serial #. That helps a lot with knowing the import time frame. I am still continuing my research and seem to be finding out more each week. Took it shooting again today and it is still shooting like a dream. I think that the barrel was changed as to make the gun into an even better target pistol. Changed the grips today a friend had an old set of grips from WW2 that he had laying around forever. It is much more comfortable to shoot with and I think makes it look more original. Either way loving my gun!

That's beautiful!

Thanks!!