Make: DGFM-FMAP (Fabrica Militar de Armas Portatiles) Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina

Model: 1927 Sistema Colt

Serial Number: 90950 (4215 is an Argentine Air Force property number)

Year of Manufacture: Ca. 1957

Caliber: .45 ACP

Action Type: Single Action Semi-Auto with Removable Magazine

Barrel Length: 5”. The barrel is a Springfield replacement with an "S" stamped sideways on the barrel lug.

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a rounded blade fixed to the front of the slide. The rear sight is a “U”-notch dovetailed to the rear of the slide.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are WWII era Keys Fibre Company two-piece brown bakelite checkered panels with reinforcing rings around the screw holes. The grips have minor handling wear with only a few scattered light marks. The checkering is well defined, with varying degrees of dulling on the peaks. There are no cracks. There are tiny losses on the top most edge of the left grip. Overall, the grips are in about Very Good condition as not original to the gun.

Type of Finish: Parkerized

Finish Originality: Arsenal Refurbished. Numbers match except for the barrel which is unserialized.

Bore Condition: The bore is bright and the rifling is sharp. There is no notable erosion in the bore. In this writer's opinion the bore rates 9/10.

Overall Condition: This pistol retains about 87% of its metal finish. The finish is thinning at most edges, most notable at the front of the slide. The grip straps and controls have light handling wear. There are some scattered light nicks and scratches including an “idiot mark” under the slide stop on the left of the frame. There is infrequent minor surface oxidation. The screw heads are tool marked with strong slots. The markings are clear. Overall, this pistol is in about Very Good condition.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. It has both a manual and grip safety and the trigger pull has a tiny amount of creep. The slide is tight to the frame. We did not fire this pistol. The pistol has a lanyard ring on the bottom of the mainspring housing.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This pistol comes with one 7 round magazine. The magazine has minor operational wear, intact feed lips and a strong spring, in about Fine condition.

Our Assessment: In 1914, the Argentine military adopted the Colt M1911 as their standard military sidearm and contracted with Colt to supply these guns. Argentina took shipment of 2,151 of these weapons between 1914 and 1919. In 1923, Argentina adopted an armaments bill that would eliminate Argentine dependency on foreign arms. Under this bill, the Argentine Congress authorized appropriations for a military modernization program and prepared the infrastructure for a domestic arms industry. In accordance with the new law, an aircraft factory was established in 1927, a munitions factory in 1933, a small steel mill in 1934, and a small arms factory in 1936, all of which were managed by Argentine army officers. In 1927, the Argentine Commission for Foreign Acquisitions negotiated a contract with Colt for the manufacture of M1911A1 .45 caliber self-loading pistols specially marked and serial numbered in a separate series, and secured a licensing agreement giving the Argentine government the right to manufacture these pistols using drawings, material specifications, instructions, etc. supplied by Colt. The 10,000 pistols were delivered by Colt from 1927 to 1933, and have become known as the Hartford Colts. Production of the Sistema Colts began in 1927, and 14,000 were produced by 1942. In 1945, a new factory (FMAP) was brought on-line and produced another 88,494 pistols through 1966. The Sistema Colts continued to be used in Argentina until the 1990’s, when they were replaced by Browning High Powers. The Sistema Colts were not Colt clones, but except for finish and markings, they were identical to 1911A1 pistols produced by Colt, and the parts were interchangeable. Top quality steel was used in the construction, and they are known to be as tough and reliable as those made by Colt. This pistol was made at the FMAP factory around 1957 and was issued to the Argentine Air Force, one of approximately 4,200 procured for that branch of their military. The high quality of the Sistema Colts and the relatively few produced make them very collectable, especially ones like this with matching numbers.