Make: Colt

Model: Government Model

Serial Number: C88808

Year of Manufacture: 1917 (https://colt.com/serial-lookup)

Caliber: .45 ACP

Action Type: Single Action Semi-Auto with Removable Magazine

Barrel Length: 5”

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a short blade fixed to the front of the slide. The rear sight is a "U"-notch dovetailed into the rear of the slide.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are two-piece checkered walnut with smooth diamonds around the grip screws. The interior of the right panel is not inlet for the shoulders of the grip screw bushings, sitting with a slight gap to the frame. The interior of the left is inlet for the shoulders, but not far enough at the top, leaving a more minor gap towards the top. The grips have minor handling wear with only a few tiny marks. The checkering is well defined. There are no chips or cracks. Overall, the grips are in Fine Condition as later-vintage and not original to the gun.

Type of Finish: Blued

Finish Originality: Most remaining finish is Original to the parts. Some worn areas show treatment with cold blue. The barrel is a later-vintage Colt National Match barrel.

Bore Condition: The bore is mostly bright with sharp rifling. There is no erosion in the bore, but there is a little stubborn fouling. In this writer's opinion, the bore rates 8 or 9 out of 10.

Overall Condition: This pistol retains about 85% of its metal finish. The finish is thinning at most edges. There is some scattered light finish wear, mostly toward the front of the slide and dust cover. There is light handling wear in the grip areas. There are voids in the finish on the right of the frame at the serial marking and on the right of the slide above where it appears oxidation was cleaned off. Some worn areas show treatment with cold blue. There is some other scattered minor oxidation, mostly in the worn areas. There are some small nicks and scratches with a minor "idiot mark" under the slide stop. The action shows operational wear. The screw heads are tool marked with strong slots. The markings are clear. Overall, this pistol is in Very Good Condition as not parts-original.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We have not fired this pistol. As with all previously owned firearms, thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This pistol comes with one later-vintage Colt fully blued 7-round magazine stamped “COLT / 45 AUTO” on the bottom floorplate.

Our Assessment: The Colt 1911 .45 ACP semi-automatic pistol was designed by the legendary firearms inventor John Moses Browning, and developed for the US Army after the .38 LC revolver failed to stop charging Moro warriors in the Philippines. The US Army issued the powerful .45 to officers, NCOs, and machine gunners in the Punitive Expedition and World War 1. The Model 1911 was the end-result of a series of developments by Browning, starting with his Model 1900. The advances made by Browning were revolutionary at the time, and were so successful that they are considered commonplace today. Browning not only developed first a pivoting and then a tilting barrel to allow for a locked system, but he also developed the concept of "the slide", a feature now synonymous with semi-automatic handguns. Having secured the contract for the Model 1911 US military issue sidearm, Colt also offered the pistol to the commercial market as the "Government Model". Many Government Model 1911s were privately purchased by servicemen who may not have otherwise been issued a pistol, especially after the US entered WW1 in April 1917. While serial number records show approximately 22,000 Government Models produced in 1917, those numbers include Colt's foreign contracts, thus there were significantly few available for the domestic US market.

This Colt US WW1 Era Commercial Government Model 1911 .45 Semi-Auto Pistol was made in 1917, just around the time that America entered the Great War, and is in Very Good Condition as not parts-original. It features a 5” later-vintage Colt National Match barrel, 85% of its original commercial “high polish” blued finish (some worn areas show treatment with cold blue), later-vintage two-piece checkered walnut grips with smooth “double diamonds” around the grip screws, a later-vintage Colt fully blued 7-round mag, clear markings, and a mostly bright bore with sharp rifling and no erosion (there’s a little stubborn fouling). All told, this is a fine example of a Colt Commercial Government Model 1911 from the Great War era.