Possibly the most innovative 1911 in years.

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tipoc

New member
As folks know last year Colt won the contract for supplying up to 12,000 new 1911s to the Marine Corps' Special Operations Command. The guns are upgraded versions of of the stainless steel Colt Rail Gun.

The Marine Corps' MARSOC had for decades been rebuilding the Colt 1911s it had been using since it last received guns from Colt at the end of WWII. This is the first new order of 1911s for MARSOC in some time.

MARSOC worked closely with Colt on the development of the gun. Areas strengthened included the slide and frame, the recoil spring system, the grip screws and bushings, a number of internal parts, etc.

In the link I'm attaching below Hilton Yam, the pistol smith, reviews these items at length in several parts. There is a discussion there as well that is worth reading.

The gun is in production. The identical gun is also being offered for civilian sale as well.

http://modernserviceweapons.com/?p=3126

This looks to be one of the more innovative and well designed 1911s in years. Colt and the Marines did a good job it seems.


tipoc
 
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FALPhil

New member
I read all the installments. I came away thinking that the M45 may be the most innovative Colt 1911 in quite a few years, but the most innovative 1911? Not by a long shot.
 
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tipoc

New member
Yes they were solved. Yam discuss that and the fix.

Photos that were leaked during testing showed the cracks and circulated widely on the internet.

The cracks occurred during the tests and trials of the gun by the Corp. The Corp and Colt worked a solution. The area where the slides cracked is where 1911s can crack when the recoil spring has weakened and as a result the slide is battered. This was made a bit easier by the location of the front serrations that the Corp requested.

The frame in that area as well as the slide were strengthened and the serrations moved a bit more forward.

The corps redid the same endurance testing that had cracked the slides and the guns passed those tests and met their requirements.

This and other issues come up in the Yam reviews.

tipoc
 
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Kreyzhorse

New member
Interesting that as an advanced 1911, there is no full length guide rod..... :)

Not sure how the military missed all the added benefits like making the gun harder to break down and, well..... making the gun harder to break down.
 
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tipoc

New member
The gun may not be the most innovative 1911 pattern gun. It isn't even the most innovative Colt. It is innovative in it's use of a number of features, some have shown up in other guns in the past.

What is distinctive about the gun, including the gun that Yam reviews, is that this is the gun the Marines corp wanted and designed along with Colt. From the particular features of it's design to the slide markings.

It's useful to look at all 4 parts of Yams review and the questions and discussion along with it.

tipoc
 
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SpareMag

New member
This comment was interesting...

Those of us who’ve been around the 1911 platform know it is a finicky gun that requires a dedicated end user and strict maintenance schedule if it is to be relied upon. Many 1911 style guns on the market won’t even work well out of the box. So how does the Marines’ new 45-caliber pistol fare?
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Is this a consensus of 1911 users?
 
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kcub

New member
I'm a fan of 1911s but the words innovative and 1911 belonging in the same sentence are a century out of fashion.
 
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TunnelRat

New member
Innovative, really? Heck I read a review of it in one of the gun rags Edit: Gun World to be exact.

The writer kept pointing out, with great excitement, all the amazing features it had. And pretty much every single one I had seen on some other 1911. Cerakote finish? Get out of town. G10 grips? Now that's going too far. But to be fair it does have a 1913 style rail (first one I'd ever seen ;)). And even slanted forward serrations. A lanyard loop is of course tactical. Lastly, but most important, Novak style night sights. Man this thing is just high speed low drag out of the box.

I'm sorry, but the way the writer in the article kept pointing these things out made me wonder if he thought his readers had stepped foot in a gun store in the last few decade. Now maybe to an old salty Marine these changes would seem innovative. To plain old me? :Yawn:.

Does it matter what I think? Couldn't matter less. The Marine Corps wanted a 1911, and they got one. Meanwhile Colt dances it's way to the bank. If you ask me to think of an innovative firearms manufacturer, Colt would not be in my first few choices.
 
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RickB

New member
This comment was interesting...


Quote:
Those of us who’ve been around the 1911 platform know it is a finicky gun that requires a dedicated end user and strict maintenance schedule if it is to be relied upon. Many 1911 style guns on the market won’t even work well out of the box. So how does the Marines’ new 45-caliber pistol fare?

Is this a consensus of 1911 users?
Click to expand...

Consensus of Glock users?
 
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Adamantium

New member
I don't see anything innovative about that gun. It will shoot a bullet because that is what a gun does and it will cost too much because it is a Colt.

Those of us who’ve been around the 1911 platform know it is a finicky gun that requires a dedicated end user and strict maintenance schedule if it is to be relied upon. Many 1911 style guns on the market won’t even work well out of the box. So how does the Marines’ new 45-caliber pistol fare?

Is this a consensus of 1911 users?
Click to expand...

Some 1911s are like that, some 1911s aren't. For example that statement perfectly describes my Dan Wesson but in no way describes other peoples Dan Wessons. I use mine for competition so after I fixed the out of box issues it didn't really matter that it was picky. It only shoots one load, I clean it before every match and 20k rounds later I am still shooting it.

Most people who take an absolute opinion one way or the other on the subject generally don't have extensive experience on the subject or are just trying to stir the pot.
 
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kraigwy

New member
Those of us who’ve been around the 1911 platform know it is a finicky gun that requires a dedicated end user and strict maintenance schedule if it is to be relied upon.
Click to expand...

Those of us who have been heavily involved in dealing with and using 1911's since 1966 know that is a crock of hooey.

Maybe 1911 want-a-be's, but not the 1911s of Mr. Browning's original design. They are highly reliable, with interchangeable "plug-and-play" parts, such as the USGI M1911/M1911a1, and Colt Series 70 pistols.
 
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Rob228

New member
The Marine Corps' MARSOC had for decades been rebuilding the Colt 1911s it had been using since it last received guns from Colt at the end of WWII. This is the first new order of 1911s for MARSOC in some time.
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Funny, seeing as MARSOC has been around for about 6 years. I carried a MEUSOC .45 for a while when my job called for it over at 3rd Recon Bn, and it was an awesome pistol. All the MEUSOC pistols we had in Okinawa had Springfield frames, assorted match grade barrels, and an interesting collection of sights. They weren't finicky, but years in the horrendous south Pacific humidity had taken a toll on them, and they would break occasionally.
 
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thinktwice

New member
I purchased a "Colt Rail GUN" in all black not too long ago. I was under the impression it is basically the same pistol as the USMC had been issued except for the color and the sights. Guess I was wrong huh,anyway I really like mine. Never a malfunction as of yet (only 800 rounds through it to date) and the pistol has a nice smooth trigger and frame to slide fit seems perfect. I am not new to 1911's have several including Kimber's, Springfield's, and a couple series 70's from 1973. Believe it or not the one I have with the smoothest and a very very light trigger pull is a 3 inch Springfield Loaded Micro Compact. I purchased it new as a carry gun but I think for liability reasons I would have to get the trigger reworked. Anyway sorry to get off topic.
 
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KyJim

New member
The most innovative? The first article states:
it was apparent that the new dual recoil spring system made an immediately noticeable difference in the recoil impulse. Even hot JHP loads were quite soft to shoot. The M45 was otherwise unremarkable, with a similar external feel to my existing Colt Rail Gun.
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There are other dual recoil spring 1911s out there so it is no innovation. I also can't see how this would make a pistol shoot softer.

They use an o-ring around the bushing and a larger screw head so they can torque it down more to keep the screws from loosening during shooting with the G-10 grips. VZ Grips has a two dollar solution. https://vzgrips.com/accessories/hardware/o-rings. You can buy a set of o-rings (can't remember if it is size 61 or 62) at the local hardware store to go on the outside of the grip to help tighten up the grip screws.

I think that was about it for innovations. Don't get me wrong, it looks like a very solid, well built 1911. I have a number of 1911s and several Colts. There's just nothing really innovative about this design; just a couple of tweaks.
 
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