Found a Remington Rand Today--Need Help!!

[Scott Lyons]

Hello, I am new to Culver's Shooting Page, but am an avid military collector and absolutely love the forum. I have learned a ton. My father carried a Remington Rand in Korea. I have been looking for a Remington Rand and found one today that is similar to what he carried based on what he told me. The serial number is No 935748. which I believe makes it a 1942 or 43. It has a bomb under the No, has FK under the Y in Property and RIA under the 1911 A1 US ARMY, an L behind the checkered grip, FJA on the other side in front of the grip and a P by the safety, also a P on top of the slide. I didn't tear it down but the barrel looks clean. The guy who has it says the only thing that isn't Remington is the trigger which is a Colt, he assumed it was added when it was rebuilt at Rock Island Arsenal. The slide is very tight on the frame.

Any information or ideas on what an expert on Remington's would pay? I am new to the service pistols so I am in need of a little help!

Thank you for any help you can give a Newbie.

Scott Lyons

[Hecklerusp45]

First of all, if you don't know about this site you should check it out:
http://www.coolgunsite.com

As far as price goes, what are they asking?

[Scott Lyons]

$1,600.00

[John C]

I don't have my book handy but the serial number is early enough to make the correct slide a type 1 or type 2. I'm guessing if it is a type 1 then the 1911 slide stop and early A1 Colt trigger might be correct. The BIG downside is that the pistol has visited an arsenal for inspection and / or possible rebuild - this is the "RIA" stamp on the right side. RIA = Rock Island Arsenal. Just my opinion but for $1,600 you could probably find a virgin type 3 Remington Rand. Lets see what other say............

[1563621]

Arsenal rebuilds usually run about 1000-1200. JMHO.

[Wick]

Could you please post a better image of the slide markings?

Have a look at this thread for great images of a Type 2 Remington Rand:
http://www.jouster.com/forums/showthread.php?49284-early-parkerized-Remington-Rand-Type-III&highlight=type

Have a look at this thread for great images of a Type 3 Remington Rand:
http://www.jouster.com/forums/showthread.php?48126-Remington-Rand&highlight=rand

You'll notice (one of) the key differences is the size of the slide markings: The type 2 is LARGER.
The difference between a Type 1 and Type 2 is that a the type one has the large type 2 marking, but spells out "NEW YORK", rather than "N.Y. USA".

If you have a Type 1 or Type 2 Rem Rand, the value of the pistol is likely greater then your garden variety Rock Island rebuilt pistol...
Provided it retains enough of its original parts and (perhaps) finish. The most critical parts would be frame and slide.

[Scott Lyons]

Hello Sir: I would love to send you better pics, however they are as good as I am going to get as they have been texted back and forth, I can blow them up on my iPhone and see that the markings say REMINGTON RAND INC on the top line and SYRACUSE NY USA on the bottom. Are those the markings that tell the story as there was a P on top of the slide as well. The slide stop on this gun us checkered as compared to just lines. Also the trigger is different than either of the type 2 or 3 pics from above. Maybe that is what a Colt trigger looks like

The guy who has it told me that it was most likely inspected and not rebuilt by RIA because it wasn't reparkerized and seems to think it is all original just inspected by RIA. Not sure how I would know that.

Thank you so much for the information and the links, those were great.

[Wick]

Squinting at the pics of your RR and it looks like it might be a milled trigger. Colt used milled triggers earlier (pre '43 maybe??) in A1 production. I believe (but could be mistaken!) that early Rem Rands may have been built with milled triggers, as well. I have a Sept '43 Type 2 RR with a stamped trigger. It is quite possible that you have an early Type 2 with a good amount of its original bits and pieces.

One note on finish:
Type 1 and Type 2 (as well as early Ithaca's and all US&S pieces) were NOT parkerized when manufactured. The finish was a chemical blue (DuLite) over a sandblasted surface. The effect is very similar to the non-reflective surface you get with a park'ed finish, but it is less durable than park (as the poor slide on my Type 2 will attest!). Look at markings like the serial number and ordnance escucheon that were stamped after the pistol was finished. You can frequently see the bare metal where the stamp disrupted the surface when it was applied. This is a "sure fire" way to tell if the finish has been redone.

Also...
Look at the finish on surfaces that would not have been sandblasted, such as the inside of the frame under the dust cover. You can usually see the distinctive blue hue of the DuLite, versus the gray or charcoal colored surfaces you get with park.

[Wick]

Is the mainspring housing checkered?

[Wick]

OK... I was right... early RR's had milled triggers. Follow the advice on an earlier post and invest some time at coolgunsite.com.

Here's an example of a Type 1 (Note the milled trigger, like you have): http://www.coolgunsite.com/images/1911/1942%20Rem%20Rand/1942%20rr.htm
Here's an example of a Type 2 (Note the stamped trigger, like mine): http://www.coolgunsite.com/images/1911/1943rr970674/1943_type_ii_remington_rand.htm