Looking for 1911 parts:

[dokcop]

I'm looking for the following parts for a 1918 gun 280,000 sn range:

-a set of four minty period blued grip screws

-a 96-97% ph barrel with crispy bore and the number 5 stamped on the bottom.

I have for trade:

a 85-90% ph barrel with a 75-80% bore; sharp rifling and bright, but with a bit of buildup or corrosion on the edge of the lands...the original barrel on the 280,000 range gun.

a 95-96% or better big G bbl with Colt 45 auto on side ; correct for some guns in the #770,000- 888,000 range per Clausen. Sharp rifling and bright bore (Wish it was correct for my 280,000 gun)

Any source of the above items would be appreciated. Dokcop

[Scott Gahimer]

Obviously, it's your gun and you can do what you want. But I'd never replace the barrel you describe. Barrels, slides and frames for specific wear patterns, Replacing the barrel will only create conflicting wear patterns. If you're set on putting in a new barrel, I'd recommend keeping the original with the pistol.

[gbethu]

dokcop, there are different views on the proper way to restore/configure your M1911. As was noted by a previous poster (a well known dealer and expert) , he advocates not installing the proper barrel for the gun you have. He believes the pistol is worth more in the market place, all correct, except the presence of a barrel not originally placed on that serial numbered pistol from the factory or not the one the factory installed but correct for the serial number of that particular pistol. i.e. Not the original fitted to that pistol barrel when originally assembled. The economics of that theory are easily disproved in auctions every year. Only the purest of the pure would insist that, if the original assembler, call her Betty, picked up barrel in a box of barrels she had to assemble M1911s daily, THAT would only be the correct barrel for that pistol....FOREVER.

What's so wrong about the barrel adjacent to the one she picked, and then that one would have made it the "holy grail" ? It doesn't have a serial number. If you ran two boxes of ammo through the pistol, it would have the proper wear marks as the original installed barrel. Could be the "original" barrel didn't even have wear marks as it was replaced for another reason...perhaps a crack or corrosion.

I think, as do many collectors who actually purchase early, expensive pistols that ORIGINAL CONFIGURATION is paramount. Non serialized parts, like barrels were routinely replaced in the field and are considered, like magazines a routinely replaced, as needed, part of service pistols. If you take the marketplace as a guide, you'll find collectors trying to find correct magazines, stocks , barrels...all the parts that suffered the most damage and required replacement.
Maybe its like religion....follow the one (or don't) that is best for you.

I have no dog in this hunt but i do read the sale prices realized in the major auctions. A recent first day produced M1911 sold for 20,000 dollars less than it would have received had it had a correct barrel original to a first day gun. I actually bid and purchase these guns so I understand the market effect of this decision.

Best to you.

[Scott Gahimer]

I'm not sure If I wasn't clear about conflicting wear patterns, or if it just wasn't understood.

Wear patterns are created when the pistol is fired. An 85-90% barrel has been used enough to form wear patterns that any knowledgeable collector can see when he examines the pistol. Firing a couple boxes with a new barrel doesn't erase wear patterns. It only adds conflicting wear patterns.

Granted, some don't appreciate or value originality. My point is only to let you know that, if examined by anyone who knows anything, a new barrel will stand out like a sore thumb. It has nothing to do with what barrel Betty put in the pistol at the factory. It only has to do with what happened afterwards, when the pistol was used.

The OP may not even have the original barrel in his pistol. I haven't examined it, so I don't know. But I do know barrels show wear based on on use, and I know how to examine a pistol to determine originality.

There are different views about value and desirability. I prefer original pistols that haven't been humped up by someone looking to enhance appearance r boost value. I like things that are genuine...just like they were in the beginning. Military M1911 and M1911A1 pistols never had serial numbered barrels. So I don't know how discussing that is even relevant.

However, given the choice of an incorrect barrel or a replaced, correct barrel, I would see correcting a pistol. But the barrel the OP says he has is a correct barrel, and possibly the original. I simply don't see the point in the trade-off for condition in this case. I'd simply prefer the original. But, as I said, it's your gun.

[gbethu]

I agree 100% with Scott's statement "However, given the choice of an incorrect barrel or a replaced, correct barrel, I would see correcting a pistol. That's all I meant to say. gordon

[danco101]

You can polish your grip screws with you drill press and fine grit emery cloth, then hold them with your pliers and use a propane torch to heat them up, and they will blue up nicely like the originals look.

[dokcop]

Thanks to all for your valuable opinions and guidance. I, too, prize originality snd correctness, and my holy grail are arms with provenance back to their issuance.

This particular gun (without history so far... I'm still working on that) is a bit different in my opinion because it is so very close to mint. The rails, bushing and interior of the slide are pristine and retain almost 100% original finish. No detectible slide lock scratch from clumsy assembly! All edges are crisp and without any wear except very slight high point wear inflicted by the pristine and probably original-to-the-gun 1916 holster which accompanied the gun. The only evidence that it has been shot at all (at least to my inexperienced eye) is the light corrosion in the lands and bushing scratches on the exterior of the barrel. The temptation to make the gun nearly perfect with a correct minty barrel is compelling, and the necessary rationalizing about altering the gun less difficult than if a clear provenance was likely, in which case I would not change the barrel.

Thanks for the very interesting discussion of gun collector morality and ethics! Good points made both ways. I'll still keep looking for that barrel and grip screws (the originals are beavered up a bit). What makes going to gun shows fun... Dokcop

[Scott Gahimer]

I agree 100% with Scott's statement "However, given the choice of an incorrect barrel or a replaced, correct barrel, I would see correcting a pistol. That's all I meant to say. gordon

Sounds like we're on the same page here.

dokcop, good luck.