Golden Age of Surplus.” As countries around the world updated their military equipment, they cleaned out their armories. Military equipment, including firearms, was sold on the world market. A large portion of the guns came to the country with the greatest degree of personal freedom — the United States. Some of the pistols that came in as surplus were 1916 and 1927 Argentine .45s. Many were “accurized” and used for target shooting. Norwegian 1914 .45s also made their appearance. Also coming in were a smaller number of the British 455-caliber Colt 1911s. To make the .455s more salable, they were advertised, “Will shoot .45 ACP.” (Yes, they would, but not very accurately.)
Traditional Bullseye shooting was not the only pistol sport to gain popularity. A new handgun sport was developing in California. Popularized by the writing of Col. Jeff Cooper, the two-handed action-style pistol shooting was called “practical” shooting. Shooters found it to be fun as well as practical, and the new sport grew. These informal matches grew into the alphabet soup of IPSC, USPSA, PPC and NRA Action shooting of today. Based on the concepts of Accuracy, Power and Speed, the pistol that fit Cooper’s ideas best? The 45-caliber Government Model.
THE 1960S
The 1960s started as a continuation of the 1950s, but by the end of that decade, things had changed dramatically in the United States firearms scene.
Military National Match pistols used at Camp Perry had the trigger weighed and a tape placed on the trigger guard to show it met specifications. This gun was fired at Camp Perry in 1967 by the author, and still has the 1967 tape on the trigger guard.
In the early years of the ‘60s, the popularity of the 1911 got a boost when the Ordnance Department, through the Director of Civilian Marksmanship (DCM) made surplus 1911 and 1911A1 pistols available to members of the National Rifle Association (NRA). The August 1960 issue of American Rifleman gave the details. Price was $17, including packing and shipping. Pistols were classed “unserviceable,” which meant they may have had minor defects, but were safe to fire. (The Ithaca 1911A1 I got had a cracked slide stop, which cost me a dollar to replace.) The influx of inexpensive .45s was a shot in the arm to the pistol-shooting sports.
Spare parts for the 1911-type pistols were also available. Enterprising small manufacturers made new frames, and gunsmiths assembled new 1911s from the parts.
Those military-surplus 45-caliber pistols sold during the 1960s were the last pistols sold by the U. S. government to civilians. Soon, national tragedy, politics, and the growth of the anti-gun movement would adversely affect the firearms scene.
For those who wanted to buy a .45 and were willing to wade through the onerous restrictions of the Gun Control Act of 1968, Colt had something new. The loose fit of the average military 1911 had given rise to the idea that the 45 was “not accurate.” Colt investigated possibilities, and determined that a new barrel bushing, a collet-type with spring-steel “fingers” to position the barrel, would increase accuracy. Without publicity, Colt began fitting pistols with this experimental new system in 1969. About 750 were reportedly made. They can be identified by the letters, “BB,” stamped near the correct serial numbers.
THE 1970S
The new “accurizer” barrel bushing system worked well, and in 1970, Colt brought it out as a standard item for its 1911 line. New nomenclature then became Colt’s Mk. IV / Series ’70. The collet-type bushings were used in the Government Model and Gold Cup National Match pistols. The Commander continued to use its original shortened solid bushing.
The next year, 1971, a Combat Commander was added to the Colt line. The same size as the original lightweight Commander, the pistol had a steel frame and weighed 33 ounces. 1971, the Centennial of the National Rifle Association, also saw a special Centennial Gold Cup made to commemorate the anniversary.
In 1973, things took a bad turn for Colt. A strike lasting from April through August took place. With Colt production curtailed for almost half a year, the “lookalike” Llama and Star pistols from Spain (modified copies of the 1911) got more attention. The Spanish pistols listed at ten to twenty dollars less than a Colt Government Model, which sold for $135.
The Colt Commander had provided a more compact 45-caliber handgun, but there was interest in a .45 in an even smaller package.
In 1975, the Spanish firm producing the big Star pistols brought out the Star PD. The new small Star was a shortened and lightened .45 with an aluminum frame. With its 4-inch barrel and weight of 25 ounces, the Star was, for a short time, the smallest .45 available.
In 1976, the year of America’s Bicentennial, the 1911 was miniaturized in America by the new firm calling itself Detonics. Originally using Colt parts modified by them, and then manufacturing their own, Detonics brought out a compact steel .45, weighing 31 ounces. It was of innovative design, and had a 3-1/2-inch barrel. The Detonics pistol introduced the cone-barrel positioning system, orienting the short barrel in the slide without a bushing.
Until the 1970s, Colt had been the sole source of newly-made traditional U. S. 1911-style pistols, but during that decade, the market for similar .45s made by other firms grew.
About 1977, the AMT (Arcadia Machine & Tool) Hardballer was introduced. The pistol was essentially of Gold Cup configuaration, a target-grade pistol with adjustable sights. However, the AMT Hardballer was manufactured of stainless steel. It was apparently the first stainless-steel 1911 ever offered. The AMT line grew, with fixed sight pistols and Commander-size pistols soon offered. Within a short time, they were joined by the striking Long Slide Hardballer, a similar adjustable-sighted pistol, but with a 7-inch barrel and correspondingly longer slide.
As the decade went on, Practical shooting (sometimes called “West Coast Shooting”) spread across the country. Practical shooting was joined by other pistol sports, such as Bowling Pin shooting. Reliable quick-shooting pistols using powerful cartridges were in demand.
New companies sprang up across the country. In the closing years of the 1970s, 1911s were made, often in now-trendy stainless steel, by small companies such as Crown City (New York) and Vega (California).
In 1978, M-S Safari Arms began making striking 1911s with some of their own features. Most noticeable was a projection on the front strap of the grip to position the finger below the trigger guard. (M-S Safari was acquired, in 1987, by Olympic Arms, which made 1911s under the Safari and Schuetzen names, and still makes Olympic 1911-style pistols.)
Custom pistolmakers began to thrive. Wilson Combat had opened by 1978 and continues in business.
THE 1980S
The growth of new interest in the 1911 that had begun in the ‘70s had a tremendous increase in the 1980s. In fact, there was a growth of interest in handguns of all types. A category called the “wondernines” gained popularity. They were full-size double-action 9mm pistols with magazine capacities up to 19 rounds,
In 1983, Colt added a firing-pin safety to the 1911 design. This prevented the firing pin from moving until the trigger was pressed. The new variant became the Mark IV / Series ’80. In 1985, Colt also added stainless-steel versions of the Series ‘80 pistols.
During the 1980s, it became very clear that Colt was no longer the only maker of 1911 pistols. By 1981, the ODI (Omega Defensive Industries) Viking pistol, a 1911 fitted with the Seecamp double-action trigger system, was introduced. That same year, Auto-Ordnance, owned then by Numrich Arms, brought out the GI-style Thompson 1911A1 pistol. A number of guns from different companies appeared, based on modified 1911 designs. Representatives of this category were the Coonan, Arminex and Grizzly
