About 25yrs ago I used to do some gunsmith work for friends and family on 1911s. I used to add aftermarket sights, bushings, fit slides, machine ejection ports, etc. Dad still has one I built for him.
For a regular job I was senior engineer for a company that made plastic extrusion equipment. Part of my responsibility was for a lab we had that we would run trials on customer`s materials. I hired an older, retired gentleman part time to help me with prep and tear down of the trials.
One day he came in and said he had "an old 45" he wanted made into a target pistol. It was wrapped in an old sock and I just put it under the seat of my truck and took it home after work.
When I pulled it out that evening I noticed it was a US Property marked 1911, not a 1911A1, and a Colt with most of the bluing left on it. After researching the serial number, I found it to be an early Navy contract pistol, 1918 if I remember right.
I took it back to him the next day and told him I wasn`t going to touch the gun since it was worth quite a bit even then. I also asked him how he aquired it.
He said his brother had died and he inherited it. His brother had brought it home from WWII when he got out of the Navy. He stopped for a few seconds, then went on. It seems his brother was on a destroyer in the Pacific and it got sunk during a battle(I forget which). He went overboard when the order to abandon ship was given and had the pistol on his side when he went in the water. After about 2-3hrs in the water he was picked up by another ship.
Later during a debrief of sorts, he asked his CO about turning the pistol in. The CO said as far as he and the US Govt were concerned that pistol was on the bottom of the Pacific ocean. He brought it home and supposedly it sat in a sock drawer until he passed and Joe inherited his possesions due to being his only kin left.
Joe passed a few years ago and I often wonder what happened to the pistol. He had a son who was handicapped and a daughter that was bat-shit crazy, so who knows where it may be now.
interesting what we come across in this hobby.
For a regular job I was senior engineer for a company that made plastic extrusion equipment. Part of my responsibility was for a lab we had that we would run trials on customer`s materials. I hired an older, retired gentleman part time to help me with prep and tear down of the trials.
One day he came in and said he had "an old 45" he wanted made into a target pistol. It was wrapped in an old sock and I just put it under the seat of my truck and took it home after work.
When I pulled it out that evening I noticed it was a US Property marked 1911, not a 1911A1, and a Colt with most of the bluing left on it. After researching the serial number, I found it to be an early Navy contract pistol, 1918 if I remember right.
I took it back to him the next day and told him I wasn`t going to touch the gun since it was worth quite a bit even then. I also asked him how he aquired it.
He said his brother had died and he inherited it. His brother had brought it home from WWII when he got out of the Navy. He stopped for a few seconds, then went on. It seems his brother was on a destroyer in the Pacific and it got sunk during a battle(I forget which). He went overboard when the order to abandon ship was given and had the pistol on his side when he went in the water. After about 2-3hrs in the water he was picked up by another ship.
Later during a debrief of sorts, he asked his CO about turning the pistol in. The CO said as far as he and the US Govt were concerned that pistol was on the bottom of the Pacific ocean. He brought it home and supposedly it sat in a sock drawer until he passed and Joe inherited his possesions due to being his only kin left.
Joe passed a few years ago and I often wonder what happened to the pistol. He had a son who was handicapped and a daughter that was bat-shit crazy, so who knows where it may be now.
interesting what we come across in this hobby.
Last edited: