Jim Watson
New member
I think the OP's (prospective) gun is correct and likely even original.
Lack of finish hurts collector resale value, lack of heat treat hurts shooting value.
pwc: They are safe to shoot but may not be durable. The OP's gun is mild steel not heat treated. Getting through 6000 rounds in acceptance trials was a major accomplishment.
As time wore on, improvements were made; the slide nose was hardened, a hard insert pressed in around the firing pin hole, the slide stop notch spot hardened. Late WWII, the fully hardened slide became practical but they were not in general use until post war replacement slides were being made up. The slide was considered a wear part and replacements were procured all along, at least into the 1980s.
I have only seen a couple of cracked slides, one was a real 1911, obviously shot too much, maybe with a worn recoil spring. The other was a modern race gun that had been shot maybe 100000 rounds. The recoil spring was very worn, could it have been the original? It looked that bad.
Lack of finish hurts collector resale value, lack of heat treat hurts shooting value.
pwc: They are safe to shoot but may not be durable. The OP's gun is mild steel not heat treated. Getting through 6000 rounds in acceptance trials was a major accomplishment.
As time wore on, improvements were made; the slide nose was hardened, a hard insert pressed in around the firing pin hole, the slide stop notch spot hardened. Late WWII, the fully hardened slide became practical but they were not in general use until post war replacement slides were being made up. The slide was considered a wear part and replacements were procured all along, at least into the 1980s.
I have only seen a couple of cracked slides, one was a real 1911, obviously shot too much, maybe with a worn recoil spring. The other was a modern race gun that had been shot maybe 100000 rounds. The recoil spring was very worn, could it have been the original? It looked that bad.