Colt 1911 question

H

houndawg

New member
Did Colt ever produce a variant of the 1911 that had no grip safety? I know Browning originally designed the pistol without the grip safety, but added it to meed the standards of the acceptance commitee. One of my Lieutenants has a Colt he's trying to find parts info on and he said it doesn't have a grip safety. I haven't seen the pistol and don't know what's printed on it. He said it says "Colt" though. Can someone please help me out here?
 
Actually, it was the thumb safety that was added at the insistance of the Cavalry. The 1909/1910 had a grip safety but no thumb safety.

I'm going out on a limb with speculation here, but apparently JMB originally envisioned a pistol that would automatically be rendered "safe" if dropped and the Cavalry just was too hidebound to trust just the grip safety and wanted something a trooper could make clicky noises with one-handed while controlling his mount with the other.
 
But I thought I had heard that Browning came out with the Hi-Power because he had always wanted the design to have no grip safety. Maybe I'm wrong. But that doesn't help me with my dilemna.
 
At the turn of the century, the Army decided that .45 caliber was the way to go. John Browning at the time was trying to convince Colt to use his designs, which he had successfully manufactured in Europe under license to FN. The came up with the M1905 firing a .45 rimless cartridge. That cartridge lacked performance and resulted in the creation of the .45 ACP.

The M1905 had no safety's and the Army did not like that fact. Browning redisigned his gun, part of which was the addition of the grip safety and manual safety. The Army tested the gun for 5 years before accepting it and designating it the M1911.

With the exception of minor changes, the orginal 1911 supplied to the military was that same gun the military used into the 1980's.

Some people don't like the grip safety and have had it removed. This may be what happened to the gun you are speaking of.
 
I believe he has a Sistema Colt, which was made in South America. I think that a current issue of "Combat Handguns" has a write up about them.
 
Colt never made a 1911 without a grip safety, it would not be a 1911 then. :p

The original military requirements for the new service pistol called for a self-actuating safety which would make the pistol safe when out of hand and ready to fire while in hand. JMB designed his pistol to meet the requirements of the trials board. The thumb safety was added at the request of the trials board. The Colt/Browning M-1910 looked just like a M-1911 without a thumb safety and a different designed plunger housing to provide the detent for the slide stop.

The same with the BHP, it was designed to meet the requirements of a European government.

The Sistema 27's all have/had grip safeties, the Ballesta-Molina pistols did/do not. However, they are not 1911's.
 
Are we even sure its a 1911 type? Lt. says Colt, colt what? You haven't seen the gun, good knows what it is. Colt did make several .380 models that look like mini 1911s with no grip safety.
 
I'll ask him on Tuesday when he comes back to work. I'm sure he said it was a .45. It was his father's gun and has been in pieces for years. I'll have to have him write down everything printed on the slide and frame.
 
As some have noted, the Sistema Colt M1916 and M1927 Argentine guns are original and/ or license-built Colts and have grip safeties. The Ballester-Molina doesn't and neither does the Star, which probably inspired the B-M. The better Stars are nice guns.

If this guy has a genuine Colt .45 Auto not designed for a grip safety, he has a prototype never known before. What are the odds on that??!!

Lone Star
 
Could be a Balerina Molester, er, Ballester Molina. I don't think those have grip safeties. Some models of Star pistols and maybe some Llamas look a lot like 1911's but don't have grip safeties.
 
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