Best-looking guns?

Looking at the really good condition of the blue on your 45, it doesn't seem to have been carried much.

 

It was bought at a government auction many years ago by an old friend who passed it along to me. I had the numbers checked by an authority and it was one of the 1911 (pre-1911A1) models that were polished and blued up to be pretty, then relegated to parade carry and such by regimental and division commanders. The 1911 was no longer considered a first line armament, so they used them for decorative purposes or sold them off. The first time (the very FIRST time) I let my wife shoot it, the slide stop broke. So, you see a parkerized 1911 (Pre-1911A1) Colt slide stop, which are slightly different than the Remington model - or else I'd have polished and blued that as a replacement. The other fault is the grips. It had 1911A1 grips and even original Remington 1911 grips have a different checkering pattern than the Colt (which make up 95% plus of the original 1911s out there).
I still look for Remington grips and a Rem. 1911 slide stop, but they're scarce and expensive. Remingtons are a pretty rare 1911 variant.
The grips on it now are Stellar Sea Cow (google it) rib that I picked up at a year long tour on a lovely Pacific Island called Attu. In the Aleutians. It kept me busy for a while. I like them. They're probably the only Stellar Sea Cow grips in the world.




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A new nomination: Pre-model 28 Smith and Wesson revolvers (5 screw). All variations,which are pre-war certified, pre-war uncertified and post-war. Beautifully made with fantastic trigger pull and a checkered top strap.

 

Why would the gubment make Colts that shoot .38s? And what was it's assigned nomenclature? Never heard of such. Interesting though.

 

There were 400 delivered in 2 shipments; one for 24 pistols in June 1945, one for 376 guns in July 1945. My understanding is the majority went to the OSS and were presumably used for some good-natured, fun, nefarious purposes around the world. All were stamped with a GHD acceptance mark and the Ordnance Dept "crossed cannons". There are less than 5 confirmed examples that I know of in existence today. Rock Island Auction sold one a few years ago. I think it sold for around the 30k USD mark.

 

Don't confuse "Gov Property" .38 Super Colts with those on the civilian market. A whole buttload of civilian .38 Supers went to Mexico and Central America, and then became popular among US police agencies across the southwest. They were the autoloading .357 Magnum of their day and you can see the attractiveness of a magazine loaded handgun with that kind of power, vs a revolver.

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The majority of the 400 "Government contract" .38 Super 1911s have never appeared on the civilian market (to be clear, I'm referring to guns which are GHD marked and have Ord Dept crossed cannons). I would assume that this majority were either destroyed or ended up in some far-away locale never to return. However, there are 3 that I know of which are listed on the internet (there may be further examples in one of my reference books; I would need to check). This variation is certainly exceedingly rare and certainly would be lucrative to fake, but genuine examples are certainly are out there.

Serial Number 36797: Colt Super .38 Pistol Military OSS Remington Pentagon - Coltautos.com
Serial Number 37450: Rock Island Auction: Colt - 1911A1
Serial Number 37xxx: COLT 38 super military contract

Certainly, the great majority of .38 Super 1911s on the civilian market are NOT these "Government contract" examples. Didn't Mexico make an indigenous copy of a 1911 in .38 Super at one point?

 

"Didn't Mexico make an indigenous copy of a 1911 in .38 Super at one point?"

Not that I know of, but the Spanish sure copied the 1911 in all kinds of iterations and likely in .38 Super among them, and of course sold them to Mexico and all over Latin America. The Mexican .38 Super came about because of one of those stupid gun laws (like most gun laws) in that civilians and police could not own handguns in Mexican "Military" calibers (such as 9mm or .45ACP). So, Colt jumped in with the .38 Super, the Spanish with a myriad of guns in 9mm Largo (which has identical dimensions to the .38 Super but is certainly NOT safe in all guns chambered in 9mm Largo), identical dimensions or not. Unless you like the taste of a slide hanging out of your mouth, you don't shoot a .38 Super in a gun marked 9mm Largo.

The Colt in .38 Super was a prized weapon in Mexico. And that liking spread north. If you're ever in Waco and broke down (because there's no other reason to stop in Waco), they have a whole wall at the Texas Ranger Museum covered with famous Rangers personal guns, and many/most of them after the late twenties are in .38 Super. They wanted a bad-ass gun and the .38 Super (in that era up until the seventies) was as bad-ass as it got. I suppose they carry 10mms now...? Big hat/big gun...

 

That tradition sure goes back a ways. The Colt Walker Dragoons being developed at the request of ranger Walker.

 

I'll see your Mexican Heritage Silver Edition .38 Super and raise you with this....

The custom built Donald Trump 1911 pistol by Jesse James (VIDEO)

Hope the thread doesn't get kicked to the stump.

 

The Gun is called the "White House" and the magazine is called the "Trump Administration"

 

Really? I didn't watch the video. Just posted it for all to enjoy since we were talking about 1911's and their derivatives.

 

I'd rather have one of these anyway.

Model GOVERNOR® | Smith & Wesson

I used to want the Judge made by Taurus, but it only is a 5 shooter.

 

Hideous.

Also ugly.

An aesthetic stinker. Gaddaffi-esque.




Surely we have not run out of good-looking firearms?
I always liked these shield guns, though the aesthetic might be more 'dustbin lid' than fine.
Royal Armouries collections
(A friend of a friend bought one at an antique fair for a few quid, thinking it a Victorian copy. Nope, C16th.)

 

To change track a little bit, I humbly enter this monstrosity for "Ugliest bastardization of a WW2 service weapon"

 

I guess I'm partial to Finnish Mosin Nagants. This is my 1891 Finn. It is a "B" barrel VKT, which makes it one of perhaps 4 to 5 thousand made.

 

A little scroll work on a classic gun is nice, but the people who knew how to do that tastefully are all gone now. More is not better when it comes to firearms.


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Chatting once to a chap who worked at 'a leading London sporting gun supplier', he said they still used men in their 80s for high end engraving. Was a genuine concern at not enough new chaps coming through.
Not a great fan of such decoration, but you can definitely tell the good stuff, even if it doesn't fully appeal.

 

They like to call everything "tactical" now, like it makes it cool, or improves it's functionality and lethality. That weapon is a monstrosity, the wet dream of a wannabe gear queer somewhere.