Colt ANViii....irregular

[Hollywood67]

There are a lot of people who seem to think I should leave it as is. T.MAY, I definitely thought about that idea , my thought was more to put "Model of 1911 U.S. Army" on it, but I doubt Colt would do that if I wanted to. To be honest though, the idea behind it for me is that it definitely makes it a unique gun. Collectible or not will be dealt with by my children/grandchildren since I doubt I will ever sell any of my guns unless I run into one of life's unexpected issues where I need money. For that reason, it will be a fired gun, I intend to take it out and enjoy it.

Even though the Collectible issue will be more of a concern by my "heirs" as it were, I think the Colt letter would be awesome to authenticate the fact that I did not take it off myself and then have it refinished. I am on this forum quite a bit looking around at a bunch of different weapons and all the little intricacies that make them what they are, and I think it would be nice to have proof that this truly is factory condition so there is no guess work involved. I might even take her out tomorrow and put a few mags through to enjoy it.

Dakota, I love the picture of your guns, I have seen it around here a few times and they are just excellent pieces. I actually thought about keeping the money I spent for the ANVIII and use it on a Carbonia WWI repro....someday that will also be part of my collection. But for this year, I think that is the only firearm I will buy as I am also doing a 1911 build right now and I have some other.....expenses that I would like to take care of. Thank you all again for the responses and please keep 'em coming, I enjoy the different viewpoints!

[Eternal24k]

I am a fan of naked slides, I would keep it the way it is

[hunterjrg]

I would leave it.

[1monkey1]

Keep it as is. Buy another with the rollmark.

[varoadking]

...but what would you folks do?

I have one, but would be thrilled to have one like yours.

[Hollywood67]

I wish I had the finances and they were easily available to just go pick up another one. I AM a fan of Colt.

It does make it unique, which is why I think it is going stay as-is. It certainly will not affect its ability to shoot that is for sure.

[TREEMAN]

Originally Posted by Hollywood67

I wish I had the finances and they were easily available to just go pick up another one. I AM a fan of Colt.

It does make it unique, which is why I think it is going stay as-is. It certainly will not affect its ability to shoot that is for sure.

Good idea........it's your pistol , there's not another one like it

[Audiotronics]

I like it without too

[1monkey1]

Perhaps Colt could send you a new slide. Best of both worlds, without the added cost of a second pistol.

[Hollywood67]

Haha, I highly doubt that Colt would send me a new slide, though that would be unique as well, haveing to ANVIII slides? I will keep you guys up-to-date though, I plan on getting out tomorrow to put a few mags through it (I know, to some collectors that seems horrendous, but it has to be done). A range report will surely follow.

[32sbct]

I would leave it as is, it looks much better. I agree with others, I would try to get a letter from Colt stating it came that way from the factory. I can't see why they would not do that, its certainly a lot cheaper than fixing the roll mark and refinishing. That would leave your gun as is and protect you from any arguments with future buyers about its authenticity. Again, I think it looks outstanding as is. How many people own a one of a kind Colt right from the factory without any customizing?

[1monkey1]

Originally Posted by Hollywood67

I plan on getting out tomorrow to put a few mags through it (I know, to some collectors that seems horrendous, but it has to be done.

IMHO horrendous is storing a pistol for 30,40,50+ years, so that when you're gone someone else can be the first to fire it.

So, how does it shoot.

[Hollywood67]

Alright folks, I don't have the picture of the target to upload just now, but suffice it to say it is a point and shoot kind of gun on slow fire. I have big hands and on rapid fire I was all over the place (the big hands comment is because I was getting some awesome hammer bite).

I think I was about 7-10 yds away from the target and on slow fire, it was turning into just a big hole. I will add the pictures tomorrow.

Now for the bad news. I had one problem with the gun, one I consider a major problem but I already fixed it. It was a rather crude fix, but it worked. As of right now, I have 55 rounds through the gun. During firing, not 1 malfunction. So here is the way it happened. After the rapid fire segment, I put another mag in and went slow. Then I loaded up another mag, put it in the gun, hit the slide release and nothing happened. I thought "thats weird, I doubt I suddenly lost the strength in my thumb." Tried again, still nothing. Then I popped the mag out and tried the ol' slingshot approach and it was still locked. I looked at the gun, the slide went past the slide stop (no picture of that, sorry).

So for a while I tried pushing on it and hitting it with my hand, got a very small cut, no biggy, but it didn't work. So after some "higher level thinking" I decided to put it in the case (with foam) and just hammered on it into the foam. Thankfully not a mark on the finish of the gun and got it back into battery. Put a few more rounds through it flawlessly, but that does have me concerned and I am going to look for the sticking point when I break it down for some cleaning. Any hints/tips/suggestions? I was probably wrong using brute force, but it worked, I just hope I don't have the same problem again. Picture of the target will soon follow.

[Hollywood67]

As promised, this is the first mag through the gun from about 7-10 yds away. Sorry I didn't get a chance to post this yesterday, I have been swamped with work. I hope you enjoy and if you have any comments, please share! Overall I think it is a very accurate gun, even with the tiny sights.

[TEA]

Nice shooting.

[Hollywood67]

Many thanks, it wasn't long range by any means, but it would do the trick if needed for self defense that is for sure.

[TREEMAN]

Nice shooting hollywood..........

[EagleArmsHBAR]

I like it and at least it came with the slide serrations facing the right way. My 01918 had the slide serrations reversed. I sent it back to Colt and they fitted it with a new slide. I still have not fired it and it is beautifully NIB.