Recommendations for Ammo for 1911 A1???

[Kaya8568]

At the risk of starting WW III.....What do the experts on here recommend for target shooting with my newly acquired 1944 Ithaca 1911 A1?
Ithaca 1911 A1 II.jpgIthaca 1911 A1 III.jpgIthaca 1911 A1 IV.jpg

[Oyeboten]

I am not an expert, but since none have shown up to reply yet, I could mention that my own favorite Ammunition for any of the older or old Colt Model O or their likes, ( or any other sort of Automatic if old or cherished, ) is to use Lead mid range Semi Wadcutter Ammunition for Target work or Play.

One may buy this Ammunition ( including versions rated as being 'Match Grade' )Mail Order, or from any local Stores which carry a decent array of .45 ACP, and it is made and offered by most of the usual Brand-Name Ammunition Manufacturers.

It is also very easy to load it one's self with any suitable re-Loading Press.

Nice, friendly, Lead, Semi-Wadcutters, especially when loaded for the usual Target Range distances, are very easy on the Arm in every way, easy on the Barrel as a whole, easy on the Rifeling, less pressure spike, etc.

Jacketed, or FMJ or traditional 'Hardball' or 'Copper Patch' as it used to be called, is hard on a Pistol...or is hard on a Pistol, compared to Lead Semi-Wadcutters, anyway.

[Rob Greer]

For target shooting... I would recommend a newly manufactured pistol. (But that's me... a collector speaking.) Your pistol has very limited hardened steel - and only at the muzzle end of the slide, and around the takedown notch. It may have a hardened steel insert on the face of the breach... I'm not positive when these appeared, or if they even appeared on non-Colt pistols. You have a well preserved piece of history that apparently spent some time in Canada. It will never be in better condition than it is now! A modern pistol won't have the same "Cool Factor" at the range, but it will feel the same when you shoot it.

With that said, this is your pistol to enjoy how ever you want to. There are more shooters on this site than colelctors, so there will be a heavy bais towards shooting it and to hell with the history and condition of the piece. The advice to use lead SWC bullets sounds very reasonable... I'd just be a little concerned about leadding up the barrel. If you shoot a few jacketed bullets last - it should help a lot.

[22shtur]

GI guns were set up to shoot 230 grain ball ammo. If your Colt doesn't function well with light match ammo, try a lighter recoil spring, which usually cures the problem. Very nice Colt.

[Oyeboten]

It is a lovely old 1911...


Far as my own experience, I have hardly ever shot anything which was not old.

But most of the old Guns I have I have not shot very much, just a few rounds once in a while for fun is about it.

My own Colt Government Model was made in 1914, and I used to shoot it regularly in a weekly competition back in the 1980s...and shot it also between events, with a couple hundred rounds or more then, two times a week for several years running.

For a while I simply used the range Ammo which they sold, which was regular Hard Ball, and, then I began re-Loading my own, where I elected to use the Lead semi-Wadcutter Bullets for my Cartridges, loaded to about maybe 4/5ths or so of standard Power, since they were for Paper Target and a fifty Yard limit on distance.

My Gov't model was not pristine, but it was and still is 'nice', maybe 60 percent Blue, a little thin here and there and 'plum' on the Grip Straps.

After quite a few thousand rounds, 1/3rd Hard Ball 'range ammo' ( some of which seemed to be over-charged now and then, and some of which had no propellent at all now and then, which was one reason why I elected to get away from it! ) , 2/3rds Home-Load Lead Semi-Wad, under my ownership in the 1980s, I do not believe any one here could tell the difference between when I first got it, and, I dunno, six or eight thousand rounds later.

The Slide to Frame clearance is still just barely what a Razor Blade could be slid into, and no visible change occurred with the Blueing...and the Rifleing remains excellent in the Bore.

I never had any issues with Leading.

About all I ever did was to keep it Oiled.


We hear all sorts of worries and warnings about older Model Os cracking or breaking if used, the Steels used then, whenever any particual 'then' happens to have been, and controversy about whether they ought ever be fired at all, and so on.


My own experience seems to indicate that these were well made Arms, and, they will tend to be very durable and long lived, especially if cared for reasonably, and fed standard Loadings or milder...where-in, electing to use Lead Bullets, and a little lighter than standard Load, for one's Target shooting IF one does a lot of it, will probably allow the Pistol a virtually indefinite lifespan with no worries whatsoever.


Mine fed anything I ever tried in it, and I never had any problems of any kind period.


if I had it all to do over, with what I have learned since, I might have installed a new Recoil Spring.


Lol...

Maybe I still will, just for good measure...

[Rob Greer]

Oyeboten... I'm smilin' from reading your post. I'm glad you had such a great history enjoying your pistols the way you see fit. I'm also pretty sure your results are the norm as these pistols are extremely robust. At the same time, this pistol is almost 70 years old, and they have not been made since. There are only so many 95%+ military pistols remaining...

Collectors tend to think along the lines of preserving the history, while shoters will want to shoot anything that goes 'bang'. I can't argue that shooting a piece of history is very cool! But this 'cool' factor will always have at least a slight risk of worsening the condition of the pistol. I choose to preserve the history and condition of my pistols by not using them. Does this mean I enjoy my pistols any less?? Not really, I just choose to enjoy them differently.

[bmcgilvray]

"About all I ever did was to keep it oiled."

Oyeboten hit the nail on the head with this. Proper lubrication never hurt a gun's useful life yet. Neither does efficient cleaning.

I have a World War I vintage Colt 1911, rebuilt at Augusta Arsenal at some point during (after?) World War II. It was a clunk when I got it but I shot the hooey out of it for years, even after getting a new Gold Cup. I had 1200-1400 cases in a sack that were regularly reloaded and fired primarily through that old Colt. I also abused it with potent handloading experiments in my younger days. It has to be battered but really doesn't look so bad when field stripped and examined. I've finally retired it from regular shooting duty but still take it out occasionally. The recoil spring has been changed out twice in the 34 years I've had the gun.

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[ColtSnakes]

At my house, that gun would be feed a diet of lead RN 230 cast bullets over top Unique. I would also try lead 200 gr. LSWC's over Unique. If it feed the LSWC reliablily, that is what I would likely use the most out of it.

[Kaya8568]

Thnaks so much. I enjoy a lot on this forum, but absorbing the collective knowledge found here always brings me the most pleasure. I have been very blessed over the last two years. I recaptured two of my greatest, "the one that got away", regrets.
A 1953 Colt Model 357 with target grip and hammer &
This wonderful 1944 WWII Ithaca 1911 A1

The new guns are nice, but there is something about the history and craftsmanship of the old guns that keep me coming back. I am going to enjoy this gift from above and maybe by the winter start looking for an early Colt 1903 or 1908. Keep up the great work

THANKS TO YOU ALL!!!

[OIF2]

Interesting thread. My comments, for what it's worth. When I started competitive shooting back in the late 70's, I shot a stock Colt 1911A1, issued from the arms room of the infantry company I was assigned to in the 82nd ABN. I daily shot a bullseye 2700 course for practice (slow fire was done at 25 yds, instead of 50), meaning 180 rds of 230 grain ball of .45 ammo (90 rounds are fired 1st with the .22) daily. Weekends were usually another 2700 in competition. LOTS of ball ammo downrange with GI guns and GI ammo. I don't recall too many guns going down. Recoil springs were changed out every month; guns were cleaned daily and oiled heavily. The 1911s seemed to thrive on the rounds we fired. I have since fired many more rounds through dozens of other 1911s, both match guns and GI. I've experienced cracked slides and frames. I don't really know how many rounds it takes to destroy a 1911, but it's a lot. The problem is collectability and parts. Back when I started playing with 1911s, parts were easily obtained, and a GI 1911 could be bought in a pawnshop outside of FT Bragg for $85.00, with a holster thrown in. Not so anymore. A good replacement slide is sometimes north of $300.00, and collector-grade barrels and other parts are sometimes unobtainable. A good, correct Colt 1911A1 could cost as much as $2500.00, and the poster's Ithaca is easily worth a thousand or fifteen hundred. Something to think about. I bought a couple of nice Colts a few years back; both are just too nice to shoot anymore. A cracked slide is forever. And there's too many REALLY nice new 1911s out there that are better shooters. Remember that the old (WWI era) 1911s don't have hardened slides; the WWII guns were only hardened in the front and over the slide stop cut. A beat-up mixmaster is now going for close to $1000.00 on some auctions. Again, something to think about. One bad round and you've ruined a piece of history. The new guns shoot exactly like the old ones, except better.
Bob