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Good gunsmith, do not shoot.
Do not shoot a gun with a crack in the metal until it is magnafluxed by a competent gunsmith...
Do not shoot a gun with a crack in the metal until it is magnafluxed by a competent gunsmith...
This Ping List is for all things pertaining to infringes upon or victories for the 2nd Amendment.
FReepmail me if you want to be added to or deleted from the list.
More 2nd Amendment related articles on FR's Bang List.
Sorry... That was 22 years before I was born, so I'm not qualified to answer... {:-)
Any firearm with a visible crack in the frame or barrel should be discarded.
It’s not safe or reliable.
Is the crack in the slide or in the frame? Is the crack vertical to the axis of the slid, or parallel to it? Have you field-stripped the gun to clean it up?
Have the gunsmith buy and fit a new slide.
This is not a wheel-gun and there are service parts available.
Have the frame inspected. If it’s good, then replace the slide and barrel and go have some fun.
I was hoping this would actually be about history.
Keep for your collection and buy a new 1911 to shoot.
You can probably have it magnafluxed nonintrusively, pretty cheaply. Make your decision from the outcome of that test. I sure as hell would not shoot it unless and until a qualified gunsmith checked it out. You’re probably quite lucky you noticed the crack.
Go shoot it. You only live once.
1.) Take it to a competent gunsmith
2.) Replace any defective parts
unless it sentimental trade it in for a new version. the U.S. military procured over 2.7 million 1911s between 1911 and 1984 so its not rare by any definition. if you know a good gunsmith who is cheap or can find the part online its a simple swap
How do you know definitively that it is from WWII? During WWII, many companies were subcontracted to build 1911s for the war effort, and some of them are extremely rare and valuable.
Who does it say made it on the slide? If it was made by Singer or Union Switch & Signal (US&S), you may have a pistol that is worth much more historically as it is than it would be “fixed up” with a new slide.
If it’s a run-of-the-mill 1911 from the post-war years made by Colt, then go ahead and take it to a gunsmith for his opinion.
...a new slide and internals available on ebay of all places for about 140 bucks
However, near the slide catch on the left side, just above and behind the trigger there is a manufactured cut that appears to be about 3/8 " long, on a slight diagonal.