IslandHopper wrote:I wouldn't limit yourself to Colt. There are numerous gun manufactures that make 1911s, i.e., Kimber, Sig Sauer, Springfiled Armory, Smith & Wesson, Taurus, Thompson, Para USA, American Classic, Rock Island Armory, etc. Do we know for sure if Magnum's 1911 was a colt? I know we had a discussion on another thread on whether his 1911 was his military issue or if it was his personal weapon, but I don't remember if it was determined if it was a Colt or not.
Yes, it was definitely a Colt. It was a Colt Mark IV/Series 70 Government Model chambered for 9mm Luger or .38 Super (in the context of the show it was intended to be a .45 ACP). You can tell it is a Colt by looking at it and also taking into account the time frame of the show. Also, the Stembridge Collection has one of the screen-used guns from the show and it is labeled as a Colt Mark IV/Series 70 Government Model (
link).
There were either multiple CGMs used in the show, or the original one was modified later on. In one of the earlier episodes where we get a close look at his gun, it has the standard full-shelf thumb-safety that has come standard on commercial Colt Government Models since 1950. In one of the later episodes, his gun has a pre-1950 short-shelf thumb-safety. The gun pictured in the Stembridge Collection also has the pre-1950 short-shelf thumb-safety. Such a thing was obviously swapped in to a standard Series 70 at some point, for God-only-knows what reason. Perhaps they wanted to make the gun look more like a military-issue M1911A1 (all military issue .45s were manufactured in 1945 or earlier, thus they all have the pre-1950 short-shelf thumb-safety).
This first picture is a screenshot from Jororo Farewell (4.11) (I think):
You can clearly see the post-1950 style full-shelf thumb safety there, which is correct for a Series 70 (manufactured from 1971-1983).
This next picture is a screenshot from Old Acquaintance (6.3):
Here you can see the pre-1950 style short partial-shelf thumb-safety. That safety did not come on that gun from the manufacturer. Like I said earlier, the one in the Stembridge collection is like this one (turn up the brightness/contrast and zoom in when viewing the
Stembridge Collection Picture, if need be), and probably
is this one.
Since that old-style safety on a newer gun makes his gun somewhat unique, that would probably be the way you would want a replica done too. As it happens, recently, for the first time since 1950, Colt has used that old style of safety again, on their "New Agent" model:
See more pictures of the Colt New Agent
here.
Also, Colt is using that style of thumb-safety on their WWI M1911 replica, and used it a few years back on their WWII M1911A1 replica, so there is a good chance they have the part and the Colt Custom Shop could put it on one of their new Series 70 reissues by request.
Now Magnum's gun was a later production Series 70, so it had a lowered ejection port. Colt's new Series 70 reissue is based on an earlier production Series 70, and has a standard ejection port.
Also, Magnum's gun has well-worn fully-checkered walnut grips, like were used on military M1911A1s from 1926 until 1941 or so when they switched to plastic grips. Original Series 70 guns came with the same style of grips, except they had Colt medallions on them. The new Series 70 reissue lacks the Colt medallions, but they are done in the "double diamond" style, the same as military M1911s (and Colt Government Models of the same era).
The problems I see with having a "Magnum Edition" CGM commisioned are:
- Very expensive, probably at least $1,000 once you tack on Custom Shop charges, maybe more.
- Magnum's gun is essentially box-stock, thus to 99% of people who see it, it is no different than any other blued Colt Government Model. And if you add a custom rollmark or something which says "Magnum PI" or whatever on the slide, it no longer looks like Magnum's gun.
However, this is how I would do it if I was going to do it: I would order a blued Series 70 reissue from Colt and request the newer style lowered ejection port, and the older style (pre-1950) partial-shelf thumb safety. Colt doesn't have many grip options, so I would order some milspec fully-checkered walnut grips from Herrett's Stocks (
Model HB-1). Herrett's has been around at least since the '60s and has a good reputation. I have a pair of Walnut HB-1s on my Colt Government Model and they are perfect in terms of quality and fit.
The grips on Magnum's gun were probably military-issue given how worn they were for a relatively new (at the time) gun. Herrett's makes the HB-1 to military specs, but if you could find some actual military-issue ones in good condition, that would work too. It is hard to find military-issue walnut M1911A1 grips, because the vast majority of M1911A1s were made after they switched to plastic grips.