The CMP; 3 things you must know about the 1911 surplus program
If you’re like me and are a big fan of the Colt 1911 frame .45 handgun, then you are probably fairly excited about the prospect of the Federal Government opening up the coffers and offering the surplus Colt 1911 military grade sidearms that they have been hoarding away for over 100 years.
According to an article recently posted on Apple News, there is going to be a brief window to purchase these things, and there are going to be some pretty harsh restrictions concerning them. As with the old M1 Garand rifles, these 1911s are going to be offered through the Civilian Marksmanship Program, and they are going to be offered at a fairly steep price based on grade. So, basically it seems that these old workhorses will be offered as a commemorative item as opposed to a utilitarian item… a keepsake if you will.
Here are three highlights that you should know about the program:
- Order form packets will be posted on the CMP website June 4. The CMP makes it quite clear that it does not want to be contacted with questions before June 4, nor will it take any orders before Sept. 4. “PLEASE DO NOT CALL, LEAVE MESSAGES OR EMAIL THE CMP 1911 CUSTOMER SERVICE/SALES DEPARTMENT (which will be functional 4 June 2018),” the site states.
- The CMP site also lists the prices for the 1911s based on their condition.
— Service Grade pistols will cost $1,050. These pistols “may exhibit minor pitting and wear on exterior surfaces and friction surfaces. Grips are complete with no cracks. Pistol is in issuable condition.”
— Field Grade pistols will cost $950. These pistols “may exhibit minor rust, pitting, and wear on exterior surfaces and friction surfaces. Grips are complete with no cracks. Pistol is in issuable condition.”
— Rack Grade pistols will cost $850. These pistols “will exhibit rust, pitting, and wear on exterior surfaces and friction surfaces. Grips may be incomplete and exhibit cracks. Pistol requires minor work to return to issuable condition.”
There is also an Auction Grade, the price of which will be driven by the auction, and the pistol’s condition will be described when posted for sale, the CMP site states. It was not clear when the auction will be held.
- Customer names from complete order form packets will be fed into a computerized random number generator on Oct. 5. It will provide a list of names in sequential order through the random selection process, the site states. Customers will be contacted in the sequence provided by number generator.
Customers will have the opportunity to select their grade of pistol — Service, Field or Rack — from available inventory at the time of order notification, the site states.
The CMP will perform a NICS background check to ensure the customer is eligible to purchase prior to shipment to a “storefront” federal firearms licensed dealer, according to the website. The customer must receive a “proceed” from NICS prior to shipment of the pistol to the dealer.
For more information, please go to CMP’s 1911 Information webpage.