Re: which 1911 if you had around $1500 to spend
Try and get one of these.
http://www.berryhillguns.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&
MEUSOC Replica
MEU(SOC) OLD VERSION SPECS:
- Caspian frame and Caspian slide with Colt-style vertical cocking serrations
- Kart match barrel and a match barrel bushing fit finger tight so it can be removed without a bushing wrench
- Caliber: .45
ACP
- Berryhill Commander ring hammer, sear and disconnector
- 3-hole aluminum Videcki-style trigger and a 4 to 4 1/2 lb. trigger job
- MEU(SOC) replica fixed black rear sight and a Millet black front sight.
- Ed Brown ambi thumb safety
- Clark-style grip safety
- Lowered and flared ejection port, beveled mag well
- Flat serrated steel mainspring housing with military style lanyard loop
- Full Reliability Package including a bar stock extractor and an oversize firing pin stop
- Tested and tuned for complete reliability with factory ammo
- Pachmayr black rubber wrap-around grips
- 2 Wilson 7-round magazines
- Mild dehorn keeping the gun’s lines intact
- Wolff springs including an 18 lb. recoil spring
- Slide, barrel hood, grip safety, mainspring housing and both safety levers stamped with the last 4 digits of the frame’s serial number
- Blackened parkerizing (manganese phosphate) with blackened (blued) barrel
Price: $2150
OPTIONS:
- Substitute a solid long match trigger for the 3-hole trigger (no charge)
- Angled cocking serrations (no charge)
- Add front cocking serrations $100
These are the only options available for this pistol. If you want tritium, a different thumb safety or other options, please take a look at the Retro Model. The Retro Model is essentially the same pistol as the MEU(SOC) replica with a different front sight, safety and several other options available. It is also available in a Commander version.
I am not taking any new orders at this time.
THE "OLD VERSION" REPLICA IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON A CUSTOMER-SUPPLIED PISTOL FOR $1700.
Suitable pistols are Colt Series 70, Springfield GI, Springfield Mil-Spec and U.S. Government GI 1911s. If you have questions about whether your pistol is suitable, please contact me. The price does not include shipping and insurance. Complete pistols are not available to residents of California. Texas residents will be charged 8.25% sales tax. All prices are subject to change.
I am not taking any new orders at this time.
Please note: I have stopped using Bar Sto barrels due to the extended wait that it takes to get them. I have also stopped using Wilson and other stainless steel barrels for the MEUSOC pistols because blackening stainless steel parts has become a problem in my shop. I have switched to Kart barrels because I can blacken carbon steel barrels with regular black oxide and they look the same as blackened stainless steel.
Please note: I have stopped using Bar Sto barrels due to the extended wait that it takes to get them. I have also stopped using Wilson and other stainless steel barrels for the MEUSOC pistols because blackening stainless steel parts has become a problem in my shop. I have switched to Kart barrels because I can blacken carbon steel barrels with regular black oxide and they look the same as blackened stainless steel.
MEU(SOC) 1911 History:
Force Reconnaissance units in the Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) or MEU(SOC) (Pronounced "Mew sock") of the United States Marine Corps carry a 1911 as a secondary weapon. These are some highly motivated individuals that are trained in hostage rescue, the boarding, searching and seizure of vessels and the tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel among other things. These 1911s are built by Marine Corps armorers of the Precision Weapons Section (PWS) in Quantico, VA using 1911s that are in their inventory, commercially available parts and a rear sight that is made by the armorers. These pistols have developed somewhat of a cult status among fans of the 1911.
I did quite a bit of research including getting several of the manuals used at PWS and talking to some of the armorers who built the pistols. The result is a pistol that is as close to the original as I could make it. Actually, I came up with 2 different versions of this pistol since the original has evolved as the Marine Corps armorers have upgraded some of the parts while rebuilding the guns. For lack of a better term I call them the “Old Version” and the “New Version” (this designation of Old Version and New Version are my own and are not used by the Marine Corps). These two pistols represent an early configuration and one of the latest versions of the Marines’ pistol although there are other versions of this pistol with different combinations of the various parts used on this gun.
Just like the original, I stamp the last 4 digits of the frame’s serial number on the right-rear corner of the slide, on the barrel hood, the inside of the grip safety, the mainspring housing and on the inside of both safety levers. The Marines issue their pistols with ambi thumb safeties so that any team member can use any of the pistols whether he is right- or left-handed.
The differences between the Old Version and the New Version are the grip safeties, the sights and the front cocking serrations. The Old Version uses a grip safety from Clark, a replica of the Marine Corps. rear sight with a Millet front sight that is silver soldered to the slide, a Bar Sto barrel and an MGW Commander-style hammer.
The New Version has an Ed Brown Memory Groove grip safety, front cocking serrations, a Cylinder and Slide Tactical hammer, a Novak low-mount rear sight and a front sight that is dovetailed and pinned. I have chosen quality after-market parts where no particular manufacturer was specified because that is what the Marine armorers have done when suitable military parts were not available.
The MGW hammer has been discontinued but I found a parts manufacturer that would make a hammer to the same specs for me. Clark has also stopped making their grip safety so I make one that is the same profile by reshaping another grip safety. The Kings ambi thumb safety has been discontinued and is no longer available. The Marines have switched to an an Ed Brown ambi thumb safety, which is what I will now be using too.
