The CMP announced this week that it is now accepting orders for 1911 pistols. I bought one at the beginning of this year, and I love it.
If I recall correctly, it was a “rack grade” 1911 that I paid around $850 for.
Looking at the CMP website, it appears that the “rack grade” 1911s are now selling for $1050. So, they’ve jumped up in price by $200 since I bought mine.
Now I’m really happy I bought one when I did!
If you’re interested in scoring one, visit the CMP website and follow the instructions.
GunsAmerica also put together a helpful article on the process: CMP 1911s: Yes, They’re Real & Here’s How to Buy One.
Good luck!
Official announcement below:
The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) has announced it will begin accepting orders to purchase CMP 1911 Type Pistols through September 30, 2022. In 2018, the National Defense Authorization Act granted the first transfer of 1911s to the CMP for sale and distribution. Arguably one of the most iconic handguns ever produced, the M1911 served as the standard issue handgun for the U.S. Armed Forces from 1911 to 1985. The single-action, semi-automatic pistol uses .45 ACP rounds and is comprised of a comfortable, basic design. View the details, guidelines for purchasing, order forms and pricing on the CMP website at https://thecmp.org/sales-and-service/1911-information/. All 1911 requests must be made through the mail – no 1911s will be available in CMP stores, and no in-store or drop-off orders will be accepted.
I find the *rack grade* monicker decidedly disingenuous in that it implies that these are surplus stock complete units as the DCM used to sell when in fact, they are parts bin guns with often times… some quite iffy parts being used.
The only thing that they have to do with historical pistols is that some guy, last week, sorted used G.I. previously passed-on parts and assembled a pistol.
These are most certainly NOT the old armory re-furb guns of the past. In that case, I see the allusions to “historical” to be spurious, at best.
And the *finishing*…. well, that phoned-in presentation is AWFUL.
I got mine on the first “go-round.” It was the top grade offered at $1,050 then. The problem is, it was refinished. It was not arsenal refinished. It was CMP refinished. It’s a nice pistol. It’s all Colt manufactured during WWII. But, I’m not sure if they diminished the value of it. Arsenal refinished would not harm its value, but CMP refinished? I’m hoping that the CMP has inadvertently created a new class of collectible 1911s by refinishing some of them. So maybe they devalued it by $500 or so? It’s still a nice piece of history.
I jumped through all the hoops for round 2 and got a pretty sweet 1911a1. If they allowed second purchases, I’d jump through them again.
The supply of genuine surplus 1911s is finite. I think you could get your money back out of it, if you ever had to sell. And in the meantime, you have a 1911.
You should go for it!
“We got here a piece-o’-history, here; we know you want it, we know you gonna pay what we ask, or you dont get it.”
I can buy a very nice NEW 1911 for less than what CMP is asking for these used ones. It seems the pricing is intentionally designed to discourage shooters from owning and preserving a piece of history.