Essex Arms/Colt Parts-Built 1911 .45 ACP Government, 5-Inch, Two-Tone, GI Sights, 7+1
This custom, parts-built Government-size 1911 combines an Essex Arms investment-cast 4140 steel frame with a Colt WWI-pattern slide. It features a classic two-tone look with a dark slide over a matte gray frame, GI sights, and full-checkered wood grips with Colt medallions. This is not a Colt, this is an Essex Arms, known for selling blank 1911 frames and having gunsmiths build them out with real Colt parts.
Condition
Overall Condition: Good condition, showing some signs of prior use and handling.
Bore Condition: Good - Clean, well-maintained, minor wear marks.
Bore Rifling: Excellent Rifling - Sharp lands and grooves.
Specific Condition Notes: This parts-built 1911 is in good to very good shape for its age. The bore is clean and shiny. It is built on an Essex Arms frame and is not a Colt; Essex Arms frames were commonly completed by gunsmiths using Colt parts.
What's Included
- Essex Arms 1911 .45 ACP pistol
- 1x 7-round steel 1911 single-stack magazine with flush baseplate and witness holes
The Essex Arms frame is investment-cast from 4140 steel and finished in matte gray. It shows A1-style finger relief cuts behind the trigger, a checkered magazine release, a manual thumb safety, a grip safety, a solid trigger, and a wide-spur checkered hammer. The frame is marked Essex Arms, Hardwick, Vermont.
The slide is a Colt WWI-pattern unit with rear vertical serrations, a standard ejection port, and WWI-era Colt rollmarks. It is marked "MODEL OF 1911 U.S. ARMY" with patent dates through Aug. 19, 1913. The dark slide contrasts the matte gray frame for a clean two-tone presentation.
This Government-size 1911 uses a 5-inch barrel and a single-stack 7+1 capacity in .45 ACP. It operates in single-action only with a short-recoil, locked-breech system, true to the original 1911 pattern.
GI-pattern fixed sights include a small front blade and a small rear notch for a period-correct sight picture. Full-checkered wood grip panels with Colt medallions complete the classic look and in-hand feel.