I can do me some good ol' revolver, especially the Smith & Wesson K- Frame and N-Frame with Magna stocks.
The 1911 gun is my favorite automatic.
And now, for something completely different ...
A 1916 vintage British contract Colt Government Model in .455 recently came to roost on the Colt shelf in the safe. It's probably the last 1911 gun I'll acquire (famous last words). I set out to obtain a Colt 1911 or Government Model in every chambering produced. All calibers but two have been gathered up. The .38 AMU would likely be priced out of my reach and I'm not counting the alloy-framed Colt Commander in .30 Luger as a proper 1911-gun.
This one saw honest service use and sustained that with only soft holster wear around the edges. Then it fell on hard times and suffered from some neglect to its surface finish in the years afterward. Field stripping finds tight, perfect mechanics, little wear from shooting use, and a sparkling bright bore, a rarity for an age where priming compounds were corrosive. Some ammunition has been gathered, but I need to find a source for cartridge cases so hand loading may be undertaken. These British contract .455 Colt Government Models are not often seen in the U. S. these days.
The .455 Self Loading is very slightly larger in diameter with a slightly longer case length and different rim dimensions. It's 224 grain bullet is said to give a nominal 700-720 feet per second. Both World War I Eley and World War II Kynoch ammuntion are on hand and will have to be tested over the chronograph to verify velocities.
Here's a U. S. military .45 ACP cartridge dated1918 with a .455 S. L. dated 1917. Note the curious blunt nosed bullet of the .455. Both feature cupro-nickel jackets common to the era.
The .455 Magazine is enough larger than a standard 1911 magazine well that it will not fit any 1911 here in which it was tried.
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