1911 Show-N-Tell

[babolat69]

1911

For now I only have a RIA. Tried a 9mm Kimber and just loved it. Now I need to get a compact and a 9mm.....

 

[breas1]

My one and only, the love of my life, better than any woman has ever been to me Spring Field GI with some work done to it.

Spring Field GI with some work done to it. Now i need to get a several more.

 

[NHT3]

Elite Carry Kimber. Predecessor to the CDP with Nighthawk Laser grips.. Added a modified Fusion arms magwell and removed ambi safety with a Wilson combat unit. Suits me to a T. 15 shots/10 yards
Sorry about the washed out pic

 

[loony1]

 

[melensdad]

Just bought another Detonics Combat Master, this one is probably every bit of 30 years old and comes with its original grips and original pouch. I am having it shipped up from Florida, these photos are from the seller.

This gun is chambered in 45acp, the gun is plated in brushed nickel. That would make it a MK II model gun, which is fairly rare and also fairly early production as these guns predate the stainless steel models.

The oddest part of this gun is that it has British proof marks. The marks are on the frame and the slide. I don't know why! In fact it is unlikely I'll ever find out the history of this gun.

 

[theturtle06]

Melensdad, how large is your CM collection getting? Is your stash reaching Col. Gideon's level? now THAT was a collection.

You have quite a bit of Detonics history. You plan on shooting the .38 Super one or is that a collectors item for you?

 

[sertboy354]

1911 forever

 

[melensdad]

Melensdad, how large is your CM collection getting? Is your stash reaching Col. Gideon's level? now THAT was a collection.

You have quite a bit of Detonics history. You plan on shooting the .38 Super one or is that a collectors item for you?

Col. Gideon had the collection we all dream of obtaining. My collection is somewhat smaller, far less duplicates, but is probably one of the largest collections of Combat Masters in the country. I have every caliber produced but not every caliber in every model. So in MK VI guns I have all 4 calibers, but in MK V guns I only have 2 calibers. I have some oddities like one of the very first production pistols that used a brazed 2 piece barrel, a hand cut frame and a paperclip to hold the recoil spring assembly! I've got some custom factory guns built for employees. Pretty much have at least 1 of every model ever produced plus some extras. I'm always looking for oddities in either caliber or configuration. My collection is measured in dozens. Gigeon's collection was probably nearly a 100 Combat Masters.

As for the 38 Super a few posts above, no I probably won't shoot that one. While it is a used gun, it is nearly pristine. I've got other 38 Super Combat Masters that are 'shooter grade' guns.

 

[riverman67]

Col. Gideon had the collection we all dream of obtaining. My collection is somewhat smaller, far less duplicates, but is probably one of the largest collections of Combat Masters in the country. I have every caliber produced but not every caliber in every model. So in MK VI guns I have all 4 calibers, but in MK V guns I only have 2 calibers. I have some oddities like one of the very first production pistols that used a brazed 2 piece barrel, a hand cut frame and a paperclip to hold the recoil spring assembly! I've got some custom factory guns built for employees. Pretty much have at least 1 of every model ever produced plus some extras. I'm always looking for oddities in either caliber or configuration. My collection is measured in dozens. Gigeon's collection was probably nearly a 100 Combat Masters.

As for the 38 Super a few posts above, no I probably won't shoot that one. While it is a used gun, it is nearly pristine. I've got other 38 Super Combat Masters that are 'shooter grade' guns.

I have wanted a combat master ever since I read the Survivalist book series back in the 80's .
I really enjoy your pictures of them

 

[Colt556]

A sampling of mine...

 

[melensdad]

I have wanted a combat master ever since I read the Survivalist book series back in the 80's .
I really enjoy your pictures of them

Dug up a bit about this "British Proof Marked" gun.

Apparently about 10 guns where shipped to one gun shop in England, the guns that actually made it to England were then proof marked there, they were not proofed here. One of the guns was sold to Stanley Kurbrick (a blue steel gun) and he had problems with it. Parts and guns were exchanged to get his gun working. There were some manufacturing problems related to the frame rails that caused the malfunctions, apparently affecting a batch of guns, and the head gunsmith Peter Dunn was assigned an assistant to repair those guns. At least some of the guns that went to England were from this bad batch.

So my gun is very likely one of the guns that was shipped to England and then shipped back for repair. Very likely they shipped a replacement gun to England and my gun was repaired and entered the US market stream. That said, there are probably only a few of these in the US because there were only about 10 (according to Peter Dunn) that went to the shop in England. Very likely the guns in England were destroyed when England banned handguns from common ownership.

There are also FALSE RUMORS floating around that the British Proof Marked guns were part of a Royal Military test of the Combat Master. There is apparently no truth to the rumor. It goes something like this: Brits wanted a small semi-auto, wanted to test the Combat Master, the Detonics factory shipped them a bunch in 45acp, those guns were rejected because they were not chambered for the 9mm.

 

[gregtheplumber]

putting mine back together tonight will post picks. cant wait to hit 50 posts cuz i got some grips and parts to sell or trade

 

[misconfig]

My Kimber Tactical Ultra II - EDC in a crossbreed supertuck.

 

[melensdad]

Well score #2 for me of rare guns in 1 week.

I just picked up ANOTHER of the MK VII guns. The MK VII is also commonly known as the CIA model ~ despite the fact that rumors linking the MK VII guns to the CIA seem to be blown well out of proportion. Still the MK VII guns are considered the 'holy grail' of Combat Masters and are vary rare indeed.

This gun is slightly different than the one I already have, which is why I bought it. Every once in a while I see a MK VII come up for sale on the collectors market but this is the first one I've seen with this slide serration configuration. I tend not to buy duplicates but I do seek out odd variations of the same gun so having 2 MK VII guns, each slightly different, is a collectors dream.

As Detonics pistols were pretty much hand built by gunsmiths inside the factory, and as one gunsmith was typically assigned to fitting out and finishing a gun, they tended to make some personalized statements to the guns they made. You can tell which guns were finished by Peter Dunn, he was probably the #1 gunsmith in the factory and I have a few of his guns. There were a couple other notable smiths. No idea who built this one, but he made flat bottom wide serrations on the slide instead of the typical angled serrations. Both wood grips and rubber Pachmeyers were standard so either of those is common. Its just the odd serrations that attracted me to this gun and why I picked it up.

You will notice this gun is sightless. It was the first 1911 pattern gun designed for deep concealment and was made as a close range high powered back up gun for when situations got really ugly and you were up close and personal to your assailant. Combat Masters were a favorite of undercover police officers in the late 70's and early 80's.

 

[Colt556]

Are all MKVIIs sans sights? Did Detonics start the gutter rail sight or were those first on the ASP?

 

[harleyindys]

Here are my babies
Remmington Rand UMC

Colt Dragon

Colt O.C.C and Kimber Pro Carry

 

[melensdad]

Are all MKVIIs sans sights? Did Detonics start the gutter rail sight or were those first on the ASP?

The MK VII guns are 'sightless' guns. They did not use a gutter rail type sight on any of the Detonics guns. I don't know who first utilized the gutter rail type sight with a groove in the top of the gun's slide. This gun was considered a belly gun, designed to be shot at such short range that you literally may be touching your assailant.

A MK VII gun is distinguished by a few different key components, the slide being sightless is the most obvious. But there is also a bevel inside the upper portion of the trigger guard and both the slide stop and the thumb safety are both shaved a bit to make them narrower (not all MK VII guns have the latter 2 features). This was their attempt to make them 'snag free' as they were designed to be worn inside your clothes and the concept of a 'carry melt' had not yet been developed yet because the concept of concealed carry was really not something that was common at the time.

 

[gregtheplumber]

finally got her fixed and some pics taken. started out as a standard g.i. champion. for some reason barrel link broke and just fixed it. had a set of novak 3 dot sights installed thanks to gutridge in griffith. also an extended slide stop, extended mag release, wilson magwell, wilson hammer, wilson trigger and internals, and wolf sear and main spring. next thing is beaver tail grip safety.also polished the barrel.

 

[ROLEXrifleman]

Don't know if anyone else posted one of these.

Factory Colt NM MKIII in .38 special (wadcutter)

 

[ROLEXrifleman]

Delta Elite Bright SS