According to this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, which is awaiting the President’s signature, upwards of 8,000 surplus M1911 pistols will be set for civilian sale in fiscal 2018. The pistols will be transferred to the overseers of the Civilian Marksmanship Program, which was designed to allow eligible civilians to purchase surplus military weapons. The bill will also allow Army Secretary and former top lobbyist for Raytheon Co., the ability to transfer 8,000 or more M1911/M1911A1 pistols, parts, and other accessories to the company for a two-year pilot program for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety.
Limited Number of Units
10,000 units transferred a year cap is set and requires a yearly report be sent to Congress on number transferred, number sold and information on any crimes the weapons were used in. I don’t think this will go that fast considering the Army beats their stuff to hell like any other branch and they aren’t really going to be of much value. If they were original WWI era 1911s then you would want to jump on that quick.
Will People Buy It?
Don’t get me wrong, it would still be really cool to own a service 1911. I still don’t think people will be flocking to purchase up these surplus weapons. According to Guns.com, fiscal 2016 NDAA released 10,000 .45s out of an estimated 100,000 and none have been sold. If this is true it is curious as to why they would release more for sale. Maybe they don’t want to incur charges for having them dismantled and destroyed. Whatever the reason you could soon have 18,000 chances to buy a surplus .45 that was “lightly used”.
Bit of a shot in the dark especially when the 1911, entered service in 1911 and was replaced by the Beretta M9 in 1985. If they came out and said yeah so, all 8,000 will be from 1911, a whole bunch of units would sell probably. Collectors would definitely be lining up to grab a piece of history in the form of an iconic pistol. Then someone’s son or daughter would have to listen to some overly dramatized story about the receipt of the pistol, like how it was taken from some man or something.
Disclaimer: The content in this article is the opinion of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the policies or opinions of US Patriot Tactical.
