Old 1911

I have the opportunity to buy an old Auto Ordnance 1911 that looks to be late WWII vintage or newer. The gun's barrel has a almond sized rust area just inside the chamber and barrel. Will this affect the functioning or safety of this piece? Can I just brass brush the area and clean it up? I can get it pretty reasonable, for a song really, but the owner is a little reluctant to hand the weapon over for field testing. I've had it apart and everthing else looks good. The thing rattles a little when shaking it, but seems to function normally. Ca'nt post pics right now, waddaya think, :hand10: or :hand1: ?

I would see if he will let you take it to a gun smith to look at. It might be worth $50 or so just to have it looked over. The barrel can certainly be replaced and the rattle might just be shot springs (that you will definitely want to replace).

I might be dead wrong, but I don't believe Auto Ordnance was a maker of WWII era 1911s.

How much of "a song" are we talking here? A good barrel is a pretty important piece of a gun, if it doesn't brush out, or if it's pitted, I'd have to recommend getting the barrel replaced.

A brand new AO 1911 runs about $450.

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Originally Posted by Headshot

The thing rattles a little when shaking it, but seems to function normally.

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I was told by a gunsmith that this was a characteristic of the Auto-Ordnance 1911s. His opinion (like mine)...worth what you paid for it. :smile:

Yeah check the vintage of the gun. AO doesn't have a real reputation for being great 1911s. Some like 'em some don't. I'd pick one up for a project if it were cheeap (read $150 - $250) but I wouldn't carry it until all functionality and reliability were proven on the range. As for the barrel, I'd replace it anyway along with some other parts. Are you looking for a gun to build on or are you looking to just get a good deal on a 1911. If the later is the case get a RIA 1911. Can't beat 'em for the $.

Headshot: The rattle is the nature of the beast. The rattle is probably
The grip safety, that is if you were holding it some other way than by a normal firing grip. The slide receiver fit has some play in it and will rattle even when the shooting hold is applied. None of this has caused problems for me.

Nope, not World War II if it's Auto Ordnance. Likely less than 25 years old. I think Auto Ordnance started doing 1911 clones in the early 80s.

Rattle is normal. If the song is sweet it might be a good 'nuff shooter.

If barrel is only surface rust should be able to brush it out but if its pitted will need replaced,like others have said you can get a RIA for under 400.00

How much of a song are you able to get it for?

Let me post this link here for you and you can read up all night on on the Auto Ord. CLICK HERE

My dad has an Auto-Ordnance 1911 that he got as "payment" for legal services several years ago. It's a decent gun, although the front sight needed replacing after a while. It had feeding problems on the first round of the magazine, which we traced down to worn magazine springs.

We replaced all the springs in the gun and the magazines over Christmas last year, and it runs great now. That said, I wouldn't pay more than $300-$350 for one that was in great condition and ran great. I've heard that Auto-Ordnance 1911's are pretty hit-and-miss, so be aware of that going in to this deal.

If you're getting it for less than $200, I'd say go for it, you can always use it as a project gun, or a throw-around gun for camping or something.