Federal Ordnance 1911 Serial Numbers

Jun 16, 2005 - Please post the month and year your Federal Ordnance receiver / rifle was made at the factory. Use the date it was ordered from or delivered to.

The only true mil spec. 1911 I can find on the market is the one offered by AO. I know it's got a hammer block so it is not a true mil spec. It's as close as I am going to find.

I understand Springfield has discontinued their GI version. I have never owned an Auto Ordnance gun before.

I know they are not considered a high end firearm, but are they reliable? That's my main concern. I only run ball ammo so it should function. I have owned 4 1911s in the past but never this brand. I would be thankful for any first hand accounts of this pistol. Thanks guys and gals. I can't speak for the 1911, but I had their Thompson a while back.

Wouldn't function out of the box, brand new at over $1000. I eventually sent it back to the factory, where it was lost, and came back late with a note that just mentioned switching the extractor, which I'd already done. Had they read the letter I sent with it (which they advised me to do) they would have known that I already switched extractors and that it needed to be test fired more than once for it to start jamming up. Took a week to get anyone on the phone after that.

Eventually, I got a hold of someone else who sent me a new bolt which worked. Worked fine for about 7 months, and then it started cracking where the extractor slides in. Apparently, heat treating isn't a big priority with them. At this point, I got the old bolt out, and found that it was milled.0030' too shallow, so the extractor would just mangle itself against the rim of the casing, and not extract it, leading to some really nasty stovepiping. The firing pin was also about.125' too long, and would blow holes through primers. I machined the old bolt and got it working properly again, kept it a few years, and got rid of it when it looked like a new federal law might pass, and I reasoned that I would be willing to pay a tax stamp on my Vietnam-style AR, and definitely my M1 Carbine (in the event of such a law), but not one red cent for that Thompson.

I know you aren't looking for a Thompson here, and I haven't heard major issues with their 1911s, but that experience FOREVER soiled that company with me. I will never own anything marked Auto Ordnance OR Kahr Arms, their owner. If Springfield isn't making their GI 1911 anymore, that's too bad. Taylor's and Co. Is currently selling base-model 70 Series 1911A1s for $350 and 1911s doe $375; kind of tough to beat that price. Parts interchange with the WWII-era USGI guns and the 70 Series 1911/1911A1s do not have the hammer block of 80 Series. IMHO these are about as close to a USGI 1911/1911A1 as you're going to get without dropping significantly more coin.

About the only thing funky about the Armscor 1911s is the magazines: they come with a padded/plastic floor plate. Surplus 1911 magazines can still be found NIW for well under $20. The ones Taylor's is selling are made by Armscor (Rock Island) and Armscor/Rock Island has a pretty good reputation.far better than the stuff Auto Ordnance has been putting out.