These were brought out in 1932 to be made available out of the box for Military and Civilian Service Matches.
Up until this point, WW1 shooters and armorers were modifying WW1 service 1911's to compete, and Colt responded to the need to have a Factory Match pistol.
Colt blocked off several serial number groups for these in the '30's, and over time there has been a lot of speculation as to how many were produced.
Originally researchers figured there were about 4000 made, then that got reduced to 2500, then 1500, and now there is a feeling that there were even less than that.
Shipments of National Match Pistols were often grouped in lots of 6 or 12 to places like Camp Perry, Governors Island, US Coast Guard, Civilian Distributors etc....but no records support a large number as regular 1911's were often sent during the time period to the same places, and shipment blocks that were though to be National Match pistols turned out to be regular 1911's.
Based on my short bit of research I suspect there were between 1500 to 2000 during the complete production period that went from 1932-1942, but as time goes on the number has apparently always gone down with more research presented.
These are very interesting as they were considerably more expensive to purchase than a regular 1911 mostly based on the hand fitting and internal polishing these received.
During the depression paying a lot extra for anything required a real commitment to the item you wanted.
Most of the researchers confirm that the frames were actually from the Military production group rather than the Commercial group however they all have commercial serial numbers at they were private/service purchased outside the normal Military Procurement system.
The barrels are very specific and form the basis for the program, representing the first "Match Barrel" program.
The barrels have very specific markings and proof cyphers that identify them from regular production, as well as a number of other National Match specific attributes represented on this pistol. The serrated trigger was a factory attribute
The assembly workers at Colt were very qualified and underutilized during this time period resulting in a keen interest in the value added program by the workers to make a really sweet product.
This National Match 1911 along with others that may be here in Canada had been registered as a regular 1911.
When the paperwork was updated it required a New FRT!
That's not to say it is the only one here....we know others are around, just that the older registration documents did not likely identify them properly.
Here are some pics...they did not turn out well but it gives you an idea....looks much nicer in person! Cheers Paul
Up until this point, WW1 shooters and armorers were modifying WW1 service 1911's to compete, and Colt responded to the need to have a Factory Match pistol.
Colt blocked off several serial number groups for these in the '30's, and over time there has been a lot of speculation as to how many were produced.
Originally researchers figured there were about 4000 made, then that got reduced to 2500, then 1500, and now there is a feeling that there were even less than that.
Shipments of National Match Pistols were often grouped in lots of 6 or 12 to places like Camp Perry, Governors Island, US Coast Guard, Civilian Distributors etc....but no records support a large number as regular 1911's were often sent during the time period to the same places, and shipment blocks that were though to be National Match pistols turned out to be regular 1911's.
Based on my short bit of research I suspect there were between 1500 to 2000 during the complete production period that went from 1932-1942, but as time goes on the number has apparently always gone down with more research presented.
These are very interesting as they were considerably more expensive to purchase than a regular 1911 mostly based on the hand fitting and internal polishing these received.
During the depression paying a lot extra for anything required a real commitment to the item you wanted.
Most of the researchers confirm that the frames were actually from the Military production group rather than the Commercial group however they all have commercial serial numbers at they were private/service purchased outside the normal Military Procurement system.
The barrels are very specific and form the basis for the program, representing the first "Match Barrel" program.
The barrels have very specific markings and proof cyphers that identify them from regular production, as well as a number of other National Match specific attributes represented on this pistol. The serrated trigger was a factory attribute
The assembly workers at Colt were very qualified and underutilized during this time period resulting in a keen interest in the value added program by the workers to make a really sweet product.
This National Match 1911 along with others that may be here in Canada had been registered as a regular 1911.
When the paperwork was updated it required a New FRT!
That's not to say it is the only one here....we know others are around, just that the older registration documents did not likely identify them properly.
Here are some pics...they did not turn out well but it gives you an idea....looks much nicer in person! Cheers Paul
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