Editor’s note: This just in, a clarified version of the CMP’s plan to surplus 1911s. Of particular interest to me is the note regarding the price. CMP said it won’t be “price gouging” folks and that the 1911s will be offered at “fair market value.” As noted in a prior GunsAmerica article, CMP said it would be selling them at “around $1,000 minimum.” My question for you: is $1,000 fair market value?
The CMP Board of Directors has discussed at length how the sales of 1911s would be handled, if the CMP were to ever receive them from the United States Army.
Some preliminary decisions further clarified updated 12/12/2017:
- CMP will have an all-new 1911 order form, 1911 purchasing instructions, a 1911 page on our web site, a dedicated 1911 FFL fax number and email address for the FFL holder to send their FFL with customer’s name attached. The customer will have to send in a complete new order packet with all new qualifying criteria included. Everyone will be a new customer, everyone starts with no advantage or disadvantage. CMP 1911 is an FFL governed operation and is a separate entity from CMP and has to have its own record keeping operation with no ties to the old CMP records.
- Decisions concerning the grade and pricing of the 1911s will not be made until inspection has occurred of a substantial quantity which will take an estimated 150 days post receipt. CMP will price at fair market value in accordance with CMP’s enabling legislation.
- Potential purchasers will have to provide to CMP a new set of documents exhibiting: 1) proof of U.S. Citizenship, 2) proof of membership in a CMP affiliated club, 3) proof of participation in a marksmanship activity, 4) a new form 2A with notary, 5) a signed copy of the 01, 02, 07 Federal Firearms License in which the 1911 will be transferred to. These are “store front” FFLs.
- A NICS background check will be performed by CMP on the customer to assure the customer is eligible to purchase prior to shipment to the “store front” FFL licensed dealer. The customer must receive a “proceed” from NICS prior to shipment of the pistol to the FFL licensed dealer.
- The CMP customer will be required to complete a form 4473 in person at the FFL dealers place of business, successfully passing a NICS check, in which the information is provided by the FFL holder to NICS, before the pistol can be transferred. This is a second NICS check performed on the customer.
- Qualified CMP customer will only be allowed to purchase one 1911 per calendar year.
- No 1911s available in the CMP stores, or on line, only mail order sales. All 1911 orders will come in via USPS, UPS, Fed EX, etc.
- CMP will set the date in which it will accept orders for the 1911s. The date will be posted to the world.
- Orders will only be accepted via mail order delivery, USPS, UPS, Fed Ex, etc.
- Orders will only be accepted post marked on the date or after, no early orders.
- Once CMP receives 10,000 orders, customer names will be loaded into the Random Number Generator.
- The Random Number Generator will provide a list of names in sequence order through a random picking process to CMP.
- Customers will be contacted in the sequence provided by the Random Number Generator.
- When the customer is contacted a list of 1911 grades and pricing options that are available will be offered for selection of one 1911 type pistol.
- As CMP proceeds down the sequenced list less grades and pricing options will be available.
Note: 1911 type pistols purchased from CMP cannot be transferred to 03 FFL (curio and relic) license. BATF and the United States Army prefer the second background check be performed by a “store front” FFL dealer. Each customer purchasing a 1911 type pistol from CMP will be subjected to two NICS background checks, one the information provided by CMP to NICS and the second the information will be provided to NICS by the FFL dealer in which the pistol is shipped.
Ordering Information: CMP will have an all-new 1911 order form, 1911 purchasing instructions, a 1911 page on our web site, a dedicated 1911 FFL fax number and email address for the FFL holder to send their FFL with customer name attached. The customer will have to send in a complete new order packet with all new qualifying criteria included. Everyone will be a new customer, everyone starts with no advantage or disadvantage. CMP 1911 is an FFL governed operation and is a separate entity from CMP and has to have its own record keeping operation with no ties to the old CMP records.
Concerning sale price of the 1911s: CMP has been selling M1 Garands, M1 Carbines, 1903s, .22s, etc. for 21+ years and we have never taken advantage of anyone. CMP is not going to start price gouging people now with the 1911s. The 1911s will be priced at fair market value just like our M1 Garands. The CMP’s enabling legislation directs sales of items at fair market value.
Mark Johnson
Chief Operating Officer
Civilian Marksmanship Program
www.thecmp.org
The greediocy in selling a bunch of hard ridden mix masters and premium rip off prices are exactly what’s and has been wrong with gun market for last six decades.
Gun owners are too blind to see that they are progressively pricing themselves into mass disarmament.
Another two decades worth of this price delusion and only the rich will be the only ones that can still afford to buy guns and ammo.
Mark my words and watch what happens in another twenty years.
The fastest way to destroy an inalienable right is to make that right too expensive to exercise or enjoy.
As just a collector this is CR_P. Yeah I’d like to own one with my period correct M1but not at $1k. Greed and Government and Gouging all start with G but end with empty pockets. Where has the Civilian part of the CMP gone?
Eff the dcm! I seriously think I’d rather see the recycled into a Lenin statue than the dcm get them.effing liberty thief statists
LOL I responded to this issue on another post. I don’t like paying a premium to any company or org. for a surplus firearm. They should be graded by the Govt. and sold to anyone and everyone, period. First come, first served – but only 1 per person so everyone gets a chance. If any mass amount is left after a year or two, then sell the remaining in bulk or as many as they want to a wholesaler, business, whatever. To sell them to an org. which makes you pay an overinflated price for one($1000 for the lowest grade IS NOT WORTH IT) and jump through their specific hoops to get one is screwed up IMO. Bye CMP – you will never get my business.
These 1911 are worthless. My experience with these is 20 yrs of having to annually qualify that I can still hit the wall from inside the barn. All the ones that I have ever shot were like baby rattles; hold it next to your head and twist your wrist to see what I mean. And if they think that a thousand dollars is a good price they won\’t be selling many except to the innocent sucker uninformed gomer whom has money to waste and never fires at anything he wants to hit, especially over 10 meters. Take your hard earned money and buy a Kimber, Sig, H&K or even a Hi point this would be equal to the 1911\’s they are trying to unload.
These 1911 are worthless. My experience with these is 20 yrs of having to annually qualify that I can still hit the wall from inside the barn. All the ones that I have ever shot were like baby rattles; hold it next to your head and twist your wrist to see what I mean. And if they think that a thousand dollars is a good price they won’t be selling many except to the innocent sucker uninformed gomer whom has money to waste and never fires at anything he wants to hit, especially over 10 meters. Take your hard earned money and buy a Kimber, Sig, H&K or even a Hi point this would be equal to the 1911’s they are trying to unload.
The price is high for a 1911 and being that old. You could buy two newer 1911’s for the price they are asking.
These are not rare collectible guns, they are 10000 out of millions. What they are, are military surplus. If you want a pistol that has “U.S.Property” on the frame, then jump through the hoops and buy one. If you want a 1911 that is of better quality and shoots, buy new. Limiting them to one per customer will weed out wholesalers and dealers looking to resell. I transferred a 1942 era Colt for a friend, there were 1.25 million made between my 1914 manufactured 1911(93000 by 1914) and that 1942 model. Hardly rare or collectible. Just a piece of hardware that might have seen action. A pistol is a tool made to be used, paying a high price for questionable quality is a personal decision to make. Mine has provenance of being carried by both my great grandfather and grandfather as chiefs of police after its purchase in the wake of WWI, otherwise who would care about an old gun.
There’s an episode of M*A*S*H where the Army suddenly lists Hawkeye as dead. For awhile, Hawkeye loves it, but then he asks Radar how he can go back to being alive.
Radar rattles off all of the forms that have to be completed, the last form needing “the signatures of two officers witnessing the non-death.”
Evidently that scriptwriter designed the CMP1911 program.
I would not buy one at $100 with the laundry list of BS it takes. I shot my fair share of service 1911s in the 70s. Heck, they were pretty bad then, I can’t imagine them now.
We have to send in a whole new set of forms, just like a new application? What forThey say nobody will have an advantage or disadvantage. I beg to differ.What the point of having been a member and updating my paperwork regularly if I have to do it all over again like a newbie? The whole purpose of having an 03 C&R FFL is to be able to have C&R guns shipped directly to me, and not have to pay off an 01 FFL to sign a piece of paper. Now CMP is telling us that our C&R FFLs are no good for this purchase of a C&R gun? This certainly IS a disadvantage. Why should long time CMP members be on an even footing with people who are joining for the sole purpose of getting a surplus .45 pistol? WE have been waiting patiently for this for many years and now we are told that we have to start off like an original application, and hope our “random number” is picked, like a lottery. Having to endure TWO NICS checks is outrageous and maybe even illegal, but definitely discriminatory. Nobody else must go through two NICS checks for a single purchase. Putting these guns for sale for $1000 bucks more or less is not market value. Putting 10K .45s on the market in one year, all at once continuing for 10 years should drop the price drastically. Even though I’ve been waiting for this to happen for years, I’m not sure I’m willing to jump through all these hoops. I, and lots of other members have paid our dues and we shouldn’t have to do this AGAIN.
not worth the trouble, every thing new and 2 NICS for mail order and i live maybe 5 miles from CMP store south. they can keep them as far as i am concerned. got too much government fingers in the process.
It’s to bad they can’t let some go to the South and North stores. It’s nice to actually pick stuff out at the stores. But you better be the first in line!
It must be remembered that when the CMP last sold 1911 back in the 60’s that they sold them at bargain basement prices. Yes they are gouging the consumer big time and I think they are going to be in for a rude surprise. The market has changed since the 1960’s big time. Todays younger generation does not put as much significance on the “magic of WWII weapons” especially when the market is flooded with 1911 clones which have better steel and are almost dead ringers for the original and inferior “soft slide” WWII guns. Most of the old grey beards already have at least on original 1911 and are not about to pay these rip off prices either. I think that when the greed mongers at CPM start sitting on these guns the “pie in the sky” “greed monger” prices will eventually come down and I mean way down so don’t be a sucker and order one in the first batch. I think too that when the general public actually sees how bad a shape this furnace scrap is really in their enthusiasm will rapidly fade away very quickly. It should be noted that 45 plus years ago a spot inspection of the 1911’s showed many with cracked frames as well. When you factor in the sad fact that these guns were made with soft slides that puts them in the collector class not the shooter class and the grey beards know they will not live long enough to make any profit on them either.
No, $1000 is way to much. Not when I can get a new one for about 1/2 that much.
What happened to the CMP being friendly to the gun owner? Hmmmm.
Place the valuable ones on auction. Let the market place determine value.
It would be ignorant to sell a $500,000 Singer for 1000$/
I doubt very much is the CMP inspectors would allow any rare, valuable collector guns to find their way into the mix. Those guns will be auctioned, and human nature being what it is, maybe a few will be held back. You just never know.
I MIGHT be willing to pay $500 if it comes with certification that the pistol was issued to my dad when he served in Germany.
Thats Great they have money to throw away. The fact is another couple of Hundred bucks and one can get a Kimber!!!!!!!!! Also the issue of C&R not being able to purchase after all the money spent to get it is wrong down right wrong, as for the Power Grab yes it most sounds like they are trying to make up for losses during the past few years and add a few dollars to their piggies while at it. Truly all things said, I would prefer to buy New at that Price and go for the new 10mm guns coming out. As a licensed collector I can still get I want for what I want in other avenues of auctions and Individual sellers and for a fair and or Negotiated price. Sorry CMP, you stepped out of every ones league!
The pain in the a** restrictions and buying process are dictated by your friendly government entities and congresspersons, NOT the CMP. Besides they are HANDGUNS which are much more restrictive to buy, transport, cross state lines, etc. than long guns.
Does your explanation include the unrealistically exorbitant price intended to restrict the guns to elite and wealthy collectors instead of making them available to the average American? That is, after all, who the CMP was established to serve.
For every one of you bitching about the ridiculous pricing or the un-surmountable hoops that need to be jumped through, there will be 10 people overnighting their order in for the chance to get one.
And Paul, you may be right, but the CMP and our govt will be laughing at them all the way to the bank. $1000+ for a shoddy crafted, unreliable weapon that was probably what? $100 new? Sometimes you get what you pay for, and sometimes you get shafted if you are stupid enough to allow that to happen. You can buy a new Colt 1911 for appx. half of that and it will last 5 lifetimes as long and be more accurate then even their so called “Natl Match” grades. For that same $1000 to perhaps $1500 the “auction” guns might go for, you can buy a true Natl Match pistol from Kimber, Springfield, Colt, etc, and lets say some of those 10 for each of us are even dumber than we think and pay $2k-$3k plus for these archaic chunks of unrefined metal, then you are at the cost of Wilson Combat and Ed Brown customs. Anyone that thinks those old colts are even remotely close to that class of pistol, well, I say let them eat cake. Right after they mortgage something for it. Someone said $500k for a Singer? Maybe if it were a solid gold sewing machine? I have some beach front property in Colorado for sale. Nostalgia is great, just not equally great to everyone, so to each their own! Hope you get a good one and not a junk one.
WOW!!! just WOW!!! What a huge bunch of whining, crying, uninformed, IDIOT comments. For one, the CMP is an OUTSTANDING, HONEST, HARDWORKING bunch of non-goverment people who do their jobs with the utmost integrity. Their customer service is second to none. Go to their website and see what their ACTUAL non-profit mission is before opening your big fat uninformed mouth. As for their pricing, it is WAY less than current market value. A nice CMP service grade M1 Garand is $730 on their website right now shipped to your front door, no FFL fees, no sales tax, 100% satisfaction guaranteed for a historical piece of military hardware that has never been in civilian hands. It could come with lots of very collectable parts on it. They are luck of the draw and could be worth much much more. That same rifle in any gun store or gun show in the US of A will run you $1000 to $1400 for a mixmaster with no guarantee that it even functions, head spaces, or is even safe to fire, plus sales tax. So shut the F**K up about what you paid for something back in the day. A 1970 Camaro SS was $3000 brand new, the same car in 2018 will run you $50,000 plus. Put up or shut up, all us military collectors, re-inactors, and shooting enthusiasts will gladly line up and pay the price for a piece of military history that has never been owned by a civilian. A nice WW1 era 1911 with holster just sold at my local Cabela’s for $10,000 and there were multiple bidders. Comparing one of these historical 1911s to a modern one you can buy anywhere is idiotic!! There will be way more than enough people willing to pay the price for these 1911s. A beat up Military issue 1911 at a gun show or gun shop will run you $2000 these days. If you think you can buy a US military issue 1911 cheaper, than put your money where your mouth is and post a picture of your “bargain” with the accompanying receipt with matching serial # showing. Can you maybe pick one up in a private sale cheaper, good luck these days with Google available. There will always be some uninformed private seller that you can maybe luck out and get a deal. As for M1 Carbines, 1903s, 1903A3s, 1917s, etc., you can’t touch them nowadays for less than $800 to $1000. And as for all you dip sh** posters who think you should get surplus government stuff for free because you already “paid” for it with taxes, F***ing grow up!!!!! There is no such thing and there never will be. You want a beat up military surplus Humvee???? Well pay up sucker because they don’t give them away for free either.
You sound like a total idiot. How many of those 1911s will you be buying?
he will buy one if their data is true. nobody gets more than 1.
The limit of 1 per calendar year until I run out of money. If I get a rattle trap POS, I will sell it and wait another year until I get a luck of the draw keeper.
Dave….. the lonely internet troll!!
Dave makes some good points about the CMP, but in the case of fair market value… MOST of these old 1911s are not $1000 pistols. Yes they have their historic value ….and most will also have their basic quality issues. Maybe 200 years from now when anything made in this era will be rare & collectable they will be worth a high dollar purchase, but to the collectors, so will the 210 year old Springfields & Kimbers. The hoop jumping process (though it is not the fault of CMP) will in fact add a cost/time factors that arguably will prevent many non collector types from considering to make this purchase, which is counter to how & why the CMP came to existence in the first place. Yes, in the day & age, we must have valid background checks, but the dual background checks thing is a barrier, and for anyone who has already gone through the expense of getting their own Collectable & Rare FFL, well not being able to use it to buy these 1911s is just a kick in the teeth by liberal bureaucrats.
It is a lottery, in that the CMP every so often throws one of those rare ones in the pool. Like a box of chocolates, you just never know. I have recently seen WW2 Rack Grade Garands (RG because of a shot out or corroded barrel) that with a simple correct NOS barrel change are worth many times the RG price. Or come with a part worth more than the price paid for the complete rifle like a WW2 Winchester uncut oprod or WRA cartouched stock. The CMP does not “cherry pick” valuable parts, they can show up on lesser grades any time and regularly do. It will be the same with the 1911s, and that will drive the sales.
Jim88, are you saying there is hope for the 3 tubs of Beanie Bears my wife has in storage? LOL, I hope so!
No! $1000 for a well worn and over abused training weapon is not fair market price. Especially when you figure they getting them for pennies on the dollar. I guess they think us gun folks are idoits.
If anyone wants one with history? I left a pair and my hand light in a tunnel OVER THERE you can have them for free!
An posably old and warn 1911 with no matching parts, fair market price is $1000? Man only an idiot would go for that when half that money will get any number of brand new 1911s. They don’t know that the obuma years of price gougeing are over?
$1,000. Let me see. If I were spending that on used guns, my local hock shop’s got a nice XD40 for $350, and would probably cut me a deal on the Ruger Mini-14 for close to to that.. so I’m up to $700, which allows me to let the wife pick out $300 worth of Glock for herself. Three guns, none of which have had the wear and who knows what kind of cleaning and depot maintenance of that $1000 CMP M1911.
Because the law defines “fair market value” as “what a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured buyer would probably pay to a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured seller in the market.” So far, the readers here, who in the aggregate are as knowledgeable about the M1911 as the people at CMP who are fixing the price are not lining up to pay $1,000 for a well-used one..
Add to this the aggravating fact that those of us who are American taxpayers have been paying for those M1911s and their replacements in Army service all our lives, unwillingly. If there every was a time for a “customer appreciation sale” by the Department of Defense, this is it.
WRONG!!! Almost all the posters here are totally UNknowledgable about the fair market value of HIGHLY COLLECTABLE HISTORICAL military surplus firearms and equipment.
It’s very probable that any M1911 in the lot which is “highly collectible” will be sold, not through the lottery described in the CMP press release, but at one of their auctions, where it will find its fair market value.
What CMP will do with the other M1911s in its inventory is to try very hard to sell its prospective customers on the collectibility of each firearm. If the military’s entire stock of M1911s become available, the value as collectibles of all but a few rare items manufactured by Singer or other consumer good factories pressed into the war effort drops accordingly by the law of supply and demand. I’m afraid you’re wrong on that score, regardless of how long you hold the Shift key down while you type.
And you know this . . . how?
Dave you’re a dumbass! These are not highly collectible these are old Used military surplus….. just like those old beat-up Humvees you were crying about in your previous post nothing special just used overpriced equipment.
$1,000 is a joke and if you actually knew what we were talking about you would agree
Hey Flip
I read your posts here and came to the logical conclusion that you are the one that doesn’t have a clue what “we’re” talking about. I collect, correct, repair, salvage, buy and sell old, used, sometimes worn out military surplus “stuff” including firearms of several countries, and have been for years. I absolutly know the value of these 1911s and also surplus HMMWVs produced by AM General (about $2000 for a worn out, beat up one that you may not be able to license depending on your state, lets here you piss and moan about that). These 1911s are VERY HIGHLY collectable and will only gain in value. The fact that they MAY be worn out government surplus rattletraps that MAY have been used in some of the most famous battles of WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam or carried by the likes of Alvin York, Chesty Puller, or Hector Cafferata (yeah, look him up Professor) to protect the freedoms an ASSHAT like you can enjoy today, only adds to their value.
Loupgarous,
Sorry about the Caps man, It’s a work in progress.
I also own hunting and target shooting firearms and reload my own ammo when desired. I have a highly accurate, very well made 1911 that I take to the range to shoot small groups with. It’s a Springfield Armory Range Officer in 9mm produced in the same custom shop as their $1400 match grade pistols. For $800 it’s one of the best 1911 values out there. So again, I think I kinda DO know what “we’re” talking about here.
Just like everything else it’s about money #1 is the army selling them to CMP and if so for how much? #How can any one sell anything that already belongs to someone else is int that illegal? # As a citizen and TAX PAYER did we not already pay for these items the army sure as hell did not? This is just another good program like Washington that has gone bad! and if that is fair market price I have SWAMP LAND I will sell you, as far as im concerned, im sure there is an orifice ware thay can stick them!!
I read that it costs the army $2 per gun per year to store these guns. If they have 100K guns the cost just to keep them in storage is $200K per year. I believe the army is giving them to the CMP. If CMP sells them for $1K each, the 100K guns will bring in what- $10mil? That’s a nice piece of change.
CMP seems to have become yet one more sellout to the almighty dollar. If $1000 is to be the minimum cost of sale I must assume that it is also the cost of the lowest grade that will be available. This is a rediculious asking price followed by an equally restrictive buying process. If I’m
Going to consider spending these kinds of discresanary funds on a 1911 I think I’ll spend them on a New Springfield 10mm or a Rock Island. I have my fathers 1911 that he carried from North Africa, then D-Day and thru Europe. That’s all the history I need. If I need another 1911 working pistol there are better options out there for the use of my money and easier legal processes of acquiring one.
CMP is pushing themselves out of the market place and in my estimation doing a disservice to the foundation they were built upon.
Wow! Congrats on your dads pistol, that is indeed a piece of history. If you also happen to have the paperwork he would have needed from his company commander to “legally” bring it home, along with the provenance of his service records, the value would easily be north of 5 to 8 grand depending on shape. Even if you don’t have the paperwork, it’s still a very valuable family heirloom. Keep it, cherish it, keep it oiled and pass it along to a family member that will do the same.
To answer your question, S.H., no. $1,000 for a used M1911 is well over fair market price for a used .45, especially an ex-Army one that’s had qualifying and practice rounds run through it for its designed service life. For that kind of money, CMP would have to Magnaflux the side, frame and barrel to demonstrate no stress fractures, for otherwise, it would be a $1000 pig in a poke.
M1911’s just aren’t that collectible.
The CMP has morphed into a self sustaining outfit, not a supplier of surplus weapons to Citizens. I got my first M-1 carbine from the CMP in 1965, delivered by railway express. Cost was, I think, $25.00. Their pricing is now ridiculous. My last purchase was a Garand about 15 years ago. $325.00 for a piece of history. I’m done with the CMP.
$1000?
NO FREAKING WAY!
I like the sliding scale idea mentioned previously by Jim Kasper with $500 maximum!
If it comes with certification that it was issued to Alvin York or Omar Bradley, one of these pistols MIGHT be worth $1000.
I paid $725 for a NEW match grade 1911 from Springfield. Why would I want to pay $1000 for a worn-out paperweight?
My bid: $150 IF they’ll accept my C&R license and no more bureaucratic nonsense than required to buy my M1.
It appears to me that CMP is now run by anti-gun bureaucrats.
Exactly! My last 1911 purchase was a Springfield loaded model. It’s been more accurate than any 1911 I have ever owned or shot, including a gold cup. These pistols were worn out when I was issued one and accuracy was awful by today’s commercial 1911 standards.
Did Y’all see the Singer that went for nearly a half million earlier this month at RIA Auction company ? WOW. I miss the old DCM , my first Garrand was 170.00 and I just signed for it at my local post office circa 1986. Since the switch to the CMP I have only purchased ammo and the odd part and nothing in the last five years. Five years ago a case of .22 LR ammo was “delivered” to my back porch by FEDEX(only carrier CMP will use) and the box was busted with lose ammo all over the patio. About thirty percent was unusable , neither CMP or FEDEX would make it right. No thanks and goodbye. I do think that the collectable 1911’s will sort themselves out. Remember the importation of 1911’s and M1 carbines. in the eighties that had nothing to do with the DCM ? On the wholesale market they were rather high but all got sorted in short order.. Wonder how many Singers and Union Switch and Signals will be going to auction the the CMP ? Carry on.
Yes, those were the good old days!! Your $170 would be worth about $330 in todays dollars. But the fair market value of Garands, carbines and all US milsurp firearms has skyrocketed, and thats what the CMP charter dictates they must abide by. As dictated by the Government who set them up. They are not just surplus anymore, but collectable and that drives the prices up. The good news is that your 1986 Garand is worth north of $1000 today and maybe much more depending on exactly what it is and the parts it contains. The going rate for a correctly cartouched WW2 Springfield Armory Garand stock is around $300+. A similar Winchester stock is $600+. Yes, that’s JUST the stock!!
There should be a sliding scale, combat veteran $100, non combat veteran $300, non veteran $500. Or something along those lines. If getting them to the CMP cost a million dollars or something government foolish like that, well that is too bad.
How about $ 350.00 That’s what I paid for one about 10 years ago. With all the hoops a person has to go through, that’s a fair price.
I SERVED IN THE ARMY INFANTRY FROM 1959 THRU 1970 WHEN I WAS MEDICALLY RETIRED. ALL THE .45s I WAS I ISSUED WERE MOSTLY SHOT OUT, LOOSE AND INACCURATE. THERE MAY BE SOME GOOD ONES IN THE BUNCH BUT SOUNDS LIKE POT LUCK TO ME DEPENDING ON WHAT CMP THINKS OF THE ONE BID ON. THEY SHOULD BE VALUED BY THE BUYER ON HISTORY NOT QUALITY. THEY MIGHT PERHAPS HOLD VALUE OR GO UP BASED ON SMALL NUMBER AND FACT MANY USED IN COMBAT. IF ONE WANTS A SHOOTER AND RELIABILITY OUT OF THE BOX I WOULD PASS BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE IN THE ARMY. BUY THE HISTORY AND NOT THE GUN. MINE AS ISSUED WERE PRETTY MUCH JUNK. RETIRED CPT.
WE HEAR YOU!
There’s a difference between honest capitalism and open thievery and I believe the CMP has found it. My first centerfire handgun was a 1911 that I bought at age 14 for $40.00. It was still new in the cosmoline. And today I am expected to pay a Grand for a gun that will undoubtedly resemble something that looks like it was drug home from Berlin behind a tank? Thanx but no thanx. I’ll pass.
Another push for “store front dealers”. This Clinton ploy changed the firearm market forever. All FFL dealers have to follow the law. Gun prices have doubled since this crap started. When all is said and done the only ones that will be able to sell the public firearms will be Cabelas, BPS, Dicks, etc. The CMP has bowed down to the Obama Ben Dover administration wish list, and now wants to set elitist rules for archaic weapons. Demand resignations from the CMP hierarchy
Catfish, your right! There are too many unelected bureaucrats and they need to be weeded out. That said, enjoy your freedom to have a gun, and that Hillary will not have a say in your next gun, whatever you decide.
Someone should look at the definition of Fair Market Value. Is CMP going to have trouble selling them? If they do they can lower the price. All the “hoops” add to the effective price, but I bet there will be eager buyers.
For every 1911 that becomes available, there will be 10 willing buyers.
Boy, what a bunch of whiners telling us what they won’t do. Just don’t put your name in the bowl for a pistol. The requirements were not determined by the CMP, but by the military. Go to the CMP website to see what their mission is, promote and support youth and public shooting. Safety, training and competition are it’s mission goals. If I can afford one of these historical firearms, I will buy one, for that reason only. Just like my garand purchase.
Just give it a rest and let interested people try for a pistol and think of us as idiots. You just may change your tune down the road.
Finally, another sane and knowledgable comment. Good luck on your luck of the draw 1911.
As U.S. citizens, and tax payers, Haven’t we already paid for these. Why can’t we just get one as a thank you for the investment in our country. Just Thinking.
CMP is a non profit not related to the Government. So no. If you want a 1911 so bad a Rock Island Arms can be had for under $400…. there you go. It will have more bells and whistles and be tighter than the old 1911s
If you have ever been In a none profit organization you know it is not about profit it is annual operating expense? HA HA
CMP is a direct beneficiary of the Government. It receives and resells surplus government-owned firearms which have been donated to it by the US government. That means it is an indirect beneficiary of the taxpayer, but apparently gratitude’s not what it used to be. That laundry list of restrictions, some of which no other seller of used firearms imposes on its customers, is unrelated to CMPs non-profit status, but is instead a relic of the Obama administration’s throbbing hatred for the Second Amendment and gun owners’ other civil rights.
That said, you’re right. No one should patronize a gun dealer as high-handed and outright insulting as CMP. Their competition will be happy to sell you a better M1911 for half the money.
Anybody willing to pay $1,000 for these 1911’s, BE MY GUEST.
I refuse to bother with the added requirements AND the insane price.
Me and you both.
Obviously you are not a collector and just want a cheap 1911.
Like that’s supposed to be a bad thing . . . ?
“Obviously you are not a collector and just want a cheap 1911.”
If I were a collector, I wouldn’t spend $1000 on an M1911 which (given that’s the floor price CMP has set, and indicated “pricing options” will depend on condition) will be an NRA Fair condition at BEST. You have to pay MORE for a piece with most of its bluing intact, no big nicks in the grips, and which doesn’t rattle like the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.
What collector would pass up a deal like THAT?
The CMP has not sold a firearm at fair market value for the past 21+ years!, The reason M1’s, 1903’s, etc. are so expensive these days is because of price gouging by the CMP, I believe this has artificially inflated prices far beyond fair market values in my opinion.
I agree. But at least they are following the pattern, $1000 for a junk M1, $1000 for a junk 1911. I think there will still be those interested and I say, good for them.
Do you call the $625 I paid to the CMP for my 1942 Underwood M1 Carbine two years ago, price gouging? I’m so sick and tired of people whining about CMP policies and pricing. If you don’t want to jump through the hoops or pay the price, then DON’T. You would be buying a military issued antique, not a smooth functioning competition gun.
Some of these comments exhibit the same level of entitlement that’s so prevalent in society today.
yes, I sure wouldn’t pay $625.00 for a carbine. I bought one back in the 70’s for less than $100.00 and for what they are that was $50.00 too much. I never saw much use for the 30 carbine round or the carbine itself. Short range, to under powered for big game and to inaccurate for varmint’s. For a house gun they might suffice but even back then there were better choices. Heck a good lever action carbine was a better choice for an all around farm/house gun.
Well Carbines are going for $800 on the open market today, every day, all day. So Tom, if you would have bought a truckload of them in the 70s for less than $100 each, now that would have turned a pretty nice profit wouldn’t you say?
No, actually, CMP has the entitlement issue. They’re a non-profit corporation whose income is derived from user and gunsmithing fees, and the sale of donated government property, to wit , surplus military firearms. CMP’s price point on those M1911s is based less on an honest assessment of “fair market value” than the devout hope that they’ll see gullible new firearms collectors coming down the street and convince them that the worst of the M1911s they have to sell is worth $1000, and that for a showpiece, they have to exercise “pricing options” – pay more money.
No experienced collector would pay $1000 for a bottom-of-the-barrel weapon likely to have wear and blemishes placing it in NRA Fair, or even NRA Poor condition. The “pricing options” necessary to get better pistols are probably paying for rework of the pistol being discussed by the gunsmiths at Anniston. So they’ll part out the really crud M1911s (they’re a non-profit, they’re not going to write checks for like-new replacement parts, except, possibly, springs and bushings), reblue frames and slides, and sell you a gun with as many serial numbers as major parts. Again, a big “no thanks” from the experienced collector, for that $1400 “customized, refurbished” M1911.
“Entitlement” as you’re using the term is defined as “the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment.” If CMP were as candid with themselves or their prospective customers as your average gun dealer or pawn broker, they’d know what those pistols are likely to fetch on the open market, and price them accordingly. All they’d need to do is bother one of their gunsmiths for a recent copy of Firearms News, or look up what well-used M1911s are fetching on this site.
Tell that to the guys paying $5000+ for 1st generation Colt single action army revolvers with no finish left, in obsolete calibers, and not even safe to shoot.
You don’t know what you’re talking about.
I obtained my M-1 about 25 years ago for $190, and at that time M-1’s were selling for well over $500 or more at gun shows, especially ones that came with CMP paperwork (which violated CMP and Army policy).
So your claim is not true.
More FFL holders are price gougers than the CMP ever was. Especially the Military collector ones.
Suddenly, after buying several M1 Garands using my perfectly LEGAL C&R license I am no longer trustworthy to the CMP. Who is the idiot that made this steaming pile of rules up? “Afraid of one of these guns being used in a mass murder” BULLCRAP ! Who are you people kidding? I think I will head out to a local gun show and buy a current production Govt model as well as a Commander—and still have money left over! My brother was in the 101rst in ’85 and he said that every single .45 that they “shelved” for the Berettas was a POS ! He happily owns several Rock Islands now.
PASS !
I can Buy 2 BRAND NEW 1911’s for that initial price that aren’t SHOT to SHITE in todays Market!
Even if these surplus were barely used, a modern 1911 would be a much better BUY if these A-HOLES are going to PRICE GOUGE the Public!!!
There are 3 or 4 low end 1911’s in 45acp that actually cost LESS than $400 and will shoot much better these ever would!
NO $1,000 is NOT fair market value for USED M1911 series pistols with unmatched, unfitted parts and sketchy (at best maintenance histories). These are rack grade guns. NOT the armorer hand-built, fitted and tuned National Match pistols turned out by the AMU or Rock Island Arsenal!
$1k for a clapped-out rattletrap of mixed parts? No thanks.
A number of good points have been made in the above comments and I can only reaffirm what’s already been said. It would be nice to have a 1911 with some history behind it. But nostalgia is worth only so much and a thousand bucks is too much for a safe queen.
If I wanted something that rattled I would take my grand son’s rattle….What a big fat joke. I would never put out a grand for something I have never seen.
At $1000 min, the CMP is waisting our time. Another BS govt program.
First I’ll say is that I’ve been a customer of CMP since 2009 and have bought 7-M1 Garand’s, 4-1903’s, 2-M1 Carbine’s and 1-1917 from them during that period. Most of which I used my C&R FFL as one of the qualifiers. So why now am I not to be trusted? It’s a freaking FFL after all most if not all those 1911’s are gonna be 50+ years old and they will know by serial number if any don’t qualify. All the other firearms I have received from them were delivered to my door. Why the change now with an 01 FFL Transfer and WTH with the 2 NICS?
Much has changed at CMP since Mark Johnson took over for Orest Michaels and not for the better IMO. They got rid of the room at their store in Alabama where you could pick out your own rifle. They send all the collectable firearms to the auction instead of offering them to normal customers. The prices have gone up and now all this BS just to get a 1911.
I was anticipating buying some of these but after all this crap they can forget it. I just wish they would clarify who is responsible for all the stupid hoops. I can somewhat understand if the government is making them do all this because they loath anyone buying a firearm but if this is from the CMP themselves then they are really screwed up. They have lost touch with their main objective to get more people involved in shooting.
I just hope they will see this to be a failure and correct their mistakes when the M1 Garand’s finally are able to be brought back In from South Korea.
Do you still own those 7 Garands, 4- ’03’s, 2- M1 carbines, and 1- 1917? Or are you one of those who bought cheap from CMP and sold high? If so, that is the exact reason CMP is changing the rules and raising prices. CMP is not there, nor set up, to be a wholesaler of military firearms in order for a few greedy folks to abuse the system and make money.
Oaf, CMP’s already limiting sales to one/customer/year. I think that fixing a price isn’t setting a fair market price. A fair market price is, by law, what a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured buyer would probably pay to a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured seller in the market. CMP will find they’re spending more money dusting those $1,000 well-used M1911s and maintaining a dry place to store them than they’ll clear on sales.
I still own all but one H&R M1 Garand that I gave to my son as a present. I have a C&R FFL for a reason because I am a collector. That is precisely my point too because I don’t want one of these 1911’s just for being a shooter (although I do shoot all my guns) but instead for my collection. I also agree with you about how there were many that bought from the CMP just to turn around and sell for a profit. That is BS but not much you can do about that I guess.
Well BP;
All that in eight years makes you sound like a greedy pig buying to profit.
It might seem like that to you but I haven’t sold any of them for a profit. In fact I haven’t even sold 1 of them. I still own them all except for one I gave as a present. What part of C&R FFL (collector) do you not understand? I can afford to buy these 1911’s even at $1,000.00 a pop unlike many here bitching about the price. The difference here though is how the CMP is requiring way more than what is even necessary from Federal Law in terms of qualifying. They are basically saying even though the firearms are legally allowed to be transferred to a C&R FFL holder by virtue of age, they still won’t allow it.
It is too bad they have lowered themselves to the level of liberal thinking.
I was at a gun show in November looking at a $1200 mixmaster post war Garand with CMP service grade paperwork. The seller admitted to me that he and his buddy each buy their yearly limit of (8) $730 service grade Garands each, cherry pick the good collectable parts/rifles and assemble, then dump the rest at gun shows. I was mad at first but I thought “you know what, they are well within their rights and limit rules, and seem to have plenty of buyers happy with their purchases that would not own a Garand otherwise” They are both gunsmiths and head-space and function fire each one they sell. I kept my mouth shut and moved on. To each his own, it’s a free country and many of those Garands fought to ensure that right for us!!
Well BP, it sounds like you have some nice rifles in your collection. Thank you for your patronage to the CMP and preserving these historic firearms for future generations to enjoy. The difference is these 1911s are HANDGUNS not long guns. So in their infinite wisdom, OUR Government decided to impose all this BS on the CMP. The CMP had no choice in the matter, it was go along with the Governments requirements or they will just go to the crusher like thousands before them. It sucks I agree, but along with me there will be plenty of collectors jumping through these asinine hoops to get one. Bureaucrats can’t understand that collector/shooters and responsible, law-abiding firearms owners like you and me don’t murder fellow citizens, rob 7/11s, kill school children, and commit mass murder with our handguns. So they need to be the heroes and protect the innocent from us with all these requirements. How many of those they are worried about will be in line for these 1911s? None, Nada, 0, and we all know it.
One can buy a new 1911 for $1,000 or less. To paraphrase President Lincoln, I’d like a case of whatever CMP is drinking.
Forget it….I would rather buy a series 70 (nice wood, bluing…) for that kind of money
Well everyone else has stated pretty clearly and logically how I feel about this so I’ll just sum it up with this.
This is so typical of a completely out of touch government entity. Completely out of touch! Maybe people will buy some of these but anyone who does jump through all these hoops and pays $1000 per gun is a complete fool. Let them sit on everyone of these guns, I’d bet they’ll change their minds on how they should go about this then.
I see 28 + comments from people who say they aren’t going to buy one. I don’t believe you guys for one second!
All of you (and me) followed the rules for getting a DCM rifle. I liked it when there was a “one gun forever rule”. That’s when m1 was like $67. Mine and my wife’s was $225 by the time I got into the program. Then a lot of greedy pushed the DCM to sell more guns to you so you jerks could sell on the open market. Don’t blame the DCM for raising rates so you dealers could be the only profit game in town.
They said fair value, so it won’t be $1000, where did it say $1000? The word will get out very quickly whether or not it is a ‘deal’ or not. I reckon it will be.
I wish they went back to the once in your lifetime rule! Hershey bars were 10cents and so was a bottomless cup of coffee.
Now you pay $8 for Starbucks to put a Hershey bar in your cup of coffee.
The first article said $1000, not the DCM update, it said FMV.
More like “price gouging” and ” fair market” are reversed.
Well, a long wait for nothing. Too complicated and WAY too expensive for me. I have a real Colt and a Kimber. Why would I throw a grand down the drain for an old rattle gun? A fair price for any used 1911 I have seen while in the service would be 300-400 bucks tops.
I am fond of my 1911’s but I wouldn’t want one of these at $400.00. The ones we were issued where so worn they rattled in the holsters. Nostalgia doesn’t do much for me. I have to have a gun that fills a purpose and is accurate enough to be useful. I have a DCM Garand and it shoots about as well as a Garand can. At one time it was my primary hunting rifle and I have hunted with it from Florida to Alaska. I had one M-1 carbine many years ago and sold it. The caliber wasn’t very useful and there were far better choices for a self defense carbine. The prices for carbines now days are just stupid. I expect these will be the same.
How bout this they should be given away on a lottery basis
We already paid for them many times over
As one other person stated you can buy one that’s way better for way less
LOL,,,it would be a “cold day in Hell” before I paid that for one,,,fair market value my ass !!! Not even close, unless it had 100% cirtified provanance to go with it, then , only barely worth that. There always seems to be a catch , dosen’t there? What a joke!
I won’t buy one for that kind of money.
Heck I bought a brand new S.A 1911A.1 G.I. that looks exactly like them for $400
Have looked at their prices and process over the years and decided to not go to the trouble or pay more than what I can buy one for somewhere else. It’s chartered and run by the US Government. You know the guys that pay $300 for a hammer. Maybe I could understand someone who was a collector going to the trouble and expense. But, while I have a few family heirlooms, I only buy guns to use. For a lot less than what they are selling guns for I can buy something that will out perform what they are selling.
To the person who mentioned the 200% increase in pricing. CMP is the reason why, not the real value of the gun itself. They were setting the market value when these guns were not easily available. And because we as Americans are very loaded with cash. We pay what they ask. Why don’t we just let them keep their guns and let good old Capitalism work. Spend the money on a gun that looks just like this one and is a better gun.
It makes no sense that these won’t be sold as Curio/Relics because that’s what they are. The ones I used almost 50 years ago in the Navy were WWII production and barely serviceable.
The reason they won’t C&R these is the last thing they want is one of these used in a mass shooting or any crime for that matter; thus the TWO Background Checks!!! I wouldn’t give you $200 for one of these, much less jump through all those hoops!!! My gun case is cluttered enough, what the hell would you do with a 60-70 year old POS that I’ll bet good money won’t shoot a 4″ group at 10 yard!!!
I can buy a government model Springfield NEW for $550-600.
While I would like to purchase one of these for historical value I will not pay $1000 for a ragged out old pistol and definitely not going through all those hoops for it.
So much for the average Joe getting one. CMP an elitest organization
The CMP always struck me as a borderline scam.
Jump through many hoops to overpay on beat up,worn out guns?
No thanks
It would be nice to own a piece of history such as one of these 1911s.
If there was some history with it, prominence, to me may merit the price of a grand.
I have a nice Range Officer 1911, in .45 acp, now that was less in cost to me, and with some very nice features too.
I don’t understand the whole crazy process. What ever happened to a background check and a FFL dealer?
What happened is the CMP, BATFE and ARMY all put in their 2 cents. Probably a few other government agencies as well. 150 day evaluation? 2 NICS checks? Myriad other hoops to jump through. Or, as you say, they could just transfer to your FFL and let them handle the check. You know, the way normal people would handle it:).
tell them to keep the gawd damd junk , unless they wanna price em for what their actually worth…..besides , my rock island will outshoot any I ever shot on active duty.
Who the hell wants one of these abused P’OS? Guaranteed some pimply faced kid tore them down and put them back together something like 1000 times, then half were in that $#!+ hole in the Middle East getting sandblasted on the daily. Spend your money elsewhere and know what you’re buying.
The price is ridiculous, price gouging. These guns are well used and not the best to own. For a $1000 i would get a new generic. Thank you anyway.
Depending on condition, $500 to $800 would be attractive to me for a Remington Rand. Other makes should go higher. I spoke with someone who is in the know an there is a quantity of 1911’s coming through (not 1911A1).
The purchase procedure seems a little too complicated, but I am sure there will be a line at the door.
Just like with the M1 carbines, this will push the market price up and smart shoppers will buy them now in auction before the spike hits. Just my two cents.
A GRAND FOR A GUBMENT POS? AND ALL THE CMP HOOPS TO JUST THROUGH? IS THIS HOW THEY GET AROUND HAVING TO OFFER THESE TO THE PUBLIC? THIS IS INSANE
I am rather miffed at their refusal to take C&R, even though these are clearly eligible. But what really takes the cake for me is all their idiotic and pointless special requirements, especially the one that buyers have to have TWO NICS checks? Really??? Seriously?? And what the heck is a “storefront” FFL? Do these people even know guns or how they are bought and sold? An 01 FFL is an 01 FFL, regardless of whether they have a “storefront” or not. And what’s the relevance of that? And all the other idiotic hoops they want to put buyers through? For what purpose? What is wrong with the standard procedures that have long been in place. Just have a lottery and normal purchase procedures and be done with it. Sounds like these people are very impressed with themselves and their bureaucracy, and want us to revel in it with them.
A big plus 1 !!!!!
I think I will stick with my newer Colts. My M1 cost me 125.00 and is a Winchester, of course that was in ’85. They didn’t gouge you then, but a grand for a military .45? The regs are typical federal gov crap, no one should put up with it. I wonder what part of the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed they forgot? Sounds like a lot of “infringement” to me.
for me they can keep it.
This Organization is no longer decent and honest. The CMP in Port Clinton has allowed dealers from Ohio Gun shows to buy pallets of ammunition then told regular “Joes” too bad, we are sold out. They need to be replaced. They also need to be fair and honest. A beat up, POS 1911 FOR $1000.00- Yep, what a joke.
Pricing? I’ve seen the M1s increase 233% over the years. These rattle trap 1911s will be astronomically priced out the gate.
You are so right
I’d love to have one. I simply will not go through this ridiculous process to “try” and get one.
So complex it will keep most from a purchase.
Agree…lots of BS for old guns that you may or may not get.