Springfield 1911A1, c Nick Leghorn

The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a program through which theĀ U.S. Government has been selling off their stock of aging firearms to the American public in an effort to promote the shooting sports and marksmanship training. They are best known as the prime source for M1 Garand rifles and M1 Carbines, but thanks to a bill signed today by President Obama the CMP may shortly begin to sell off the U.S. Government’s huge stock of 1911 handguns. These firearms saw duty from WWI through Desert Storm, and you can bet your butt I’ll be waiting in line to snap one up.

From the NRA press release:

Rounding out the list of pro-gun provisions is section 1087, which restores authorization to the Secretary of Defense to transfer to the Civilian Marksmanship Program surplus M1911 and M1911A1 .45 ACP pistols for sale to the public. The component of the CMP that dispenses the pistols would be required to obtain a federal firearms license and abide by all requirements of the Gun Control Act pertaining to licensed sales and transfers. Currently, the military has some 100,000 such pistols that it no longer needs and that are being stored as taxpayer expense. These historically-significant firearms can now be transferred to law-abiding owners at a net gain to the governmentā€™s heavily-indebted balance sheet.

This is a great thing … like an early Christmas present from Barack Obama himself, the greatest firearms salesman of all time.

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140 COMMENTS

    • It will be 2-3 years before the first 1911 hits the racks. All 100,000 have to be inventoried by serial number and all 100,000 have to be disassembled, inspected for serviceability or unservicability. On top of that CMP is not run by the government, it is a private company and they have to work out a contract. It will be 2 years minimum before you see the first 1911 on the rack.

    • I did a double-take, too, and it was a good thing I did. This article is totally bogus, and completely untrue. Obama has not ever and will never sign any piece of pro-gun legislation. Don’t believe everything you read on the internet just because it happens to go along with your personal hopes, beliefs and biases.

      • I agree, This is bogus. This traitors history and record of gun hating rhetoric and legislation raises a red flag on this story. Even if it were true, you can guarantee there will be ulterior motives in doing anything like this.

        • You can bet that these guns will have to be transported, used, and treated solely for marksmanship purpose, a.k.a., no CWP or open carry, or even self-protection in your own home. I see a trojan horse a’comin !

      • Don’t believe everything you read in ignorant comments either. One of those pro-gun laws took effect in February 2010 and allows people to carry loaded firearms into the Grand Canyon and other national parks, according to the AP. The other major pro-gun law Obama signed allows Amtrak passengers to carry guns in checked baggage, reversing a ban that was put in place after 9/11, according to USA Today. Do your homework smart guy.

        • Looks like you should do your homework first before you spew your ignorance.

          You forgot the 7n6 ban, Russian bans, Steyr AUG pistol kit ban, and no rifles from South Korea. Don’t forget he attempted to stifle the NFA trust process, redefined arms braces, and almost got away with banning M855 ammo.

          So quick are we to forget because it did not affect guns you own.

        • I have put my pistol in my checked luggage on an airplane. It’s not that difficult. You just have to abide by the airline regulations on how to pack it. You can even have the ammo in the same piece of luggage.

      • Andrew, I couldn’t agree with you more. This article is bogus, just as the photo used for the article. If you’ll notice, this is a Springfield 1911A1 with the Springfield Armory logo on the grips. It’s not a Colt and it doesn’t have the US emblazoned on the grips. Sorry to bust the dreams of the hopeful. Obama is a gun grabber. He will not release these firearms as he continues to hoard up ammo for his Martial Law plans.

        • Edward Tapper:

          Springfield DID make one of the original runs of WWI M1911’s. (Not the A1). The one pictured isn’t a Government Issue model, correct. But Springfield DID make them. So did Ithaca (1911 and A1), North American Arms (1911), Remington Rand (1911 and A1), Remington Arms-Union Metallic Cartridge Co. (M1911), Savage (M1911), Singer (M1911-A1), and Union Switch & Signal (M1911-A1).

          Springfield Arms was also famous for remanufacturing Army issue 1911’s into match pistols for CMP from the late fifties through the late 60’s.

          Colt may have DESIGNED the 1911 and 1911A1, but they were not the only manufacturer.

          Also, I believe the actual act of congress was linked for you to examine and debunk at your leisure.

      • Danny, I think it depends on when you get in on them. I got my all numbers matching, made in 1943 Winchester M-1 Garand for $550.00.

        • A special grade Garand now is $1,030. A service grade is $730. Correct grades are even more. Collector grades can go for $5K, $10K, even $15K.

        • And every gun stores and gun shows I’ve been to, you are lucky to see a beater rack grad for under a grand. I would say the CMP is still a good price.

      • I got my pre WWII Springfield Garand with a SN in the 200,000 range for $310 delivered to my door. I wouldn’t be able to do that now, or well ever. They haven’t always been overpriced.

        • Are you sure you paid $165.00 I got mine around the same time it took close to two years to get and I got a very late Serial numbered Springfield in mint condition for what I remember was $125.00.

      • My Winchester 75 was two digits, I want to say $50. But that was over 30 years ago.

        Yes, Danny, what John said sounds about right.
        7 days’ full time pay at 3.35/hr minimum wage should have gotten him a very nice one.

      • Apparently you don’t understand the concept of fair market value. CMP prices are actually under what you would find at a gun show or private collection. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve been a show and saw the guys with M1s for $1200 that still had the CMP tags on them that they bought for $600-700.

      • The 5k, and above prices you quote are in the auctions. That is the only place on the CMP site where both correct grade and collector grades are sold so your comments are more than misleading. At least you are correct on the service grade and special grades but c’mon…he specials are completely refurbished and are basically brand new rifles.

      • Eh, I thought they’re pretty decent actually. I got my Field Grade Garand for something like $530 back in early 2013. It’s in pretty damn good condition and it’s probably my best firearms purchase since I started.

      • I got mine for $168 some 30 years ago if I recall correctly. Mine is a rather ugly set of mix and match parts from several different manufacturers and my cousin who ordered his on the same day got a nearly pristine rifle with matching numbers…… but mine shoots better, a LOT better. They weren’t always as pricey as they are now.

    • Are you shocked because you actually believe this article or because of the number of people here that fell for it?

      • Andrew,
        You’ve made multiple posts demonstrating your ignorance. I tried to ignore it, but after seeing you try to call people out for believing this “fake” story, I couldn’t take it. You need to do your research. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2016 does in fact authorize sale of surplus 1911s through the CMP. The original NDAA was vetoed in October, but the revised version was just passed. It’s a matter of congressional record. Please do some research before you make yourself look so ignorant on a public forum.

  5. I’m not surprised. Obama’s the greatest gun salesman in history. He’s trying to preserve his legacy for in the shadows lay that young upstart named Clinton who seeks to usurp him.

  6. Huh. He really IS the greatest gun salesman of all time. LOL I bet the gun-grabbers are just furious.

    • Even if the president lifted the ban on importation of these rifles, the M-1s in Korea are no longer considered in the U.S. Inventories as arsenaled or on loan. As such, they fall outside the purview of CMP and would require an importer. Even then, there would be no guarantee as to their condition and unless that importer had deep pockets and can afford a talented team of armorers and a healthy supply of parts to make them go, you’re better off with a CMP specimen sans an ugly import tattoo.

      • I guess you don’t know the Koreans very well, the Garands and carbines will be in great shape. If a Republican gets in in 16, we have a good shot of getting the back

        • There were imports of Korean M1 Carbines many years back which were imported by Blue Sky. Many reports were written by people who found their refinished carbine to have very bad pitting, especially under the handguards.

        • Apparently you don’t know them very well. There is already an importer and agreement and has been for two years. They have already been inventoried and they have warehouses full of unservicabile rust. The importer stated after the inventory they would be lucky to get 1 good one from every 10, which is why they will be offered to war Korean War veterans and their families before any are sold to the general public.

        • I DO know the Koreans in a sense. I was with VS37 in 1974-77 and we transferred 14 our so S2 ASW, twin props to the Koreans during our transition to the S3A Viking. The Koreans we all watched were the goofiest, sloppy aviators we’d ever seen. I literally watched the 15 or so pilots be mustered into a ragged line near the flight line by a screaming non-com/officer (not sure which). This guy walked up and down the line of pilots asking questions and screaming and actually slapping some of the men for answers that he didn’t find correct (I guess, I don’t speak Korean). After that display of strict military discipline, After a final shouted order the five or six pilots that were to fly ran to their assigned planes, ran around them once, kicked the tires (yes!) and climbed aboard for their check out flight or training (not sure which). To say the least, their pre-flight routine got the attention of the American trainers and they were ordered out of the cockpit and started classes on proper pre-flight procedures.

          Hopefully, this isn’t a indication of how they are caring for those historical rifles sitting in Korea.

      • They also say “beware Greeks bearing gifts.” When that gift horse is of the giant and wooden variety, I get suspicious. Don’t get me wrong, I will absolutely get one of these as soon as I can, but given Pres. Obama’s distain for all things gun-rights, I too wanted to know why he signed it. You know, “what’s the catch” and all that.

  11. Don’t get too excited gentlemen. The exact language of the bill says the Sec. may transfer, and only may transfer up to 10k a year. That may transfer is a big limiting word, as is the up to 10k.
    The Obama admin has gone on record already that they oppose releasing 1911’s to the public. As such I would not be surprised to have the Sec. release none during his time in office. Or if he is generous only a couple of tokin 1911’s. Say 50…
    Friends we are going to have to wait for a friendly administration and a better bill to get our hands on these cheap 1911’s. šŸ™

    • Nailed it.

      As always, the devil is in the details. If that little “may” was a “must”, I’d perk my ears up. As it is, we won’t see a single 1911 sold through the CMP with a Democrat administration in the White House. Or, maybe a few really old, clapped out ones auctioned off for “historical value” that will end up selling for way more than they’re worth.

      In any case, even if they released ’em all, it’d be a long while before they got cleaned up and gone over and graded for sale, and even then, they’ll almost certainly be overpriced. I love my CMP Garand, but I’m not going to get too worked up over these pistols until they’re actually for sale and we can see how beat up they are and how much they’ll cost.

    • This “may” and “up to” language strikes me as a sell-out by our so-called 2A supporters in Congress. They can go home and claim to their gun-owning voters that they got a major win for the 2A through the President’s signature without having actually done anything. The Secretary of Defense can drag-out the timing and quantity such that only a few are offered for sale before 20 Jan 2017. Then, of course, a Republican President can see to it that the remainder are put on sale at the rate of 10,000 per year.
      Now, then, a Republican President could have signed a bill on the 21st of January 2017 offering the entire quantity to CMP. So, what sort of “win” was this?
      Why didn’t our so-called 2A supporters in Congress get Obama to sign National Reciprocity as an amendment to a spending bill? That would have been a real win. This “may” “up to” strikes me as a loss.

      • The “up to 10,000” part is a very disappointing aspect. Why put a limit on it? There is certainly way more demand than that, and they must have millions of pistols warehoused. Limiting it to 10,000 (with the actual number likely to be somewhat less) just insures that the prices will be kept unnecessarily high, because the supply is artificially restricted.

        • Could very well be that the limit is in place because of how much work needs to go into, inventorying them, cleaning and servicing, etc. They cant just toss them in boxes and sell as is. limiting it allows them to assign as few people as possible to this task.

      • On a more positive spin, that’s around 100 years worth of `1911’s. It should last long enough to hit its 200th anniversary! On a more realistic note, %&*#*#($$#.

      • 10,000 1911s is hardly a “glut” in a market that buys ten million guns a year. Also, a bunch of worn-out GI pistols aren’t going to put much of a hurt on the Wilson Combats and Kimbers of the world.

      • Looks like the amendment added two words, two times:
        “Firearms Safety”.
        Whaddaya wanna bet that means take away all guns to the (D)ictator in Chief, and a the fu<King POS (D) voters out there in piss ant little la la lands that gave us him and have another satan's pecker drip on deck for the next election?

  19. The fact that he had to sign this bill with the cmp part attached is gonna give him and his reputation a bleeding ulcer.
    Couldn’t happen to a nicer comrad.
    Now we need a republican admin to release these pieces of history.
    I’m going to pitch my tent and get in line!

  20. Obama did what???? I must’ve inhaled something at work, cause I thought I just read that Obama signed the “OK” off on something that promotes gun sales!!!!!! Ok I guess I should try to drink fire and car tires are now jelly filled……..

    • I would be shocked if we see these for sale any time soon. And when they do, I would expect the CMP to auction them off individually, the way they do the M1 carbines now. I’ll be very surprised if they just sell them through the normal CMP sales process like the Garands.

  22. Ok, so far so good, but what about repatriating those garands and carbines ?

    I mean, not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but BHO said that the likelihood of those
    rifles being used in crime, or the perceived likelihood, was a factor in not re-importing them.
    So now he’s going to sign off on the distribution of handguns ?

    I’ll still stand in line for one.

  23. What the hell? Did someone snap a pic of Barry Soetoro/Marshall-Davis fondling Michael’s er, I mean his “wife”, Michelle’s, penis?

  26. Now what about all the M1 carbines South Korea wants to repatriate to the USA that OBrowneye and his henchman, Eric Holder, the BLM domestic terrorist, blocked from coming back into the country? I guess we will have to wait for President Donald J. Trump to bring those babies back home to where they belong.

    BTW During the era of the Newark Riots in the ’60’s I remember that someone robbed the factory in Springfield N.J. where the M1 carbines were being manufactured taking a hundred or so rifles, have ANY of those ever been “recovered”?

    Vote Trump!

      • One way to purchase from the CMP is to be a C&R license holder. Therefore every gun they sale is C&R eligible. The last production 1911’s were from the 50’s anyway so that automatically makes them all C&R eligible plus the historical aspect these guns have put them well within the realm of C&R.

  31. Hmmm, while I am not an Obama hater so much. Sure I think he has failed to be an effective president and I don’t agree with all or even many of his idea I do find myself oddly thinking this was a nice move. Just can’t figure out why he did it. I get that they (dems) lose nothing by doing this, you can buy a 1911 in any gun shop, it is a little strange finding myself having a feeling of “thankfulness” toward this administration in regards to a firearms decision. Granted it is a money maker for the gov.

    I still don’t want to buy one mind you. Not really a 1911 fan but I can appreciate the move.

    I think I’ll pinch myself and grab a cup of coffee just to insure that I am not dreaming…

    • I don’t.

      He still orchestrated the 7n6 ban, Russian bans, Steyr AUG pistol kit ban, and no rifles from South Korea. Don’t forget he attempted to stifle the NFA trust process, redefined arms braces, and almost got away with banning M855 ammo.

      Like others said before he signed this as a rider to something he wanted more and the 1911 angle was a pill he had to swallow just like the CC bill back in 2010 for national parks.

      Plus the bill only allows up to a max of 10,000 a year to be released. That means he can still stifle the CMP and get away with only 1 handgun given to them a year.

  37. Do I have to join the CMP? How much would that cost? How much are these guns expected to cost? Is any of this possible in california?

    I don’t know why but I already feel I got my hopes up for nothing.

    • 1. You don’t join the CMP, you join an affiliated club. They have a list of clubs on their website.
      2 Cost varies on the organization.
      3. Dunno, but the CMP is tasked to raise money to promote shooting so they tend to be close to market pricing.
      4. Not sure about CA’s laws regarding C&R handguns.

  39. Democraps are strong supporters of the 2A, but just want reasonable and sensible gun control. Signing this bill proves it. Now the subjects can push the D lever in full confidence knowing they will be ready for Hitlery.

  40. What happened with gun control? Guns kill people, ban all guns? Cars kill people, ban all cars? People kill people, ban all people?

  42. Only got them because it was attached to “must pass” legislation. obama wants the NDAA because American citizens can be arrested and detained indefinitely without charges under the Law. Yeah, in violation of your Constitutional Rights, but he doesn’t care about that.

  43. I feel there will be some very disappointed buyers out there, all thinking this will be the greatest chance to own a piece of military history and get a great shooting gun in the process. During my time in the U.S.Army, every time I was issued the 1911 as my primary weapon, I dreaded the day when I would have to rely on one. Units kept these in their inventories until they literally fell apart because the Unit Armorer couldn’t keep them repaired. It was a standing joke that the maximum effective range of the M1911 was as far as you could throw it. Don’t think that you will be getting cream of the crop when these are released. Expect the worst and you might be pleasantly surprised with a fair to good pistol.

  47. Not sure if I want one or not. It would be a nice collectors item and sure to sky rocket in value but as long ago as 40 years the Army did a test on the frames of these guns and many, many had hairline cracks in the frames.

    One must also remember that these guns have been rebuilt many times. If you think you are going to find one mint in the box it just is not going to happen.

    Also the slides on the WWII guns were not heat treated. They are soft by modern standards and do not get the high round life that modern guns do so the fact that many of these guns are now 70 years old its a crap shoot on how much wear is on the slide locking lugs.

    Sights on these guns were so small even a 20 year old with 20/20 eyesight in bright sunlight will have trouble seeing the sights.

    Trigger pulls were really bad on these guns with plenty of creep and hard heavy pulls.

    WWII guns were built to very loose standards and contrary to popular myth it was not done for better functioning rather because the Government needed many guns in a hurry and looser tolerances meant no hand fitting which speeded up production. In other words the gun is a wall hanger, not an accurate shooter as accuracy in these guns is pretty abysmal. And remember if you alter (butcher) these guns in any way the collector value plummets to zero and resale value is cut by a good 75 per cent.

    Still I think modern day arm chair commandoes will all want one and then scream from the roof tops that the gun is not accurate and then proceed to alter and destroy the historic value of these guns which of course will make the guns that the smart collector keeps original go up in value even faster.

    If I get one it will be if the price is not astronomical which I think it will be and if I do it will be kept original in every way to preserve a piece of WWII history. Of course the bulk of them will be butchered by putting different sights on them, triggers, grip safeties, grips, etc and the owner will have more money invested than if he had went out and bought a modern pistol to begin with. And remember once its butchered its worth very little.

  48. One more comment on pricing:

    While you can no longer get a Winchester 75, Remington 541, or even Mossberg 44/144LS, (they will sell you a stripped Win 52 with no bolt or moving parts for $135), they will sell you a Savage MKII-FVT for $257, which is a lot less than the $372 cash price at Bud’s.

  51. A 1911 and marksmanship are not often seen in the same sentence together, and there is a reason for that. But, it will stop whatever you can manage to hit with it. CMP prices tend to be fair, if not spectacularly good. I’ll be watching.

  53. Years ago I had a buddy who laughed at me for spending $160 each on not one but two M1 Garands. Now years later he keeps moaning and groaning on how he wished he had bought one or two like I did before the price went into the stratosphere. I reminded him of the old Greek saying “He who laughs last laughs best”.

  56. Oh, you have to be a member of a club and in order to be a member of a club certain requirements that have to be met…I guess these won’t be available for purchase from firearm retailers. What ashame because as taxpayers we already paid for them, now they are going to be so gracious to sell them back taxpayers but only if you’re a member of a club…lol

    • Which is fair and reasonable. The program isn’t designed to get them into the hands of civilians. If they really wanted to do that, they’d just give them to folks are the leave the military (fast distribution) or put them all up for auction (most money)

      The point of the program is to, like it says on the box, promote marksmanship among civilians. The thought is that by making surplus available, civilians will use them to train and learn marksmanship, enabling them to be better contributors to American defense. That’s why participation in a marksmanship program is half the eligibility and membership in an organization promoting training and continual improvement is the other half.

      The folks who buy to collect will make money off the program, but they violate the spirit. Even if the government spurs this in some cases through the auctions that drive pricing sky high, the collectors are just as bad as welfare queens – both abuse a government program to their benefit and public detriment.

      If there was an affiliate near me accepting members (there are some scout troops and a gun club 20 miles away that has closed its wait list), I’d happily do that. Solo training will have to be good enough for me.

      • I have a better idea, they should be raffled off to those of us that served, instead of being reserved for those that belong to some sort of club. The winners of the raffle would then have their firearm shipped to an FFL to have the background check done when they picked it up…but that makes too much sense.

  58. So when are the going to start selling off their used brass?! They used to have a one shot policy that they didn’t reload and used to sell to the public but obummer changed that and they are grinding it up!

  59. obama is angling for various means of arming his jihad army that he’s importing into our country.
    If you are an American and you love your country you can be 100 percent positive that everything obama do is to our detriment.

  60. It’s stuff like this that gives fodder for political history or statistical manipulation. With enough of these, people will be able to call this guy “pro gun”.

    What does this actually have to do with allowing quality, affordable, self defense? I would say nothing. There are other (better I would say) carry guns out there.

    What is this actually doing to slow down the disarmament crowd? Nothing. This is “low” capacity, semi-auto, “featureless”, and not that cheap.

    While I certainly think that restrictions on such weapons are stupid and a step in the wrong direction, allowing them does pretty much nothing for supporting defensive gun ownership in general.

  62. Actually, the CMP gives Obama and the anti-gun lobby exactly what they want. If you have purchased through the CMP, as I have, you will complete a ton of paperwork. You have to prove that you meet the standards of why the CMP was created. After 32 years in the military I was initially angered that I had to prove my METL but the rules cover everything Obama wants right down to registration of the firearm and if I have the appropriate background. The CMP is small in size when you visit the sales office in Alabama but they have a great staff and they steer you in the right direction. I will gladly stand in line to once again hold a real 1911. The Remington R1 just isn’t the same to me. This is great news. By the way, once you are a certified CMP member you don’t have to do all that paperwork again…..

  63. I want to know why this article couldn’t come up with a better photo than a modern 1911 replica.

  64. love me some 1911s, but getting a “real one” is just about the best. some of the cmp garands are shot-out, so i hope these historic 1911s are pretty good.

  65. I submit that most of these mass shootings are our enemies trying to get gun control as a pre-emptive strike! FYI, Obama may be talking gun control, but he signed legislation allowing the sale of 100,000 surplus 1911 and 1911a1 handguns! He also eliminated any chance of registering bullets and expanded gun ownership rights! Now you tell me something isn’t up?
    Yes, remain calm, quietly arm yourselves and be ready for anything.

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