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The 1911 .45 ACP pistol has a mystique that is unmatched by any other pistol. Its owners are devoted to it. It continues to be chosen by SWAT, special forces, and competitive shooters despite challenges by newer designs and technologies. It is a cultural icon and symbol of America at its combative best. Yes, it's a combat sidearm, not a pocket gun or a concealment piece. It was designed for the Army in an era when the cavalry rode into battle on horses. Created by John M. Browning at the turn of the Twentieth Century, the 1911 was the climax of a series of autoloader designs which culminated in the adoption by the Army of the M1911 in the year from which it took its name. It is perhaps the most loved, studied, and enduring pistol design of all time.

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The Sight M1911 Quartermaster Shop - The Sight M1911 began and continues as a labor of love. I think of the subscribers to my e-Newsletter as friends of mine and I value your continuing interaction, trust, and contributions to The Sight M1911. The shop is just an extension of that philosophy. It's a way for me to provide to my users some of the neat and useful things I have found at reasonable prices. It also helps me to make a little money to keep the web site up. We are authorized dealers for the Kuhnhausen manuals, High Noon Holsters, Mech-Tech carbine conversions, Chip McCormick magazines and parts, most major cutlery brands, and some good, cheap ammo. Check it out.

The Sight M1911A1 News - The News is where I list the latest additions to The Sight and my occasional rants, various and sundry.

The Sight M1911A1 Library - Visit our Library. Much of the best material on the Sight can be found here. The Library contains articles on CCW, RKBA, 1911 Technical and Historical issues, Gun and Equipment reviews and other stuff that I can't think of another place for.

The Sight M1911A1 Survey - I am collecting info on the use of our favorite pistol. If you have a minute, please fill out the survey so that I can develop some statistics on what people like and don't like in the 1911 world. This survey  is more extensive than the quick survey in the box to the right.

FM 23-35 Basic Field Manual - We now have the complete Basic Field Manual of the M1911 and M1911A1 online. This is the version which was issued in 1940 and authorized by General George C. Marshall. Special thanks goes to Anthony Gabrielson who did the scanning and OCR which allows this online document to look like the original while having the type in text so that it is searchable and prints using fonts. If you ever wanted to know how to fire your 1911 from horseback at a full gallop, this manual will show you how. It also shows us how the Army expected soldiers to be trained with the M1911 in the WWII era. Included are target and range diagrams, scoring charts, funky old pictures and much more.


The M1911A1 Notebook

Updated 10/22/99

This electronic booklet in Adobe Acrobat PDF format contains the much of the content of this website plus additional information. Thanks to John Caradimas at M1911.org for storing this file on his server.

The Notebook requires Adobe Acrobat Reader 3 which is free from Adobe's Website.

Open Syd's 1911 Notebook

If you have some knowledge to share, something you want to contribute to this site, or just want to talk 1911's, send me an email. There are a few things I can't do: I can't tell you what your gun is worth; I can't tell you the production date of your commercial Colt, and I can't tell you where you can find a gun.

To date a Government Issue M1911 or M1911A1, click here

If your frame and slide don't match on a Government Issue M1911 or M1911A1, click here.

"ACP" Stands for "Automatic Colt Pistol"


© 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 The Sight M1911. No part of this site may be copied or reproduced without permission.

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This page was last updated on 04/07/08