The 1911s are WWII and earlier production guns.
The Civilian Marksmanship Program, or CMP, just received authorization to take 8,000 of 1911 pistols from the U.S. Army. The Army has around 100,000 in storage and plans to surplus them in batches through the CMP over the next few years.
The CMP has been hard at work trying to get a hold of these guns for its members for years. It wasn’t until last year that they were able to cut through the political red tape holding these handguns back.
Unfortunately, CMP members and affiliates will have to wait just a little longer before they will be able to purchase these historically and militarily significant pistols.
In the next few days the CMP will begin the sorting and grading process while the Army reviews the CMP’s 1911 facilities. The CMP expects this to take about two months. After that, they will be able to post pricing and sales information.
CMP COO Mark Johnson apologized for the delay. “Please be aware that the CMP was led to believe that we were ready to move forward, but three weeks ago facility requirements were changed, and we are now fulfilling those requirements,” he explained.
“Once the 1911 armory is completed, inspection, grading, repair, and ultimately test firing of the pistols will begin,” Johnson said.
Johnson said it will still take about three more months after that to start accepting sales. “The CMP 1911 order packet will be posted 90 days prior to the order acceptance date and opening sales date,” he said.
Demand for these guns is extremely high and the CMP is a bit overwhelmed with questions about pricing and availability. Right now, Johnson says, there just isn’t enough information to share.
“The CMP will keep everyone posted as we move through this process,” said Johnson.
See Also: CMP 1911s–Public Service or Power Trip?
While the CMP is not able to release hard details about these 1911s the rumor mill will continue to turn. The biggest question is how much will these cost?
Due to the small number of 1911s in this initial batch the CMP can put a price premium on these guns. Many expect pricing to start around $1,000 per handgun, even for lower-grade pistols.
“One reason for this is that the 1911 is a very valuable pistol,” said CMP Marketing Manager Steve Cooper. “Even though they may be shot out or busted up, we don’t want them falling into the hands of people who will just leave them in a glove box. We want a perceived value–more of an heirloom.”