Since Colt 45 also refers to two cartridges – the .45 ACP and the .45 Long Colt – as well as several guns, Kelly’s Colt 45 need not be Colt firearm or even a Colt clone. It could be any number of firearms which fire either one of the Colt .45 cartridges including several rifles.

For you non-gunners like Greg, think of this parallel. If Kelly had said that she has a Dodge Hemi, you would probably think of the current Chrysler autos touted as having a hemispherical combustion chamber engines. However, she could also be talking about another brand of auto that is equipped with a Chrysler Hemi engine, such as a Facel Vega.

So if Greg put up a photo of a 1969 Hemi Roadrunner, he might have her car, or she could actually have a Truck.

Greg Laden says:
January 19, 2012 at 5:02 pm
You mean the 45 caliber Colt Model of 1911 U.S. Army? Right. And your problem is?

The 1911 has not been made for several generations, except for a few special production runs for collectors. It was replaced at serial number 700,001 (in 1924) with the 1911A1 pistol which incorporated several changes. This pistol is obviously military as it has the U.S. Property mark on the left side of the receiver directly below the slide on the dust cover.

The pistol shown in your picture is a very early Model 1911, as evidenced by the safety lock (lever) which has the sharply defined shelf below the thumb piece. The rounded edge of the bottom of the safety lock indicates that the pistol was manufactured by the Springfield Armory, as does the faint Ordnance Bomb marking just below the magazine catch. Other indications that this is a 1911, not a 1911A1, are the long trigger, the absence of finger cuts, the type 1 front sight, and the flat mainspring housing.

As stated, 1911 pistols are very rare, and are considered collectors’ items due to this rarity and corresponding value. Therefore, if Clarkson has an automatic pistol, it is likely a version of the 1911A1, not the 1911.

However, the Colt Single Action Army, Model of 1873, is also called a Colt .45. It is a single-action revolver, chambered in .45 Long Colt, and is typically recognized as the “standard” cowboy gun often seen in Western movies. This gun has been in production, with a few interruptions, since its introduction in 1873.

In addition to the 1911 and 1873, Colt also produced a version of their model 1908 during WW1. It was named the Model 1917, and was chambered for the .45 ACP round, the same as is used in the 1911, and was modified to accept half-moon clips or semi-rimmed cartridges. Also, from 1992 until 1999, Colt produced another large-framed revolver called the Anaconda; it was chambered in both .45 LC and .44 Magnum.

To further confuse matters, 1911A1 pistols are currently being manufactured by many companies other than Colt: S&W, ParaOrdnance, Remington, Kimber, Rock Island, SigSauer, Les Bahr, Clark, Detonics, and Daly, to name only a few; there are several more. 1873 revolvers are being produced by many other manufacturers, as well. Typically, all of these are referred to as Colt .45s.

Clarkson could have any of these handguns, pistol or revolver, and still be accurate when she described it as a Colt .45. Due to the rarity and value of surviving 1911s and the variety of other firearms sharing that nomenclature, you are probably incorrect when you categorically state that it is an example of her gun or that it is the Colt .45.

I would bet that, if she does not have a revolver, she has a post-WW2 1911A1 in one form or another, probably a Commander or Officer’s Model.

You mean the 45 caliber Colt Model of 1911 U.S. Army? Right. And your problem is?

Greg Laden says:
January 19, 2012 at 1:27 pm
Actually, it really is.

What a coincidence! That’s exactly the same picture that’s posted on Wiki at this URL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1911_pistol

For what it’s worth, the pistol illustrated was probably manufactured by the US Army’s Springfield Armory between 1914 and 1918 (since it has the early safety lever), and is quite rare. Specimens in the condition shown are valued at several thousand dollars and are unlikely to by used for day-to-day self defense. By the way, the pistol illustrated has the wrong magazine.

Clarkson could also have a Colt Single Action Army .45 Long Colt, or a Model of 1917 in .45 ACP, or a Colt 1877 DA, or a Colt 1902/1904, or a Colt New Service Model, or an Anaconda, or any one of the dozens of versions of the Model 1911A1.