By ROBERT KYLE
Antique Week Correspondent

The Model 1911, the .45 caliber semi-automatic sidearm our soldiers carried in two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and skirmishes in between turns 100 years old this year. Gun makers are acknowledging this momentous occasion with a variety of commemorative models.

The most prominent is a one-of-a-kind engraved, gold inlaid example made by Colt. To make it available to the whole world, The Hunting Heritage Trust of Aiken, S.C., put it up for bid on www.gunbroker.com on Dec. 17. Bidding opened at $1,000. On Jan. 21, 189 bids later, it sold for $83,025, apparently a record for a new commemorative firearm.

Its page had more than 240,000 views. Proceeds will benefit the National Shooting Sports Foundation. It’s the group that presents the annual SHOT Show (Shooting, Hunting, Outdoors Trade Show and Conference) each January in Las Vegas.

Colt is offering two more affordable Model 1911 anniversary editions. The “ANVII” is a deluxe, gold-inlaid piece with cocobolo wood grips. It retails for $2,295. Only 750 will be made. The “ANVIII” is a standard, no-frills version that resembles one from World War I. Its price is $1,150. Colt is taking orders for it until Nov. 30.

The Kimber company, which has been producing 1911 models for years, has introduced a Centennial Edition in a limited run of 250. It sports ivory grips and a casehardened finish, provided by Turnbull Restoration in Bloomfield, N.Y. The price is $4,352. Not to be out done, Turnbull has come out with its own 1911 anniversary model priced at $3,895. It’s described as “True to the ones made in early 1913.”

Browning has come out with a limited edition “1911 Commemorative Cased Set” that contains both a .45 and .22 caliber pistol. The first set from the factory was sold on Gun Broker on Jan. 21 to benefit the National Shooting Sports Foundation. It brought $24,525.

This prompted plenty of interest, especially since Browning plans to retail the sets for $4,669. Unfortunately, production has lagged in the .45 caliber and the sets won’t become available until June, a Browning spokesman said.
Remington took the opposite approach. Rather than add another expensive commemorative to the mix, it introduced the “1911 R1,” a plain jane, no-frills shootable model with a $699 price tag.

Standard, authentic, G.I.-used Model 1911s and 1911A1s made by Colt, Remington-Rand, Springfield, Union Switch & Signal and Ithaca can be found from around $800 to the many thousands depending on condition and rarity. Gun Broker recently sold a U.S. Navy marked 1911 made in 1912 for $8,000. But a 1911 made in 1918 that had been reblued brought only $650. Models made by Singer can fetch tens of thousands.

Used U.S. military1911s are authentic artifacts of American history. Shooting them generally won’t affect value. Commemorative models, to retain their value, should not be fired.

The Model 1911 and 1911A1 were the service-issued sidearms from 1911 to 1985, at which time the smaller caliber 9mm Beretta M9 replaced them. Its civilian version is the Model 92F and 92FS. Switching to 9mm was done to become compatible with arms used by NATO allies

The Beretta may be on its way out, however, as a result of the future “Modular Handgun System.” It’s the name of a yet unknown gun, a “non-caliber specific weapon” for which the U.S. is accepting proposals. Does this mean a flood of military Berettas will hit the market one day?

California ammunition law found unconstitutional

A restrictive new ammunition law set to go into effect Feb. 1 was declared unconstitutional on Jan. 18 by Fresno Superior Court Judge Jeffery Hamilton. The law, AB 962, was passed in October 2009. Its purpose was to keep handgun ammo away from criminals.

The law would prohibit mail-order ammo, require its registration when bought in person, and obtain thumb prints of purchasers.

The case was brought to court by the California Rife and Pistol Assoc. Foundation and the NRA, which provided partial funding. Many law-enforcement agencies lent their support to the suit.

ATF gives good advice at SHOT Show

The annual SHOT Show that took place in Las Vegas on Jan. 18-21 is where major manufacturers display their latest guns and gear to the trade.

Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (the ATF) were present to give seminars to help gun dealers better understand regulations. The ATF also provided data on current licensed dealers. Holders of the Type 01, the standard federal firearms license, now number 47,744. Type 02, pawn brokers who buy and sell guns, total 6,941. Type 03, the Curio & Relic license for those who collect guns made 50 or more years ago, is growing at 57,393.

There are 1,789 licensed manufacturers of ammo who have the Type 06. Licensed gun makers, Type 07, total 4,487. There are 240 Destructive Device manufacturers (Type 10).

“At the close of FY2010, the FFL population was approximately 118,400,” the ATF stated at the SHOT Show.
“This represents more than 2.5 percent increase over the FFL population at the then end of Fiscal Year 2009. The total figure represents an increase in every category of federal firearms licenses issued under the Gun Control Act,” the speaker stated.

The FBI did not attend the SHOT Show, but it has come out with its own data from 2010. They handle the NICS, or National Instant Criminal Background Check System, for states that don’t conduct their own checks. The system handles both long guns and handguns, depending on the state.

Last year was a record-breaker, with 14,409,616 checks performed. (Yes, that’s more than 14 million!) The five states conducting the most checks were: Kentucky (2,385,579); Texas (968,071); California (816,399); Illinois (695,300); and Pennsylvania (626,677). Kentucky has led in this category since 2006. Kentucky has a population of 4.3 million. Texas has more than 24 million people.
Conclusion: Folks in Kentucky sure love their guns — and keep buying them.
The ATF reports that the number of licensed gun dealers has dropped significantly from the early 1990s when someone discovered that America had “more gun dealers than gas stations.” After that revelation was widely reported by the press, the government wanted to know why, and stepped in. Licensees were visited, especially those called “kitchen table dealers” who did little or no business.

The decline in licensed gun dealers was dramatic: from 245,628 in 1994 to 47,744 in 2011. Still, that averages to over 950 per state, which seems to be enough to go around.

Some pro-gun people are quick to criticize the ATF. In reality, the agency exists to protect us, not take our guns.

Gun dealers who ignore federal laws can bring the ATF to their door. Consider these cases from 2010:

•A 64-year-old pawn shop owner in Front Royal, Va., was indicted with several other men in September on a number of charges, including selling guns without a license, selling guns to felons, and having two unregistered machine guns and one 81mm mortar. He also sold guns openly and illegally at a local flea market. Authorities took about 50 guns from his house and 1,261 from his shop. He posted $200,000 bond and is free until sentencing.

•A Florida county commissioner and his son, who own a pawn shop in Chipley, were each given six months in prison and fined $3,000 for knowingly selling guns to a felon.