Colt M45A1: A Modernized M1911 For The Marines

posted on July 3, 2021
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
Coltm45a1

In Oct. 2016 the U.S. Marine Corps announced Glock 19s would replace the .45 ACP-chambered Colt M45A1s carried by members of its Marine Expeditionary Unit Special Operations Capable (MEUSOC) teams. The Picatinny-railed 1911s were officially adopted by the elite troops in 2012, and featured all the special touches required by those operating on or behind the front lines in the global war on terrorism.

Fans of the 1911 expressed their disgust as nearly 4,000 of the handguns were de-commissioned. The silence was deafening, though, when they became available and Colt continued to produce a civilian variant. At more than 100 years old, there’s undeniable attraction to the John Moses Browning design, even brand new ones with elegant upgrades that enhance performance without compromising his vision. Scarcely mentioning the soon-be-collectible kept demand low, and availability proportionately high.

“I was able to lay my hands on one of the decommissioned M45A1s to examine and evaluate it,” one author for American Rifleman wrote two years ago. “These decommissioned Colts will continue to be a hot item among both shooters and collectors for the foreseeable future. The pistols are exceptional purely as shooters, and scarce and significant for several military and historic reasons. We are fortunate that they found their way onto the public market.”

Models mustered out of the Marine Corps are scarce today and fetch lofty prices, but factory-fresh models with nearly identical features are still available from Colt. They feature Novak three-dot night sights, M1913-spec Picatinny rail and Decabond brown coating with nicely matching Desert Tan G10 grips.

Barrel length is 5 inches, dual recoil springs reduce perceived recoil and magazine capacity is seven rounds. A slight bevel at the magazine well enhances reload speed and the thumb safety is ambidextrous. Weight of the gun, empty, is listed at 40 ounces. MSRP comes in at $1,699.  

Latest

.308 Win.
.308 Win.

Handloads: A Quiet .308 Win. For Large-Format Pistols

Of the many commercial .308 Winchester loads, few, if any, are designed for barrels shorter than 16". The one that follows helps address this gap while remaining simple to suppress and light on the wrists.

Court Approves Watchtower Firearms DIP Financing

Watchtower Firearms was granted final approval for debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas in late June.

Review: Ruger LC Carbine In 10 mm Auto

Following the success of its .45 ACP-chambered LC Carbine, Ruger realized that this platform would go a long way toward making the 10 mm Auto more controllable and fun to shoot, and a new 10 mm version was released in 2024.

The Armed Citizen® July 14, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Favorite Firearms: A Little Stevens From Chicago

"Over the next five or six years, and before I went off to college, I fired hundreds and hundreds of rounds of .22 BB Caps, CB Caps, Shorts and Longs through this rifle."

Preview: Strike Industries T-Bone Charging Handle

The T-Bone from Strike Industries is an ideal fit for suppressed applications, as it can be configured by the user to redirect gas blowback entirely to either side ...

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.