The Marines Git IT Right, New Colt M45A1 Close Quarters Battle Pistol

Discussion in 'Firearms' started by HK_User, Sep 21, 2015.


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  1. HK_User

    HK_User A Productive Monkey is a Happy Monkey

    Colt M45A1 Close Quarters Battle Pistol (CQBP) – Review & Range Report
    by Paul Helinski on September 19, 2015

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    It is hard to get a truly representative picture of the color of the Colt M45A1 CQBP, which was adopted by the US Marines Special Forces in 2012. This is a little light than in person, but the photo below is closer. If you are a fan of Colt, you are going to want this gun.


    C M45A1 CQBPolt
    http://www.colt.com/CQBP
    Buy one on GunsAmerica!
    Full disclosure, I am a Colt fanatic. So if my pictures of the Colt M45A1 Close Quarters Battle Pistol (CQBP) look like they were shot through rose colored sunglasses (I live in Miami), don’t be surprised. It took me a long time to finally get a review gun from Colt, and I am absolutely enamored with this pistol. If you didn’t know this already, the United States Marine Corps contracted Colt Defense in 2012 to build just over 4,000 of these guns for their Special Forces units. It was the first time since the end of WWII that Colt had supplied new 1911 pistols to the US Government, and for Colt fanatics like me, the news was like a homecoming. Prior to this deal, the Special Operations had been using the 1911, but they had to be rebuilt from guns that were retired upon adoption of the Beretta M9. The old guns had gotten tired, and Colt was the winner among several manufacturers to supply the new guns. The contract is ongoing, so a lot more than 4,000 guns will be shipped to the Marines. The good news for us is that the civilian version is the exact same gun, and they are finally starting to reliably show up in the market. The MSRP on the Colt CQBP is $2,149, and you can find them for slightly less if you look around.

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    The USMC spec states that the gun had to maintain a 4″ spread at 25 yards shot without a rest. I was able to repeat this with all of the ammo I tested. This color is actually pretty close to the actual color.


    The M45M1A is built on a stainless steel frame and slide, which has been covered with a Desert Tan Cerakote. It was raining for my first outing with the gun, but I have tried to keep the pics as close to the color in person as possible. A lot of online pics I noticed show the gun as too light colored. I shot this gun the first time at SHOT Show Media Day of 2013, and I remember that I had a peeve on it that the front of the muzzle gets really dirty when you shoot it a lot, so I was really pleased when the carbon rubbed right off without even any solvent. Why am I talking about colors and keeping the finish nice before the performance lol? Because most civilians who buy this gun are going to treat it as a collectible. As a collectible, Colt is shooting these guns at the factory, and though mine didn’t come with one, they are supposed to come with a test target. Don’t be afraid to shoot your M45A1 Colt. It cleans up perfect.
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    You will see a halo of carbon on the front of this gun after you shoot it, but I found that the carbon rubbed right off without solvents.


    The firing system on the gun is the Series 80 design from Colt, which features an internal firing pin safety. A lot of people have complained that the triggers on the Series 80s are spongy, but I didn’t experience that on my test gun. It snaps crisp and clean, at just under 6 lbs. The reset is a fairly standard 1/10th of the inch or so for a 1911, and it is a little scratchy, but with a noticeable feel and sound of a click. The gun failed zero times out of just over 300 rounds using everything from standard roundball to flat point to pointy Hornady carry bullets, to hollow points of several types.
    You would think that that this would mean that the gun is somewhat sloppy and rattly. It isn’t. In fact when you shake the gun there is no movement in it whatsoever. And in accuracy tests, I proved out the original USMC specification of under a 4″ spread of 5 shots at 25 yards over several brands of ammo. The USMC requirement said an “unsupported firing position,” so that is how I shot my tests. Ultimately a gun is only as accurate as you can fire it. And though an offhand test is much more subjective than a bench rested test, it does give you a good idea of how the gun performs in the field. I am not an accomplished pistol shooter, and I was able to ding 12×18 steel plates at 50 yards with every single shot, and about half the shots I hit the swinger in the middle. Oh, and that was with one hand. I am a retired SASS shooter.

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    Series 80 Colts have been criticized for having a spongy trigger, but I found this gun to be very crisp and consistent at a predicable break under 6 lbs.


    With a progressive reloading press, a lot of free time and a barrel of money I’m sure that you could get this gun shooting into a fraction of what I tested it at. Since the Marines adopted the gun, it has received nothing but high praise from the Quantico gunsmiths that used to build the old M45s from spare parts. Do yourself a favor though. If you have all three of those things (press, time, money), buy a second one of these guns to put away and not shoot a lot. These guns are going to be extremely collectible, and the consumer serial numbers are still in the 2000s.
    The Colt M45A1 CQBP comes with Novac style 3 dot night sights. The original guns apparently used actual Novac brand sights, but my test gun has Trijicons. This is of course a rail gun, and the rail is machined into the frame, not bolted on. Each gun comes with two Wilson Combat 7 round mags, and they have the extended pads on the bottom to protect your palm from getting hurt by the lanyard loop that sticks out of the bottom of the gun. The ambidextrous manual safety is surprisingly crisp and positive. I don’t know if this gun was sent to other reviewers before me, but in my experience most 1911 safeties take some break in time, whereas this one did not. The barrel is stainless, and marked “COLT 45 AUTO NM,” for National Match. All of the parts are meticulously Cerakoted, and after firing the gun a great deal, there is very little finish that gets lost. Some 1911s are hard to field strip. This one was not.

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    The grips on this Colt are beefy. The grip circumference is about the same as my doublestack 45s.


    Please see the pictures for details of my brief first outing with what is probably the most exciting Colt for me since the 901. I am not a Colt fanatic for no reason. Sam Colt may have died in 1862, long before the famous and groundbreaking 1973 Peacemaker, but his company pioneered the commercial firearms business through the last 100 years plus. Everyone wants to talk about John Browning John Browning John Browning with it comes to 1911s, but there are a lot of great inventions that never go anywhere because nobody buys them. It was Colt that made the 1911 an American firearm staple, and that goes for the AR-15 as well by the way. Inventions are great, but sound production, good marketing, and grabbing military contracts like this are what have given Colt, and the 1911, such longevity.
    Rarely if ever will you buy a Colt and have it disappoint you as a functional firearm and collectible that will only go up in value. This USMC contract may have been 22 million, but in modern corporate terms, that is a drop in the bucket. From a lesser name and a less historical gun that size contract wouldn’t have even made a blip. And don’t get me wrong. This 1911 is a great gun, and from a performance perspective, I don’t think you can do much better for this kind of money. But as a Colt fanatic and accumulator (which is different from collector), more than anything the USMC contract gave us all a great reason to go out and buy another Colt. I am going to try to buy this test gun from Colt, and if you can get your hands on one (there are currently only 4 on GunsAmerica), get this M45A1 CWBP while you still can at under MSRP.

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    To some degree, and a 1911 rail gun is a 1911 rail gun, but a Colt is never just another gun.

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    My gun came with Trijicon night sights.

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    The ambidextrous safety is surprisingly not sticky.

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    For a new 1911 it also field strips very easy.

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    Speer roundball was very tight and close to point of aim.

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    Never question your shooting until you shoot Hornady ammo. This Steel Match is intentionally underpowered for competition, but it is scary accurate. This is a 6 shot group.

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    All of the different types of bullets worked without flaw.

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    You would think that a Military gun would be made to optimize roundballs, but I shot a ton of this flat Winchester 1911 ammo and it never even hiccuped.

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    The gun comes with a lockable case and two Wilson7 round magazines.
     
    stg58, Georgia_Boy, Hanzo and 4 others like this.
  2. Dunerunner

    Dunerunner Brewery Monkey Moderator

    Oh Boy! :rolleyes: Now I want another handgun..... :D
     
    Georgia_Boy, Hanzo and Ganado like this.
  3. HK_User

    HK_User A Productive Monkey is a Happy Monkey

    Kinda' Pricy.
    Of course that doesn't stop me from putting it on my "Want List".
    After all Christmas is coming!
     
    Brokor and Hanzo like this.
  4. Dunerunner

    Dunerunner Brewery Monkey Moderator

    I know... My want list far exceeds my credit limit. [winkthumb]
     
    Ganado and Hanzo like this.
  5. HK_User

    HK_User A Productive Monkey is a Happy Monkey

    My credit limit exceeds my "pay to" ability!
     
  6. UncleMorgan

    UncleMorgan I like peeling bananas and (occasionally) people.

    I'm waiting for Barrett Arms to come out with their new J-action .45 cal submachine gun.
    I saw a video of it, but haven't been able to track it down lately.
    Part of the internal mechanism drops downward as it blows back, and that totally eliminates all
    muzzle rise, even on full auto. Looks very much like a Thompson.

    You could hold it in one hand and drop a whole drum magazine into a paper bandit and put every round
    in head or chest, your choice.

    That's some seriously tasty technology.
     
  7. 3M-TA3

    3M-TA3 Cold Wet Monkey

    Great article, but if the 1911 was not such a great design, it would be footnote. The design is so good it has stood the test of time having been designed 125 years ago . Same with the M16/AR15 platform - it was a groundbreaking design by Stoner. If Colt were the only maker, an AR would likely cost $2500+ and few of us could afford them. No offense to Colt - it's a great company. And, yes, I lust for one of these...
     
    HK_User, Dont, Brokor and 2 others like this.
  8. oldawg

    oldawg Monkey+++

    Love my 1911s and at two grand a pop for the "new" cqpb my "tired" old 1911A1 will just have to suffer my attentions for the rest of my days.
     
    Dont, Ganado, Georgia_Boy and 2 others like this.
  9. Tully Mars

    Tully Mars Metal weldin' monkey

    NOT a fan of the series 80 but [drooling]
     
    Brokor and Ganado like this.
  10. NotSoSneaky

    NotSoSneaky former supporter

    Looks pretty much like the one I was issued back in the '70's.

    'Cept that one didn't have all that tactical stuff on it. [tongue]
     
    HK_User and oldawg like this.
  11. Legion489

    Legion489 Rev. 2:19 Banned

    Well with Colt going belly up, and let's face it, with good reason, who knows if these will be available any time soon or if ever in the future. If you find one and want one, better buy it now, who knows if Colt will finally go belly up for good or come back, with or without the pistol in the line up. While I will feel sorry if Colt closes, it will be bitter sweet as they stabbed gun owners in the back so many times it really doesn't matter any more and the management always sucked (non-gun people) for the last 30 years.
     
  12. Partyboy

    Partyboy Neophyte Monkey

    Colt will continue to make their prices too high as long as people with big wallets keep collecting them. While the gun is cool, I'd save a lot of coin by buying a Rock Island and not being afraid to shoot it.
     
  13. jim2

    jim2 Monkey+++

    It would have been nice if he would have shot WW white box from a rest at 25 yds to get an idea of what the gun would really do. I don't understand these guys.

    jim
     
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