This is the Colt I drug home yesterday. The front sight required a couple of large holes bored in the slide. It was nicely done. The full length guide rod will not allow the slide to go back far enough to rack it on a full magazine. The safety is marked A Swenson and somewhere California. The pic's make the gun look a heck of a lot nicer than it is. I wonder if he accurized this Colt. Is the front sight familiar to anyone? I can take more pic's if someone has seen his work. I believe the trigger was added recently. Thanks, Ken

The gun has a Swenson safety; he made and sold them as aftermarket parts. If the gun itself was worked on by Swenson it will be so marked.

Thanks.

It looks like a Millett series 100 front sight, a ramp with a large base on it, held in place, basically, like a rivet with two legs. Milletts didn't come with a red insert (red paint was available) so someone did a fine job filing a notch and inserting a red plastic piece into the sight.

Milletts were sorta popular around here for awhile, when one of the local gunbutchers decided to "buy a franchise" and install a buttload of the things. He about went broke having to replace those front sights when they went flying off the pistols despite having those two "legs" rivetting the sight to the slides.

Yeah, I had one of those front sights installed on a BHP, and yeah, I was one of the guys who's front sight went a-flyin', and yeah, I hate anything Millett sells, to this day.

Yeah, he worked out of his house in Fallbrook, near the back gate to Pendleton.
That gun doesn't look like something Swenson worked on to me.


Pete

Member JamesDunn may be able to help. He grew up running around Armand�s shop as a kid; Swenson and JamesDunn�d father were close friends. Swenson gave JamesDunn a custom 1911 when he shipped out to Beruit back in �83.

Just from my observation, looks like Ratsmacker naild it on your front sight. My recollection is that Armand used the standard Colt�s style sight crimp but silver soldered the front sight in place as well. Millett�s were popular in the late �70�s and early �80�s and I�m sure Swenson has used them to a small degree (long enough to determine there are better ways of doing things). What grabs my attention on that gun is the grip safety; looks very old school like your safety. Back in the day, a lot of gunsmith�s used the MS Safari Arms grip safety and from the photo it appears that may be an MS Safari grip safety (I�d love to see more shots of it).

As to being a Swenson gun? Probably not, since many gunsmiths used and installed the famous Swenson safety.

Swenson guns will typically have checkering and he was the first I know of to use 30 lpi checkering. Most Swenson guns will have either a welded up and re-fit Colt�s barrel (most likely the case with a Gold Cup) or a Bar-Sto barrel. So examining the barrel and barrel fit could be very telling.

The most popular and common modification of a Swenson gun is squaring of the trigger guard. Also, most Swenson built guns will be wearing a hard chrome finish. And many of Swenson�s guns will not have an aftermarket trigger, as he often would peen and re-fit the factory trigger, then drill & tap it for an over-travel stop.

Swenson also was known for installing S&W K frame revolver adjustable rear sights, and the OP's looks like a standard Eliason.

I saw one of the Swenson's - exactly as Kevin described, some years ago. I could afford it now, but not then.

The syling is old school, but the craftsmanship was superb, and Swenson influenced a lot of people.

I had the honor of knowing Swenson well. I first met him when I was about 8 years old. He was a gentleman and a craftsman that had few peers. He LOVED the 1911 and he made working on them look easy he was so good at it. All guns he did are marked with his stamp on the frame. The stamp will have his name and address on it. He had 3 or 4 different shops over the years and the one in Fallbrook was his last. Sweeney's most recent book on the 1911 has some great pics of Swenson's various markings. I recommend Sweeney's book as it lays it a nice history of the early greats in 1911 customizing along with a nice practical history of the 1911.

As for the pistol....for a birthday present to me in 1983 my father and mother had Swenson do up a 1911 for me. It had a USGI 1911a1 frame, Pre Series 70 GVT slide, and a Barsto Barrel that my father provided. Swenson did his normal fantastic job on it with the K frame sight but did the a dull (bead blasted blue) finish. The gun was fantastic and wow did it work well. It was fitted a little more loose in the rails than normal but at the time I was stationed in 29 Palms and girt was an issue there for sure. I carried that pistol to both Grenada and Beirut. That 1911 saved my butt more than once. I was wounded in Beirut (big dummy here didnt duck in time) but my XO made sure it came back to me as he was a gun nut too. The gun was lost to me in 1995 from a break in at my house in Phoenix. That pistol had the right side of the slide on it marked with "Happy Birthday Son" on one line and "Mom, Dad and Armand" on the second line and "Semper Fi" on the 3rd. I would pay 1000's to get that pistol back today. Of all the guns I have owned I miss that one the most.

James, That's a damn sad story.

The story could of been much worse.......LOL....I did survive and the pistol did its job when called upon....do I miss that gun...Ohhh hell yes.....but I have fantastic memories

Great Story James,
Thanks!

Doggone it James - I sure hope you get that pistol back someday!

Good story, thanks for sharing it!

Semper Fi, Guy

Kevin, Here you go.

Yeah, that looks like a Safari Arms GS; OLD SCHOOL!! Very cool.

It might be the photo, but it looks like the slide is sitting slightly forward on the frame. Make sure the cross pin (slide stop) isn't bent and the lower lug feet aren't dinged up where they hit the cross pin.

I hope so Guy....Semper Fi

James....thanks for sharing your Swenson story. I like reading anything about him. My Dad turned me on to him in the late '60s and wanted one of his .45s.Unfortunately it never came to pass, however, I am a real fan of anything Swenson. What a guy he was.

I too hope you get your Swenson 1911 returned to you.

Good call, thanks!

James, thanks for the story.

Hope your pistol comes home.

This brought back a few memories. I did a concrete job at Armand's house in Fallbrook, where I grew up, back in the 80's. I was fascinated with his speedboats, which resembled airplanes without wings, that were in his driveway. I was even more fascinated with his shop and the seemingly hundreds of 1911's on pegs on the wall.

I saw his jig for stamping his Swensights and Swensafeties and he even let me stamp a few. We talked a trade for the cement work, but I needed the cash, what a mistake to not accept a 1911 from him for the work!!

JamesDunn, thanks for serving and very sorry to hear you lost the pistol from Armand.

Kurt