ISO a gunsmith to help restore a pistol

tighefighter · Dec 18, 2017

I have a 22 pistol that I inherited from my father in law who claims to have gotten it when he was in Vietnam. I would like to get it back to working order. If anybody could point me in the right direction I would appreciate it. I am in the Baltimore area.

The markings say it's a colt and on the other side it's stamped STAR. It's a 1911 form. I'm trying to post a pic but am not having luck.

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F5guy · Dec 18, 2017

Scott’s Gunsmithing Glen Burnie no question.

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somd_mustangs · Dec 18, 2017

That is neither a Star nor a Colt

Looks very "Khyber Pass" to me (or hand-built by the VC?)
Missing the thumb safety.
Even if you can get it up and running again it might not be a good idea to shoot it.

Doco Overboard · Dec 18, 2017

Thats a hell of a facsimile, "Khyber" type copies of any sort amaze me.

somd_mustangs · Dec 18, 2017

BTW legend on right side isn't true Colt, which would read "COLT'S PT. F.A. MFG CO., HARTFORD CT. USA" (PT = Patent, F.A = Fire Arms)
so "P.A" isn't quite, well, correct.

Very interesting piece as it sits though.

somd_mustangs · Dec 18, 2017

Maybe more likely a Chinese copy?
I like it as a relic, not necessarily as a functioning piece.

oh, just noticed it's in .22 MM, that'll be a tough caliber to find.

tighefighter · Dec 18, 2017

somd_mustangs said:
That is neither a Star nor a Colt
Looks very "Khyber Pass" to me (or hand-built by the VC?)
Missing the thumb safety.
Even if you can get it up and running again it might not be a good idea to shoot it.

I have the thumb safety.

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tighefighter · Dec 18, 2017

This is the kind of info I been looking for. The more info I can get the better. Thanks all for the info so far. My father in law passed before I gained possession of it. So this is the story that was passed to me.

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somd_mustangs · Dec 18, 2017

That's good that you have the safety, as any part that needs attention will need to be hand-fabricated or repaired.

Seriously, I wouldn't shoot this as the metal quality is probably not very good, nor properly hardened where appropriate, and the parts are probably not "in spec".
Even if there are stories about it being shot in the past, I'd chalk that up to good luck that it didn't blow up.

It's a really an interesting piece just as it sits, but getting a smith to look it over won't hurt.

tighefighter · Dec 18, 2017

somd_mustangs said:
That's good that you have the safety, as any part that needs attention will need to be hand-fabricated or repaired.

Seriously, I wouldn't shoot this as the metal quality is probably not very good, nor properly hardened where appropriate, and the parts are probably not "in spec".
Even if there are stories about it being shot in the past, I'd chalk that up to good luck that it didn't blow up.

It's a really an interesting piece just as it sits, but getting a smith to look it over won't hurt.

It's not and has not been in working condition since received. Just thought it would be a cool piece to be restored.

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inkd · Dec 18, 2017

tighefighter said:
It's not and has not been in working condition since received. Just thought it would be a cool piece to be restored.

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For reasons already stated, I wouldn't shoot it.

As far as restoring it, I think as an heirloom or family keepsake, keeping it as is would make it a lot more interesting.

Jimbob2.0 · Dec 18, 2017

somd_mustangs said:
That is neither a Star nor a Colt
Looks very "Khyber Pass" to me (or hand-built by the VC?)
Missing the thumb safety.
Even if you can get it up and running again it might not be a good idea to shoot it.

I would agree its something not STAR, they were fastidious about their stampings.

Hmmmm a mystery.

zoostation · Dec 18, 2017

As has been said neither a Colt nor a Star. I am thinking a Spanish cottage industry gun that somehow made it's way to VN. Post WW2 there were literally hundreds of home based builders turning out guns in Spain under primitive conditions. Philippines is another similar possibility. In fact the more I look at the crude stampings I think that may be it, especially that close to VN. Parts will be hard to find and will probably depend on finding something close enough and having a gunsmith mod them to work. The gun was surely largely built and fitted by hand so precise off the shelf surplus part fits will not exist. A lot of money if even possible. And even then who knows if it will be safe to shoot, how trustworthy the barrel steel is, etc. I'm sure it has important sentimental value and in my opinion the best investment for it may be a nice display case.

Biggfoot44 · Dec 19, 2017

Alleged Colt markings on one side , and alleged Star markings on the other side of same slide? With errors in each ? Definitely not kosher .

For the $64 question, is the bore size .22 or .45 ?

Givin the geographic location, the number of US servicemen frequebting both areas in those days , and their favoring of US patteen firearms , I'll speculate the Phillipines free spirited cottage firearms industry .

Copper · Dec 19, 2017

Thats a pretty cool piece. I would email one of the curators at the NRA Firearms Museum in Fairfax. They may be able to shed the most light on what you have.

tighefighter · Dec 19, 2017

Copper said:
Thats a pretty cool piece. I would email one of the curators at the NRA Firearms Museum in Fairfax. They may be able to shed the most light on what you have.

Not quite sure how to go about doing that. Do you have any of their info? If anything I would love to learn the origin of it.

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mvee · Dec 19, 2017

I've seen similar pistols on the web.

https://www.forgottenweapons.com/other-handguns/viet-cong-1911-copy/
https://homemadeguns.wordpress.com/2014/08/01/homemade-semi-auto-pistols-part-1-vietnamese-copies/

tallen702 · Dec 19, 2017

tighefighter said:
Not quite sure how to go about doing that. Do you have any of their info? If anything I would love to learn the origin of it.

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Not sure if it's still valid, but you can try: NFMStaff@nrahq.org

They're re-worked their website recently so that the "Contact us" link takes you to their "Connect on twitter, facebook, instagram, etc.) links.

Edit:

Also, definitely not legit as others have pointed out. From a heirloom/collector's standpoint, it's likely better left alone than given any kind of restoration job.

2nd Edit: Also, you may have the safety, but it looks as if the safety plunger is missing? There's no grip safety visible (so no Colt) and while STAR eliminated the grip safety, they only made 1911 A-1 style backstraps, so the lack of a hump eliminates them. The barrel bushing is definitely not legit, the magazine catch is all wrong, etc. etc. Definitely a cottage-industry knock-off.

engineerbrian · Dec 19, 2017

somd_mustangs said:
Maybe more likely a Chinese copy?
I like it as a relic, not necessarily as a functioning piece.

oh, just noticed it's in .22 MM, that'll be a tough caliber to find.

What the heck is that? My google search only came up with .22 lr

tighefighter · Dec 19, 2017

tallen702 said:
Not sure if it's still valid, but you can try: NFMStaff@nrahq.org

They're re-worked their website recently so that the "Contact us" link takes you to their "Connect on twitter, facebook, instagram, etc.) links.

Edit:

Also, definitely not legit as others have pointed out. From a heirloom/collector's standpoint, it's likely better left alone than given any kind of restoration job.

2nd Edit: Also, you may have the safety, but it looks as if the safety plunger is missing? There's no grip safety visible (so no Colt) and while STAR eliminated the grip safety, they only made 1911 A-1 style backstraps, so the lack of a hump eliminates them. The barrel bushing is definitely not legit, the magazine catch is all wrong, etc. etc. Definitely a cottage-industry knock-off.

I have the safety plunger as well. At least I think that's what it is. I have a few loose parts.

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ISO a gunsmith to help restore a pistol

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