An Update on CMP 1911 Prices and Grades from CMP Chief Operating Officer Mark Johnson Rob Reed 01.19.16



The Civilian Marksmanship Program had a booth at the 2016 SHOT Show Industry Day at the Range. I spoke with CMP Chief Operating Officer Mark Johnson about the 1911 pistols the CMP is expected to receive from the U.S. Army for civilian sales.

In an earlier story I incorrectly wrote that the CMP expected to receive 100,000 1911 pistols from the Army. Johnson corrected my bad information by pointing out that while the National Defense Authorization Act legislation did include a provision that the CMP was “authorized” to receive up to 100,000 pistols, there was no guarantee that the Secretary of the Army will release the pistols, and that the CMP was limited to receiving only “up to” 10,000 pistols a year.

“When the army releases the pistols they could release any amount up to that 10,000,” Johnson said. “There’s no guarantee how many that would be.”

Here are the highlights from the short video interview with Johnson. (The audio quality is faint due to the microphone automatically adjusting for the noisy range)

Johnson said:

They have no idea on the condition of the pistols in inventory. But, based on their experience with M1 Garand the CMP expects there will be Rack Grade, Field Grade, Service Grade, and Collector Grade pistols available and that he expects 10% to be in the worst condition, 10% to be in the best condition, and the rest somewhere in the middle. (He later added that the CMP will thoroughly inspect, repair, and test fire all pistols prior to sale).

The pricing is expected to start at about $1,000 per pistol with the better grades “priced accordingly.”

The Secretary of the Army has to officially release the pistols to the CMP and there currently is no Secretary of the Army. Consequently, the release of the pistols is dependent on who next fills that post.

The CMP has no additional info available at this time, and any updates will be posted to the CMP website.