Commercial Catalog
Commercial Pistols
Every documented commercial variation of the Colt M45A1, built from a decade of collecting, community submissions, and direct observation. Where the evidence is thin, we say so. Where we were wrong, we show the correction.
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Variation 1
Employee Edition (final USMC run)
Offered to Colt employees early in the run and factory-lettered to the buyer. Originally said to number 200, though observed serials point to roughly 300,...
Variation 2
The First CCS (USMC, Cerakote)
The typical USMC-marked Colt Custom Shop gun, and likely the most numerous of the USMC roll mark releases sold to the public. Production count is...
Variation 3
The "Blue Box" gun
The "Blue Box" gun: a regular production release identical to what was actually shipped to the Marine Corps, sold to ease the overwhelming demand for Custom...
Variation 4
Friends of NRA, 2nd release (Ka-Bar set)
The second Friends of NRA release: model (S)O1070SET, limited to 50, packaged as a set with a Ka-Bar knife wearing a Cerakote FDE blade and matching Semper...
Variation 4a
Friends of NRA, 3rd release
The third Friends of NRA release: limited to 75, no Ka-Bar, with the yellow Baron Technology sticker applied directly to the blue clamshell box. Both USMC...
4bPHOTOS NEEDED
Variation 4b
Friends of NRA, 4th release (no EGA)
The fourth Friends of NRA release: limited to 100, no Ka-Bar, and no Eagle/Globe/Anchor insignia, after the NRA was served a cease and desist over use of...
Variation 4c
Friends of NRA, 1st release (n of 50)
The first Friends of NRA release, discovered after the variation numbering was already established, which is why it wears the last suffix in the family....
4dPHOTOS NEEDED
Variation 4d
PROVISIONAL
Friends of NRA, 5th release
The fifth Friends of NRA release, currently PROVISIONAL: known from a single photo observation and never examined in person. Reported to resemble the first...
Variation 5
TALO "Semper Fi" 1st Edition (n of 20)
The first TALO "Semper Fi" edition, serialized "n of 20". All laser embellishments are black.
Variation 6
TALO "Semper Fi" 2nd Edition (n of 50)
The second TALO "Semper Fi" edition, serialized "n of 50". The "Semper Fi" embellishment on this release is red, with the "n of 50" in black. The TALO flyer...
Variation 7
DecoBond Prototype
The DecoBond (IonBond) prototype run, originally sold (or gifted) to Colt employees, and the subject of its own MiMoSA Research video. Because the original...
8PHOTOS NEEDED
Variation 8
Stampless O1070M45 in Cerakote
Regular production, M45A1 roll mark, Cerakote, distinguished by carrying no stamps on the trigger guard.
9PHOTOS NEEDED
Variation 9
VP-Stamped CCS in Cerakote
Colt Custom Shop, M45A1 roll mark, Cerakote, with the VP stamp present on the trigger guard.
Variation 10
VP-Stamped O1070M45 in Cerakote
Regular production, M45A1 roll mark, Cerakote, with stamps present on the trigger guard.
Variation 11
Stampless CCS in Cerakote
Colt Custom Shop, M45A1 roll mark, Cerakote, without the VP stamp on the trigger guard. The stamp's disappearance traces to complaints about Cerakote...
Variation 12
Black frame / FDE slide (blue cardboard box, Novak bar stock safety)
The only release to date shipped in the blue cardboard Custom Shop box, with a white outer shipper whose label reads O1070CQB plus an additional...
Variation 12a
Black frame / FDE slide (Pelican case, Colt ambi safety)
The Pelican-case sibling of variation 12: same black frame and FDE slide, but wearing the standard Colt ambi safety.
13PHOTOS NEEDED
Variation 13
IonBond CCS (Novak bar stock safety, smooth front strap)
Colt Custom Shop, M45A1 roll mark, IonBond FDE, in the green Pelican case. Notable as the first IonBond release and for the Novak bar stock safety. No front...
Variation 14
O1070M45 in IonBond (most common)
Regular production, M45A1 roll mark, IonBond FDE, blue clamshell. The most commonly seen variation, and still produced today.
Variation 15
All black IonBond (Pelican, tri-color grips, smooth front strap)
All-black IonBond from the Custom Shop. Frame, slide, and small parts finished black. Notable for the tri-color grip panels (a black, white, FDE, white,...
Variation 16
Grey/Black (clamshell, CCS Shield sticker)
The first grey/black Custom Shop release: McMillan Grey Cerakote frame under an Armor Black Cerakote slide, in the blue clamshell with a CCS Shield end...
16a
Variation 16a
RETIRED
Grey/Black (clamshell)
Merged into variation 16 after review. We keep our corrections visible.
Variation 16b
Grey/Black (Pelican case)
Grey/black Custom Shop back in the green Pelican case, with the serial number and frame markings left unpainted. Later observed examples show VP and...
Variation 17
Two-tone finish (Cerakote slide / IonBond frame)
A two-tone FINISH gun rather than a two-tone color: IonBond frame under a Cerakote slide, all black, regular production. Colt reportedly made only a few,...
Variation 18
"Semper Fi" edition (parts cleanup)
Marketed as the "Semper Fi" edition, though no Semper Fi marking appears anywhere on the gun or box. A parts-cleanup release: refinished FDE Cerakote frames...
Variation 19
FDE/Black IonBond (blue clamshell, 27 made)
Colt Custom Shop with an FDE IonBond frame and black slide, confirmed at 27 examples, factory-lettered. Ships with a Lucas Gun Oil sample, an extra flyer,...
Variation 20
Employee Edition (parts-interchangeability test)
Guns that would otherwise have shipped to the USMC, used instead in parts interchangeability testing and then given or sold to Colt executives. A factory...
21PHOTOS NEEDED
Variation 21
IonBond CCS (checkered front strap)
FDE IonBond from the Custom Shop, returning to the green Pelican case, with a checkered front strap.
Variation 22
FDE/Black IonBond (Pelican case)
FDE frame with black slide in IonBond, from the Custom Shop, with a checkered front strap. Most examples wear the newer two-color grip panels (a black and...
23PHOTOS NEEDED
Variation 23
All black IonBond (Pelican case)
All-black IonBond Custom Shop gun in the green Pelican case, with a checkered front strap. Most examples wear the newer two-color grip panels (a black and...
24PHOTOS NEEDED
Variation 24
O1070M45 in IonBond (dark serial engraving)
Regular production, M45A1 roll mark, IonBond, FDE. A standard configuration of the IonBond era, with a significantly darker serial laser engraving. The...
Variation 25
Raw stainless
The raw stainless Custom Shop release: bare metal, no coating, the only uncoated variation documented to date. Checkered front strap.
26PHOTOS NEEDED
Variation 26
O1070M45 in IonBond (three-hole trigger)
Late regular production, M45A1 roll mark, IonBond. This small run is seen with a three-hole black trigger instead of the solid black trigger typically found.
Variation 27
Best Ranger Prize Pistol (2013)
Produced as prize pistols for the 2013 Best Ranger competition: the Army special-ordered two M45A1s wearing the old Colt Rail Gun roll mark, since the M45A1...