RIA owner with question about lanyard loop

m19114me said:

I recall the M1911 I used in the Army having a loop for the lanyard I was issued (I was an MP). As I remember it, the loop was on the butt of the gun though from what I've read, it's sometimes on the magazine. My RIA 1911 doesn't have that loop (butt or magazine). My question: Did only actual military M1911s have that loop, or perhaps some manufacturers, like Armscor, don't include that feature while others might?

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I think only military ones had that, but I'm not sure.

You could always buy a mainspring housing that comes with a lanyard loop:
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=12739/Product/1911-AUTO-LANYARD-LOOP-MAINSPRING-HOUSING

I haven't seen any commercial 1911s that come with the lanyard loop standard.

m19114me said:

Did only actual military M1911s have that loop, or perhaps some manufacturers, like Armscor, don't include that feature while others might?

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I "think" Springfields straight GI model has a lanyard loop.
I'm sure there are some other commercial "GI clones" too.
maybe Auto Ordnance's GI??

and way, as Kvjavs pointed out, it's a simple part swap if you want a lanyard loop.

Changing the mainspring housing (MSH) is about as close to "drop-in" as it gets .
There's a very good chance it will drop right in with no fitting .
if there is any fitting required, it will most likely be minor...swipe with a file here or there on the MSH


..l.T.A.

Thanks for the responses. It's been a long time since I had the need (read "out of uniform") for the lanyard loop, so it's no big deal. I was just curious, since many 1911s are supposed to be clones of the real thing, why there wasn't a loop. I suppose by clone, they mean 99+% clone, which is good enough for me. The military must still use lanyards because my Beretta 92FS, a civilian version of the now standard military sidearm, does have a lanyard loop.

The lanyard loop was commonplace on the WWI M1911s and WWII issue M1911A1s, M1911s had flat mainspring housings with loops, A1s had curved mainspring housings with lanyard loops. However, not every single pistol had it, some production runs didn't have them.

If you want a real one, Dupage has USGI M1911A1 lanyard loops that were reparkerized by an army arsenal for $40. Mine should be getting here this week, making my 1911GI as close to what the actual M1911A1 looks like without having to replace the slide or frame.. lol
https://www.dupagetrading.com/1911-1911a1/usgi-mainspring-housings.html

Kevin08 said:

The lanyard loop was commonplace on the WWII issue M1911A1s, they had curved mainspring housings with lanyard loops.

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I was in the Army WAY after WWII (1970s), but I'm quite sure my M1911 was probably manufactured during WWII or shortly thereafter. I've read that they stopped manufacturing new ones for the military around 1946.

m19114me said:

I was in the Army WAY after WWII (1970s), but I'm quite sure my M1911 was probably manufactured during WWII or shortly thereafter. I've read that they stopped manufacturing new ones for the military around 1946.

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Military production ended in 1945 (1946 was all commercial IIRC), so every single M1911A1 used by the military is a WW2 pistol. They just update some parts and modernize it. In Vietnam they were identical to how they were in WW2. Now, I don't really think anyone issues M1911A1s by large. Select Marine units use them but they are nothing like the old M1911A1. They've for the most part been replaced by the M9 trash.

The original M1911 of WWI time frame had a loop on the bottom of the MSH. The gun was originally designed for cavalry use after all. This is also why the mags of the time had loops on them.
As war production increased in volume the loops were left off the mags and many guns.

I may be the odd man out but I'm fairly sure I've never seen a GI M1911A1 with a lanyard loop and the arched MSH. Now, I have seen arched MSH's with loops but I'm thinking those were aftermarket.

The M1911's still in service during and after WWII were tossed into the same mix as the M1911A1's and rebuilt and stored or reissued as needed. There were still M1911's in service in the 80's.


Lanyards have made a come back in the last decade as the CQB fighting we've been doing has resulted in more of our guys using pistols. Situations where they might drop or lose their gun and then need it have occured and it's become a common thing again. The M9 had a lanyard loop from day 1 I believe.

FYI The SA is a ILS equipped MSH.

I reckon that lanyard loops have been left off most of the modern 1911s once folks realised that they can hurt when doing a speed reload :biglaugh:

The 1911A1s that the Army let me use (Remington Rand mixmaster) had an arched main spring housing and lanyard loop. All the 1911s in the company (heck, the battalion) had lanyard loops (Tanker, 1/32 Armor, 3AD, 74-77) Lanyards were a common sight, although not everyone used them. (SFC "P" should have used his, though. We looked for that pistol for hours on the range road until he remembered it was behind the radio....)

Post necromancy!

I sort of like lanyard loops, but I've only used lanyards a couple of times (once when canoeing and once a wrist lanyard while pack-packing overnight and sleeping in a hammock - that turned out to be a bad idea ). Still I use them frequently to open bottles with old fashioned caps - it impresses the natives

Riposte

NOW I know the other use for the loop! ;-)

AJMBLAZER said:

Post necromancy!

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Hey, even Necromancers need affection sometimes. And they can be quite useful, if'n you're playing D2R.