The Civilian Marksmanship Program has received the first batch of surplus 1911 pistols. As directed by the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), passed back in November, the US Army has transfered a consignment of 8,000 pistols to the CMP.

In an update statement posted on the 29th January, on their 1911 information page, the CMP announced the first pistols had arrived and were being sorted. The pistols won’t immediately become available, however, as the CMP now needs to prepare a new storage facility that conforms to US Army standards.

The full update is below:

January 29, 2018

The CMP has been authorized to receive 8,000 1911 type pistols from the United States Army.

The 1911s have been received by the CMP. A complete inventory will be conducted over the course of this week. The pistols will then be securely stored until the Army-approved 1911 building and armory infrastructure is completed. That completion is anticipated to be approximately 60 days from now. Once the 1911 armory is completed, inspection, grading, repair, and ultimately test firing of the pistols will begin. (Please be aware that the CMP was led to believe that we were ready to move forward, but three weeks ago facility requirements were changed, and we are now fulfilling those requirements.)

The CMP 1911 order packet will be posted 90 days prior to the order acceptance date and opening sales date. No orders will be accepted prior to that date. Please visit www.thecmp.org, click on the Sales icon then 1911 Information, for the latest. CMP customer service has been inundated with calls and emails concerning the 1911s and no further information is available at this time.

The CMP will keep everyone posted as we move through this process.

Corey caught up with CMP’s General Manager (south) at SHOT Show and got some insight into the process the CMP is going through to get the 1911s out to the public, you can check that out below:

The CMP also confirmed that the order forms for 1911s will be posted at least 90 days prior to the release date of the pistols. The CMP plans to post the 1911 order forms and make the release date announcement on the same day. More information can be found on the CMP’s 1911 information page here.