Well, didn't Colt produce the original M1911s off of Browning's design? So calling them Colt .45s insn't a major deal, although it has lost the meaning somewhat today. Since Colt was pretty much the only one who produced the Pre-1924 1911, calling the M1911 a Colt .45 is generally accurate. But again, you could mix that up with a Single Action Army as you said.
I just call it a 1911 if I'm not sure of which type, or I use M1911 or M1911A1 if I do know.
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