Well, the 1911 design and name is over 100 years old now, so any copyright on it has been expired for some years (in the US, I think copyright duration is the life of the creator plus 70 years).
As far as Colt and the M4 carbine go, the Supreme Court ruled Colt's trademark of the designation "M4" invalid because the term has more or less become a generic name for AR-15/M16 carbines. And "M4A1" is a military designation and as a work of the US federal government, is in the public domain. AFAIK, that is.
Often, though, it is copyrights that prevent usage of a weapon's actual name. The F2000 in Splinter Cell being renamed SC-20K is an example of such.
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