Colt LtWt. Officer's ACP vs. S&W M457....

[dogsoldier]

If you could choose between the 2 for your daily CCW weapon, WHICH would you choose and WHY?

 

[dogsoldier]

If you could choose between the 2 for your daily CCW weapon, WHICH would you choose and WHY?

 

[torrejon224]

I'd go for the Colt. Parts are available everywhere vs hardly any parts being available for the S&W, most gunsmiths do 1911 work vs very few that do S&W semi work. The list could go on and on but the Colt is a better engineered pistol than the S&W that any owner with a bit of mechanical knowledge could easily do a complete take down which to me is important, with a S&W you are pretty limited as to how far you can take it apart without getting into trouble unless you have the specialized knowledge to do it. On another note, holsters are always readily available for the Colt, the S&W is another story!!

 

[Erich]

I would go for the 457. Based on my experiences watching owners of both breeds, the S&W is more likely to work and stay working.

 

[smith10]

The 457

Trust it to work.

 

[18DAI]

Tough call. I guess I would choose the 457, based on lightweight, reliability, and a personal preference for TDA pistols for carry. Regards 18DAI.

 

[akviper]

Colt does not make the LW Officer's Model any more. They currently make the supposedly improved Defender. The Defender looks good but I have no personal experience with it. The Defender comes with good sights and is pretty much ready to go out of the box.

I have an early LW Officer's that is one of the most dependable and easy carrying handguns I own. I carried it for a number of years and fired an average of 150 rounds per month with zero problems. The only modifications I made were custom wood grips and an Ed Brown recoil spring plug drop in replacement. The only real flaw in the Officer's design was the recoil spring plug. It was held with only a small tab that sometimes broke launching the recoil assembly out the front. The Ed Brown drop in part cured that flaw and I fired a couple of thousand rounds without problems. I use old Devel and newer Wilson magazines and have total reliability with both Winchester and Federal 230 JHP.

The gun is very light, compact, and moderately controllable. It is fairly accurate if you do your part.

Your choice will depend on whether you are comfortable carrying "cocked and locked". If you are not you should go with the Smith. Both give you a big bore gun in a fairly small package.

 

[animalmother]

+ 1 for the 457.

 

[SW CQB 45]

going to be your choice for SA vs DA.

both will require trigger time to master.

Colts can be finicky and any big time 1911er will tell you anything less than 5" gun, its a toss up in reliablility.

I have been lucky (somewhat) with my Colt Officers. I pack it on plain clothes duty everyday. My very first shot sent the recoil spring plug flying. It was replaced with a Kings HD unit and its was warmed over by Kings with a tighter slide to frame fit and action job. it has been reliable however have had some mag issues, but as of recent, no problems.

I onced owned a 4516-2 and after I got SW to work out the bugs (meaning nasty trigger and shooting very low at 10 yds), it was a 100% performer and accurate too.

I read an article years ago, where double action semi autos had a tendancy to be more accurate than single action autos on the first shot. The article closed by saying, the guns were no more accurate, however the shooter apparently took longer squeezing the DA and by slowing down just a bit longer, were able to hit their first shot with a high probability.

again, both guns will require alot of training to master.

why not get both and if you dont like the officers model, I will gladly take that used hunk of alum frame junk off your hands for 300 smokes!

 

[dogsoldier]

My current CCW weapon is a Colt LtWt. OACP. To date, it has been 100% reliable, though accuracy is what one expects from an auto with a very short sight radius. I consider it a 'contact to 15 yard 'OS' weapon'.

I am 100% comfortable with the 1911 platform. However....I went through the academy with an S&W auto(M3904) and am a diehard .45ACP believer.

Currently, I am contemplating getting back into LEO work to some degree and the 1911 is not approved. So....I'm considering going with an S&W M4566, with an M457 as my CCW/BUG weapon.

ANYway......

 

[SW CQB 45]

for deeper concealment, dont rule out CS45.

 

[BUFF]

The Colt. The crisp, light, nearly motionless trigger pull of the 1911 design makes for fast, accurate first and repeat shots, compared to the "crunchenticker" action of the traditional DA/SA system with it's two very different trigger pulls.

 

[Ron H.]

Sir, I'm very much a "1911 guy," so my choice is obvious. In addition to the points already mentioned, the 457 has a much higher bore line than the OACP, which accentuates muzzle flip.

If you need a very compact .45, you might also consider a Glock 30 or 36: low bore lines, very reliable, parts everywhere.

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

 

[shawn mccarver]

Originally posted by dogsoldier:
If you could choose between the 2 for your daily CCW weapon, WHICH would you choose and WHY?

Neither. The 1911 platform decreases in reliability if you drop the barrel under Commander length (4 1/4 inches). The 457 is one of the sort of value line type guns and before I would consider it, I would want to make sure it has the steel magazine latch (the factory used to offer this to people who wanted to take out the all plastic one), and I don't care for the plastic sights. Perhaps some of this has changed since I had mine, so I am not sure about the latest ones.

Finally, although .45 ACP recoil is negligible, I do not care for the snappy muzzle action with that short barrel.

Sorry to sort of crap on your question, but I have tried both of the pistols you mention - been there, done that - and neither survived very long before I got over them.

If they were the last two pistols in the world, then the 457, but would prefer a Commander, a full size 1911, an M&P in any size, God forbid a SIG or even the square slide, ill-fitting Glock for a .45 before either of the two you mention. Go get a scandium 1911 PD in .45 or the Commander sized M&P in .45 and you are way ahead of the game. Plus, both of those guns will shoot at distance, whereas you might not get full potential out of either of the two you mention when firing from a distance.

 

[gmchenry]

Originally posted by Ron H.:
If you need a very compact .45, you might also consider a Glock 30 or 36: low bore lines, very reliable, parts everywhere.

I like the way you think.

 

[SW CQB 45]

Originally posted by gmchenry:

Originally posted by Ron H.:
If you need a very compact .45, you might also consider a Glock 30 or 36: low bore lines, very reliable, parts everywhere.

I like the way you think.

Last year, the rumor with Glock was a 5" single stack, like a G36 frame. Never happened, and my contacts at Glock are tight lipped.

My buddy has a G36 and I shot it. it was point and shoot. I had a G30 at one time. it was point and shoot. The reason I got rid of it was the timing was off. My firing pin and safety plunger were dinged up (meaning contact). I did not want the possibility of a misfire when I needed the gun to work.

I am sure a +trigger bar would have been the fix, but they were not made back then.

 

[gmchenry]

Those single stack 5" bbl .45s will be launched along with the mythical carbine. It's a packaged set.

 

[Erich]

Hah!

 

[mp357]

I think I would go with the CS45 over either the 457 or the colt officers, and I would take any metal frame S&W over any plastic frame gun of any maker!