The Commander!

[Beauetienne]

How does the inside of that Colt look? I dont buy the iconic Colts anymore because I keep finding them with way to many machining marks inside the frame and I personally dont find that acceptable for what u pay.

I haven't paid very close attention to machine marks on the interior, but I did a thorough cleaning twice so far and nothing jumped out at me except what a fine job they did shaping and polishing the mouth of the barrel (the entire barrel is beautifully done).

 

[tlawler]

My Commanders

Here are my two Commanders: an early billboard S&W 1911SC and a Sig RCS.

 

[stansdds]

ATI Commander by Dandy Randy, on Flickr

So we are back with the Commander series of pistols. I just finished the upgrade process on the new ATI Wilson Combat Commander Po Man Special. I was going to lower and flare the ejection port but after shooting the gun it does not look like its necessary plus I would have to re-parkerize the pistol. Maybe many moons down the road Ill do that but not now. I may put in a new extractor though. I did have a failure to eject but not on live rounds it was on my heavily worn plastic snap caps. I believe the FTE was due to worn out and damaged old snap caps and not the pistol extractor. I had 100% reliable on all 500 FMJ and HP rounds. Had one issue with failure to eject magazine but that was due to a knock off rip off "Colt" junk magazine I had layin around for many moons. They work however the metal and paint was very thick on the mag so it got stuck in there. Stay away from those knock off "Colt" mags! I can tell you later how to identify them if anyone is curious. Basically if the price is too good to be true its probably a fake Colt mag.

Very nice!
That ejection port is what I would consider to already be lowered. The original 1911 port barely extended into the flat of the slide and even those can be reliable for ejection, they just leave a dent on the case mouth. Flaring the back edge of the port can help in preventing the cases from getting dented in the case head area, but beyond that, the flare is not necessary.

Most factory produced 1911's have a sloppy fit to the firing pin retainer and extractor. This allows the extractor to rotate slightly, which can affect extraction and ejection. A 1911 that ejects brass over a wide area is almost certain to have an extractor that is rotating. A fitted firing pin retainer and possibly a new extractor are the answers to this problem.

1911 feed reliability horror stories often come from crummy magazines. The 1911 needs a quality magazine, held to fairly tight specifications, and the magazine needs to be held at the correct height within the receiver. I have experience with an old Thompson Auto-Ordnance 1911 (1980's production) that had receiver with a poorly positioned magazine catch hole. It worked if you applied pressure to the bottom of the magazine when firing, but without upward pressure, a feed jam was likely to occur.

Poorly made magazines are the bane of the 1911. Gun shows are often filled with cheap knock off mags, sometimes in military style wrapping paper and with a NSN number on the base plate. A 1911 magazine that costs you only $5 is going to give you a $5 performance. You get what you pay for. For reliable and affordable magazines, genuine Colt magazines are good as are Springfield Armory, Mec-Gar, Metalform and Checkmate. There are others, but they will cost more.

If you want to know a whole lot more about 1911 magazine identification, check out this thread over at the m1911.org Forums.
1911 Magazine Identification

 

[dandyrandy]

Very nice!
That ejection port is what I would consider to already be lowered. The original 1911 port barely extended into the flat of the slide and even those can be reliable for ejection, they just leave a dent on the case mouth. Flaring the back edge of the port can help in preventing the cases from getting dented in the case head area, but beyond that, the flare is not necessary.

Most factory produced 1911's have a sloppy fit to the firing pin retainer and extractor. This allows the extractor to rotate slightly, which can affect extraction and ejection. A 1911 that ejects brass over a wide area is almost certain to have an extractor that is rotating. A fitted firing pin retainer and possibly a new extractor are the answers to this problem.

1911 feed reliability horror stories often come from crummy magazines. The 1911 needs a quality magazine, held to fairly tight specifications, and the magazine needs to be held at the correct height within the receiver. I have experience with an old Thompson Auto-Ordnance 1911 (1980's production) that had receiver with a poorly positioned magazine catch hole. It worked if you applied pressure to the bottom of the magazine when firing, but without upward pressure, a feed jam was likely to occur.

Poorly made magazines are the bane of the 1911. Gun shows are often filled with cheap knock off mags, sometimes in military style wrapping paper and with a NSN number on the base plate. A 1911 magazine that costs you only $5 is going to give you a $5 performance. You get what you pay for. For reliable and affordable magazines, genuine Colt magazines are good as are Springfield Armory, Mec-Gar, Metalform and Checkmate. There are others, but they will cost more.

If you want to know a whole lot more about 1911 magazine identification, check out this thread over at the m1911.org Forums.
1911 Magazine Identification

One thing I can say about the ATI Commander is that it makes a great cave man club once your ammo runs out... Can you imagine being clubbed by that thing??? Geez.. Using the gun as a club is something not talked about much in self defense courses for some reason. I can tell you this its very effective. Especially a full sized 1911. A strike from your fist is not going to be as effective as a swing from an all steel 1911 frame.

 

[ContinentalOp]

One thing I can say about the ATI Commander is that it makes a great cave man club once your ammo runs out... Can you imagine being clubbed by that thing??? Geez.. Using the gun as a club is something not talked about much in self defense courses for some reason. I can tell you this its very effective. Especially a full sized 1911. A strike from your fist is not going to be as effective as a swing from an all steel 1911 frame.

Here you go:

https://www.personaldefensenetwork.com/article/weapon-strikes-uses-and-application-in-a-fight/#

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R-jDUwgSw8[/ame]

 

[stansdds]

One thing I can say about the ATI Commander is that it makes a great cave man club once your ammo runs out... Can you imagine being clubbed by that thing??? Geez.. Using the gun as a club is something not talked about much in self defense courses for some reason. I can tell you this its very effective. Especially a full sized 1911. A strike from your fist is not going to be as effective as a swing from an all steel 1911 frame.

That's one reason why I have yet to embrace the plastic pistols.

 

[gnystrom]

Only one commander for me, (so far).

 

[dandyrandy]

IMG_0747 by Dandy Randy, on Flickr

Commander refers to all Colt 1911s with a barrel of about 4.25 inches and has a shorter slide to accommodate that barrel. Now a days Commander refers to most any 1911 pistol with that same Colt configuration or close to it. They all have roughly the same barrel length. Colt is usually the standard reference for all 1911 pistols.

All I can say is Im a big fan of the Commander size 1911s. Im going to be reviewing some Commander size 1911s here in the near future and starting things out I have a pair of Commanders. One is a Colt and the other is a Desert Eagle. One is an 80 series and the other is a 70 series. Another Colt reference that usually designates whether or not the gun has a firing pin safety or not. I would like to talk about that next.

It has been said that the 70 series is the more desirable since it has the best trigger and ease of disassembly and re assembly. The Desert Eagle Commander shown above would be considered
a 70 series since its lacking a firing pin safety. The Colt has an original 80 series Colt design firing pin safety. I have heard that this 80 series is the undesirable system of the two but I dont see that as the case. So far I dont see or feel any real difference in the two triggers. I also dont have any real problem reassembling any of these pistols regardless of the firing pin safety or not.

Theres also the argument that the extra firing pin safety "gizmos" is just another thing that will break and its one of those consistent themes Ive heard in the 1911 community. To me the 1911 is just another pistol just like any other pistol. There is other styles that incorporate all types of different features, some features better than others, but nonetheless most of these guns function well. So why the big stink with 1911s? I personally dont get it and it should just be buyers choice. The problem is once it becomes a common themed "misconception" in the firearms world that this is the "go to type of thing" and "avoid that at all costs" when it really dosent amount to anything real. I personally dont see any "striking" difference or an issue in the two "none firing pin safety" and "firing pin safety" style 1911s. That includes some of the other styles of firing pin safeties like in the Kimber brand. Ive also never had one of these "safeties" fail on me ever. Not saying it cant happen but if we are going that route while your concerned of shooting your 80 series style pistol you could be squashed by a stripped and winged meteor from space shaped like a 57 Chevy Bel Air...

By the way this Magnum Research Israeli made Desert Eagle has been absolutely EXCELLENT! Ive had this gun for awhile now and it still looks and functions PERFECT! One of the nicest triggers I ever had on a 1911 EVER but good luck finding one! They have all gone bye bye! I suggest to everyone get your firearms while you can because new in stock pistols are dwindling faster than the do do bird.

 

[walter o]

1 of my series 80 light wt.commander/Iviry grips with 24 c gold pesos jnlayed

38super commander/Ivories

 

[.357magger]

I like Commanders too.

1991a1 Colt Combat Commander
Colt XSE Combat Commander

Both in stainless and 45 acp, just like God and JMB intended.

 

[Straightshooter2]

Late 1980s Combat Commander, 3.5 pound trigger pull. Cocobolo grips by Esmerelda.

2011 Commander. Water buffalo grips have now been replaced also with cocobolo grips by Esmerelda.

 

[S-W4EVER]

Almost all of my 1911’s are full size 5” bbl steel frame pistols. I’ve never understood the need for a Combat Commander but when Colt introduced the Wiley Clapp I purchased the Government Model, Commander, and Officer’s versions (all blued .45 ACP’s). The (Lightweight) Commander feels the best in my hand (and balances the best).

 

[SuperMan]

Commanders in .38 Super are my favorite semi-auto pistol. Have carried one daily since 1980.

And has been said, Commanders have aluminum frames...Combat Commanders have steel frames.. I own and shoot both but have only carried a Commander. Why Colt couldn't have kept this straight is beyond me...

Have had Commanders (or CCs) in just about every caliber made...9mm, .38 Super, 9x23 Winchester, .357 SIG, 10mm and .45.

At this point I have:
Commanders: 5-Colt 2-Dan Wesson
Combat Commanders: 4-Colt 1-SIG

Crazy I know, but I'm working on a Commander in 10mm...

Bob

 

[SAFireman]

Commanders in .38 Super are my favorite semi-auto pistol. Have carried one daily since 1980.

And has been said, Commanders have aluminum frames...Combat Commanders have steel frames.. I own and shoot both but have only carried a Commander. Why Colt couldn't have kept this straight is beyond me...

Have had Commanders (or CCs) in just about every caliber made...9mm, .38 Super, 9x23 Winchester, .357 SIG, 10mm and .45.

At this point I have:
Commanders: 5-Colt 2-Dan Wesson
Combat Commanders: 4-Colt 1-SIG

Crazy I know, but I'm working on a Commander in 10mm...

Bob

Bob,

During my 10mm phase, I lusted after a Dan Wesson CBOB in 10mm. I never found one priced reasonably, and only had govt size Colts.

I spoke to Bob Serva about making one for me, but he was twice what the most expensive CBOB would have cost at the time.

I think a multi-caliber Commander would be just the thing for SHTF as I can still find 38 Super and 10mm on the shelves

 

[AJ]

I think a multi-caliber Commander would be just the thing for SHTF as I can still find 38 Super and 10mm on the shelves

On shelves? Load your own......solves the problem of buying off the shelf.

 

[oysterer]

Dan Wesson has a range of Compact Commanders like my PM-C 9mm. Love it. Tight, accurate and beautiful.

 

[SuperMan]

SAF...I have a TALO Commander that has extra barrels in 9mm and 9x23 Winchester.

Also just bought a SIG Nightmare Carry in .357 SIG and added a .38 Super barrel to. It was impressive enough that 10mm and .40 S&W barrels will be added this year....and maybe even 9mm. But it is a steel framed gun...

Looking into somehow converting the DW Guardian into 10mm...I think the easiest way would be finding a 10/.40 slide assembly instead of having the breechface opened up...

Bob

 

[gunsnrovers]

Early 90's combat commander tweaked by Bain & Davis and dressed up and refinished by Virgil Tripp.

 

[Marshal Tom]

I have owned and carried full size, Commander, Combat Commander and Officer length Colt and customs over the years. I only own one full size complete custom now. Of all of them, I like the Commander length the best and for carry I prefer a Commander.
If any of you get American Handgunner, there is an article about a custom that I came up with the idea for while visiting with C.T. Brian in his shop one day. See Mar/April 2006 issue. I came up with the perfect 1911 combo pistol that has a Commander length 4.25 slide with two complete lowers.A steel frame for more weight and control for shooting, duty use etc and a Titanium Officer lower for concealment and lighter weight for carry. Just change out the slide.All controls were exactly the same.
Tim built the gun for the upcoming American Handgunner article and offered the gun to me when completed. I did not feel I could afford it at the time so he took it to Shot Show and sold it immediately. I am in the article and was given full credit for the idea by American Handgunner. Looking back on it now, I wish I had purchased the pistol.

 

[AJ]

First M1911 that I ever bought was a Colt Combat Commander. I bought it and never really warmed up to it. It cost $175 OTD in 1974. Sold it and bought a S&W M29-2. Still do not have another Commander, but have owned about 50 M1911's over the years.