Best Bobtail Commander Under $1500

Best Bobtail Commander Under $1500

  • Dan Wesson CBOB

    Votes: 24 46.2%

  • Dan Wesson VBOB

    Votes: 13 25.0%

  • Dan Wesson Guardian

    Votes: 3 5.8%

  • Kimber Super Carry Pro

    Votes: 5 9.6%

  • Other model not listed or have one customized

    Votes: 7 13.5%
  • Total voters
    52
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Olympus

Olympus

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Jul 14, 2008
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My old man is wanting to get a new 1911. He wants to try a commander-size (true 4 1/4" or 4") with a bobtail frame. He's pretty much a hardcore Colt fanatic and figured he would buy a regular Colt Commander and have a pistolsmith put in some aftermarket parts and bob the tail. I've been doing some looking around for what the options are and these are what I've been able to come up with. He says he not opposed to a 9mm 1911 since he's never had one and has plenty of .45s. So I guess that opens up things a little more. But would love to hear what people recommend. And as always, pictures are even better!

Edit: I have also heard that the CBOB isn't discontinued, but is only being sold in California. Not sure if this is true.
 
Best value is a used CBOB. They can be had for under $1000. If you like the 9mm the Guardian should be about $14000. The VBOB is black is outside your price range IIRC. The stainless VBOB will cost a little more than $1500.
 
Your best value is the CBOB...and yes they are still producing it for us in CA (that way they don't have to have another gun submitted for approval)

You can use the money you saved to have a toolsteel slide stop installed and the trigger tuned...I would personally add a checkered MSH to match the front
 
I figured the CBOB would get a lot of votes. What about a Fusion, can one be made for under $1500?
 
I figured the CBOB would get a lot of votes. What about a Fusion, can one be made for under $1500?
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I have not looked at Fusion lately. Bob Serva's new shop does not have a very good rep these days. There is a lot of reprots of spotty QC. IMHO a custom shop cannot afford that kind of rep and if it has one there are too many others out there to risk it.
 
Bob Serva's new shop does not have a very good rep these days. There is a lot of reprots of spotty QC.
Click to expand...

I haven't seen any threads about that. Would be interested to know where I could find a few. I was unaware about the spotty QC. But you're right, I wouldn't spend that kind of money on a custom or semi-custom gun if there were even any questions about quality.
 
fusion

I got a fusion. It was delivered a few months back. Yes, it took about 3 months longer but imho it was worth the wait. Its 100% done to my spec. It runs smooth and compared to a colt combat commander that I just picked up its leaps and bounds... I've got a little over 1k through the Fusion and after the first 200 rounds, not a single problem. Bob is a really good guy that is simply overwhelmed with work. Why? Because he makes a good product.

V.
 
Bob is a really good guy that is simply overwhelmed with work. Why? Because he makes a good product.
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That is no excuse to let defective product leave your custom shop.... :what:
 
3 months longer than what you were told? I'd be a little less than pleased if that happened to me. I could probably excuse an extra month due to workload, but 3 months just wouldn't be cool in my book. I'd rather someone be upfront with me from the beginning and add those 3 months on to the original timeframe. When someone tells me that something will be ready by a specific time, I expect that to be true. And I know things come up and the process can run longer than expected, so for something that expensive and knowing the work involved, I'd give someone an extra month after the date it should have been done. After that I'd start getting a little miffed.

If it's going to take 9 months for me to get a pistol, just tell me from the beginning and let me make the decision if that's going to be a timeframe that is agreeable to me. Don't tell me 6 months and drag it out to 9. Some people may not mind, but that could be enough to give somebody a bad taste. And it just takes one person to hurt a company's reputation. Just my take on it.

When you said it took 3 months longer, what was the total time from when when you placed the order to when you actually received the pistol? I'm just curious as to what the actual turnaround time is.
 
I would love to recommend a Super Carry Pro, but mine hasn't been reliable and I'm still trying to get that sorted out. I get failures to chamber and sometimes to extract. I've gone through 700 rounds of various FMJ and JHP ammo and a variety of magazines and swapped springs, but I still have a failure every couple mags or so.

When it works right, it is an accurate shooter and handles very nicely. It has a lot of nice features and looks great, too(subjecive I know). I bought it as a carry piece but have since moved on to STI since neither I nor Kimber have gotten it working reliably.

I have no personal experience with the others.
 
That's tough to hear because I've liked those since they came out.
 
Personally, I'd choose the V-Bob on your list in black over stainless. The CCO Bobtail is lighter being aluminum but I don't find the weight of my Ed Brown SFC to be a problem. If I were to choose "other", I'd suggest a Kimber Stainless Pro Raptor II which is under $1,200. I'd then replace a bunch of parts with Ed Brown "stuff" for around $300. Actually, I plan on buying a V-Bob and the Raptor (and a Valor and TRP Armory Kote).
 
Olympus said:
That's tough to hear because I've liked those since they came out.
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It may just be bad luck with mine, and it's my only Kimber (but not my only 1911) so who knows? It really is a nice package and if I ever get it working right it would be a great carry pistol.

(PS - sorry to hear about your problem in the other thread. I hope you can keep your grip business going. I bought a set of figured maple grips from you a while back and they are really nice.)
 
DW or Fusion

I am currently assembling one from scratch. It is a combo between Remsport, Fusion and Ed Brown.
 
It may just be bad luck with mine, and it's my only Kimber (but not my only 1911) so who knows? It really is a nice package and if I ever get it working right it would be a great carry pistol.

(PS - sorry to hear about your problem in the other thread. I hope you can keep your grip business going. I bought a set of figured maple grips from you a while back and they are really nice.)
Click to expand...

I think I would like the Kimber if it weren't for all those extra-fancy serrations they use on the Super Carry Pro.

Decided to still keep going with the grip making. I'll probably go with a PayPal-only method of payment though. I know it will probably turn some people off that don't use the service or don't like it, but personal safety is more important than selling a few grips. Glad to see that you're still happy with yours.

On another note, I emailed Bob at Fusion about a price quote on a bobbed commander it was more than the $1500 budget. I prefer the stainless CBOB myself, but my dad wants a black commander. So I'm having some problems finding a black commander under $1500. Any suggestions for a black commander?
 
Yeah I was aware of the CBOB and if it were me, that's what I would get. But the old guy wants a black gun.
 
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