Colt 1911 XSE Commander- Round Count Updated from Time to Time

cyclopsshooter · October 16, 2011, 12:20 AM

This is the story of one newly purchased Colt Commander 1911 XSE in Stainless Steel. 10/14/2011 This pistol will be used often for carry, target use, general fun, and a heck of a lot of handling. I will be updating this thread with round counts, events, and work done... Lets see how she holds up over the long haul

A little back story:

A few months back I decided to hunt down a centennial Colt with the "100 Years of Service" roll-mark- I didnt intend this to be a shooter.. More or less just a safe queen to bring out every now and then to serve as a benchmark against earlier Colts. Since this was for fun I gravitated toward the Rail Gun. Having been unimpressed by some earlier 80 Series products, I was a little worried about ordering in a new Colt. However, those worries were unfounded. It turned out to be a top quality product (despite a buffing blemish aft of the ejection port, and a need for deburring...) I have no plans to deburr the Rail Gun or to mess with the blemish, I'd like to keep it just as it came from the factory.

It really sucked not shooting it at first but as fortune had it, a customer who also fell in love with the pistol upon handling it, immediately ordered one for himself. A few weeks later my distributor finally allocated me three of the two-tone Rail Guns, as soon as they arrived my customer hit a straight line back into the range and invited me to shoot it too

Score! The Trigger was a little stiff to break at first but got MUCH better once through a box of ammo... It grouped nicely and worked flawlessly, a very sweet shooter.

Having only owned 5" models I was pleasantly surprised a while back when another customer let me handle a few of his Commander models. (Used Commander models just don't circulate in these parts) The balance was quite nice and I didn't have to worry about that damn last 3/4" sticking out below my over shirt! Also, when shooting the Commanders, they didn't seem to kick as much to the left as the Government Models... a bit easier to bring back on target.

So, last week my Davidsons sales rep called outa the blue and said he had a couple of Colts allocated- I perked right up having sold out of the two-tone Rail Guns months ago. He had a Wiley Clap Commander and a stainless XSE Commander. The WC's price gave me pause but I figured what the hell

I didnt give the XSE much thought beyond thinking that it would be an easy sell.. turned out it was RREEAALLYY easy to sell as I fell in love at first sight

I have already added Pearce finger grips and swapped out the ambi-safety for a 70 Series style.. also added an inside the pants belt clip- Nice grab and go setup.

I'm a little bummed at the safety scratches.. might try to buff those down a little at some point... gonna replace the hammer and sear pins too, those flat ones just don't look right-

This is a living record (like I attempted with a Taurus 1911 and failed- http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=588451 ) However, I expect good things from this Colt

Now, we begin- Lets shoot!

Capt. Ct. · October 16, 2011, 05:06 AM

I handled one about a year ago. After giving it some thought I went back to buy it and it was gone.

I sure like the looks of those guns.

cyclopsshooter · October 18, 2011, 10:51 PM

Finally had a chance to run the first two mags today (same mag for both sets) 16 rounds, one failure to feed. The failure was the last round of the first set. Not yet sure as to why... I have never seen a miss-feed where the round was nearly vertical with the case rim still in the magazine. Possible limp wrist..

The pistol shoots well, ragged 1-2"ish hole at 8 yards- I will bench rest it soon and find out for sure what it can do.

cant wait to run a few hundred rounds

SSN Vet · October 19, 2011, 09:50 AM

buy stiffer Wolf Springs for the Colt factory 8 round mags....

The Colt 8 round mag follower is good, but they come with a shorter spring (which is how they get the extra round in) and need the extra compressive force over their full length of travel.

Either that or switch to Colt factory 7 round mags (or put a Tripp Insustries follower and spring kit in your 8 round mags, converting them to 7 rounders) and you will be 100% reliable for ever more.

SSN Vet · October 19, 2011, 09:59 AM

on a side note....

If you ever get tired of the Duck Bill grip safety, the Wilson drop in beavertail specifically for Colt enhanced receivers (which all of their Commanders have) is a really easy part to install (just minor filing on the blocking tab), fits the Colt frame better than the factory part and requires no modification to the frame.

The Ed Brown main spring housing was a true drop in part for my Commander.

cyclopsshooter · October 19, 2011, 01:10 PM

Thanks SSN Vet, that's good to hear! I have had no experience with these new Colt 8 rnd mags until now..

I just snuck back into the range and ran a 50rnd box of Magtec ball (using the one, same mag from yesterday. It ran flawlessly until the "last round" of the second to last mag fill. Exact same malfunction as yesterday- the case rim never never made it up to the slide breech face's (pushing lug I guess you could call it)..

Overall I'm quite happy at the moment.. gonna order a spring and see if it helps.. who needs an 8th round that doesn't always feed :P

round count: 66

cyclopsshooter · October 19, 2011, 06:13 PM

Note: If you want to use a belt clip attachment like I have on the commander, get a pistol WITHOUT front serrations! Its not a problem coming out but going in the waistband is rather tricky.

dcarch · October 20, 2011, 10:46 AM

I'm gonna tag onto this one. I followed the Taurus thread, and I want to see how well the Colt holds up in comparison. I've always heard things like "I've shot 10,000 rounds through (insert pistol model here) without a single failure..." but it's nice to actually see some real results with real numbers and real pictures. Thanks in advance!

Pilot · October 20, 2011, 11:39 AM

As soon as Colt drops the 100 year rollmark, I am buying one of these.

1KPerDay · October 20, 2011, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilot

As soon as Colt drops the 100 year rollmark, I am buying one of these.

Yeh, I'm not a fan of extra crap on the slide either.

cyclopsshooter · October 20, 2011, 12:19 PM

HAHA- I like the roll-mark. To each his own

No Quarter · October 20, 2011, 01:22 PM

I like that old style safety as well! I also like my duckbill grip safety. My gun is a little older with 2 hole trigger and different sights. Also has a matte finish.

Great guns, wonderful to shoot. Looking forward to further updates.

cyclopsshooter · October 20, 2011, 10:50 PM

no quarter, nice touch with the silver eagle- i'm an aesthetic fan of heraldic eagles and the one on the back of that coin has long been a favorite- right behind the kennedy half

this pistol will be matte like yours in good time... after enough scrapes and scratches it'll be on a visit to the bead blaster- a quick cheap refinish like that makes a good case for stainless steel (no slam on deep blue 'n nice wood)

No Quarter · October 20, 2011, 11:34 PM

CS,

I love the coins as well. I keep a stack of silver eagles on my desk and find myself fiddling around with them when I am thinking. Little pieces of art in my opinion.

Re: the matte finish, a quick teardown and quick pop in the blasting cabinet keeps them looking minty fresh! I like it better than the polished finish,at least on a hard use firearm.

Enjoy the new Commander. I am looking forward to keeping an eye on this thread.

cyclopsshooter · October 21, 2011, 07:16 PM

Shot a little more today using an old Colt 7 round mag.
A customer wanted to try a 1911 so I let him run 6 rounds of ball ammo
I ran 7 rounds of Gold Dots and 6 rounds of Winchester HPs.
No malfunctions.

Round count: 85

cyclopsshooter · October 22, 2011, 01:54 PM

Just ran 50 rounds of ball in two new Wilson mags, four old Colt mags, and one old military 1M291 mag. No Malfunctions. No maintenance or cleaning yet.

Round count: 135

cyclopsshooter · October 22, 2011, 02:51 PM

14more rounds, 7 ball, 7 win HP No problems

Round count: 149

cyclopsshooter · October 22, 2011, 06:20 PM

Local LEO chief was in and wanted to try it. 6 rounds of ball

another customer wanted to run a mag 7 rounds of ball

no malfunctions

Round Count: 162

RyeDaddy · October 22, 2011, 08:58 PM

Interesting, mine will be here this coming week. Had to have the 100 year mark myself. Some I've seen have a real beavertail grip safety and others have the duckbill, dealer said mine has the duckbill also. Thanks for reporting.

Hangingrock · October 23, 2011, 10:50 AM

This is an old style XSE Government that I up graded to present configuration in 2008.

cyclopsshooter · October 24, 2011, 12:50 AM

Nice pistol Rock! I do like the look and feel of beavertails like yours but I gotta give the duckbill credit for allowing a quick easy single handed hammer cock- Feels a little more difficult on my Rail Gun grip safety.

50 more rounds today- Shot from the tailgate of a slow moving truck- mushrooms, mole hills, and damaged apples left on the ground... no malfunctions. Whipping the pistol around at moving targets while bouncing around was an absolute hoot

I'm about ready to deem this pistol "out of the box reliable" if you subtract the mag spring issue. The pistol has been incredible and very fun to shoot! I'm liking Commanders-

Round count: 212

cyclopsshooter · October 24, 2011, 01:19 AM

Here she is as of tonight and uncleaned- Earlier this week I replaced the original wood with some expendable aftermarket grips (I had these grips on the Taurus PT1911 that I did a thread on) I also threw on a Springfield arched ILS mainspring housing.. Thats right, I added a lock! GASP*

wally · October 24, 2011, 03:14 PM

Quote:

I have never seen a miss-feed where the round was nearly vertical with the case rim still in the magazine. Possible limp wrist..

Nope, sounds like a "bolt over base" feed failure. Usually a mag spring issue, but it can be caused by a poor finish inside the mag causing the follower to bind, in which case it often just goes away with a little use.

cyclopsshooter · October 24, 2011, 03:50 PM

youre right, its absolutely a mag issue- the pistol has been perfect using a host of mags proven in my other colts. the factory mags that came with the piece have very smooth bodies, im inclined to think its the springs. hopefully someday soon ill quit being lazy and order those wolf +5% springs.

cyclopsshooter · October 27, 2011, 04:25 PM

Project Part 1-

I have been playing with 1911s for years- even built a number of them from the ground up- however, I have never built a high end match pistol- mostly just GI guns- I would say that I have pretty good knowledge of how they work and know what not to do and the areas to be careful of... ie. thumb safety fit and and sear issues.
A few years ago I found a pretty good deal on an older Combat Elite that had had a professional makeover- It was quality work ans I seek to reproduce some of the features on my Commander. I still have it and would like to use it as a base of study.
Before I start though, Id like to have some discussion with the experts here- I'm not in a rush, the pistol is working perfectly and I'm not too keen on fixing something that aint broke :P
However, the Combat Elite has the slickest slide I have ever racked- I'm pretty sure it is because the frame and slide rails were polished- It also looks like the guide rod was polished too- Id like to reproduce this but I'd like to hear some pros and cons before proceeding... Also, what is the best way to polish the inside rail grooves?

I do some work in my shop on 1911s.. mostly safety swaps and ramp polishing but Id like to offer some new services (But I DONT want to cut my teeth on a customer gun)

Anyway, this is the start- What say you 1911 experts?

October 16, 2011, 12:20 AM	#1
cyclopsshooter Member Join Date: May 13, 2009 Location: The Shadow Knows... Posts: 2,189	Colt 1911 XSE Commander- Round Count Updated from Time to Time This is the story of one newly purchased Colt Commander 1911 XSE in Stainless Steel. 10/14/2011 This pistol will be used often for carry, target use, general fun, and a heck of a lot of handling. I will be updating this thread with round counts, events, and work done... Lets see how she holds up over the long haul A little back story: A few months back I decided to hunt down a centennial Colt with the "100 Years of Service" roll-mark- I didnt intend this to be a shooter.. More or less just a safe queen to bring out every now and then to serve as a benchmark against earlier Colts. Since this was for fun I gravitated toward the Rail Gun. Having been unimpressed by some earlier 80 Series products, I was a little worried about ordering in a new Colt. However, those worries were unfounded. It turned out to be a top quality product (despite a buffing blemish aft of the ejection port, and a need for deburring...) I have no plans to deburr the Rail Gun or to mess with the blemish, I'd like to keep it just as it came from the factory. It really sucked not shooting it at first but as fortune had it, a customer who also fell in love with the pistol upon handling it, immediately ordered one for himself. A few weeks later my distributor finally allocated me three of the two-tone Rail Guns, as soon as they arrived my customer hit a straight line back into the range and invited me to shoot it too Score! The Trigger was a little stiff to break at first but got MUCH better once through a box of ammo... It grouped nicely and worked flawlessly, a very sweet shooter. Having only owned 5" models I was pleasantly surprised a while back when another customer let me handle a few of his Commander models. (Used Commander models just don't circulate in these parts) The balance was quite nice and I didn't have to worry about that damn last 3/4" sticking out below my over shirt! Also, when shooting the Commanders, they didn't seem to kick as much to the left as the Government Models... a bit easier to bring back on target. So, last week my Davidsons sales rep called outa the blue and said he had a couple of Colts allocated- I perked right up having sold out of the two-tone Rail Guns months ago. He had a Wiley Clap Commander and a stainless XSE Commander. The WC's price gave me pause but I figured what the hell I didnt give the XSE much thought beyond thinking that it would be an easy sell.. turned out it was RREEAALLYY easy to sell as I fell in love at first sight I have already added Pearce finger grips and swapped out the ambi-safety for a 70 Series style.. also added an inside the pants belt clip- Nice grab and go setup. I'm a little bummed at the safety scratches.. might try to buff those down a little at some point... gonna replace the hammer and sear pins too, those flat ones just don't look right- This is a living record (like I attempted with a Taurus 1911 and failed- http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=588451 ) However, I expect good things from this Colt Now, we begin- Lets shoot! Last edited by cyclopsshooter; October 16, 2011 at 02:04 AM.

October 19, 2011, 09:50 AM	#4
SSN Vet Member Join Date: January 3, 2006 Location: The Dark Side of the Moon Posts: 4,987	buy stiffer Wolf Springs for the Colt factory 8 round mags.... The Colt 8 round mag follower is good, but they come with a shorter spring (which is how they get the extra round in) and need the extra compressive force over their full length of travel. Either that or switch to Colt factory 7 round mags (or put a Tripp Insustries follower and spring kit in your 8 round mags, converting them to 7 rounders) and you will be 100% reliable for ever more. __________________ _____________________________________________ ain't no slack in Fast Attack! Maine Constitution Article 1, Section 16. To keep and bear arms. Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms and this right shall never be questioned. Last edited by SSN Vet; October 19, 2011 at 10:54 AM.

October 19, 2011, 09:59 AM	#5
SSN Vet Member Join Date: January 3, 2006 Location: The Dark Side of the Moon Posts: 4,987	on a side note.... If you ever get tired of the Duck Bill grip safety, the Wilson drop in beavertail specifically for Colt enhanced receivers (which all of their Commanders have) is a really easy part to install (just minor filing on the blocking tab), fits the Colt frame better than the factory part and requires no modification to the frame. The Ed Brown main spring housing was a true drop in part for my Commander. __________________ _____________________________________________ ain't no slack in Fast Attack! Maine Constitution Article 1, Section 16. To keep and bear arms. Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms and this right shall never be questioned.

October 19, 2011, 01:10 PM	#6
cyclopsshooter Member Join Date: May 13, 2009 Location: The Shadow Knows... Posts: 2,189	Thanks SSN Vet, that's good to hear! I have had no experience with these new Colt 8 rnd mags until now.. I just snuck back into the range and ran a 50rnd box of Magtec ball (using the one, same mag from yesterday. It ran flawlessly until the "last round" of the second to last mag fill. Exact same malfunction as yesterday- the case rim never never made it up to the slide breech face's (pushing lug I guess you could call it).. Overall I'm quite happy at the moment.. gonna order a spring and see if it helps.. who needs an 8th round that doesn't always feed :P round count: 66 Last edited by cyclopsshooter; October 19, 2011 at 02:31 PM.

October 20, 2011, 10:46 AM	#8
dcarch Member Join Date: October 2, 2010 Location: The Hawkeye State Posts: 994	I'm gonna tag onto this one. I followed the Taurus thread, and I want to see how well the Colt holds up in comparison. I've always heard things like "I've shot 10,000 rounds through (insert pistol model here) without a single failure..." but it's nice to actually see some real results with real numbers and real pictures. Thanks in advance! __________________ Iowa State Code 10465A: All persons operating a truck, or other vehicle with a cab and/or cargo bay area shall be required to raise at least two fingers in cordial acknowledgment to other drivers while utilizing all public roads within the state of Iowa. This law does not apply to residents of cities with a population exceeding 7,500 persons.

October 16, 2011, 05:06 AM	#2
Capt. Ct. Member Join Date: May 30, 2011 Location: SE Connecticut Posts: 106	I handled one about a year ago. After giving it some thought I went back to buy it and it was gone. I sure like the looks of those guns.

October 18, 2011, 10:51 PM	#3
cyclopsshooter Member Join Date: May 13, 2009 Location: The Shadow Knows... Posts: 2,189	Finally had a chance to run the first two mags today (same mag for both sets) 16 rounds, one failure to feed. The failure was the last round of the first set. Not yet sure as to why... I have never seen a miss-feed where the round was nearly vertical with the case rim still in the magazine. Possible limp wrist.. The pistol shoots well, ragged 1-2"ish hole at 8 yards- I will bench rest it soon and find out for sure what it can do. cant wait to run a few hundred rounds

October 19, 2011, 06:13 PM	#7
cyclopsshooter Member Join Date: May 13, 2009 Location: The Shadow Knows... Posts: 2,189	Note: If you want to use a belt clip attachment like I have on the commander, get a pistol WITHOUT front serrations! Its not a problem coming out but going in the waistband is rather tricky.

October 20, 2011, 11:39 AM	#9
Pilot Member Join Date: December 29, 2002 Location: USA Posts: 5,339	As soon as Colt drops the 100 year rollmark, I am buying one of these. __________________ Pilot

October 20, 2011, 12:19 PM	#11
cyclopsshooter Member Join Date: May 13, 2009 Location: The Shadow Knows... Posts: 2,189	HAHA- I like the roll-mark. To each his own

October 20, 2011, 10:50 PM	#13
cyclopsshooter Member Join Date: May 13, 2009 Location: The Shadow Knows... Posts: 2,189	no quarter, nice touch with the silver eagle- i'm an aesthetic fan of heraldic eagles and the one on the back of that coin has long been a favorite- right behind the kennedy half this pistol will be matte like yours in good time... after enough scrapes and scratches it'll be on a visit to the bead blaster- a quick cheap refinish like that makes a good case for stainless steel (no slam on deep blue 'n nice wood)

October 20, 2011, 11:34 PM	#14
No Quarter Member Join Date: May 8, 2003 Posts: 252	CS, I love the coins as well. I keep a stack of silver eagles on my desk and find myself fiddling around with them when I am thinking. Little pieces of art in my opinion. Re: the matte finish, a quick teardown and quick pop in the blasting cabinet keeps them looking minty fresh! I like it better than the polished finish,at least on a hard use firearm. Enjoy the new Commander. I am looking forward to keeping an eye on this thread.

October 21, 2011, 07:16 PM	#15
cyclopsshooter Member Join Date: May 13, 2009 Location: The Shadow Knows... Posts: 2,189	Shot a little more today using an old Colt 7 round mag. A customer wanted to try a 1911 so I let him run 6 rounds of ball ammo I ran 7 rounds of Gold Dots and 6 rounds of Winchester HPs. No malfunctions. Round count: 85 Last edited by cyclopsshooter; October 22, 2011 at 12:39 AM.

October 22, 2011, 01:54 PM	#16
cyclopsshooter Member Join Date: May 13, 2009 Location: The Shadow Knows... Posts: 2,189	Just ran 50 rounds of ball in two new Wilson mags, four old Colt mags, and one old military 1M291 mag. No Malfunctions. No maintenance or cleaning yet. Round count: 135

October 22, 2011, 02:51 PM	#17
cyclopsshooter Member Join Date: May 13, 2009 Location: The Shadow Knows... Posts: 2,189	14more rounds, 7 ball, 7 win HP No problems Round count: 149

October 22, 2011, 06:20 PM	#18
cyclopsshooter Member Join Date: May 13, 2009 Location: The Shadow Knows... Posts: 2,189	Local LEO chief was in and wanted to try it. 6 rounds of ball another customer wanted to run a mag 7 rounds of ball no malfunctions Round Count: 162

October 22, 2011, 08:58 PM	#19
RyeDaddy Member Join Date: November 4, 2006 Location: Hellbound in Fort Worth, TX Posts: 215	Interesting, mine will be here this coming week. Had to have the 100 year mark myself. Some I've seen have a real beavertail grip safety and others have the duckbill, dealer said mine has the duckbill also. Thanks for reporting.

October 23, 2011, 10:50 AM	#20
Hangingrock Member Join Date: March 10, 2010 Location: NC Posts: 1,050	This is an old style XSE Government that I up graded to present configuration in 2008. __________________ If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.

October 24, 2011, 12:50 AM	#21
cyclopsshooter Member Join Date: May 13, 2009 Location: The Shadow Knows... Posts: 2,189	Nice pistol Rock! I do like the look and feel of beavertails like yours but I gotta give the duckbill credit for allowing a quick easy single handed hammer cock- Feels a little more difficult on my Rail Gun grip safety. 50 more rounds today- Shot from the tailgate of a slow moving truck- mushrooms, mole hills, and damaged apples left on the ground... no malfunctions. Whipping the pistol around at moving targets while bouncing around was an absolute hoot I'm about ready to deem this pistol "out of the box reliable" if you subtract the mag spring issue. The pistol has been incredible and very fun to shoot! I'm liking Commanders- Round count: 212

October 24, 2011, 01:19 AM	#22
cyclopsshooter Member Join Date: May 13, 2009 Location: The Shadow Knows... Posts: 2,189	Here she is as of tonight and uncleaned- Earlier this week I replaced the original wood with some expendable aftermarket grips (I had these grips on the Taurus PT1911 that I did a thread on) I also threw on a Springfield arched ILS mainspring housing.. Thats right, I added a lock! GASP*

October 24, 2011, 03:50 PM	#24
cyclopsshooter Member Join Date: May 13, 2009 Location: The Shadow Knows... Posts: 2,189	youre right, its absolutely a mag issue- the pistol has been perfect using a host of mags proven in my other colts. the factory mags that came with the piece have very smooth bodies, im inclined to think its the springs. hopefully someday soon ill quit being lazy and order those wolf +5% springs.

October 27, 2011, 04:25 PM	#25
cyclopsshooter Member Join Date: May 13, 2009 Location: The Shadow Knows... Posts: 2,189	Project Part 1- I have been playing with 1911s for years- even built a number of them from the ground up- however, I have never built a high end match pistol- mostly just GI guns- I would say that I have pretty good knowledge of how they work and know what not to do and the areas to be careful of... ie. thumb safety fit and and sear issues. A few years ago I found a pretty good deal on an older Combat Elite that had had a professional makeover- It was quality work ans I seek to reproduce some of the features on my Commander. I still have it and would like to use it as a base of study. Before I start though, Id like to have some discussion with the experts here- I'm not in a rush, the pistol is working perfectly and I'm not too keen on fixing something that aint broke :P However, the Combat Elite has the slickest slide I have ever racked- I'm pretty sure it is because the frame and slide rails were polished- It also looks like the guide rod was polished too- Id like to reproduce this but I'd like to hear some pros and cons before proceeding... Also, what is the best way to polish the inside rail grooves? I do some work in my shop on 1911s.. mostly safety swaps and ramp polishing but Id like to offer some new services (But I DONT want to cut my teeth on a customer gun) Anyway, this is the start- What say you 1911 experts?