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

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I can not say for sure whether the follower is teflon coated but it is not the same as the older 7 round mags. It looks like you could call is skirted. I may go ahead and order springs this week.. I may even replace all my mag springs while I'm at it.

I will post a photo of the components when I do the spring swap
 
cyclopsshooter said:
I can not say for sure whether the follower is teflon coated but it is not the same as the older 7 round mags. It looks like you could call is skirted. I may go ahead and order springs this week.. I may even replace all my mag springs while I'm at it.

I will post a photo of the components when I do the spring swap
Click to expand...
Just make sure you get the right springs for those Colt 8rd mags. If the mag has a skirt it will use a different spring vs the follower without the skirt. I believe the mags with the skirt use a Checkamte propietary spring.
 
Happy Turkey Day- Not much to report- Haven't fired it for a while but it has been a regular companion with me over the last few weeks. I'm adapting to it well as an instinctive, comfortable, go to firearm. I simply trust it!
 
Visited some family today. My cousin and I had planned on doing some shooting and after hearing about about it a friend of his from church asked if he and his son could come out and try shooting firearms for the first time. My cousin and I made a good show out of it and took out two AR-15s, an M14, an AK47 with a 75 round drum (All semi-auto.. no fun switch here) Also took out a Ruger MkII Target, a S&W K22, S&W M28, a 10/22 and my Commander.
After a safety lesson for the new folk we let the fun commence- The biggest hits with the youngsters (three adults and four children under 16) were the Ruger MK II and the AK.

Well, enough of Hijacking my own thread so on with the Colt :p

Shot 50 rounds through the 5 Wilson 10 rounders. Both of the two newbies limp-wristed their first round despite my advising them to grip the firearm firmly. Guess they actually had feel a rounds recoil before understanding.. In both cases they each finished off the remaining 9 rounds without mishap. The dad is thinking of a 1911 with a .22 conversion as his first gun.

The limp-wristing has made me wonder about how I do a pistol report here. Would it be benneficial to readers popping in on later pages to see a detailed round count report?

Round count: 498
Pistol failures: 0
Mag related failures: 3
Shooter related failures: 2
Ammo related failures: 0

Or am I splitting hairs like an OCD girly-man? :eek:
 
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cyclopsshooter said:
Visited some family today. My cousin and I had planned on doing some shooting and after hearing about about it a friend of his from church asked if he and his son could come out and try shooting firearms for the first time. My cousin and I made a good show out of it and took out two AR-15s, an M14, an AK47 with a 75 round drum (All semi-auto.. no fun switch here) Also took out a Ruger MkII Target, a S&W K22, S&W M28, a 10/22 and my Commander.
After a safety lesson for the new folk we let the fun commence- The biggest hits with the youngsters (three adults and four children under 16) were the Ruger MK II and the AK.

Well, enough of Hijacking my own thread so on with the Colt :p

Shot 50 rounds through the 5 Wilson 10 rounders. Both of the two newbies limp-wristed their first round despite my advising them to grip the firearm firmly. Guess they actually had feel a rounds recoil before understanding.. In both cases they each finished off the remaining 9 rounds without mishap. The dad is thinking of a 1911 with a .22 conversion as his first gun.

The limp-wristing has made me wonder about how I do a pistol report here. Would it be benneficial to readers popping in on later pages to see a detailed round count report?

Round count: 498
Pistol failures: 0
Mag related failures: 3
Shooter related failures: 2
Ammo related failures: 0

Or am I splitting hairs like an OCD girly-man? :eek:
Click to expand...
I am a believer of limb wristing, but I know, many are not. If the gun does not malfunction with you, you should be fine. But the gun malfunction on the second round of the mag, not the first round, right? Becuase the first round of the mag would not have anything to do with limb wristing.
 
sorry- you're right! it was the second round (the second round did not cycle after the firing of the first round)

limp wristing does happen.. the frame of a semi-auto is most reliable when gripped firmly.. if the the grip is loose the frame will torque back and short stroke the slide.

thanks for pointing that out
 
Sat down to upload some holiday photos and thought I'd snap a couple quick shots. She has been with me constantly but really haven't done anything other than that.. no shots, no disassembly, no nothing, still only cleaned that once back around the 250 mark. Gettin the itch though ;)

IMG_1415.gif

IMG_1413.gif
 
Nice! we're like twins- They are a nice heirloom piece.. I admit I have fantasized about handing this bad boy down to the next generation as "Dad's" gun. All marks are my own :)
 
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Shot 7 rounds of Federal +P this morning and two customers each shot 7 rounds of ball. (One of them also bought a blue 5" XSE :)

Round count: 569
Pistol failures: 0
Mag related failures: 3
Shooter related failures: 2
Ammo related failures: 0
 
cyclops-You read about my two problems with the XSE commander and the SW1911SC. I'm still working on those. Are your followers for the Colt mags with the skirted front and dimple? The two Colt mags that came with mine are CM 8 round mags and flat follower with skirt but no dimple.
 
ColColt, when you type CM do you mean Colt manufauring or Chip McCormick? The mags I had problems with were factory 8 round and have what I assume are the new skirted followers. I am convinced the problem was weak mag springs (but I have yet to order replacement springs) I have been rolling along with factory Colt 7 rounders with the traditional follower and have been using Wilson 8s and 10s as well- Have not had any problems and have not looked back :)

Did a clean tonight- its been 299 rounds since the last service.. Lubed her up with a bit of Rig lube. Here is a before and after:

IMG_1425.gif

IMG_1428.gif
 
I believe he means CheckMate who is one of the original equipment magazine suppliers that Colt uses.

I do have a question RE: your XSE Commander. In the early Commander days the name "Commander" meant a lightweight alloy/aluminum frame. They later came out with the "Combat Commander" name, and that had a steel frame, like the Government and Gold Cup.

Today the names seem all over the map. Is this a lightweight or steel frame? Thank you.

By the way, I got the 21st Century Commander or the Wiley Clapp version (they are the same), and really like it. I do like that it is a series 70 Action. I am not adverse to the series 80 model have about 6 of them. But prefer the 70 series and have about 14 of them. Also have 4 commanders, two light weight and of course two steel framed. One of the steel framed, a series 80, is a 9mm. The other steel commander is a 1991a1 Novak custom I got right. Two of my government models are 9mm too.

Sounds like you have a winner. Good luck.

Fred
 
Fred, you are right about the Combat Commander being a steel frame. My XSE is steel and I just checked the hard case, it does indeed say Combat Commander. I default to calling any 4 1/4" 1911 a commander as do many folk. But thanks for bringing the clarification up for other readers.
The Wiley Clapp is a great pistol. I have sold a few of them through the shop. Hope you enjoy :)
 
I believe in current Colt's production lingo, Commander means it is a steel frame, and the aluminum frame models are called Lightweight Commanders.

In days of yore, the default Commander name indicated aluminum, since when they came out originally all Commanders were aluminum framed, as you mentioned. They added the name Combat Commander (as you mentioned) when the steel frame was added to the line-up to differentiate it from the aluminum framed model.

At some point, the default became the steel model and became known simply as Commander. I don't think you can find the Combat Commander name in their current line-up, but they do offer Lightweight Commanders.

http://www.coltsmfg.com/Catalog/ColtPistols.aspx
 
At some point, the default became the steel model and became known simply as Commander. I don't think you can find the Combat Commander name in their current line-up, but they do offer Lightweight Commanders.
Click to expand...

According to our cordial OP the shipping box his came in said, "Combat Commander" on it, but the gun doesn't. Go figure.

Of course that goes back to Colt naming stuff, with exception, rather strangely in the modern era. nominally since the 80's. Seems S&W suffers from the same malady.

When I used to carry a "J" frame it was a BodyGuard model 49, (The 49 actually came out after the 38, but I bought my 49 all steel first, then acquired a used, model 38, then a 649, and now a 638 which is still made. S&W no longer makes a Bodyguard that looks like a "BODYGUARD".

I guess I am just to old. Simply Amazing.

Fred
 
Was thinking of selling my Combat Elite if the XSE Commander grouped better.. The Elite seems to have a slight edge... anyway- the XSE had 8 rounds down the pipe.

Round count: 577
Pistol failures: 0
Mag related failures: 3
Shooter related failures: 2
Ammo related failures: 0
 
So, we add a sibling- Lightweight XSE

As you may remember, back when I bought the XSE Combat Commander I was excited about having a shorter 1911 for carry use (typically carried in a "man purse" as a large caliber backup to a pocket bound LCP) that last 3/4" of a full size always seemed to be in the way. The commander is a much handier size but I have become annoyed with the fact that it is still HEAVY.

A few weeks ago at the shop, we got in a used Kimber Pro Carry II. It was priced reasonably at $699 (with the hard case, three extra mags, and a leather holster) It was sitting there for about a week and a half when on a whim I took it out for a fondle and decided to run a mag. It shot VERY well but was noticeably snappier than my steel framed XSE.. to be expected. As I was walking out of the range I made up my mind that I was going to buy it and press it into service. (I aim to find the perfect carry (for me) 1911 even if I have to go all the way down to a trench cut New Agent) When I got back up to the counters I was greeted by a good customer who asked what I had in my hands, before I knew it he was thumbing the price tag and developing a glint in his eye. Shortly afterward we were up at the register filling out a 4473 :scrutiny:

Can't tell a customer that you're not gonna sell them a gun because you want it! But sure felt a lot like getting to second base with a gal only to say something stupid and ruin the evening... Predictably I turned to Gunbroker for some gun porn. As I was thumbing the pages I stumbled upon this darling. http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=272723405#PICReasonably priced and an aluminum version of my very own XSE. My Gunbroker gut reaction from experience was to bid NOW, everything seemed right.. I hate it when you're starting to look into a new gun and pass up a good deal so you can do more research, most times that same deal from the first search doesn't come around again... We're not saying goodbye to the Combat Commander however! The light-weight will be only taking over carry duties while the Combat will get the range time. Not that it has been shot much lately.. been on an AR and AK kick for a while :D

Will post pics.
 
Its' HERE !!

Adding this to the lineup for this thread. The gentleman I bought it from said he bought it new in 2010, he carried it (has scratches that don't show in my photo). He also said it has only had 200 rounds down the pipe from when he qualified it as an off duty pistol.

100_0810.gif

COMBAT COMMANDER
Round count: 577
Pistol failures: 0
Mag related failures: 3
Shooter related failures: 2
Ammo related failures: 0

LIGHTWEIGHT COMMANDER (First 200 not shot by me)
Round count: 200
Pistol failures: 0
Mag related failures: 0
Shooter related failures: 0
Ammo related failures: 0
 
Got the Lightweight duded up with the carry setup from the Combat (combat is back to factory configuration. ) Ran some rounds today, she is a little snappier than the steel frame but shoots very well. Oh, added Trijicons too!

100_0812.gif
100_0814.gif

LIGHTWEIGHT COMMANDER (First 200 not shot by me)
Round count: 242
Pistol failures: 0
Mag related failures: 0
Shooter related failures: 0
Ammo related failures: 0
 
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It is a belt clip with "Browne & Pharr Makers Atlanta GA" Stamped on the side. I pulled it off an old Colt that passed my way, I think this one might be older but there still is an outfit making them. A buddy of mine just ordered a few, I'll post more about them when they show up.

Shot 50 rounds this morning with my cousin. Rear sight came loose, otherwise perfect.

LIGHTWEIGHT COMMANDER (First 200 not shot by me)
Round count: 292
Pistol failures: 0
Mag related failures: 0
Shooter related failures: 0
Ammo related failures: 0
 
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