Colt Combat Commander in 9mm? (Century import from Israel)

Wow--you even posted pics--thanks!

At risk of getting off topic, where did you get them?

I have one. It is a pre 80 Series Combat Commander 70B SN prefix just like your first one and it has the same roll mark on the slide. Nice soft shooting gun. It is one of my favorites that will NEVER be sold.

COLT has mfgr'd them in a couple of odd/different calibers for export.... but 9mm ones are fairly common and I think the bulk of them were actually sold here on the domestic market. I've seen pre 80 Series Combat Commanders for sale that were mfgr'd as far back as the mid 1950's.

I believe the 80 Series gun you have is actually quite a bit less common than the pre 80 Series guns.

You don't see that many 9mm's for sale because the people who own them are usually smart enough not to sell them.

COLT uses a split barrel/frame feed ramp on the 9mm's just like the .45's. Some folks say it casues FTF problems - but I've never had any problems out of mine. Other mfgrs tend to use a intergally "ramped barrel" in their 9mm 1911's.

IMO you have yourself 2 very good shooters there. I don't think they will ever be worth serious $$$ collector wise because of the CAI import stamp.... unless you you find someone who is into Israeli police guns and you can get some providence (like a COLT letter) that backs the story Century Arms gave you.

Nice pistols. Enjoy them.
Will

Awesome.

I'll agree with Dr. Rob about passing on the COLT letter (unless you just want to know everything). That is really great that Century sent you the police station weapon record for the pistols.

Shoot them, enjoy them, hang on to them. Who knows, maybe some day....

Will

A bit o'history?

The Colt Commander model was originally made up when the government was looking at issuing a light weight service pistol in 9mm. Colt's Firearms developed the 9mm Commander using a new ALCOA aluminum alloy frame. It came in at about 26 ounces, as opposed to 39 ounces for a standard 1911A1 .45 service pistol.

The armed services lost interest in the project, but Colt's decided to introduce the already-developed product to the open market. It came out in 1949 (only a few produced that year,) being announced in 9mm, .45 ACP, and Super .38. The .45 version has been by far the most popular of the line, with small but steady sales in the original version.

In 1969, Colt's introduced the all-steel version in all three calibers. It was only a couple of ounces lighter than the Government Model, but with the 4.25" barrel, shorter slide and rowell hammer, it LOOKED GREAT. Over the years, it has hugely outsold the original model. This soon came to be called the Combat Commander model. It was, in fact, easier to shoot well than the original LW, and the blued steel frame (also offered in an attractive-looking satin nickel finish) didn't fade to grey as did the anodized alloy frame.

I'm a great fan of the Commander and it was my primary sidearm for over 30 years. I like shooting my Gov't Models more, but the CLW is nicer to carry in plainclothes.

Best
Johnny

Nice guns Air Power and nice history on them Johnny Guest. I personally would shoot one and shadow box the other that has the police record on it. Talk about a conversation piece.