1911 slide interchange....question...

[Glockdaddy]

I have a Colt Combat Commander in Stainless. According to various posts I have seen, it is possible to put a Commander Slide on a Officer frame and have a Commanding Officer....longer slide, shorter grip frame.

Can this be done successfully?

Secondly, what if the frame was a Springfield Ultra Light frame, thus an even lighter frame for CCW?

Reason I ask is because I have found two guns to consider as mates for the Commander. The Colt Officer is steel, while the Springer is alloy. So the weight is a consideration for carry, but also for shooting. Alloy carries nicely, steel shoots better...

Any thoughts would be appreciated...

 

[SouthpawShootr]

I think the answer to one of your questions is yes. A Colt Commander top end will work on a Colt Officer's ACP frame (as long as slide to frame fit is within tolerances). In your case, the answer to the question as to whether it will work for you is quite probably no. You don't say whether your Commander is a series 80 or not, but I'm thinking it is. If that is the case, I don't believe it will work with the Springfield lower because of the series 80 firing pin safety. There may be parts you can remove from the slide to disable the firing pin safety that will allow it to work, though. If you find out differently, do let us know.

 

[Glockdaddy]

Good point Southpaw....

Both the Commander and the Officer are 80 series models. And they are similar "vintages" having flared ejection ports. My Commander is from 1989, I don't know the date of the Officer.

My feeling is that I should go with the Officer. Your observation of the firing pin safety is something that I missed...good catch. The older Colts really are nicely made and this Officer has has some other work done, such as bobbed hammer and smooth grip safety.

If I make the move I will post photos of the results of the "mating process....."