70 Series Nickle Commander

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DC Plumber

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I acquired a LNIB 70 Series Nickle commander in 45acp. Original grips. The machining of those days doesn't impress me. The sights are not the best and there are machine marks on the slide.

My question is: Is this gun a desirable gun in ORIGINAL condition, or am I better off having some mods done to it to make it more usable to me? It's not my daily shooter, I have a Kimber TLE II for that.

Thanks for you opinions.
 
Those who place a high value on older Colts (not me) would say leave it original. Personally I would build it into a superb carry gun. If it is a stock Colt it could benefit from some tweaking and upgrading.
 
I also have the model you described. It IS better off leaving it original. It wouldn't hurt to put different grips on it if you want to shoot it more, but if you plan to sell it in the future, or hand it down to a family member, keep the original grips with it at all times. Value of the firearm will drop considerably if it does not have the original equipment.

I left mine stock, and just enjoy it as is, and use other .45s similar to you kimber, for other shooting events.

In my opinion, leave it stock...people that see it at the range or whatnot will have more respect for you if you do.
 
So the Kimber has you covered then leave it be. Have you ever got something that had been modified and thought, "WHAT WAS THIS GUY THINKING?!"
Of coarse this is only my opinion,
Mike
 
I am uncertain why you "acquired" a gun you don't like.
I have never been impressed by those satin nickel Combat Commanders, either. So I didn't acquire one even when the salesman told me how rare the ones marked "Commander Model" instead of "Combat Commander" were.

I think I would sell or trade it to somebody who appreciates unaltered ugly guns. From the posts here and on other boards, there are a lot of them.
 
Trivia:

There is no such thing as a Series 70 Commander or Series 70 Combat Commander.

The 70S prefix means that the gun was built in the 70s, and that the original finish was Satin/Electroless Nickel. If it had been built in the 80s, it would have been 80S. If it had been blue, the prefix would read 70B or 80B.

I rather like the electroless nickel pistols, and I've always liked Commanders. Sadly, Colts built during the Series 70 Dark Days didn't tend to be all that great. Quality was hit and miss. You might get a good one, and the next one might be a dog. If the gun is reliable, it's worth keeping...if for nothing more than a beater or trunk gun. My 2% of a buck.
 
For the most part my experience with '70's era Colt Commanders was pretty good, though I only bought blued models. I never cared for the look of the satin nickel finish, and used guns seemed to show the wear much more quickly than the blued ones.

Pretty much up to you what you want to do with it. Depends on what you paid for it, what you could get for it if you decide to sell it, or if you really want to keep it around as a back-up for your Kimber.

If your going to keep it, then I would say replace the sights with something more to your liking, maybe get an action job done (if it needs it), and maybe have some sort of extended grip safety installed. Keep the original parts if you decide to sell it later on. After that, take it to the range and see what it can do. Enjoy.
 
Thanks for the input guys. That was my inclination, keep it original.

Now, I never said that I didn't like the gun and I didn't buy a gun I didn't like. I bought this gun 5 years ago from a guy I used to work for. It has some sentimental value too. That guy was one of the most influential people in my life. I don't think I could ever sell it. He got the gun from his dad who supposedly bought it new, doesn't really matter, don't really care.

Now I gotta know more. I am holding the gun in my hand. On the left side of the slide it says, "Combat Commander Colt Automatic Caliber .45" and then the Colt horse image.

On the right side of the slide it says, "Colt's Combat Commander Model"

On the frame is the serial number 70BS9XXXX

An earlier post mentioned that the 70B means a blue gun. Might this have a been a blue gun that was later nickeled?

It has 3 proof marks on the trigger guard. On the right side it looks like a "Q"
On the left side it looks like a "V" and the other symbol looks like a partial triangle.

I know, I could pay Colt and find out the exact info, but if anyone has any ideas to share, that'd be great.

I only shoot it once in a while, as the lack of a beaver tail grip reminds me that my Kimber is nicer to shoot, though when I take it out at the club, the 1911 nuts all want to buy it.
 
70BS9XXXX
Click to expand...

Odd one, that. Never saw both letters in the prefix on an electroless nickel gun. It might be worth a call to Colt to try and determine the meaning. You absolutely sure it's an S and not a half stamped 8? Light roll marks weren't uncommon during the 70s.

I have seen 70 and 80BS on a blued gun...so there's a chance that it was originally blue, and sent to Colt for a Satin Nickel refinish. Can you post a picture of it?
 
OK,

Here are a couple of pictures. Dang, it is not easy getting a good photo of a shiny object up close. Wheww.
 

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I'm gonna say that was originally a blued gun. Hard to tell from the pictures, but whoever did the buffing was careful not to blur the clean lines and dish the flats, although it looks like there's a little at the back of the slide, but that may be the lighting. Is the slide bright, polished shiny? The original factory electroless guns were matte finished.
 
The side of the slide is quite shiny, but not chrome bumper shiny, the top of the slide almost looks like a parkerized silver. I've dissassembled it for cleaning. I've never seen any signs of blue anywhere. The magazine is a stainless steel color with the words "COLT 45 AUTO" and the letter "M" on the bottom. Even inside of the magazine well is stainless colored.

The guy I got it from made the same mention about the serial number, so he was suspect too. He would have told me if he knew it was once blue.

Maybe I better write to Colt.
 
D C Plumber

If you go to gunbroker.com, Item #217574537, is a pretty good example of what electroless nickel looks like. Not shiney and bright like regular nickel plate, but slightly subdued; looking more like stainless steel. Colt used this finish to fill in the gap until they could switch production over to stainless steel.

Also on gunbroker.com are Items #217102154, #217109210, and #217329766, all of which have the satin nickel finish. A very even and totally matte finish, giving the gun an almost frosted look to it.

Your Combat Commander looks more to me like it has an electroless nickel finish to it, rather than a factory satin nickel finish. If it was blued originally, then perhaps at some point it was sent back to Colt for the electroless nickel treatment. A factory letter will be able to confirm what the original finish was, and maybe they can see if it was ever returned to Colt to have a different finish put on it.
 
Interesting pistol. If the nickel finish turns out to be original, you may have an oddity which was serialized as a blued gun and wound up in the plating line. I remember a Smith & Wesson Model 29 that came to a local dealer from a distributor with a .41 Magnum cylinder...so it can happen.
 
It does look shinier than the standard "satin nickel" Combat Commander, but Internet Pictures can be tricky.

Don't put too much faith in Colt serial number codes, I have a 1970s Service Model Ace .22 numbered in the "70B" .45 format and have reliably heard of .45s with "SM" numbers.

So it would be a crapshoot to pay Colt for a factory letter in the hopes that this was a rare factory bright nickel gun instead of an aftermarket plating job. If it were, it might be worth a premium greater than the $100 for the letter. But if it weren't, you would just know which dealer got a gun that was later refinished.
 
JIm...take a close look at the picture showing the left side of the pistol...at the rear of the slide. Looks to me like the corner's been softened by a buffing wheel, but my eyes bein' what they are these days...I can't be sure. Do you see it?
 
I see what you are talking about.
It also looks like the slide flats are brighter than the frame.
It is too much trouble for some workers to take off the bushings and plunger tube to polish the frame flats... so they just don't polish the frame flats.
 
I'm going to work on taking some better pictures. When I get them, I'll post a few. I'll have the wife help tonight.

What is the best color for a background to get good pictures?
 
OK, I tried to take some better pics. I took the grips off so that the metal underneath can be seen too.
 

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