Colt Commanders from Alaska

[HSMITH]

WildAlaska sent me a couple Colt Commanders this week, part of the group buy from last summer. The wait was worth it, both got a workout tonight and worked flawlessly.

One got beat up pretty good, I put about 75 rounds of full power ball handloads through it, about 40 230 JHP STOUT handloads, and about 550 200 grain LSWC handloads too. It ate EVERYTHING, not one hitch or glitch, it ran like a good 1911 should!!!!

The other got about 200 rounds of ball handloads through it also without a hitch.

One BIG complaint, the stock grip safety made me bleed. They are brutally sharp for a guy that grips the gun high. A little DREMEL time tonight and all should be OK until I get a good beavertail fitted. I hate hacking on a brand new gun but I just can't take the stock grip safety.

Trigger on one is just over 4 pounds, the other is 3 3/4 pounds. One is dead tight frame to slide with a well fit barrel, the other is a little looser with a well fit barrel. Both are very nice for a factory gun.

Both shot well, and ran great. Thanks again to WildAlaska for putting on the group buy so guys like me can get Colt's at a reasonable price!!!

 

[paul45]

Oh My God! You are going to DREMEL a new Colt? Good thing you got the group buy cause you know its worthless as soon as you touch it with a Dremel !!!!!!!! :banghead: ... ....

 

[Black_Talon]

One BIG complaint, the stock grip safety made me bleed. They are brutally sharp for a guy that grips the gun high.

Preach it bro!

I've always had problems with the stock Commander grip safety, but back in the early/mid '70's when i first started shooting them, there were no beavertails and I wasn't comfortable filing on them. To this day, over 30 years later I still have a set of 1/4" long, parallel scars on the web of my right hand.

 

[HSMITH]

I hear you BT.

paul, you don't get it. It made me BLEED!!!!! Turns out the grip safety is responsible for cut #1 on my hand and the frame is responsible for cut #2, so hacking on the grip safety is a band-aid that doesn't cover everything. Time to cut the FRAME, oh yeah I am gonna chop the FRAME up and fit a good beavertail!!!!!

On a serious note, I didn't buy it for resale value. I bought it to shoot and to carry, and it will get some modifications to be best suited to my needs.

I have already fitted a Wilson checkered front strap thingamabob to take care of traction until I checker the frame, I fitted a stainless checkered mainspring housing I had laying around getting rid of the plastic stock unit, I cut the trigger shoe back about 3/16" to get by until my preferred short trigger comes in, I cut the rear sight notch deeper by about .100" and wider by about .060" for my preferred sight picture that will get me by until I get some better sights on it. I knocked a couple burrs off the sear and hammer hooks, got a consistent 3.5 pound pull that has the typical series 80 creep and I actually like a little creep. I finished the partial job Colt did bevelling the mag well and cold blued the bare metal. Then a detail clean and lube job, I have about 2 hours in it now and it is a lot more shootable for me.

I have at least another 10 hours and a couple hundred dollars left to go to get it 'just right', then re-finishing, but all in all I am very happy with the gun and the price I paid. It ran GREAT right out of the box, fit and finish are much better than anything else I have seen within a couple hundred dollars, very nice trigger right out of the box too.

If I had one regret it would be not getting one lightweight to carry and one steel frame to pound ammo through, it is rather heavy compared to my current alloy Para carry gun.

 

[paul45]

Say, you will give us a pic when your done, right?

 

[HSMITH]

Sure, look for it in a couple months.