Hey 1911TUNER........

[Gary in Pennsylvania]

Does the Colt Lightweight Commander -->http://www.colt.com/CMCI/XSE.asp have any firing pin safety blocks in it?? I'm confused as all hell trying to follow the different variations of the new Colt 1911's . . . . series 70, series 80, 1991 series, new roll mark, etc...

I go backa nd forth constantly about adding more CZ's to my brood or adding the 1911 that I know that I'll eventually get. I'm looking at the Springfields and Colts. Under $900 is my budget.

Maybe I'm brainwashed to think that the 1911 is too damn finicky. Upon purchase - better go out and get new, more reliable mags. Better watch that extractor! Slide is too tight or too loose. Urrrgh! :banghead:

CZ's are simple, reliable, shoot like a bat outta hell, and are inexpensive. Plunking down $$$ on any 1911 is a tough decision for me.

But anyways . . . . .back on topic . . . . How's that Colt LW Commander XSE?

 

[1911Tuner]

Commander XSE

Hey hey Gary! Top'o' the morinin' to ya.

The XSE Commander is a Series 80 and does have the firing pin safety system. The Stainless XSE that I have was a bit persnickety at first,
but with just a little attention to detail, it's 100% now. Accurate, and
completely reliable with anything that I can stuff into it, including my
funky reloads with home-cast wheelweight bullets. It took me exactly
15 minutes to make it run like that,and it consisted mainly of hitting the
recoil spring rate that it liked. The original spring was fine, but when it came time for a change, I had to play with it a bit. The factory spring
tested at 15.5 pounds in compression....NOT 18, as specified. When I
tried an 18-pound spring, the pistol went bonkers. I wound up using a
Wolff 16-pound GM spring cut down to 23 coils, replacing the Devel-type 8-round follower in the factory magazine with a standard Metalform follower, and using Wolff 11-pound mag springs. I can't say enough about those Wolff springs. Git Some! Money well-spent.

I used the J&B/CLP slurry on it...not because it was too tight, but just
to smooth it up a bit, and did a little buff and polish here and there.
I did replace the factory MIM extractor. Not due to any problem, but
just because.

I also replaced the mainspring and firing pin spring after the first 500 rounds. Personal preference. I did a little tweaking on the hammer hooks to get both of them on the sear evenly. It didn't take much. Again, no problems, but just because I like to see it work that way.

Polished the face of the disconnector and the trigger stirrup...Broke a
few corners here and there. Prep work mainly. It all took about an hour,
and the pistol hasn't missed a beat in over 5,000 rounds.

Overall, I like the gun, though I could do without the front end treatment of
the slide. It's not a real issue...I just prefer the front of the slide to be clean. The front grooves/serrations aren't necessary,and it would have
been nice if Colt had given us an option on the XSE series.

Hope that answers your questions. Take care...

Tuner