Update: "Older" 9mm Combat Commander Rebuild

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doc540

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(Well, it's 1977 "old)

Dovetail cut, Novak geezer sights installed, bead blasted and mailed today to Mississippi for Black T.

Ed Brown and EGW stainless externals waiting to be installed.

Gary Dean's doing the smithing.

Then it's gonna get assembled and smoked, A LOT.:rock:

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Yes, it's the same steel frame as a .45 "Combat Commander".

Unless it's designated "Combat", the Commander frames were lightweight alloy and purported not to hold up to high round counts as well as the Combat Commanders.

1911 experts are welcome to correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Unless it's designated "Combat", the Commander frames were lightweight alloy
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Yes, until recently. Colt screwed that up, among other things, in its model naming history. Groan...

1950 - 1970: One model, called "Commander" - lightweight frame.
1970 - 200?: Two models - "Lightweight Commander" with alloy frame; "Combat Commander" with steel frame.
200? - now: Two models - "Lightweight Commander"/alloy frame; "Commander" with steel frame.

They still catalog the steel one as the "Combat Commander" but they don't put it on the slide. The slide just says "Commander." So, like what "Series '70" means, they've changed the definition in the last 10 years and it's not so simple.

Here's a recent production, all-steel, "Combat Commander 04691." Note the lack of "Combat" on the slide despite that being the cataloged model name:
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Very nice doc540! Novaks revived a 71 Combat Commander for me 4 years ago. Wasn't as bad as yours, but they did me right also. Mine is in 9mm though.

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9mm Combat Commander update:

FedEx delivered the parts I sent to "Black T"!

Can't say enough for their customer service. Great price and quick turnaround of less than 6 weeks.

Everything looks great (frame, slide, mainspring cover, and grip safety), so it's off to Gary Dean for reassembly and fitting the Ed Brown stainless parts.

Pics and a range report soon cuz this Colt's gonna get smoked!
 
My only comment is that the pistol is a Luger 9 mm. There are several other 9 mm rounds as well 9x18, 19x17,9x25 etc.

If I am correct the 9x18 Makarov is still a very popular sub machine gun round it Europe and the 9x17 Kurz (.380) is still a world favorite police and military around the world.
 
first 4 mag's thru it, 9 round Colt factory mag and three 10 round Virgil Tripps...the gun's perfect, the shooter's got a long way to go!

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I love it when a plan comes together.
 
"You must feel like a ten year old on Christmas morning. Congrats."

Not far from it!

I don't know squat about 1911's and I've never modded one before, so it was somewhat of a crapshoot.

However, my gunsmith specializes in 1911's, so I trusted he'd fit everything together.

I had NO idea it would shoot this well though.

When those first few rounds started making one big hole I started thinking, "Yeah, buddy!!'.:D
 
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another 250 rounds through it Saturday

The gun performed flawlessly. Shot accurately, cycled dependably until I tried to run a last 50 rounds of Blazer brass through it.

By that time the new gun had about 500 rounds through it without cleaning.

After 500 rounds of Winchester White Box, the first mag of Blazer didn't feel right.

The action wasn't cycling as smoothly and with the same "authority". I think the Blazer ammo was just too underpowered for the dirty action. Eventually it wouldn't extract and cycle.

I lubed the slide and extractor, and that fixed any problems with the ammo.

Ran through the last 30 rounds with no problems except my being tired and shooting inaccurately.
 
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