9mm Colt Combat Commander

jimbobborg · May 5, 2019

I picked up an older, Series 80 version, with a mag well and a .38 Super magazine. The recoil spring feels like it's for 45 ACP, not 9mm, so I'm guessing it 18 lbs. When I take the spring out and compare it to a full sized 1911 spring, the full sized is a good 2" longer. ??? I swapped out the original spring in my DVC 3-Gun, which has a longer barrel, with the new spring and it works great. But that has me wondering. How short is the spring supposed to be on a Commander? The full length spring will not let me lock the slide back. I'm ordering a new spring for a Commander length slide, just wanting to know what to expect. That may help with a feeding issue I'm having with it. We'll see. BTW, the trigger is HEAVY. Heavier than the pull on my RIA milspec 1911. Not sure what the point of that is. I'm going to order the recoil spring, or cut the long one I had ordered before getting the Commander and see if it works.

In case anyone was wondering, ejected brass pops out at 2 o'clock from the muzzle, so I'm losing brass in the process. I think this little guy will be going to the smith for some fine tuning soon. I'll have my grandson shoot it when he gets big enough.

davsco · May 5, 2019

if you have brass ejecting from the muzzle, you have a bigger problem than a heavy trigger!

ahahaha

good luck with the new blaster!

TheOriginalMexicanBob · May 5, 2019

You at least need a proper 9mm magazine. When buying used guns you have no idea who previously had Bubba'd it in an attempt to improve on what John Browning designed. Whenever I buy a used pistol I usually install all new springs of the proper size and specs.

Ham-fisted basement "gunsmiths" give a lot of good guns bad names and reputations. I bought a used Delta Elite a couple of years ago and when I field-stripped it to see what I had and to clean it one of those neoprene pads that are supposed to reduce frame battering fell out in several pieces.

Rangeman · May 6, 2019

Agree, the first step is a correct spring and a brand new 9mm mag! A Gunsmith could improve the trigger. Sounds like the extractor is working.

DutchV · May 6, 2019

Checkmate makes great mags. https://www.checkmatemagazines.com/

TheOriginalMexicanBob · May 6, 2019

Checkmate is a vendor to Colt for magazines...among a couple of other vendors. While I admit I have tried every brand of magazine available I use only genuine Colt, Wilson Combat or Chip McCormick Shooting Star as I have never had an issue with any. Shooting Star was at one time a vendor for oe Colt magazines and have since been bought out by Wilson Combat I believe.

jimbobborg · May 6, 2019

I got five 9mm mags, I just want to get the proper sized recoil spring. And Dave, it would have sounded odd if I said two o'clock from the ejector port

photoracer · May 9, 2019

You sure its not setup for 9x23mm? That's basically the same as .38 Super but with a slightly different case design. 9x23 is basically a 9x19 case lengthened by 4mm while a .38 Super was developed from the old .38 ACP and also 23mm long. Both 23mm long but the 9x23mm case is tapered slightly and has a thicker case wall close to the bottom. They can't be fired from the same gun unless the round has been reloaded in the wrong set of dies. 38 Super uses .356 bullets while 9x23mm uses .355 bullets. Magazines are interchangeable even though barrels are not. Normally if you get a colt with dual calibers it will include a different mag, recoil spring and guiderod, and a specific barrel.
Since you say the spring is heavy its certain its for 38 Super/9x23, and same for the mag being for a 38 Super. Only question is the barrel cut for 9x19 or 9x23.
Get a round of 9x19, take the gun apart to get the barrel out and drop the 9mm round in the barrel. if the round goes in too far then its 9x23. If it goes in too deep but gets a little stuck its likely .38 Super. If it goes in to the correct depth for 9mm you will need a different mag and a different recoil spring. I'm betting its designed to shoot 9x23. My Dan Wesson Commander is setup with both calibers, 9x19 and 9x23 and that is the way I bought it.

photoracer · May 9, 2019

Also since it has a magwell I bet its definitely one of the racegun calibers. .38 Super and 9x23mm are slightly more powerful than .357 Sig. In the days before .40 S&W you could shoot .38 Super or 9x23mm in IPSC/USPSA Limited division as Major caliber. But they changed that in the late 90's or early 2000's so that the bullet had to be .40 or larger for Major (.41AE is a legal Major in Limited and also .357 SIG was added later because the mag capacity was the same as .40). Biggest reason pros shot the 9mm race calibers was capacity. I have an original Bul M5 in 9x23 that was built as a Limited gun for IPSC by their custom shop.

photoracer · May 9, 2019

Mmm. Not a racegun with a heavy trigger. sounds more like a carry gun of some type. You really don't want to cut a coil spring. The less coils the stiffer it gets. Only thing you gain by cutting is the preload goes down. Shortening the spring is not the thing to do. Weaker springs have more coils that stronger ones assuming identical wire diameter.

Magnumite · May 10, 2019

Never heard that, more colls less force - given equal diameter and tensile strength spring wire. The only way a lower force could be achieved with more coils is if the spring is being flexed beyond its working limit. It is the flexing of each coil which contributes to total force, more coils, more force. I have seen plenty of cut auto springs which are considerably less force than their original longer length. I have cut recoil and mainsprings and the result was less force. Measured and felt in operation.

jimbobborg · May 10, 2019

photoracer said:
Mmm. Not a racegun with a heavy trigger. sounds more like a carry gun of some type. You really don't want to cut a coil spring. The less coils the stiffer it gets. Only thing you gain by cutting is the preload goes down. Shortening the spring is not the thing to do. Weaker springs have more coils that stronger ones assuming identical wire diameter.

I got a set of Wolff springs that are meant to be cut to length for my two 2011s. And good seeing you again last weekend.

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