My next 1911 (Commander vs. Officer)

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  • Magnumite

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 17, 2007
    6,565
    Harford County, Maryland
    I owned a Kimber and fitted two upper Kimber assemblies to frames I built. They are good guns. They have their occasional peculiarities which show up from time to time (mostly barrel bump), but when you look at the percentages, they work. Buy whatever brand you like and enjoy.
     

    Rockzilla

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 6, 2010
    4,517
    55.751244 / 37.618423
    Damn , this thread is almost motivating me to break out my ( so-called ) Series 70 Combat Commander .

    may have to shoot the NIB 70 Series Gold Cup from long ago.
    Kimbers are okay not to bash, not worth the money. Each to
    their own. Prefer the CC, but like some on here choose to build,
    build it how you want, blend it, it's like a painting, the artist does
    it but you are the artist in this case. Basically your paying for the
    name, whether Kimber, Les B, and the labor that goes into it, they
    may be good 1911's but the Q.C. has gone down in some cases
    you shouldn't have to send back a custom gun for anything for the
    money you pay for them.
    Whether it's a Para Warthog to a AMT Longslide (the later shoots
    really good)
    So again would have to go with Combat Commander of course hand
    size plays a role in it also.. But prefer to build..

    -Rock
     

    TheOriginalMexicanBob

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 2, 2017
    32,230
    Sun City West, AZ
    1911s are not only one of the best designs ever, but one of the most forgiving as long as basement gunsmiths don't monkey with them. While there are certainly some 1911 makers that do a better job than others, no company tries to make a bad gun...they simply make certain compromises to meet a price point and sometimes it doesn't work well...but that's not really a reflection on the basic solid engineering in the 1911 design.

    One reason for malfunctions in a 1911 is that it's so easy to swap in parts to make it "better" that do just the opposite. The other is manufacturing and assembly compromises by the maker...regardless of the price level the gun is made to.
     

    Mightydog

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    I’m with you all the way on this. I’ve never had an issue with a “stock” 1911 but mine are either Colt or Sig. it’s when people try to customize theirs and use the wrong parts or cut corners that they start to have issues. I say buy a high quality one and enjoy. You can always get parts and make a “Frankenstein” gun.
     

    TheOriginalMexicanBob

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 2, 2017
    32,230
    Sun City West, AZ
    A 1911, AR-15 or most any other firearm is like a performance car...it takes the right mix of parts assembled properly to increase its performance. You can take a stock small block Chebby, add quality parts such as Edelbrock, Holley, MSD, CompCams and others, but if you don't match them up to accomplish a specific purpose and assemble them properly all you'll have is an expensive lump of parts that doesn't perform. A set of well matched parts of even less expensive private label stuff will perform above its weight class.

    The same goes for building a gun...well matched parts, properly assembled will perform regardless of the name brands. I think there's far too many home build 1911 and other models that aren't assembled properly and the lack of performance is blamed on the maker rather than the owner who threw a bunch of parts together.
     

    echo6mike

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 1, 2013
    1,794
    Close to DC
    Good discussion about building/modifying your own 1911, but this thread is about picking one to buy from a good manufacturer. Deciding how small it's reasonable for me to go.

    I'm liking the idea of the officer-sized frame with the commander slide, whichever variant that is!

    But where can I find one to test shoot? That's not going to be easy...

    sfmf's
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,906
    That part is simple . The main variable from the shooter's viewpoint will be the frame length . Test shoot an Officers to see how the short frame works for you in your hands , compared to a Commander ( or even a 1911 ).
     

    manderson

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 3, 2008
    1,243
    Commander . And a "real " commander of 4.25 in.

    Because that's as much as you can shrink a 1911 , and still function reasonably like a 1911 , you can't alter the laws of physics.

    I've had the discussion on 1911 lengths with my gunsmith, and he is hard core old school when he says emphatically "The gun was designed to be five inches."

    Okaaaay .

    Actually , I'm surprised the thread made it this far without 1911 bashing generally.

    And with no pics! This was my last purchase back in April. Ashamed that because of work and the crappy weather this has yet to see the range. My first 4.25 inch 1911.

    T3_3.jpg



    T3_4.jpg
     

    RoadDawg

    Nos nostraque Deo
    Dec 6, 2010
    94,191
    One which I haven’t seen mentioned here... [and I do hear from a family member (NJSP Lt. Ret) that it’s his “favorite pistol”...] is the Rock Island Arms Compact. He bought it for around $350.00. (GI model.)

    It has a bull barrel and no barrel bushing. It gets excellent reviews. Here is a nice review of the Ultra II Tactical... which sells for around $200.00 more
     

    echo6mike

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 1, 2013
    1,794
    Close to DC
    One which I haven’t seen mentioned here... [and I do hear from a family member (NJSP Lt. Ret) that it’s his “favorite pistol”...] is the Rock Island Arms Compact. He bought it for around $350.00. (GI model.)



    It has a bull barrel and no barrel bushing.


    Interesting. If I got an officer size like that I’d probably want one a bit lighter, but what do folks think of this design? It looks well done in the vid (no surprise, Rock Island makes good guns), but I don’t know enough for an opinion.

    Manual of arms is different, it’s all steel so it will be milder to shoot, any ideas about durability with these design tweaks?



    Echo6mike, going mobile...
     

    RoadDawg

    Nos nostraque Deo
    Dec 6, 2010
    94,191
    Interesting. If I got an officer size like that I’d probably want one a bit lighter, but what do folks think of this design? It looks well done in the vid (no surprise, Rock Island makes good guns), but I don’t know enough for an opinion.

    Manual of arms is different, it’s all steel so it will be milder to shoot, any ideas about durability with these design tweaks?



    Echo6mike, going mobile...

    That design is proven to work very well. The pistol is well worth the price. And my personal experience with Armscor has shown me that they take very good care of their customers. Their pistols are Life Time Guaranteed.

    I bought a used one. It had a small issue with a weak recoil spring. They paid to have it shipped to Armscor in Nevada... replaced all springs... Rockwell tested the frame hardness... re-ramped and polished the feed ramp and chamber throat... test fired... and shipped it back to me in one week. NO CHARGE. It functions beautifully and is dead on accurate... with ball or HP ammo.
     

    RoadDawg

    Nos nostraque Deo
    Dec 6, 2010
    94,191
    And a quick poke on the interwebs shows me that Rock Island does also make what they call a CCO version of this 1911 - commander slide, aluminum officer frame, etc.

    Interesting.

    https://armscor.com/firearms/ria/rock-series/rock-ultra-cco/

    There’s a lot to be said about the heft of the CCW choice. I’ve carried a full size S&W Model 10 bull barrel, full size 1911s, G 17, G 22, and various others. The weight is something that you get used to and if properly dressed... is not that much of an issue. That said... follow up shots with a small pistol are a major consideration. And the all steel compact RIA is going to mitigate more recoil than the lighter weight pistol. That usually translates into faster recovery and target acquisition on the next shot. There is a point at which convenience should not outweigh functionality when carrying for self defense.
     

    K-43

    West of Morning Side
    Oct 20, 2010
    1,881
    PG
    Something others have already hit upon is the interchangeability of parts if you wish to do mods or repairs. Even understanding parts need to be fitted, every manufacturer does't make an exact clone and not all aftermarket parts will work.
    A nephew bought a Taurus for an inexpensive plinker. Nothing serious, just a cheap fun gun. The extractor broke. Not an uncommon problem and I had a new Wilson Combat and a GI extractor in a drawer. Just a little fitting or tweaking?
    Nope. Taurus made theirs to a different spec. Theirs wasn't a standard length nor did it have the retaining slot in the same place as a Colt or other clones. The firing pin retainers wouldn't even interchange. So he was stuck waiting for Taurus to send him an extractor.
     

    TheOriginalMexicanBob

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 2, 2017
    32,230
    Sun City West, AZ
    My Colt Lightweight Commander...other than the Novak sights and being refinished in electroless nickel it's a stock piece that has served me well for over twenty-five years. I carried it often off-duty once a self-loading pistol was allowable rather than a revolver. It's more accurate than I can hold and has never malfunctioned...as reliable as they come.
    Colt-Commander.jpg
     

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