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  • jimbobborg

    Oddball caliber fan
    Aug 2, 2010
    17,112
    Northern Virginia
    I have a Colt Combat Commander in 9mm. It needs work, the five lb 80 Series trigger needs to go. I figure the route I want to take is have it converted to a 10mm and get a trigger job to get it to under three pounds. It would then be my dream carry gun. Is this feasible?
     

    GuitarmanNick

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 9, 2017
    2,221
    Laurel
    The following is just my opinion based on 50 years of handling firearms. I am not an expert but am a veteran with experience in some very bad situations.

    With a trigger pull that light on a 1911, you would have to use lighter springs which may present a problem in a carry gun. Light primer strikes are not something you want in a life threatening situation!

    Light triggers are for precision shooting, not everyday carry or SHTF situations.
     

    TylerFirearms

    , , Class-7 FFL, MRFD
    Industry Partner
    Dec 27, 2013
    1,952
    Halethorpe, MD
    I’ll throw my 2 cents in and agree with the others. Handgun manufacturers have spent tons of money and have really good lawyers to determine that a 5.5 lb trigger pull should keep you from having an unintentional discharge in such a stressful situation and keep you out of hot water in the event you have to use it to defend yourself. A lighter trigger pulls means “you set your gun up to kill the bad guy faster”.

    10mm is a horrible idea for self defense. Especially in the more liberal states, judges have looked at 10mm as a more lethal round and “you didn’t actually have to blow a huge hole in his chest, did you?” There was a case in Minnesota a few years back where a homeowner chose 10mm over 9mm and got hemmed up for causing so much bodily injury. He ended up in civil court and lost due to excessive use of force to stop the attack.

    Don’t assume for one second I agree with any of this because I don’t. If I could carry an M203 on a .50 Beowulf to end the attack quickly, I would. I would just like to keep myself out of prison.


    Chuck
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,881
    1a . A *reliable* 3lb trigger on a 1911 is mechanically a tricky thing , even among ace gunsmiths who specialize in such things . Most people who like really light triggers on 1911 have a goal of 4lb .

    1b Even in the context of SA pistols, 3lb is too light for anything conceivably defensive . The topic of "suitable" triggers is hotly debated . The above mentioned 5.5lb is a node with lots of currency in our era . I won't necessarily say that is written in stone , but 3lb is definitely too light .


    2. 5lb is a very viable weight . Perhaps you would be suitably pleased with a *better* 5lb pull , as to eveness, smoothness, creep, etc .

    Added -

    I like 10mm , so I won't try to talk you out of it in general . That said , since the stated parameters didn't specify hunting , or defense against large angry animals , plenty of more common calibers are capable of highly effective ( within handgun context) defensive service .

    But should you join the ranks of 10mm users , be aware of your ammo selections . Outside of hunting and large angry critters , the most-est isn't necessarily best choice, if only for the control factor .
     

    jimbobborg

    Oddball caliber fan
    Aug 2, 2010
    17,112
    Northern Virginia
    I've been shooting 10mm since 1990, I have five handguns in 10mm right now. I've shot a defensive pistol match with one 1911 in 10mm. My 3" Ruger GP100 runs 10mm, I may be using that in USPSA after this summer. I'm using the Sig V-Crown ammunition in all five handguns, I have no problems running any of them with this ammunition. I've wanted the Dan Wesson Commander CBOB, but they stopped making that in 10mm. My DW Silverback has a much better trigger than the Colt. Same with my two STIs. Even my XDm-10 has a better trigger than the Colt. Just want consistency.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    My experience is that 4.5 pounds is the sweet spot for a 1911 trigger.

    Heavy enough to not AD. But light enough for accurate shooting.

    When I shot USPSA, when I worked the chrono station, I shot a number of Open class guns with 2 - 2.5 pound triggers. They were downright scary.
     

    j_h_smith

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 28, 2007
    28,516
    I'm not a fan of the 10mm as a carry gun. now that that's out of the way, a 3 lb trigger is just an AD away from explaining yourself to at the very least a police officer, probably more likely a judge and jury. Sell the gun and buy something that will work for you as a quality carry gun. If you need to defend your actions in a court of law, it's much easier to explain why you shot the perp instead of why you heavily customized your firearm to be this ungodly weapon of death. This is why most will tell you to always use store bought ammo and never carry your own reloads.

    A custom firearm is always a bad decision for a carry gun (in my opinion). The prosecutor is going to look for any and all kinda ways to make you the boogie man.

    Good luck to ya, and whatever you do.
     

    cdub702

    Member
    May 13, 2017
    60
    Mr Rodgers Neighborhood
    I think the answer to this is, it depends. I would carry a 1911 with a 2-pound trigger pull before I would carry a Glock with a 2-pound trigger pull. Why? The 1911 has both a thumb safety and a grip safety. The Glock only has a trigger-mounted safety, and the number of accidental discharges with Glocks because of that are numerous.

    As long as the pistol is mechanically sound, there is no such thing theoretically as a trigger pull that is too light.*In my opinion for carry*It is an arbitrary number that was chosen because when you start dealing with triggers lighter than 4 pounds in the hands of people who are incapable of keeping their fingers off the trigger, you get negligent discharges. Just my two cents
     

    davsco

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 21, 2010
    8,607
    Loudoun, VA
    here's my take on lighter (and any) triggers - keep your finger off the trigger, really, outside the trigger guard, until you're ready to fire. that will stop any ad/nd's way more than a heavier trigger. a gun with a lighter trigger is generally easier to be shot more accurately, and accuracy counts especially in hd/cc scenarios.

    other than one possible instance referenced above, never seen or heard of a good shoot turning into a bad shoot because of a larger caliber being used. if it is or was good enough for the govt to use, should be good enough for civilians.

    personally i'd get that gun running great in 9mm and not deal with hassles and cost in converting. while you have and shoot a handful of 10mm's, it's still hard to control and get any 2nd, 3rd etc shots on target quickly. plus you'll lose a little mag capacity. there are a lot of good 9mm sd loads out there and shot placement always matters.
     

    KIBarrister

    Opinionated Libertarian
    MDS Supporter
    Apr 10, 2013
    3,923
    Kent Island/Centreville
    Get a series 70 (don't try to convert a series 80, for the same concerns regarding liability above) if you want a better trigger. John Moses Browning disapproves of your caliber choice.
     

    KJackson

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Apr 3, 2017
    8,614
    Carroll County
    One other concept that I have seen talked about is not spending a ton of money on a CC if possible. This is due to the the fact that if you have to use it, it will probably become property of the police for a while.
     

    davsco

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 21, 2010
    8,607
    Loudoun, VA
    One other concept that I have seen talked about is not spending a ton of money on a CC if possible. This is due to the the fact that if you have to use it, it will probably become property of the police for a while.
    while i wouldn't get my hd or cc gun gold plated, the last thing i'm going to worry about after a life changing/saving event is that i had $1k too much into my carry gun. that said, i generally have a bedside glock and a carry glock just because they always work.
     

    KIBarrister

    Opinionated Libertarian
    MDS Supporter
    Apr 10, 2013
    3,923
    Kent Island/Centreville
    ^^^. internet myth. One can get as good a trigger with a Series 80 while retaining all the parts as one can with a Series 70.

    More parts to break, more things to go wrong- for no tangible change in safety. While it may be ever so small, that force to override a mechanical system must come from somewhere... I own 80s series, but I prefer my 70s.
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,881
    My take -

    An intact Series 80 can be tuned to have a plenty good trigger, and lighter pull than I would care to have . ( And that's speaking in my shooting preferences, not legal liability debate .)

    But there are more steps involved, and requires additional knowledge of the 'smith .
     

    Magnumite

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 17, 2007
    6,564
    Harford County, Maryland
    More parts to break, more things to go wrong- for no tangible change in safety. While it may be ever so small, that force to override a mechanical system must come from somewhere... I own 80s series, but I prefer my 70s.

    If properly done, you can barely tell there is series 80 lockwork in it. And I have never seen nor heard of a properly timed and prepped series 80 system causing problems. If its fouling, the extractor and firing pin will cause problems first.

    No issue with preference, we all have our own. Debates are good. :)
     

    trikshot

    Active Member
    Industry Partner
    Nov 4, 2009
    144
    Eastern Baltimore County
    I have a Colt Combat Commander in 9mm. It needs work, the five lb 80 Series trigger needs to go. I figure the route I want to take is have it converted to a 10mm and get a trigger job to get it to under three pounds. It would then be my dream carry gun. Is this feasible?

    Your conversion will need a new slide, barrel, and possibly a new frame. I'm not sure if the location of a 9mm ejector will work on a 10mm. It would be cheaper to sell your old pistol and buy a new one in 10mm.
     

    KJackson

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Apr 3, 2017
    8,614
    Carroll County
    while i wouldn't get my hd or cc gun gold plated, the last thing i'm going to worry about after a life changing/saving event is that i had $1k too much into my carry gun. that said, i generally have a bedside glock and a carry glock just because they always work.

    I wasn't suggesting that you have to have a SCCY or something like that, I just wouldn't be using grandpa's bring back 1911.
     

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