Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Who carries a Lightweight Commander

Colt "Super Lite" .38 Super. Considering the serial number, I probably should have left it NIB, but what fun would that be? Don't carry it everyday, but often. Ammo is typically Silvertip 125s, various holsters.

I had a P230 back in the 1980s and 1990s. Wish I never sold it. Really neat little gun. Like a modernized PPK.

Very nice. I'd put some nice checkered wood grips on it.

Colt needs to bring that one back. Start making calls and sending Emails boy's. They seem to be open to new markets lately.



Cocobolo grips panels would look good on that gun. Lighter too.

It likes the new hot Federal HST's too. Ammunition for the .380 has come a long way in the last few years. She calls it her "little pepper sprayer".

No body mentioned using a recoil buffer. I do use them with the aluminum frame guns. I make sure to use a new one after a long practice session after cleaning and ready for carry. I like the Wilson Combat brand. They are inexpensive.

Don’t use recoil buffers of any kind.

I have the Wilsons but don't use them. Only pistols I use buffers in are my Star PDs, part of the recoil spring design and meant to be a consumable item. But like LTC Cooper said, those original CCOs were meant to be carried much and shot little.

I carry a Sig C3 in 45 ACP for the last 8 years. My holster is a cheap clip on Mexican carry IWB. It is more comfortable than any of my expensive holsters.

This is close....

http://www.lipseys.com/itemdetail.aspx?itemno=COO4540XSE

Don't buy an aluminum frame 1911 without ramp-ed barrel.

What's a ramped barrel have anything to do with frame battering?
Do you know how a 1911 works?

John, there are many that have your school of thought about buffers.



I like to practice with the same gun and ammo as I carry. I practice a lot with full power loads.

Maybe the best way to do it is to practice with the buffers installed , but never use them in a carry situation. I am leaning towards this regimen.

I am saying, one step beyond using new buffers only during carry. ( a failed buffer can cost you your life) Is this your position?

I think Cooper was talking about a true CCO. O as in officer (short magazine grip frame). He did not like 4" and shorter barrel guns either. But I see what your saying.

Modern forged aluminum frames by top manufactures are stronger than they were 40 years ago. Different modern alloys. Still not as strong as forged steel of course.


I shoot my lightweights along side of my standard commanders sometimes. There is a difference in point of aim using the same ammo. Those few extra ounces do make a difference. That's trying to keep all else the same.

I do like the Lightweights more and more as time goes by. I carry a lot more nowadays because of the way things are today. Three different ways, IWB, hip(strong and cross) and using a shoulder holster.

In an aluminum framed 1911 I would worry more about frame gouging at the feed ramp than frame battering.

I would not hesitate to use a shock buffer in a commander length slide. I use a Cominolli dual shock buffer guide
rod in my Delta 10mm pictured below.

I have a Springfield Compact 1911 in 9mm for carry. The ramped barrel was a must.

Nice Super! I owned s/n Super 389 for a while.

I have shot thousands of rounds through aluminum frame guns. Never a gouge track. It is not a problem. Bullets slide right up. Even with high slide velocity and extra power magazine springs. Nonexistent concern.

Note: You need to get you another Super. Don't sell it this time.

Glad to hear you have had no gouging issues. I have known a couple of 45ACP owners not as fortunate.

Yes, I regret selling that LW Commander. If I had kept, probably would have replaced the skimp pencil barrell
with a Barsto ramped barrel fitted for that extra piece of mind.

Not sure what Colt is using for an alloy in their frames now but the original frames were Coltalloy which was a aluminum-titanium mix and the frames were milled from forgings not cast.

One of my girlfriends had two Kimber ProCarry .45s, pre-firingpin safety guns. The feedramps of those guns both started gouging after only a few boxes of hollowpoint ammo. She had both frames feedramps polished and then hard chromed and that ended the problem. Also it was common practice to polish the feedramps on guns to better feed hollowpoints. Doing so to a Commander removed the hardened anodized surface exposing the softer bare aluminum...this would then get beat up with HP ammo.

Buffers...only use them for 9x23 Winchester and 10mm and usually with a full length guide rod on full size 1911s. Tried buffers on Commanders and found that especially with .45s the slide would lock back mid-magazine quite often. If one pulls back the slide of a 1911 regardless of size, the slide stop rides past the hold open notch in the frame. Put a buffer in a GM and it will still clear the notch. Put a buffer in a Commander and the slide stops right where the slide stop and notch line up. When the gun recoils and muzzle rotates up the slidestop can rotate right into the notch just as the slide stops in full recoil. I took the buffer out of the .45 Commander and never had any more problems. There was a company who made a very thin buffer just for Commanders but I have not seen them around for a while and never used one.

Bob

I would not know about Kimbers. Don't have any.

No problem with the slide stop notch. Just checked.