I made this .45ACP Frankenpistol CCO (Colt Copy Obviously) using an RIA stainless steel Compact Size frame, a Les Baer Comanche carbon steel slide (Black Nitride treated), an Ed Brown 4-1/4” match grade stainless steel barrel and bushing, Ed Brown hammer, sear and slide stop, Chip McCormick lightweight trigger, VZ G-10 slim grips, Novak sights, and Wilson Combat stainless steel compact 7 shot magazines:
There is that one flyer, but at least it was an X. I could see no benefit to using a costly stainless steel Colt Officer’s Model frame. The Colt name would not have made it look, handle or shoot any better.
This is how it started out:
It certainly shot well enough, as I quickly cleared a six plate rack with it at SHOT Show Media Day 2020 (maybe the STOP tag hanging from the trigger guard improved the balance). Because it was one of the first two in the U.S., I bought that pistol then and there (wouldn’t even let the smiths clean it first), though I did hafta let it complete its duty as a shooting example for the media types that day, before it could be shipped to my FFL dealer. But later that year, because I’m not fond of .45ACP barrels shorter than 4 inches, I just had to change it to suit my preference (it’s a sickness).