My favorite local gun store came across this via an estate transaction. It belonged to a cop. The finish and overall general condition are not bad at all.
The serial number begins with 80BS2 which makes it a factory blue steel gun somewhere around 1982 vintage; that is a few years before when some Colt Commanders were made from stainless steel; if the serial number contained SC instead of BS that would designate a factory satin chrome (satin electroless nickel) finish. A fair guess is that this gun was chromed / nickeled in the aftermarket; yes, it is possible that it was sent back to Colt for refinishing. Wherever it was done, it has been with this pistol for a while and still looks pretty darn nice.
Syd has a an interesting story about Colt Combat Commanders with the 80BS serial number prefix.
IMHO the trigger on this pistol is very sweet. It feels very pre-series 80.
Yep, I just had to have it. It should make a good shooter. This completes my lust for "all things 1911." I did the paperwork and paid for it today; I will pick it up on Monday after satisfying the requisite Illinois waiting period (plus an extra day or so just for the heck of it).
EDIT: CLICK HERE TO READ EVERY BLOG ENTRY THAT I DID ABOUT THIS PISTOL
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Handsome pistol that... Not at all how one would likely describe the Gen 3 G30 SF I bought me for Christmas. ;)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the new Colt!! Hope all is well and that you and yours have a wonderful New Year!
ReplyDeleteDan and Jason, thanks a million for stopping in. Hope you both had a Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a Happy New Year!
Zack
VERY cool!
ReplyDeleteI'm a little jealous.
gfa
Happy New Year, Guffaw. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Zack
ReplyDeleteFirst the Model 36 and now this. I am green with envy as they are two of my favourite guns from back in the days when I was "allowed" to own them. Always liked the Commander but of the two .45s I owned one was a series 70 and the other a WW2 Remington Rand.
The Rand rattled a bit but I never had a single failure to feed with 230 grain Lead Round Nose that I used to reload. Only problems I had were with one dodgy mag - a bit of metal re-arrangement sorted that out.
I read on the interwbz now about how the .45 is unreliable. Never used to be that way. And although it rattled and had vestigial sights and a button trigger - that Rand .45 was more accurate than I was...and I wasn't a bad shot.
All the best from the UK and have a great New Year
JonT
Happy New Year, JonT! Man, it is good to hear from you again. Your recollections are priceless additions to this blog. Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteThat's one sweet Colt! Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteHey man! Thanks!
ReplyDelete