My latest . . . I think I'm going crazy!

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

This is what started it all! :lol: Wife's - Just gotta love them! http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=87197

I bought a 44 mag when I turned 44 this spring, and now . . . I'm not even 45 yet!:D

So I was in church last Sunday, and my friend was not there, so I could not talk to him, then Wednesday night, he came in late, and I forgot afterwards! Before church Mark told me to talk to Robert at the parts store, as his uncle was selling a bunch of guns . . . I forgot . . . this morning my wife and I were shopping, and Kay says to me, hey you wanna buy a gun? I say what is it, and she says I don't but there is this guy that is an uncle of Robert at the parts store . . .

So . . . I stop and see Robert, and get his uncles number . . . I call, and he is not there . . . call back in an hour . . . I call back, and ask him if he has a 1911? he says yes! I ask him who made it and he says colt, he says that it was a friends of his who passed away, and it has be in his safe for a few years, it is a blue commander in like new condition, I ask him, how much he wanted for it? he said $500, and it is worth $800.

I ended up meeting him, and after I looked it over, it seemed in good shape, and needed a little cleaning, but I gave him the $500, we then talked for 30 min, he told me he bought this and a few others at an auction down in Yuma, 20 years ago, the auction was going badly and then at the end it was stated that it was $400 for any gun! So. he sold this to his friend for $400, and when he died, he gave the widow $400 for it! And then he told me that his wife needed surgery, and he was selling some guns, and then he told me of the old days back when he shot silly wet with the guy in Mexico, and the South West, of course he told me that he was alway at or near the top . . .

Anyways, it turned out to be a combat commander, I'll probably get some rubbery grips, but surprised how well it filled out my hand! I also don't care for the silly yellow pad on the bottom of the mag . . . I'm gonna see if it will just come off, or my smart wife said to just paint it!

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Colt%201911%20Combat/7.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Colt%201911%20Combat/2.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Colt%201911%20Combat/5.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Colt%201911%20Combat/3.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Colt%201911%20Combat/4.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Colt%201911%20Combat/6.jpg

So . . . how did I do? He also threw in 7 jacket round ball!

[smilie=s:

[docone31]

The Combat commander was my carry pistol for many years. It fit me like it should.
Always came through.
I like the jewelling. Rubber grips do wonders for it also.
The pad on the mag helps the grip, and when going fast, it cushions the fall for reload.
They are a fine pistol.
I miss mine.

[Dale53]

It is obvious that you did well. I cut my teeth on the 1911 platform. However, now I am down to just three:
Custom 1911 (Harold Johnson) built up from parts (National match barrel=bushing, long trigger, flat mainspring housing, electroless nickle frame with blued slide, high visibility fixed sights, - you get the idea.

Another "Colt based" built up by Harold Johnson.

A Kimber CDP Ultra II with 3" barrel and alloy frame. Arguably one of the best CCW combinations available (I traded my carry Commander in on this one).

I believe you will really like the Commander, it is a nice concept.

Dale53

[45nut]

looks like a nice addition to the armory!

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Hey thanks!

How do I take it apart? I don't know how to separate the slide, and remove the barrel, I gotta slug this, and get a mold, any recommendations? Still need to get dies too!

I don't have a way to measure the trigger pull, but it is kinda heavy . . .

[Dale53]

Here is a nice video that shows you how to dissassemble the 1911. It is helpful with the Colt "collet" bushing to use a bushing wrench to turn the bushing. The collet bushing is very tight to the barrel as is a fitted match bushing. I prefer the inexpensive polymer wrenches as they will not scratch your pistol if it slips. Dillon has them and they are available from a number of places (Google 1911 bushing wrench).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPhKHLfMbRQ

Dale53

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Thanks Dale, while you were posting, I was following directions here:
http://www.bobtuley.com/45/index.html

I'm glad I took the ejector out, it was kinda crudy, used a Qtip soaked in Ed's Red to clean out the tube the ejector hides in, then swabbed it out with a bunch of clean ones, gonna try to slug it tomorrow, either with some 451 round ball or I'll take some of those H&G 503 and fatten them up with a hammer!

[Dale53]

I have shot the 1911 platform in .45 ACP a good bit (75,000 rounds in a five year period by actual count). I reloaded and cast all of the bullets used. I have used H&G #130 cast bullets, Saeco #68 cast bullets, but my all time favorite is the H&G #68 (I am currently using Mihec's moulds for this bullet - the flat based one). This is a 200 gr SWC engineered to strike the feed ramp the same as the 230 gr ball military bullet.

A great target load with this bullet (#68) is 4.0 grs of Bullseye or equivalent (I use a chronograph to get the same velocity with different powders - this chronographs at about 750 fps in a 5" barrel). 7.0 grs of Unique behind this same bullet will give you a great service load in excess of 900 fps. The full load requires an "as issue" sixteen pound spring in a full size 1911. The target load may require a lighter spring in some guns. For full loads I actually prefer an 18 lb spring with a recoil buffer for long gun life.

I size my cast bullets to .452" and this has worked in all Colts I have tried it in. I use WW's+2% tin for an alloy.

My little Kimber CDP Ultra II works well with both of these loads. My full size guns eat them without a stumble.

Dale53

[missionary5155]

Good morning
Very Nice !!! I´ll trade ya an old worn out burro with a flea covered spitting llama throwed in.
I was a tank crewman and just never got past the full size 1911´s. I may hav-ta try a commander size slide this next time up. Then maybe go the whole frame route ????
Mike in Peru

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Good morning
Very Nice !!! I´ll trade ya an old worn out burro with a flea covered spitting llama throwed in.

Mike in Peru

Is this delivered?:kidding:

I was thinking this was a 8+1, but when I got home, I discovered why he only gave me 7 rounds! (I didn't count them before, and he gave them to me after the deal was done.)

I also was surprised how thin the barrel is, use to revolvers . . .

[C1PNR]

Ya done good! I love my LW Commander and the only thing I'd want in addition is the steel frame, of 1950's vintage.

Another one I've been eying for quite a while is the 4" Kimber, but I'll have to wait a while for that one.

Lots of potential for casting your own. My USAMU full size likes the 185 grain SAECO or H&G. Others like the 200 grain 452460 Lyman SWC, but the one I really like in the Commander is the 238 grain 452423 Lyman SWC.

Good luck, and have FUN! I'd probably also consider upgrading the next gift for your wife.:wink:

[KYCaster]

Thanks Dale, while you were posting, I was following directions here:
http://www.bobtuley.com/45/index.html

I'm glad I took the ejector out, it was kinda crudy, used a Qtip soaked in Ed's Red to clean out the tube the ejector hides in, then swabbed it out with a bunch of clean ones, gonna try to slug it tomorrow, either with some 451 round ball or I'll take some of those H&G 503 and fatten them up with a hammer!



Ejector?? Don't you mean extractor?

Ejector is on the frame on the left side and normally is pinned on and not removable without a hammer[smilie=1:...extractor is in the slide on the right side held in by the firing pin stop.

Great looking gun and a heck of a deal too. If it were mine (I wish) I'd keep the ivory grips on it.

Jerry

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Ejector?? Don't you mean extractor?

Ejector is on the frame on the left side and normally is pinned on and not removable without a hammer[smilie=1:...extractor is in the slide on the right side held in by the firing pin stop.

Great looking gun and a heck of a deal too. If it were mine (I wish) I'd keep the ivory grips on it.

Jerry

Yeah, I'm sorry it was the extractor . . . I usually go to bed around 8:30 . . . but started taking my gun apart, and didn't want to leave it apart all night, as I might forget what went where . . .

[HeavyMetal]

Looks like some one shot IPSC with this years ago!

The trigger may improve with cleaning and someone has done some custom work to it. The sights aren't stock, the slide has been cut for that mini rib, the hammer has been swapped, that isn't stock, a beaver tail grip safety was added, and a flat mainspring house has been added as well.

All in all some nice touch's!

A set of Pachy's in the combat version, no swells on the grip panels, would be the next addition I'd make.

Be aware that adding a "match" barrel bushing was a very strong addition to many a commander as they did not get the collet bushing from the factory!

If you needed a wrench to turn the bushing make sure it was completely out of battery when you did it or you will damage the fit of the bushing when you turn it.

The other thing I'd do is get rid of those white dot sights! A little black paint from a hobby store will do wonders for your sight picture. The dot sights have a rep for moving the POI as the day light moves across the range!

Switch that mag for a flat flush fitting mag and use it as your reload mag! The "bumper" on the bottom was to make sure the mag locked in place when the re load was done!

That holster looks like a "Yaqui Slide" wanna be. The orginal slide used a built in tensioner device not a strap to hold the gun in.

If it has the tensioner remove the strap! If not find another holster!

All in all I think you did very well!

[HeavyMetal]

Something I did not think about until this morning!

The Commander use's the "extended" ejection system! My opinion is this will get you hurt!

This ejector has a long extended nose on it, the purpose was to make sure the brass got all the way out of the gun.

If you've ever seen 45 brass with that big honking dent in the case mouth you've seen the work of a Commander style ejector!

The down, and dangerous, side of this is it is much more difficult to unload a live round from this gun!

Point in fact my wife's Commander would not eject live "Ball" rounds at all and always hung up on any other ammo.

I have seen and heard of rounds being "fired" during extraction because they did not eject easily!

Slide pulled to the rear, round caught on "something" (???) slide racked harder and the primer hits the extended nose of the ejector and goes "BOOM"!

This site had a post last year with a clear example of this posted pictures and all.

After I cut the silly nose off my wife's gun and did a little reshaping it ejected everything, live or not, just fine!

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

I found this . . . Is this what your talking about http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=58717&highlight=%22commander+ejector%22

This is the only pictures I could find . . . from post #33 in above thread.


Ok the first picture is the extended ejector, usually found on Commander size 1911's and down:
http://www.midwayusa.com/mediasvr.dll/image?saleitemid=695145


Next is the normal fulls size 1911 ejector:
http://www.midwayusa.com/mediasvr.dll/image?saleitemid=198484

Joe

I'm not really sure what I'm looking . . . here is mine, the ejector on the right at about 4 O'Clock and the extractor at 8 O'Clock . . . right?
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Colt%201911%20Combat/Ejector.jpg

Is what I'm seeing the little piece sticking out on the far upper left of Joe's first picture?

I'm hoping to go out and shoot this tomorrow!
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/National-Firearms-Training-Week.jpg

ETA: I just remembered that I was out shooting last week, and found some 45 brass on the ground, so . . . I picked it up! Is this what you were talking about?
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Colt%201911%20Combat/Dent1.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Colt%201911%20Combat/Dent2.jpg

I knew there was a reason to pick them up! I always pick up re-loadable brass . . . even if I don't have a gun for it!

[longhorn]

I think you did well with that purchase; if those grips are genuine ivory, I hope you wore a mask.

[KYCaster]

Shawn, you're right....ejector at 4:00 and extractor at 8:00 in your pic.

The dented brass you found looks like it didn't clear the ejection port and was pinched between the slide and barrel hood. The ejection dent that Heavy Metal is talking about is usually a flat spot at the case mouth. It happens when the case rotates out from under the extractor, out the ejection port and the case mouth hits the slide just behind the ejection port as it continues to rotate. The scallop cut at the back of the port over the extractor usually cures that problem.

It looks like you have an extended ejector, it reaches forward of the back of the mag well by a considerable amount. It helps with ejecting empty brass by starting the ejection much sooner than the short ejector, but, as Heavy Metal mentioned, it can cause problems clearing live rounds. Your ejector can be easily modified without affecting reliability.

I went back and took a closer look at your pics...it looks like the forward edge of your ejection port may have been cut so loaded rounds will clear. Try running some dummy rounds through it, if they eject without hanging on the front of the ejection port then your ejector will not be a problem.

Jerry

[HeavyMetal]

Shawn:
Go shoot that puppy! Just remember to shoot it till it's "dry" and do not try to clear live rounds.

Now it sure looks like KYcaster is right and that gun has had the ejection port "modified".

Me? I'd cut that ejector so fast the friction would melt the grips!

The photo's Starmetal listed are exactly what I was talking about and yes it is the piece sticking out at 4 O'Clock in the photo in post 16. Trim it up so it looks like the second photo Starmetal posted and your good for life!

230 Ball is the worst offender. Wait until you shoot ball in that gun! You'll be glad you got the all steel model cause the light weight aluminum gun really bucks with ball ammo!

Let us know how she shoots!

[Lloyd Smale]

guns well worth what you paid and if those are real ivorys they alone are worth more then 200 bucks. The gun without the ivorys is easily worth a couple hundred more then you paid.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Shawn:
Go shoot that puppy!

Me? I'd cut that ejector so fast the friction would melt the grips!



230 Ball is the worst offender. Wait until you shoot ball in that gun! You'll be glad you got the all steel model cause the light weight aluminum gun really bucks with ball ammo!

Let us know how she shoots!

I'm going in about an hour . . . got some 230 ball from a friend, I plan on running only cast through it, but I still need to get mold and reloading and sizing dies, brass is already in the works . . . Just can't stand to wait that long, so ball it is!

How would you cut the ejector? Can I do it while it is in the gun? It sounds like it is pressed into the gun, if I just remove the slide, can I buzz it with a dremel?

Lloyd, I don't know how to tell if there real ivory or not . . . the backside seems a little rough where they were ground about half way up, and the medallions are different, one is silver and looks like it is riveted, and the other is gold and is glued in, the silver one has a tiny crack coming out of it . . . there is a tiny chip at the bottom forward corner too, but . . . gonna probably take then off for some rubbery ones . . .

[HeavyMetal]

By now you've shot the gun but you can still deal with the ejector when you get home.

I just wanted you to be aware of the issue. I'm a big believer in forewarned is forearmed!

As for cutting the ejector? Do it in the gun. Strip off the slide & barrel and fire up the dremel tool with a good carberundum wheel on it, the reinforced type.

Wear safety glass's! cause sparks are gonna fly!

Try to shape it to look like the original and do not cut it back any further than the base of the extended nose.

By the way these are pinned on the frame. If you look at the inside frame rail on the side the ejector mounts on you should see a very small pin. Depending on how "polished" the slide has made the area it may or may not be easy to see.

Push the pin out and then wiggle the ejector till it comes up out of the frame.

Hope you post a shooting report That is a sweet looking gun.

[jsizemore]

If you do have a jam or FTF, PLEASE do not pull the slide back with your hand over the ejection port. That's when they go bang when you don't want them to.

Take the grip off the gun stick it with hot needle. If it's ivory it will smell like burned hair.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Yeah! I put 47 rounds through it! Worked flawlessly! Wished I did better, but . . . for my first time out shooting a 1911, and a 45 . . . 10-12 yards off hand . . .
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Target4.jpg

The one thing I don't like about it is searching for lost brass! I put out a 10'X15' tarp . . . most landed on it, but . . . still lost 5!

It hasn't stolen first place away from my Alaskan in 44 Mag yet! Doesn't have the recoil of my 2.5" snubby though . . . I'll give it 1000 rounds or so to see if will continue to live at my house!

I probably won't shoot it much, until I get everything I need to reload cast with it.

That will give me time to grind that extractor down . . . I figured if I did have FTF I would hold it at arms length with the port away from me and all body parts . . .

ETA. I found it!
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Colt%201911%20Combat/Ejector3.jpg

What do you mean about the ejection port modified? Is it the front?
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Colt%201911%20Combat/Slide1.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Colt%201911%20Combat/Slide3.jpg

Or the back?
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Colt%201911%20Combat/Slide2.jpg

[HeavyMetal]

That ejection port has been completely customised, both front and back.

Whoever did the work wanted the empties out of the gun.

I garontee once you deal with that ejector you should be able to keep your brass on a tarp.

I take it this gun has the stock "loose" barrel bushing common to Commanders and pre series 70 Colt's?

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

I take it this gun has the stock "loose" barrel bushing common to Commanders and pre series 70 Colt's?

What do you mean by "loose"? Once I take the spring out I can turn it CCW and it just comes out the front . . .
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Colt%201911%20Combat/Barrel1.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Colt%201911%20Combat/Barrel2.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Colt%201911%20Combat/Barrel3.jpg

It really spin the brass . . . look like a helicopter coming at you! (I let my friend Dusty put a mag through it)

[HeavyMetal]

Yep That what I ment.

Pior to 1970 all 1911 pistols, Government and Commander, had the same basic barrel bushing set up you have on your commander: a simple twist and release got it out.

Gold Cups were a factory target gun and had a bunch of little tweaks not available on the other two. one was a special dodad in the trigger to keep the hammer from following down on the slide and the other was a double Beveled barrel bushing that had to be moved out of battery before it could be released from the slide and remove everything for cleaning.

About that time a fella by the name of Irv Stone had started making barrels and a collet bushing for the pre series 70 guns. His company was called Bar-Sto Barrels and even today sets standards for accuracy everyone else follows.

Suffice it to say Colt saw the wisdom of the collet bushing and made a deal on the patent with Irv.

The introduction of this collet design was the series 70 Colt government model and the collet bushing was hailed as an incredible jump in the history of the 1911.

Sadly the Commander never recieved this up grade but they did intro the Combat Commander, which you have, which was an all steel verson and highly desirable as the LW aluminum guns ate frames at a prodigious rate if you actually shot one!

So I was wondering if the guy that did all the work to your pistol actually made any improvement in the bushing side of the gun.

From the looks of the pictures I'd say no.

Realize you just fired some factory stuff off hand but will be very interested in seeing how that shoots once you get some cast and fire it off some sand bags.

Keep me posted and don't be afraid to ask a question or two if you have them the 1911 platform is my number one sweet heart!

[KYCaster]

OK!! The cut at the front of the port should allow a loaded round to eject without interference and the scallop at the back will stop the ejection dent on the case mouth.

Only thing wrong with the ejector is it's waaaay longer than necessary. If you decide to shorten it please leave your Dremel tool in the drawer and use a file instead. It'll take thirty strokes with the file to equal the damage of one little slip of the Dremel.

Take a close look at the shape of the nose of the ejector and try to duplicate that when you make your mods. The top 1/3 of the nose is vertical and the bottom 2/3 is parallel to the back of the mag well. Very slightly bevel the sharp edges around the nose. Leave about 1/32 to 1/16" of the nose extending forward of the extractor's base.

And pleeeeeeease, get that crazy notion of rubber grips outta yer head!!!! :groner: You have a great looking pistol there, why mess it up?? [smilie=b:

Jerry

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

KYC, that file is a good idea! THANX!

We always tend to get out the chainsaw when pruning snips will work!

I'm one of those guys who doesn't brag about being a good shot . . . so I'm sure the gun can do better than that! Here is 10 shots from my Alaskan 44 Mag yesterday from the same distance:
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Target1.jpg

[HeavyMetal]

My suggestion is going to be shoot it a bunch before you do anything else except change the ejector

Had many a gun that was load sensative.

File's a good idea but a better one, now that you've found the pin that holds that ejector in, is to simply replace it with a stock government ejector.

Then you have the original unaltered part to fall back in.

Every gun show has a guy that sells G.I. parts for every U.S. military gun ever made. Next gun show pick up the piece you need and swap them out.

As long as you are aware of the issue you are good to go as is for now.

[9.3X62AL]

That was a KILLER deal on a very fine pistol, Shawn. I'm nosing around for a steel Commander in 45 ACP as my next addition to the fleet.

I wouldn't be inclined to file down that ejector unless it was creating a problem, given the work done on the ejection port. If the pistol will extract and eject a live Ball round without interference in its present form, I'd learn to put up with the vigorous ejection. This assumes reliable functioning, of course. I'm quite averse to fixing things that aren't broken.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

I'm in no big hurry . . . but the spare sounds like a better idea . . . looking for one now (I don't do gun shows) I should have my brass by tomorrow, loading dies by the end of the week . . . Ordered the six cavity H&G 68 pb from MiHec, less than two weeks for that . . .

By the end of the month should be up and shooting!

[Geraldo]

Great Colt you got there. If the grips are ivory they should show some yellowing if they're older. I had a set of real ivory and they got some color pretty quick. If they are real, you can sell them and make your pistol deal even sweeter.

If you want grips with more grip, which is why I sold my ivory set, I like Ahrends checked wood grips. You can buy direct from him or from Brownells. Rubber grips like Pachmayrs adds some bulk to the grip, and they only look good on USMC MEU-SOC pistols.

[Crash_Corrigan]

Ya should go say a prayer for that widow as ya stole da gun! What a great deal. A colt commander in good shape for only $400. You should be ashamed of yourself.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Ya should go say a prayer for that widow as ya stole da gun! What a great deal. A colt commander in good shape for only $400. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Crash, time for new glasses me thinks . . .

The guy I bought it from paid the widow $400, the same her husband paid years before . . . I paid $500!

No shame, he knew it was worth more, I paid what he asked, I didn't even dicker!:mrgreen: