Posted: 1/24/2026 8:46:03 PM EDT
| What is opion of Colts officers model? We're they accurate reliable pistols are they worth mods done,trigger better beavertail safety trigger. |
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Do mean an Officer’s ACP? The Officer’s Model is a revolver, and a great one. My experience with a compact 1911, and those of a couple friends, is not great. The slide rearward movement on these pistols is less than a full size Government Model. Compare the two. Some others may have more or different opinions. |
| The Defender was a better design over the Officer model, it's basically a updated Officer with a redesign that improves reliability and has better sights right out of the box to boot. |
Liberals are a curious mix of communism and fascism, they want to destroy you but want to use your own money to do it.
I'm getting down to the last box, the others have all been destroyed...
I'm getting down to the last box, the others have all been destroyed...
| I have had a stainless Colt and presently have a blued Kimber Officer ACP. Out of the box, both proved very accurate thanks to the bushingless barrel/slide. Both were equally reliable with decent ammo. Neither would tolerate crummy reloads, bulged cases or dinged case mouths . I never tried hollow points in the Colt but did run a bunch of Remington Golden Saber through the Kimber with no failures. I think much of the feeding problems with this platform is a result of limp wrist shooting. |
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Originally Posted By Colt653: if you want reliable, get nothing smaller than a commander Sweeping generalizations like this are rarely helpful. I have an Officers Model in .45 and one in 9mm and they are both dependable and accurate. |
Never ask a man if he is from Virginia. If he is, he'll tell you. If he isn't, you don't want to embarrass him.
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I've had a Citadel compact in .45 for a while. Has been 100% for the shooting I've done. Has fed 200 gr SWC all the way up to 230 gr Gold Dot with no issues whatsoever. Mags are Checkmate and Wilson. It's kind of interesting how you can actually feel it try to torque around the barrel axis in recoil. Only pistol I've ever felt that in. Full size doesn't do that. Nick |
If the enemy is range, so are you.
Don't mind Sylvan, he's fond of throwing intellectual Molotov cocktails.
Don't mind Sylvan, he's fond of throwing intellectual Molotov cocktails.
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 I bought this set used a few years ago. I put the EGW recoil spring system in the officers model and only run Wilson mags in it. I honestly can’t remember any malfunctions since I’ve had it. I’ve only got about 300 rounds through it though. |
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The biggest flaw on original 3.5" Colt Officer's ACP was the recoil spring/plug setup. Require more frequent spring change and the tiny tab on the plug was prone to wear out. Colt essentially abandon that design quite a while ago. Instead, they are going with 3" barrel Defender and more reliable recoil spring unit like everyone else. If you want a Colt compact, go with Defender or CCO. I like CCO better because it combines the Officer's ACP frame with Commander 4.25" barrel. Best of both world for controllability and concealability. 
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| The first pistol I ever purchased new was a series 80 Officers acp enhanced. I actually took my dad to the store and had him purchase it for me as I wasn't 21. It turned out to be a jamomatic with multiple issues. Ended up trading it off a few years later after paying for some unsuccessful work to try to fix it. I haven't owned a 1911 shorter than a commander since. |
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I started shooting 1911s around 1994 and I’ve owned dozens. I’ve shot competition with them and carried them a few times working UC in the early mid 2000s In my opinion reliability can’t be compromised in a carry gun. Commander is the shortest I’d recommend. The Officers length slide has a pretty fast cycling rate and getting that big brass out has to be perfect. Weight is a bigger factor for me so a 5” with alloy frame is a better option for a 1911 for serious use. Springer done by Ray Saltzman is easy to carry, light and extremely reliable with 230gr Gold Dot. Attached File |
Surprise, Speed and Violence of Action
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Originally Posted By Lawman75: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/125490/IMG_4751-3702098.jpg I bought this set used a few years ago. I put the EGW recoil spring system in the officers model and only run Wilson mags in it. I honestly can’t remember any malfunctions since I’ve had it. I’ve only got about 300 rounds through it though.  To expand on my post above. I never shot it with the original recoil spring system, I immediately replaced it with the EGW. The original barrel bushing was so loose the barrel could be wiggled a bit. I fitted an EGW bushing and it solved that. I also put an EGW slide stop and mag release on it. Replaced the plastic trigger with an aluminum Colt trigger from a later 1991. Also put a metal mainspring housing on it. Immediately threw away the magazine that came with it as it was covered in rust and ordered the Wilson mags. It’s honestly a nice little shooter. I’ve never carried it as I prefer the full size 1911. I’ve thought about sending it off and having a lot of work done to it but I keep focusing on other projects. |
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Originally Posted By Lawman75: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/125490/IMG_6342-3702746.jpg To expand on my post above. I never shot it with the original recoil spring system, I immediately replaced it with the EGW. The original barrel bushing was so loose the barrel could be wiggled a bit. I fitted an EGW bushing and it solved that. I also put an EGW slide stop and mag release on it. Replaced the plastic trigger with an aluminum Colt trigger from a later 1991. Also put a metal mainspring housing on it. Immediately threw away the magazine that came with it as it was covered in rust and ordered the Wilson mags. It’s honestly a nice little shooter. I’ve never carried it as I prefer the full size 1911. I’ve thought about sending it off and having a lot of work done to it but I keep focusing on other projects. Originally Posted By Lawman75: Originally Posted By Lawman75: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/125490/IMG_4751-3702098.jpg I bought this set used a few years ago. I put the EGW recoil spring system in the officers model and only run Wilson mags in it. I honestly can’t remember any malfunctions since I’ve had it. I’ve only got about 300 rounds through it though. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/125490/IMG_6342-3702746.jpg To expand on my post above. I never shot it with the original recoil spring system, I immediately replaced it with the EGW. The original barrel bushing was so loose the barrel could be wiggled a bit. I fitted an EGW bushing and it solved that. I also put an EGW slide stop and mag release on it. Replaced the plastic trigger with an aluminum Colt trigger from a later 1991. Also put a metal mainspring housing on it. Immediately threw away the magazine that came with it as it was covered in rust and ordered the Wilson mags. It’s honestly a nice little shooter. I’ve never carried it as I prefer the full size 1911. I’ve thought about sending it off and having a lot of work done to it but I keep focusing on other projects. I like it, the ORM [large] Colts were hella deals back then but they were screwed together quite nicely. Still one of my fav shooters and I have had it a long time. It's like a fat chick at a party, it eats everything. It was CHEAP, I bought that and a new in box Commander [blued] for under $800. Attached File |
Liberals are a curious mix of communism and fascism, they want to destroy you but want to use your own money to do it.
I'm getting down to the last box, the others have all been destroyed...
I'm getting down to the last box, the others have all been destroyed...
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Originally Posted By fxntime: I like it, the ORM [large] Colts were hella deals back then but they were screwed together quite nicely. Still one of my fav shooters and I have had it a long time. It's like a fat chick at a party, it eats everything. It was CHEAP, I bought that and a new in box Commander [blued] for under $800. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/32224/IMG_0860__1__JPG-3702767.JPG  How the full size looks now. Aluminum colt trigger, metal mainspring housing and Herret grips I think. I got new springs for it when I bought it. It’s been a good shooter. |
Never had an Officers model, but I’ve had nothing but 100% reliability with my 3” Colt New Agent.  Once I got used to how to sight with the trench (or “gutter”) sight, banging out COM hits was easy. A 3” 1911 is a close range gun, so while I’ve shot it from 25-ft, most drills I practice are 15-ft and in.  That said, after the first 300-rds I replaced the factory recoil assembly with the EGW unit made for the 3” Defenders. That mod definitely smoothed-out the recoil impulse and seemed to make this little blaster a bit more shootable. I can recommend it as an upgrade. EGW makes a separate recoil unit for the 3.5” Colt Officers model. |
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Originally Posted By Nick_Adams: Never had an Officers model, but I’ve had nothing but 100% reliability with my 3” Colt New Agent. https://i.imgur.com/nLJAHtz.jpeg Once I got used to how to sight with the trench (or “gutter”) sight, banging out COM hits was easy. A 3” 1911 is a close range gun, so while I’ve shot it from 25-ft, most drills I practice are 15-ft and in. https://i.imgur.com/IaT0tMk.jpeg That said, after the first 300-rds I replaced the factory recoil assembly with the EGW unit made for the 3” Defenders. That mod definitely smoothed-out the recoil impulse and seemed to make this little blaster a bit more shootable. I can recommend it as an upgrade. EGW makes a separate recoil unit for the 3.5” Colt Officers model. While mine is a Defender, we have the same set up. I changed out the grips for the old thin colt rubber ones, they work well grabbing the hand but are good at NOT having clothing grab them. Attached File |
Liberals are a curious mix of communism and fascism, they want to destroy you but want to use your own money to do it.
I'm getting down to the last box, the others have all been destroyed...
I'm getting down to the last box, the others have all been destroyed...
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Some years back on a whim I purchased a officers model colt and after some trigger work it was reliable with factory ammo and reasonable reloads. was kind of a handful , gun itself was fairly accurate but it took some work to shoot it decent. After a while i bought a used Glock 30 that felt like I was gripping a 2X4. funny thing that while it felt awkward it shot verry very well for me. I sold off the little Colt . Thru all this I always had my full size 1911 that I shot in matches for years , I would never ditch that. Couple of weeks ago a guy at my club had a Kimber light weight Commander for sale. Alloy frame , steel slide , nice beavertail , nice sights and a very good trigger . Not sure if all the goodies came from Kimber or if past owners did the work over the years but the price was good at $575 and all the parts and pieces are nicely done. I am enjoying it . It seems more shootable than the officiers model but it is pretty light and easily carries better than the officiers. Years ago I had a Colt Combat Commander , all steel and pretty chunky, pretty much carries like a full size but a bit harder to shoot. You really need at least one of each size 
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I might have close to 450 rounds of different ball ammo and hst hollow points. 100% so far. 1 factory colt mag and 1 mecgar mag. Attached File |
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Al Pacino carried one in Heat - Attached File I thought it was a cool gun. I thought about one with a rail for a light and an optics cut as modern update. It looks like it would have to be built as I did not see anyone making anything like that. |