Posted: 10/9/2008 7:30:56 AM EDT
| I have a silver colt commander with chip mccormich 8rd clip where should I go from there...I believe its a late 70s model.... |
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Sounds like a nice pistol. I have a blued one, but always wanted a satin nickle one but never had the money when I came across one. Buy some ammo and start shooting it. If I were you, I'd buy some additional magazines for it. At least 4 or 5 to start with and some more later. If you intend to carry it you'll need a good holster (holsters are an individual thing - what works for one person doesn't for the next) and magazine pouch. Practice shooting it. Practice drawing it from the holter. Practice reloading it. You can dryfire with a pistol for cheap practice, just make sure it's unloaded first. Then make sure its unloaded a second time. A negligent discharge ranges from embarassing to the worst thing that could ever happen to you. I'd stay away from mods. to the pistol till you get used to what you've got. |
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Now that you have been appropriately hazed regarding the magazine/clip, Other than a recoil spring, firing pin spring, and possibly a mainspring replacement, I would suggest you leave the weapon bone stock and shoot the piss out of it. The only thing I would invest in other than lead to shoot downrange is a handful of quality magazines. Chip McCormick offers Power Mags, which a lot of people like, and Shooting Stars, which a lot of people dislike. There are also higher end mags such as Wilson Combat and Tripp. Dollars to donuts says it's a late 70s Combat Commander in satin nickel, the most common "rare" pistol Colt has ever made.  This is one of mine: Once you get a feel for what you have in your hands, you can start making decisions about what works for you. I have found that I do not like the grip safety for extensive shooting sessions, nor do I like the short, serrated trigger, as both end up cutting/blistering. In addition, the sights, while decent for a range session, leave much to be desired for CCW. I am also lefty and the thumb safety doesn't help in its stock configuration. Finally, I reload and the standard ejection port takes its toll on the brass, dinging it often as it ejects the brass. So it would cost a few hundred dollars for the basic minimums of carry (beavertail, sight upgrade, & ambi safety, with optional trigger job & lowering the ejection port). Moreover, it would compromise the collectability of a long-discontunued stock Colt. Since I already have a great CCW, I prefer to keep my Commanders stock for the range and enjoy them as they were intended to be used back in the day. Your needs may be different than mine, and certain upgrades may/may not be worth compromizing the collector value of yours. So give it time before racing off to modify the crap out of it. You may find it is cheaper and better to spend a few hundred more to have a collectable stock Colt AND an out of the box carry 1911, versus spending more for the one gun. Time and trips to the range will be the best guide. |
