Posted: 2/14/2009 8:35:46 PM EDT
| I just recently came into a pair of m1991a1 commanders. I am looking for any advice at all as to what I should expect from them. Any and all information will be greatly appreciated. |
| Could you be a bit more specific in your question? I'm not quite sure what you're referring to when you say "what to expect from them". You should expect what you normally would from any good quality pistol. They'll likely be more accurate than you are and they should be reliable with a wide range of ammunition. |
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That is exactly the type of information that I was looking for. They are entirely new to me and I guess I am just looking for a basic product review from the guys I trust.  Oh –– well then, there you go. Colt makes a good product. I only purchase 1911 products from 2 companies anymore - Colt and Wilson. Both have always done it right for me. My Colts are my "garbage eaters" in that they'll feed, fire, and extract the reject reloads that won't even fit halfway in a case gauge. If you reload, you'll always end up with a few here and there that just didn't want to resize properly. These go in the Colts. They don't care if it's not really .45 acp according to SAAMI. |
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Since I have two of them that are the same I was considering taking them both apart and taking the best parts and building one that is in the best possible shape. Are there any parts in particular that I should pay close attention to? I should add that I have no idea of the round count through either of them. They appear to have been well taken care of only used moderately. |
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Quoted: Since I have two of them that are the same I was considering taking them both apart and taking the best parts and building one that is in the best possible shape. Are there any parts in particular that I should pay close attention to? I should add that I have no idea of the round count through either of them. They appear to have been well taken care of only used moderately. I would just clean, inspect, safety check and possibly replace the springs since you don't know the round count. I wouldn't waste my time swapping parts but would instead just replace what is necessary in each pistol to correct anything worn or malfunctioning. YMMV  |
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I would just clean, inspect, safety check and possibly replace the springs since you don't know the round count. I wouldn't waste my time swapping parts but would instead just replace what is necessary in each pistol to correct anything worn or malfunctioning. YMMV
I agree with this. Replace the recoil spring and firing pin spring on each of them. I would strongly recommend against swapping parts back and forth though, especially since both are relatively unused. 1911 parts aren't like legos. If it were another design you could get away with this, but generally speaking, 1911 parts are fitted to that particular pistol. You can't usually go around swapping parts with good results. And definitely do not swap barrels!! You'll destroy a perfectly good gun this way. Barrels are most definitely fitted to that particular slide. It's also probably not necessary to swap parts. |
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Good things to know. Any recommendations on a particular make of replacement parts I should use? If you're talking about springs –– Wolff or ISMI is what I use and would definitely recommend either. My recommendation would be to not replace anything else unless you've got a problem that needs to be fixed. The gun will probably would just well without changing anything... and may work less well if parts are changed by someone that doesn't know what they're doing. It's just unnecessary cost unless you have a specific need for something else. |
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Shoot it. My bet is it may need an extended ejector and a throat job. If it shoots all over the place it may need a hand fitted barrel bushing and maybe some link work. How sloppy is the frame to slide fit?
Yup, I have worked on a few Colts. I would also argue that when it comes to handguns, Colt does not make a quality product, when compared to the vast selection of better optioned, better fitted, and less expensive 1911s that run reliably out of the box. I have never met a Colt handgun that didn't need work. 
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I have never met a Colt handgun that didn't need work. All three of my Colt 1911s have been near flawless (my one Commander has been finicky about some of my reloads, but is 100% with factory ammo). I also do not personally know of anyone else with a Colt 1911 that has had any issues. The only work I deem absolutely necessary on my Colts was replacing the sloppy factory triggers with a properly-fitted one. YMMV, but in my personal experience, the Colts have outperformed the other makes of 1911s in terms of out-of-the-box reliability. |
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I have never met a Colt handgun that didn't need work. All three of my Colt 1911s have been near flawless (my one Commander has been finicky about some of my reloads, but is 100% with factory ammo). I also do not personally know of anyone else with a Colt 1911 that has had any issues. The only work I deem absolutely necessary on my Colts was replacing the sloppy factory triggers with a properly-fitted one. YMMV, but in my personal experience, the Colts have outperformed the other makes of 1911s in terms of out-of-the-box reliability. Been my experience as well. I've got 3 Colts with about 5 or 6k through them and they've been remarkable. |
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Quoted: Shoot it. My bet is it may need an extended ejector and a throat job. If it shoots all over the place it may need a hand fitted barrel bushing and maybe some link work. How sloppy is the frame to slide fit? Yup, I have worked on a few Colts. I would also argue that when it comes to handguns, Colt does not make a quality product, when compared to the vast selection of better optioned, better fitted, and less expensive 1911s that run reliably out of the box. I have never met a Colt handgun that didn't need work.  Uh huh... |
Bought mine over 4 years ago used with less than 100 rounds thru it. It is working on 6000+ rounds at this point and I carry it daily. Only problem was with the slide stop which I think was my fault. I didn't get the mag inserted all the way in a mag change drill and broke the notch off which rides on the slide. I didn't notice it until the slide stop started to back out of the frame It could prolly use a new mainspring, but it is still 100% reliable.
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That is exactly the type of information that I was looking for. They are entirely new to me and I guess I am just looking for a basic product review from the guys I trust. Oh –– well then, there you go. Colt makes a good product. I only purchase 1911 products from 2 companies anymore - Colt and Wilson. Both have always done it right for me. My Colts are my "garbage eaters" in that they'll feed, fire, and extract the reject reloads that won't even fit halfway in a case gauge. If you reload, you'll always end up with a few here and there that just didn't want to resize properly. These go in the Colts. They don't care if it's not really .45 acp according to SAAMI. Well, I don't have a Wilson, but I do have six Colts and they are as you describe. So is my dad's Defender.
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