Posted: 12/20/2009 3:42:22 AM EDT
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I recently bought a Colt Commander from a friend. It is a lightweight Colt Commander model. The grips are checkered walnut with gold medallions.The right side of the slide says Colt's Commander model. The left side of the slide says Commander model and has a star on either side of the word model. In between that it says Colt. Next to that it says automatic caliber .45 as you read left to right. The lettering is filled with a gold colored metal paint of some type. Next to that is the Colt rampant pony rearing up on it's back legs. The pistol is blued. The serial number is CLW0363XX. When was this pistol made and what is it worth in good condition?
I paid 500 bucks for it. I have looked on gunbroker .com and other auction sites and could only find a few pistols that resembled mine. I could find none that had the stars on the slide or the gold filled lettering. I recall going to a few gun shows and seeing booths that offer to gold fill the lettering on a gun so I don't think it came from Colt like that. I know I can pay Colt to tell me but I don't want to spend the bucks. I'd rather buy ammo or something like that instead. Any help on dating this pistol is appreciated, I tried looking up the serial number information on the internet but found no accurate info. I know it's a Colt Lightweight Commander and has an aluminum frame. It has the Commander hammer and stock sights with a 4.5 inch barrel and short recoil spring guide. The gun appears to be entirely stock and used to belong to a cop who is now retired. Thanks, Mike [email protected] |
| P.S. I tried a 10 rnd. Chip McCormick and Colt made SS 7 roung mag. in the gun and it wouldn't seat in the pistol without pressing the mag. release...I own several pistols and have never had this type of problem with mags seating in a gun except for a Ruger P-85 I bought back in the 80's...any suggestions? |
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Quoted: Call Colt's customer service number & they'll tell you the year it was made. No charge. +1 The archive service which does cost, based on the model, is meant for historical purposes, "Who ordered my first genereation peacekeeper originally?", My engragved series 70, did it come from the factory engraved? etc. You only use the archive search when the cost of the search will result in a monetary increase in the value of your gun which is more than the cost of the search. There is enough online information about serial numbers available. Only an idiot would spend $100 to find out the year of manufacture of their colt. |
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Quoted:
P.S. I tried a 10 rnd. Chip McCormick and Colt made SS 7 roung mag. in the gun and it wouldn't seat in the pistol without pressing the mag. release.. I bought a 1975 lightweight commander from my uncle on thanksgiving and the guys here helped me id it and date it. Mine does the same thing.I either have to give the mags a firm smack on the bottom to seat them or press the mag release like you stated. |
| I would rate it as in good condition. The barrel looks new and there are no spots where the bluing is worn away. I cleaned it when I got it, no signs of cracks or excessive wear in the frame or slide. I haven't fired it yet but other than the magazine problem it functions fine, I.E. it strips a round from the mag and feeds it into the chamber. All the safetys work. There is no firing pin block, I can push the firing pin in with a punch when the hammer is cocked. The half cock feature works. |
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Quoted: I didn't try slapping the mag into the pistol because the mag stops about hal way into the mag well. I would have to force it into the gun. I don't want to break anything. Sounds like the top of the mag is stopping at the magazine catch. Push the magazine release in as you insert a magazine. If that fixes it slap them in, polish the bottom and back of the magazine catch, or try other magazines. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I didn't try slapping the mag into the pistol because the mag stops about hal way into the mag well. I would have to force it into the gun. I don't want to break anything. Sounds like the top of the mag is stopping at the magazine catch. Push the magazine release in as you insert a magazine. If that fixes it slap them in, polish the bottom and back of the magazine catch, or try other magazines. This, bump it on in there with the heel of your hand. Won't hurt anything at all. Mags have slightely different tolerances. JD |
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Quoted: please read entire post...  My solution still stands. Quoted: Quoted: I didn't try slapping the mag into the pistol because the mag stops about hal way into the mag well. I would have to force it into the gun. I don't want to break anything. Sounds like the top of the mag is stopping at the magazine catch. Push the magazine release in as you insert a magazine. If that fixes it slap them in, polish the bottom and back of the magazine catch, or try other magazines. |
| I tapped the base of the mag with the palm of my hand just as you would in the tap rack bang drill. The mag goes only so far into the mag well and stops. I would have to force it in to make it go. I won't try to force it in, it will damage the pistol. I was hoping to get an answer from a 1911 owner or gunsmith that has run into the same problem and might know of a simple solution that I am not aware of. Thanks for the suggestion though. |
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Quoted: I tapped the base of the mag with the palm of my hand just as you would in the tap rack bang drill. The mag goes only so far into the mag well and stops. I would have to force it in to make it go. I won't try to force it in, it will damage the pistol. I was hoping to get an answer from a 1911 owner or gunsmith that has run into the same problem and might know of a simple solution that I am not aware of. Thanks for the suggestion though. 1911 shooter and maintainer since 1982 (age 13) Owner since 1990 I gave you a simple solution Polish the friggin mag catch. Or get another magazine. You say it works with the one that came with gun but not with a new mag. Is it the guns's fault or the magazine? Let's try again with pictures. If you look below at the tiny ridge on the inside of the magazine catch that is the part that mates with the slot in a magazine to keep it in the gun. One side has a 90 degree inside angle. That is the top of the catch. The other side is a 45 degree slope. That is the bottom of the catch and what is hitting the top of the magazine. Get some crocus cloth and polish up the 45 degree slope. If you're not comfortable taking apart the gun take it to a gunsmith.  I regret posting in your thread. If you still don't get it sell the gun back to your friend. You are not worthy of it... |
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Quoted:
I tapped the base of the mag with the palm of my hand just as you would in the tap rack bang drill. The mag goes only so far into the mag well and stops. I would have to force it in to make it go. I won't try to force it in, it will damage the pistol. I was hoping to get an answer from a 1911 owner or gunsmith that has run into the same problem and might know of a simple solution that I am not aware of. Thanks for the suggestion though. Let's try this once again. I believe dsmith45 has given you the solution to your problem; however, there are a couple of checks you can try to verify if the issue is the mag catch. Please consider the following: 1) compare the mag that works with the mag(s) that do not. Are they the correct mags for the pistol? Are they damaged or deformed in any way? 2) if they are not damaged or deformed, push the problem mag(s) up into the frame until they stop. Mark the distance into the frame with a piece of tape or your thumb on the mag. Remove the mag and hold the mag against the frame to the mark and see if the top of the mag is close to the area of the mag release button. If so, dsmith45 is most probably entirely correct. 3) To verify that the mag release button is the problem, do as dsmith45 recommends and hold the mag release button in and try to insert the mag. If it will not go, you may have something funny going on with the mag release; however, that would be very unusual for 1911s. You can verify if the mag release is the problem by removing it completely. To do so, depress the mag release like you were dropping the mag and hold it in. Take a screw driver (of the correct size so as not to damage the screw slot) and try to rotate the screw in the mag release button. Be gentle since you might have to push/release a little on the mag release button to allow the screw to rotate (the screw will rotate when positioned correctly to allow the mag release button spring to be captured in a compressed position). After the screw turns you may slide the mag release button assembly out of the pistol completely. (Obviously, there can't be a mag in the pistol when removing the mag release assembly.) With the mag release button assembly completely removed from the pistol, try to insert the offending magazine(s). If they go, you have the problem solved. If they don't go, re-examine the mags dimensionly and check the magazine track inside of the pistol's frame for damage. It is not uncommon to find some mags that insert with a little diffulctly; however, most issues can be corrected with a minimal amount of attention. Other than the mag release and trigger bow, there is nothing that should come in contact with the mag during the insertion process through the frame.. And if for some reason the mag is encountering the trigger bow, due to the shape of the top of the mag and the dimension of the bow, it should go ahead and seat, even if there is some slight resistance. Check those things out and let us know the results as your schedule permits. JD |
