CCW 1911 Officers Frame? Anyone have any suggestions?

[xmanpike]

I have decided that my next gun will be my concealed carry weapon and I think I want a 1911 with an officers frame. Does anyone have any experience with these. Pros? Cons? I have a full size Colt Gold Cup that I love but I think the officers frame would be eaiser to conceal.

If you have one oyu like please specifically list what model it is and why you like it. Thanks!

MC

 

[dmazur]

There can be problems with original recoil spring plugs (lug shears off) and a general "sensitivity" to recoil spring force with Officer's slides. It is not true that you can't get a reliable Officer's length 1911, but it may take more "fooling around" and it may be fussy about which loads it will shoot.

As you know, the recoil spring force goes up as the slide length decreases. As I remember, it is around 18# for 5" slide length, 21# for 4-1/4", and 23# for 3".

The Commander-length slide is sometimes considered a good compromise, offering a slightly more comfortable length for CCW without sacrificing too much in the way of reliability or magazine capacity.

Now, if you're looking for a Commander-length slide on an Officer's frame, that can be a good combination, from what I've read.

Maybe someone else has actual experience with a Commander/Officer's? All I have are Commanders and Officer's...but no "hybrids".

 

[steveracer]

The COLT CCO is a fine choice. It can be had for about $1100 right now, and that's a fantastic price.
Sig makes one, as does Dan Wesson.
AVOID the 3" barreled micro-guns. All the ones I had were too unreliable to carry, and got replaced.
If you can find one of the older SA Compact guns, (Not ultra of micro) they had a 4" barrel and officer's frame, and it worked very well. I have one and it runs like a blue top.
The actual officer's model is a very nice gun. They require frequent recoil spring changes. The alloy framed one is pretty light weight, and for me was a bear to shoot. The steel framed one is sweet, but pricey.

 

[rellascout]

I love my Colt CCO. Perfect compromise.

Not my pic but own the identical stock gun. They are hard to come by these days. They have been discontinued for about 3 to 5 years now. IIRC



The Dan Wesson is a nice gun but will run you $1400+ if you can find one. 2010 price increases are making these guns very expensive. IHMO

 

[xmanpike]

Hmmm. Thanks for the info, yes I have zero interest in a 3" gun. I am looking for 4-4.25" with officers frame, and it sounds like I should be looking for a steel officers frame. as the weight will help with felt recoil. Does anyone know who else makes a steel frame Officers 4-4.25?

 

[jahwarrior]

Sig Sauer also makes a CCO-type 1911, called the C3. i have wondered for years if i coulkd put a Commander slide on an Officer frame. i talked to a local gunny, and he told me these already existed, in the CCO, the C3, and a bunch of other companies like Ed Brown, Les Baer, and Dan Wesson. i'm pretty sure i'd get the C3, it just felt perfect to hold.

 

[BossHogg]

Yeah.if I was going to buy a gun it would be the Sig C-3. What a nice looking gun. It's a cco size 1911 and Sig makes them in the USA. It will be my next buy.

 

[9mmepiphany]

the nicest 1911 with the true Commander length (4.25") slide atop an Officer's ACP length frame is the Nighthawk T3...the only drawback is that they use a steel frame rather than an aluminum alloy frame. they seem to sell well as they just introduced a stainless steel model of the T3

 

[wgp]

Another vote for the Colt CCO. It's my favorite carry pistol and the combination of officers frame with Commander slide works great. Unfortunately they seem to be rare and as you can see from previous posts are expensive. I bought mine in a pawn shop several years ago for $600 and in all the stores and gun shows I've been to since, I have never seen another one.

 

[BullfrogKen]

The CCO was the best carry combination of that concept.


Jim Gathwaite began building them before Colt made them. Many years ago he actually brought a few of his up to corporate to persuade them of the idea.


Jim still makes lighweight officer frame on Commander slides. He's been using Springfield frames to do it.

 

[xmanpike]

Does anyone know if fusion firearms makes these? I have heard great things about Bob Serva I think his name is.

 

[mmay1]

I have a couple of Kimber Compact models in 45 ACP (4" barrel, officer size grip, stainless steel frame) and both are reliable. Other than using a Wolff recoil spring, I have not needed to tinker with either of them. Both are pre-series II models, which are available time to time on the internet, if you do not care for the Swartz safety system used in the Series II models. I like this size for carry but another .25" in barrel length would not concern me, either.

 

[MICHAEL T]

Does anyone know if fusion firearms makes these? I have heard great things about Bob Serva I think his name is.

I believe Fusion has one also .Just call him and ask.

I have 2 officers and a Defender along with a New Agent ALL have been reliable from day one. You can have a less than 4inch barrel and still have a reliable pistol To say they don't work might have been true early on. But to many owners have them today to say their unreliable. Times have changed . Colt and Kimber both have very good compact 1911's
But like many thing on gun boards, the same old story keep getting repeated over and over. Ive heard Glocks don't show up in X ray or metal detectors at airports Its on the internet

 

[9mmepiphany]

You can have a less than 4inch barrel and still have a reliable pistol To say they don't work might have been true early on. But to many owners have them today to say their unreliable. Times have changed .

i don't think time changes the Laws of Physics.

BTW" it isn't that they can't be reliable, it's that the .45 ACP 1911 becomes less reliable when the barrel/slide get shorter than 4.25"

 

[burk]

I love my Kimber CDP Pro for carry, it has a carry melt treatment (dehonned), night sights, and ambi-safeties stock. It feeds everything I feed it, although I must admit I had a few problems with range loads (none with carry HP's) until I went with Wolf X power springs. I did replace the plastic mainspring housing with an Ed Brown snake skin housing. I carry in Milt Sparks VM 2, great rig.