Colt Officers Model 1911....Name?

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Bedfordtec

Bedfordtec

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Does the word “Officers” in the name refer to military officers or does it refer to law enforcement officers? Always been curious.
 
Barrel length with no official military connection. Commander 1911s have 4.25 inch barrels. Officer 1911s have 3 inch barrels.

Beware of short barreled 1911s.
 
Among my stable of 1911s is an RIA Compact, 3.5" . I get a consistent 830 fps with Berrys 230 grs RN and have never experienced feeding issues with hollow nose flat points. I know the compact, or officers' models are regarded as picky eaters but that is not my experience with the Rock Island model and I do not feel that the loss of 40-50 fps constitutes an unacceptable compromise.
 
I was always of the impression that hte grunts got the Gov't, Their bosses (noncoms) got the Commanders (since they're protected by the grunts and have lots of other things to do so they needed a smaller gun) and their bosses, being the true Officers got the smallest weapons since all they needed to do is impress their girlfriends :D
 
SharpDog said:
I was always of the impression that hte grunts got the Gov't, Their bosses (noncoms) got the Commanders (since they're protected by the grunts and have lots of other things to do so they needed a smaller gun) and their bosses, being the true Officers got the smallest weapons since all they needed to do is impress their girlfriends :D
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AFIK, only the Marines actually received Commander-length M1911s, and that was during Vietnam. IIRC, they were aluminum-framed Lightweights, too, for issue to vehicle and aircrew.

Im having a hard time finding info on these now, but I actually saw one once with a factory letter stating that it was one of 500 (might have been 5000) ordered by the USMC in the '60s. It had no US property stamps or Marine Corps markings, just looking like a normal commercial Commander, but I think it had a special letter prefix serial number. Cant remember any other details......shoulda bought it, lol!
 
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NIGHTLORD40K said:
AFIK, only the Marines actually received Commander-length M1911s, and that was during Vietnam. IIRC, they were aluminum-framed Lightweights, too, for issue to vehicle and aircrew.

Im having a hard time finding info on these now, but I actually saw one once with a factory letter stating that it was one of 500 (might have been 5000) ordered by the USMC in the '60s. It had no US property stamps or Marine Corps markings, just looking like a normal commercial Commander, but I think it had a special letter prefix serial number. Cant remember any other details......shoulda bought it, lol!
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NIGHTLORD40K said:
There IS a Colt Officers Pistol, the M15-
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M15_pistol

But it has little in common with the 3.5" gun which is commercially available.
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Wow you nailed it. Having preferred BOTH of those formats for 45 years I'll tell you how I think the "officers" name came about . General Curtis Lemay had Colt pistol buit up like the current (?) Colt Officers model back in the 60s . I think colt in the beginning of the 80s based their officers model roughly on that build. that Lemay was pushing for Pilots and flashing about the proto types .
When I finished my second tour in VN in 1971 the first civilian purchase I made was a series 70 matte Nickel Commander ( LT weight) and carried one for 25 years . I was issued a 1911a1 in Nam but saw those Marine light weight Commanders on crazy marines and knew right then they were the perfect Combat weapon. :)
 
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I have always gone by Colt Officers ACP as the first time I went to get Pachmayr grips for it the salesman tried to give me grips for a Colt Officers Model revolver!

Had one and traded it for a Colt Combat Commander that a friend of mine had. Another one I sold to my brother. Was always looking for a lightweight aluminum alloy frame model but never found one. This one is still running just fine with nary a problem to speak of. Definitely prefers 185 and 200 grain bullets to 230 grain hardball.

Tdhg5mB.jpg
 
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NIGHTLORD40K said:
There IS a Colt Officers Pistol, the M15-
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M15_pistol

But it has little in common with the 3.5" gun which is commercially available.
Click to expand...
The Officer's ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) was Colt's take on the General Officer's pistol referenced above for the budding civilian compact 1911 market. At the time the OACP was introduced just about the only factory built 1911s smaller than a Commander were being made by Detonics. Your only other option was to have a gunsmith like Austin Behlert cut a Gov't Model down to compact dimensions, his 1911 Bob-Cat had a 4" barrel and a grip frame slightly longer than a Detonics. The compact 1911 carry gun writing was on the wall and Colt wanted a piece of that action, introducing the OACP when they did was one of the few times in modern memory that Colt was ahead of the marketing curve.

Important "Officer's" trivia to remember -
As Bannockburn pointed out, the Colt Officer's Model was a revolver.
The Rock Island Arsenal and Rock Island Armory are not the same outfits.
 
WC145 said:
The Officer's ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) was Colt's take on the General Officer's pistol referenced above for the budding civilian compact 1911 market. At the time the OACP was introduced just about the only factory built 1911s smaller than a Commander were being made by Detonics. Your only other option was to have a gunsmith like Austin Behlert cut a Gov't Model down to compact dimensions, his 1911 Bob-Cat had a 4" barrel and a grip frame slightly longer than a Detonics. The compact 1911 carry gun writing was on the wall and Colt wanted a piece of that action, introducing the OACP when they did was one of the few times in modern memory that Colt was ahead of the marketing curve.

Important "Officer's" trivia to remember -
As Bannockburn pointed out, the Colt Officer's Model was a revolver.
The Rock Island Arsenal and Rock Island Armory are not the same outfits.
Click to expand...
This is correct
 
I know someone who carries one to church, the only place he takes it, this started some time after that monster killed so many Christians at a small church in the South, some un-named moron kid*, and even after the one in Texas, by which time it was becoming a pattern.

*Yeah, he has a name, I just won't give him the notoriety he craves.
 
HisSoldier said:
I know someone who carries one to church, the only place he takes it, this started some time after that monster killed so many Christians at a small church in the South, some un-named moron kid*, and even after the one in Texas, by which time it was becoming a pattern.

*Yeah, he has a name, I just won't give him the notoriety he craves.
Click to expand...
I am also aware of another officer's model that has been to church many times.
 
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