Commanders

[Chocolate Bayou]

I am starting my research on commanders and have about $1200.00 budget in mind. I have found lots of high end guns, but does anybody have one that they own and shoot and can recommend? I will look at .45acp or 9mm, no .40 S&W.


Thanks

 

[bainter1212]

I carry a Kimber Pro Carry II and have shot it extensively. It is a good shooter and carries easy. They are available in 9 or .45.

They go for around $900.

 

[gym]

Most of the well known company's make both, what about the EMP, by Springfield, it's not a commander but a nice small 1911 in 9 or 40. Otherwise the Remington is on sale now get $100 off their new commander, or Para also has a $75 dollar rebate till months end.
Did you look at the S&W E series, there is a Scandium bobbed version in either BLK or Stainless. Beautiful gun for about 12 hundred, Buds had them last week, very nice shooters, external extractor. Then the Ruger SR1911 is around $636.00 on slick guns. Leaves you money for Night sights or a Veridian laser, and nice holster.

 

[needmorecowbell]

I looked at Sig, Colt, Kimber and Dan Wesson. After handling all but DW I liked the Sig the best. Pair that with it was the least expensive and I had a winner.

 

[gym]

Which Sig, Scorpion?

 

[HexHead]

Colt. Combat or Light Commander. Colt is making the best pistols now than anytime in their storied history.

 

[Drail]

I would look for a nice used Colt.

 

[S&W657]

Sig c3

A friend of mine lost a Taurus 24/7 for reasons I leave for another time- quite a story. So he wanted to replace his ".45", and since I'm more up on guns than he, he asked me to go with and give opinions. I read reviews and said the new Ruger sr1911 would be a good choice. We went to the gun shop and they had one in the commander size and stainless- score! I also talked him into buying a full size Glock in .45 also. While he was dealing I browsed a dozen or so Kimbers, and then I saw it...Sig Sauer C3. It was love at first sight! Not being in the market for a gun myself and not really looking for a 1911 either, I had to have it. I got the OK from the wife and bought it. The gun-buying bug hit hard and a third friend of ours that was with (was wanting a fish finder for his new boat) decided to purchase a Ruger SR9c. It was his first gun purchase. He has others that were handed down, but he never bought a new one himself. Anyways, I picked it up 2 days later, cleaned it and ran 50 rounds through it. I love it so far. More rounds going down the pipe next set of days off.

 

[RustyShackelford]

Cdr size 1911s?....

Many US firms & custom shops now offer top notch Commander size 1911s.
Im left handed & prefer the rounded or bobcat style CDRs with ambi-controls.
Smith & Alexander produced 1911 ambi magazine releases up until about 3/4 years ago.

I like the Colt Wiley Clapp Commander .45acp. Colts are well known for the CDR models & have great features.
Other good models include; Ruger SR1911 Commanders, Ed Browns(the Ayoob-Brown model was good but it's no longer produced), SIGs, Para-USAs, S&W E-Series, Kahr/Auto-Ord, Les Baer, Wilson Combat, DL Sports.

 

[Chocolate Bayou]

I have a Colt Defender , 3" barrel with stainless slide and al. frame(my ccw). Colt in a full commander size probably tops my list or a STI Ranger II. But still open to finding one I hadn't considered or don't know anything about.

 

[surjimmy]

Hands down the Colt Wiley Clapp, you can pick one up on gunbroker between $1200-$1300

 

[jfrey]

Colt Commander (all steel gun) is a great value for the money. They run around $1050.00 locally. Mine is accurate, reliable, and has a great balance. My Springer Ultra-Compact has also served me well for over 20 years. It is an Officers size pistol. I also have a Briley, Commander slide on an Officers frame. It is a great carry gun but a little out of your budget.

I carry all three, from time to time, and never worry about reliability with any of them.

 

[Vonderek]

Picked this Colt up lightly used for $600. Works great. Added the grips later.

 

[Chocolate Bayou]

It will be a metal gun and Wiley Clapp is high on the list,but the prices I've found are a little higher that what you've found. Where was that? I love the Colts. Bought the Defender 6-8 months ago and a Colt Gov't 38 super P about six weeks ago and love both of them

 

[wgp]

I have both a Colt XSE Commander and Lightweight Commander. I prefer the lighter weight but both have been very good guns. I have not tried the other pistols, I just like my Colts.

If by any chance you can find one (not likely but you can try) look for a Colt CCO. This is a Commander slide on an Officer's Model frame. You sacrifice one round in the magazine but it is more concealable due to the shorter grip while giving up nothing in slide length and therefore sight radius. Mine has been totally reliable. I stumbled onto one in a pawn shop years ago and have never seen another one at any gun show or shop. Still if you can find one you might really like it. I think I recall that another manufacturer or so made these as well.

 

[CraigC]

I miss my Kimber.

 

[RainDodger]

You're going to get a recommendation for absolutely every 4" 1911 there is, on a forum.

I have a Sig Fastback Carry (bobbed) .45, a Kimber Pro Carry in .38 Super, and numerous other small, carry-able (is that a word?) pistols of various calibers, including a Springfield XDs in .45.

Out of those, my favorite carry is the Kimber Pro Carry HD II, in .38 Super. It has never, ever, failed to function.

Edit: the ONE 4" I had so many problems with that I finally sold it, was the actual "Commander"... a lightweight Colt Commander. I gave up on it after a few years of messing with it. I'm not saying there's any problem with a Colt, by any means.... just the one I had.

 

[Old Dog]

Of the Commander-sized 1911s I own ... I recommend, in this order: (1) Colt's Wiley Clapp LW Commander; (2) Colt's LW Commander XSE; (3) Kimber Pro CDP II.

And any pre-Series-80 Colt Commanders you can find (Combat Commander or Lightweight) ... if it's in reasonably good condition, buy it.

I did own, but foolishly traded off, an exceptional Springfield Armory Loaded Stainless Champion (no longer in production). That's another 1911 I wish I had back ...

 

[Chocolate Bayou]

I have a Springfield stainless LW loaded that I just had cerrakoted and new grips, that my son has coveted since the day I bought it and he is getting married next month and his gun funds will be low for a while, so it's going to him as a wedding present.

 

[bannockburn]

Have always been a big fan of both the Colt Combat Commander (steel frame), and the Lightweight Commander (aluminum frame). Just the right barrel/slide length and perfectly balanced in my hands. I have tried the Dan Wesson Bobcat version and don't care for the rounded mainspring housing; I much prefer the straight mainspring housing (like that found on the Gold Cup), as it's a better, more comfortable fit in my hand.

 

[needmorecowbell]

I got a Sig C3 on gunbroker for $775 about 2 months ago. Love the commander slide with officer frame/grip.

 

[Hamfisted]

Love my Sig Nightmare ! Paid about $750 for it from Grab a Gun last year. Had enough money left over to throw on a set of CT laser grips...


-Mike

 

[ttheel]

I am a big Dan Wesson fan. It may be tough to get one for $1200 though. In my opinion, they are about as good as you can get for a production 1911. DW only produces around 4000 guns a year so they can be hard to locate.

 

[Gordon]

I carried a nickle one like this (with King "hardball" sights like this) narking for da man in mid 70s.

and I carried this one thru the 80s and 90s and the first 10 years of the 2000s

I have a Gunsite edition S&W Sc Commander now that Cylinder and Slide has tuned , the gun on the right!

 

[wojownik]

I have a relatively recent Colt Combat Commander Series 80 in stainless. I am very pleased with it.