Gunsmithing 1911 Colt Combat Commander upgrade suggestions

[GalvestonWader]

I've got a stainless Colt Combat Commander in .45 that I've had for about 13 years or so. I shoot it occasionally, but it's never been carried and pretty much a safe queen. Aside from grips, it is completely stock. I want to start carrying it and using it more so Im wanting to finally get a trigger job done and put an ambi safety (Im left handed).

What are some other mods that people do to their 1911's? I'm not looking to go crazy custom or anything, but if you were to go buy a new Colt 1911, what are a couple of the first things you would upgrade on it?

Also looking for a good gunsmith in the south Houston area if anybody knows of one.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[shootist2004]

most 1911s come with mods done. beveled ejection port, high beavertail, checkering, beveled magwell.
I would get Crimson Trace laser grips.

 

[nashlaw]

For the trigger, get the Cylinder & Slide drop in kit. It comes with hammer, sear and disconnector. It beats any local smith's trigger job by a long mile. Admittedly, I have never had a factory trigger by Novak, Wilson or any other big name company, but the C&S would be tough to beat.

Spend a bit of coin and get an Ed Brown (personal favorite) or other beavertail of your liking and the fitting jig. The jig is not expensive and once you take some time to see what you need to remove to fit the beavertail, all you need is a grinder, some fine files and lots of sandpaper to contour the beavertail to the frame.

Checkering is best left to others. When I finally got where I could turn out a very nice frontstrap, I decided it was too time consuming and hard on my hands and went to skateboard tape for frontstrap gripping.

Customer sights, but the standards will suffice for most applications. If you do not like them, Novak has excellent turnaround for installation of his great sights and it not unreasonably priced.

 

[ShtrRdy]

I'm a recovering 1911 adict. One of the modifications that I really desire is a beavertail Grip Safety. This allows the gun to sit lower in your hand and spreads the recoil out in the web of your hand.

It's good to have a good trigger. I've had good experience with the Cylinder and Slide kits as well.

Being left handed, a ambi Thumb Safety is a good item to have. You'll have to fit this to the new trigger parts.

Sights can be useful as well.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[StrayDog]

As a lefty commander fan, let me suggest the Wilson Bulletproof Ambi Safety. MidwayUSA seems to have them frequently.
It's pricey but rock solid with smoothed surfaces, and built to last beyond the average slip-slot with paddle designs out there. I added one to my stainless V-Bob.
As mentioned above, if you get a new safety, maybe also upgrade your firing internals--a Harrison hammer/disconnect/sear Kit maybe, and new trigger, so that your smith can match your safety to new quality internals at the same time, instead of upgrading down the road with additional problems refitting...
I like a bobtail for carry and it fits my hand better, but 1911s tend to become addictive, so get as much done at once to keep your A.D.D. and shipping costs down!

 

[milo 2.0]

I had the same gun, it comes with alot of so called custom features. No checkering which I consider a must.
Paying a pistol smith to customize a gun can be extremely pricey, to the point you could never get a return on money spent if you're forced to sell it.
If it's a safe queen like said, you might be better off selling it and just upgrading to the gun you envision. You very well might get what you paid for it.
In 99', I bought a Kimber Gold Match, sent it to Kimber for work to the tune of $800.00, it would take an extremely dumb son of bitch to pay for what I have into the piece of s**t, making it virtually unsellable.
You can polish a turd all day long, it's still a turd!

 

[BillCh]

If you are going to use this for carry then reliability is the major consideration. When you shop for whistles and bells keep that in mind.

Change your grip safety if it doesn't allow your to get a consistent and comfortable grip, otherwise leave it alone. Harrison Design makes some good ignition parts. I got an Extreme Service set from them for a build I'm doing. This probably isn't worth doing if you're not having problems with it now. If it were me, I'd probably change out the extractor with a Wilson. It will require fitting. I pretty much always use a titanium firing pin with a heavy spring too. Again, not necessary if you're not having problems. Replace the recoil spring. Get a Wolf spring kit. Don't use any kind of recoil buffer. I suggest replacing the thumb safety with a Wilson Pt. No. 192(S). This is what came stock on my Springfield TRP. I just got one so I could do an upgrade to my Gold Cup.
You may want to check out some 10-8 U-notch rear sights. I've never used them but they're supposed to be pretty fast. Don't get hung up on tritium night sights. IMHO these are a total waste of money for a carry piece. Make sure you have good magazines. I use Tripp Research Cobra Mags exclusively in my carry guns. I have some Wilson 47D's but I've had some problems with them.

After you do you upgrades you'll want to put a bunch of rounds through it to ensure it is in fact reliable. (bunch=>1000)

B

 

[Oddball Six]

I would be VERY careful doing modifications to a carry gun. While they are neat, make sure you can articulate, under pressure, why each one was needed in a way that is related to its function and safety.

Lawsuits are silly, but if you don't think of the after-the-shot now, its too late to do it later.

 

[Decoy]

Schuemann AET bull barrel and an AFTEC extractor, then get some chip McCormick mag.

 

[CamW]

Here's my Commander that Dave's Metal Works built. I'm a lefty also.

http://www.snipershide.com/shooting/showthread.php?t=58371&p=821927#post821927

 

[StrayDog]

Wow CamW, now that's a nicely designed dedicated lefty. Really dig your idea on the non-dominant safety paddle.
To the OP lefty: Good idea to also nub that slide stop down flush with frame so you don't accidentally jam the action if your thumbs bump the knob during recoil.
Now I'm dwelling on how to de-paddle all my non-dominant side ambi safties... Thanks CamW for the link.