Is the Colt Commander REALLY the best Pistol?

[Ryan H]

There are plenty of firearms that are just as reliable and accurate as a 1911 is, and many which are just as robust in design. That being said, give me my 1911 any day of the week!!

[SCfromNY]

I like the way the 4" 1911 feels in my hand and it is as accurate as my 5" at any distance I wold be concerned about. That said I only carry about 5% of the time. I am not confident that when the SHF I will remember the safety.

Two things form shooting USPSA and IDPA:
I do forget the safety sometimes
After the buzzer the transition from DA to SA is pretty seemless

[hardballer]

practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice,

I think both Col. Jeff Cooper and Clint Smith both may have said this before. Forget the safety?!? Dead guy.

[hardballer]

Get a Ruger GP100. No safety there. If you can't pick up your firearm wide awake and remember the safety, what will you do when it's three in the morning and you fall out of bed because you're so damn tired you can hardly walk. In my case, the 1911 which I have owned for some 12 years, and practiced with almost daily, is gripped tightly in my hand, the safety is off and my index finger is straight across the trigger guard till I engage a target.

How 'bout you?

[s2harry]

Edvon, Ill assume you've bought a gun by now. Maybe you have not. We're all interested in your success and we of course like to blab about guns and give advice. So whats going on you buy a commander? Your question about it being the best. The Idea they are the best comes from the shorter barrel it carrys nice and is not so short you cant aim it. The 4 inch barrel does not recoil to much and some people me included think it is the best handling 1911 pistol. They are accurate but that is subjective to the task. Who can define accuracy? In the 70s I had a stock one that would shoot 4 inches at 50 feet. That was my best with it. You can accurize a stock one but now they do better than that. Colt tightened them up. Let us know whats happening.....

[1911 Headbanger]

In my L/E Days I carried a full size 1911 for most of my career. There were times when I carried a Commander, and it was great too. Only 3/4" difference in the guns. I carried lightweight framed Officers ACP's and Commanders while off-duty. Even though the L/E days are gone now, I still believe the Lightweight Commander type pistols are the ultimate carry guns. I have several Colts, Kimber CDP's and Para Ordnance LTC's. Along with their matching little brothers in the Officers ACP framed guns.

I guess about the only time I do not carry one is when I take a road trip far from home. In that case I carry a Glock for the extra capacity. I was stuck away from home during the 9-11 attacks, with a 38 snubby and 2 speed strips, wishing I had a full size service gun with lots of ammo. Therefore, I now carry a G17 or 21 and 4 or 5 extra mags in my Bug Out Bag when I travel over a hundred miles from the house, along with a G19 or G30 for concealed carry since the ammo and mags will interchange if needed. I personally love the Commanders in steel or alloy frames. But, you need to carry what you are totally comfortable with and shoot the best.

[HK4U]

I believe it was Col. Jeff Cooper who said the double-action auto-pistol was an answer to a non-question, or something like that.

A true double-action auto-pistol will be the same long pull for every shot. The double-action first shot followed by a single-action until you stop shooting and apply the safety [dropping the hammer] is a more difficult hand skill to learn than thumb the safety off, fire, thumb the safety on.

Good sights and a good trigger are the fundamentals of easy and good shooting. Good sight and trigger are often standard now on 1911s, easy to fix if you've an old gun.

I liked Col Cooper and have a couple of his books. He was quite knowledgeable and contributed a lot to shooting however I disagree with his views on a couple of things. One being that a single action auto is better than a DBL/single action or DBL action only auto and the second that the Weaver stance is better than the isosceles. To each his own I guess.