I am looking to buy a COLT CCO "concealed carry officers" model. I think this is an officers grip with the commander slide/barrel. They have two models out, the older one had houge grips and regular safety and the new model has wood grips and an ambi safety. The new model was on the cover of Combat Handguns Nov. '99. Does anyone have any info on these guns? Reliability..Price...ECT.........
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Colt C C O.... Need help Colt fans
- Thread starter KITT
- Start date
MrMisanthrope
New member
I too have been wanting the CCO for years. Unfortunately I was unable to purchace one when they were available. Colt told me they were dropping the line.
My problem with the Kimber, Springfield, etc in the 4" slide/Officers lower combos is the lack of a bushing. Im an old 1911 purist, and if I can't drop in a spec barrel, or bushing comp, or have available 'other' 5" threaded sterile barrel suppport, it's just not practical to me.
My advice, though costly, is build your own.
Buy an Alloy Officers and a Stainless Commander. Mix & Match, sell the rest as a "custom" gun.
My problem with the Kimber, Springfield, etc in the 4" slide/Officers lower combos is the lack of a bushing. Im an old 1911 purist, and if I can't drop in a spec barrel, or bushing comp, or have available 'other' 5" threaded sterile barrel suppport, it's just not practical to me.
My advice, though costly, is build your own.
Buy an Alloy Officers and a Stainless Commander. Mix & Match, sell the rest as a "custom" gun.
But the one with the ambi-safety. It is either Colt's enhanced models or XS series. Last year, I bought my Government XS for 575, inlcuding tax. Now, they go for 800 and up, if you can find them. There is a thread over at www.1911forum.com in the Colt forum that discusses the enhanced and XS guns in depth. Mine has proven very reliable after the initial break-in period. You may want to replace the MIM extractor and the plastic mainspring housing, but other than that, it's a great gun.
I have extensive experience with the original version of the CCO, and except for the rubber Hogues, find it to be an outstanding carry gun. The combination of a lightweight Officer's ACP frame and a Commander slide is ideal IMO.
While the grips panels on the later XS version are an improvement, it looked to me like they went to a different bushing/recoil spring plug arrangement, and I have no use for ambi safeties.
I am not sure if the XS series is still in production, though there is some talk about Colt restarting production of models it had discontinued. With Colt these days, who knows? But I wouldn't wait to see what happens. If you can't find a used CCO, consider the lighweight Kimber with chopped frame and 4" barrel.
While the grips panels on the later XS version are an improvement, it looked to me like they went to a different bushing/recoil spring plug arrangement, and I have no use for ambi safeties.
I am not sure if the XS series is still in production, though there is some talk about Colt restarting production of models it had discontinued. With Colt these days, who knows? But I wouldn't wait to see what happens. If you can't find a used CCO, consider the lighweight Kimber with chopped frame and 4" barrel.
juliet charley
New member
I have one of the original CCOs. The only change I have made is to put on a set Colt smooth wood grips. (I've also replaced the recoil spring and the magazine springs as routine maintenance.) I dislike the full length guide rod and ambidextrous safety of the XS model--not to mention it's outrageous price.
My CCO has been an outstanding weapon and a dream to carry. Mine has had countless rounds (many some really nasty reloads) through it and the factory magazines--it came with two Metalforms, and I have not used any other magazines.
My CCO has been an outstanding weapon and a dream to carry. Mine has had countless rounds (many some really nasty reloads) through it and the factory magazines--it came with two Metalforms, and I have not used any other magazines.
There were three CCO models, the first being the black oxide frame finish witht the Hogue grips. I have the second model with the bead blasted frame and slide with no ambi safety and rose wood grips. The third model had a bead blasted frame with polished slide, rose wood grips and ambi safety. There were other differences like a full lenght guide rod in the third model. My CCO is my favorite carry gun. It is 100% reliable after the break in period and very tight/accurate. I do not like the fact that the Kimber stainless does not have a stainless barrel where as the CCO is all stainless (the 4" models). I also like the balance of the 4 1/4" barrel of the CCO better than the Kimber 4". Too bad the CCO now has MIM parts like the Kimber such as mag, release(not that highly stressed), extractor(which I replaced with one from bar stock), and unlike the Kimber the Colt slide release is machined from bar stock as is the bushing. My CCO has no machine marks and is IMO the best of the 1911 models.
I have a "second generation" CCO that I bought in June 99 and it is a great M1911. That said, I did have the plunger tube come unstaked and tie up the gun -- had it attended to my Northern Virginia Gunworks -- they do great work on 1911s. Good thing I did not have to rely on that gun for self-defense when the plunger tube failed. The gun has had several hundred rounds through it and now is 100% reliable. It shoots to point of aim. I replaced the stock grips with Hogue rubber wrap-arounds with finger grooves. Helps a lot in control. Tell every gun shop in town that you are looking for one that comes in on consignment. Bug them often. Be patient. One day you will luck out and find one. Good luck.