Colt Lightweight Commander in .38 Super

M

Mike Irwin

Staff
Forgot to mention that the other day when I bought my S&W 410, I was also eyeballing a Colt Lightweight Commander.

The first one I picked one up years ago I fell in love with the feel and balance.

I was REALLY giving this one the hairy eyeball because... well, besides being the LWC, it was chambered in .38 Super and had an extra 9mm barrel. I've got a .45 Gov model, but I've always wanted a .38 Super, and I've always wanted a LWC. Combine them? Heaven.

I know the LWC Supers are out there, but that's the first one I've ever seen.

I struggled with it for more than a few minutes, because it was almost $1,100, money I don't want to spend. I didn't have have them take it out of the case because I knew if I held it, I'd be done for.

Thankfully, I saw the 410 shortly afterwards and got my gun on that way. :)

How common are the LWCs in .38 Super? Do any of the other makers make a lightweight in .38 Super?

One of these days I'll get one.
 
I carried a Commander in .38 super for a while. It's a wonderful combination. With the extra barrel (and accompanying 9mm magazine) that would be a very nice gun to own! The Commander (the real one!) in .38 super is increasingly rare.
 
Ten years ago, the LW Commander in .38 Super was a regular catalog item, but Colt has done a lot of revamping of their product line, and the LW Commander is now available only in .45 and 9.
Of course, you could fit a Super barrel to the 9.
Kimber has made their 4" "Pro" models in .38 Super, but I don't know if any are currently in production.
 
.38 Super

The Super .38 has been one of those cartridges that has always keened my interest. AND in a LWC, I'd be hard pressed to resist as well. Eleven hundred bucks is a lot of cash for my wallet, but that combo would indeed be a nice gun to own.

Aw heck, go put half down on it and pick it up in a month or so!!!!!!
 
Wish I could, Bama, but with a new car to pay off, taxes being due, and needing to make sure I've got money to help my Mom if she needs assistance, I just can't spin it right now.

If I could sell a couple of other guns, that might be one thing.... but I might as well chainsaw off my own arms. :p
 
Aw heck, go put half down on it and pick it up in a month or so!!!!!!
Click to expand...
Gotta agree with Bama, Mike...and I've never seen one (a lt. wt. Commander in .38 Super) in the flesh either. I've made up two in the all steel frame version...nice but as heavy as the .45 in all steel...and for me, just too heavy to carry around much.

The two I did (posted pics here before), are on a Series 70 vintage Colt Combat Commander and Ruger's relatively new CMD. I used Colt Series 70 vintage slide/barrel/bushings purchased in the 80's when you could still find them. One each in 9mm and .38 Super.

IIRC, I didn't need to change out the ejector on either model either. Also found out that the 9mm and .38 Super slides would interchange with either 9mm or 38 super barrels and that the .38 Super magazines would feed either cartridge but would only lock back after the last round about 50% of the time. Not a deal breaker in my book, as I count all my fired rounds by habit.

Feeding was fine with any thing I tried in either caliber: cast 125 gr RN, FMJ's, XTP's, and any HP from Remington or Winchester...no problems whatsoever. I tried 115's and 125's only tho. Both guns, BTW, started out as .45's.

If I were to do it now, I'd pick the Ruger framed Lt wt just for the ease of getting current parts. I haven't tried my Colt made uppers with a Lt Wt Ruger yet...it's an itch I haven't yet scratched. Say....anyone want to trade a Lt Wt Ruger CMD for the all steel framed one?

Rod
 
A year and a half ago my favorite toy store had a colt government model and a LWC in .38 super. I bought the government, for $1100, and passed on the Lightweight for the same amount. Wish I had been able to swing both, have never seen another LWC. But I just do not like the alloy frame, and I already have a Commander.

I don't know if I would have had the willpower to resist again if I found another one after I found out how rare they are in .38 super.

David
 
It is not a Light Weight...it is a "Combat" Commander (steel frame), in .38 Super that I have had since the seventies. Despite the fact that I had to replace the slide (incorrectly placed locking lugs), and the replaced the barrel, and have made several upgrades to the point where I refer to it as a "FrankenColt", it is one of my favorites.
Frankencolt2.jpg
 
For those that don't know-
The Colt Commander was originally the lightweight model.
The Colt Combat Commander was the steel-framed version.
Later, Colt started calling the steel gun the "Commander," and the alloy gun the "Lightweight Commander."
Never made any sense to me- but then again, neither did any of Colt's other business practices.
 
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