Which 1911 Commander would you pick ??

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Juancts

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Hi. Which Commander would you choose and why ??

- Colt Combat Elite Commander.
- Dan Wesson Vigil Commander

Any other ideas on a Commander (4.5) or compact (4.0) are welcomed. I'mlooking for a QUALITY comander 1911. Thanks !


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I’ve owned only one Colt. It had some ejection issues but the fit and finish were decent, not excellent but in fairness it was a 1991 so a lower end model. Recently I had to decide between a Colt Trophy Match and a Wilson Combat. Frankly the fit on the Colt was worse than pistols that I’ve had that were much cheaper, including a Springfield Armory Range Officer. I’ve only handled Dan Wessons, but they seem very nice. If you can afford it, I’d go with the Vigil. Just a few weeks ago I was actually looking for one but didn’t have any luck.


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There is only one original Commander, and it's made by Colt. The barrel length is 4.25", not 4.5".

Dan Wesson also makes a nice pistol of the same size ... but it's not a Colt.

[edited because I didn't realize DW is calling theirs "Commander."]
 
Lwght Ruger with aftermarket barrel. Easy to field strip, insert in feed ramp and fixed plunger tube. Won't cry as much if it ever gets impounded after social use, or over common wear marks.
 
I have three Commander size 1911's.

70 series Colt LWT Commander--safe queen, first 1911 I ever owned and carried several years.

Springfield Champion--Christmas present from my wife and it's a safe queen because it's the only 1911 I have that eats me up with hammer bite for some reason.

Chuck Daly Commander--I carry in my truck and it's been flawless and very accurate. Paid $275 used at a pawn shop. This is my favorite of the three.
 
I’m not a big 1911 commander length fan although I have a Ruger SR1911 steel frame commander length that I like a lot.

If I needed a base gun to send off to a pistolsnith to get customized I’d go SA or Colt. But my own Dan Wesson Valor bought used but LN needed very little trigger work to become the best pistol I own.
 
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I have had a Colt lightweight commander and a Dan Wesson Guardian; I sold the Colt, but plan never to part with the Guardian.

BOARHUNTER
 
I own multiple Colts and multiple Dan Wessons. Here are some points to consider:

  • The Dan Wesson has an aluminum alloy frame and is therefore lighter than the Colt which has a steel frame. The DW is more comfortable as a carry gun while the Colt will handle recoil better. The steel frame should last longer, but the DW should easily last many thousands of rounds. The DW has a ramped barrel which keeps from rounds beating up on the anodized aluminum when feeding.
  • DWs have excellent triggers out of the box, all mine are in the 3.5 to 4 pound range. And they are crisp. The Colts are around 6 pounds and, in my experience, are a bit gritty out of the box (shooting them helps).Some like the lighter trigger and some like the heavier trigger.
  • The Colt has an ambi-safety and the DW does not. Lefties like the ambis and many right-handers do too. I prefer a single sided safety (I'm right handed) to avoid the safety being accidentally disengaged while carrying. It happened once or twice with one I have (a Baer). If this is a range pistol, it doesn't matter.
Finally, if you get a chance, pick them each up and see how they feel in your hand.
 
Having owned both Colt and Dan Wesson, I'd pick the Vigil. I've had two recent Colts, and both have had issues. Not saying that every Dan Wesson is perfect, but I firmly believe that their QC is better than Colt's by a longshot. The Vigil fit and finish is superb. I did the recommended 500 round break-in, and it has eaten everything I have fed it without a hitch. The trigger is superior to any of my Colts, with the exception of my 1968 4" Python. I believe that trigger aids in accuracy.

I also prefer the Dan Wesson "Duty" finish over Colt's new factory 'blue'. If you want stainless, go with the Colt, but their stainless finish seems to scratch fairly easily.


This preference is coming from a lifelong Colt guy.
 
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I'm surprised that no one has asked the original poster about the chambering. Is it 9 mm Luger or .45 ACP? Recommendations might vary, depending on the cartridge.
 
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hammie said:
I'm surprised that no one has asked the original poster about the chambering. Is it 9 mm Luger or .45 ACP? Recommendations might vary, depending on the cartridge.
Click to expand...
For me when it comes to 1911s, 45 ACP or nothing !!

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I own several Commanders, and have owned others. I have had good luck with several of them.
My favorite carry gun is a Colt Lightweight Commander in 45 ACP. I also have a Wiley Clap Commander and it also has an alloy frame. I also have an older Springfield GI Commander but it's not a true commander as it has a 4" barrel and different springs and guts in it, as opposed to a True Colt Commander. It's a good gun but I don't like it as well as the Colts.

I also have a steel frame Colt Commander of fairly recent vintage. It's also a fine gun, but I don't carry it much because I prefer the lighter Lightweight Commanders for CCW.

I am left handed so I had to install ambi-safeties on all of these guns. I have had some Kimbers, even, that were good shooters, but I don't really like all of the MIM parts that the Kimber's come with, but they can be good guns, if you can work on them.

I will just say this, my favorite Commanders are Colts. But I always end up changing out several parts on them, before I am completely happy. Safeties of course, and also I always go to an arched mainspring housing, and a short trigger, but that is personal preferences.

The Colts of 3 to 5 years ago or so, have been some of the best and most most reliable out of the box Colts I have owned, and I have been shooting Colts for 40 years. But some Colts in the past have needed a little help, before I would trust them. I never liked the 1991's and some of that era. And many of the older Colts would not feed hollowpoints out of the box.But Colt raised their game, a few years ago. They had to, because some of the other manufactures raised the bar on them.

My current Commanders are all 5 or 6 years old now, or maybe slightly older and were very good guns out of the box. I can't really say now on the current crop as I have not needed to buy one in few years.
 
Quality is as quality does. Many of the inexpensive guns will run right there with the big names and often better. I gather you're looking to spend 1000.00 on a name.
 
I have had three Colt Combat (steel frames) Commanders in my lifetime. Two were circa 1970's...one in .38 Super, the other in .45 ACP, that I shot very little. The last one was purchased a few years ago...which I still have. It is a XSE in .45 ACP.

The .38 Super, although I still have it and it is a favorite of mine, was problematic from the beginning. The recoil lugs battered alarmingly. The first gunsmith I took it to suggested a new barrel...which I did. The lugs still deformed. The second smith (where Brian Billaby worked) examined it and told me that the lugs in the slide were out of speck. I ended up with a 9mm slide (he did not have a .38 Super slide available), and a new barrel. It has not deformed the lugs since the slide swap. But now I have a "FrankenColt" in .38 Super but with a slide that is marked "9mm".

I tell people that the relatively recent XSE, C.C. is reminiscent of a shop project in an insane asylum. The recoil spring was way underpower right out of the box...so weak that anyone with any experience racking the slide should have noticed it (don't the Colt assemblers have experience racking the slides?). The firing pin spring was also a problem. The F.P. spring was so weak that the firing pin stop would drop down and tie-up the slide when fired. Swapped out both springs, no problem since.

Both stocks were poorly checkered with several run-overs on both stocks...but then I have to give Colt credit for "hiring the handicapped"...it is magnanimous that they would hire a blind person to do the checkering on their stocks.

In all, my rambling point is: Just because you buy a real Colt does not mean you are going to get quality.
 
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