Posted: 7/3/2006 2:51:18 AM EDT
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jj
I have one and it has been flawless from day one. Eats everything. Very happy with it. It is my primary CCW handgun. |
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I wouldnt go with anything smaller than a Commander Slide (CCO is an ideal carry set up) To each their own. Talk to most smiths and they will tell you the Defenders are nice IF you can keep them running, lots of guys wont even work on them as no matter how hard they try they just cant get them to run as well as a Govt. or Commander. Kimber... Well, I wont go there since you asked us not to. |
I must get all the good kimbers and all the good custom shop work. I'm thinking G36 instead of an officers. |
You have to keep the springs [recoil and mag] changed out on a regular basis. That said, I carry a Defender, I practice with a commander. |
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NO. Any 1911 under 4" is unreliable by design. Your friend might have 7 super micros that run perfectly... right out of the box. The problem is that this is luck of the draw. MANY don't and no amount of smithing will fix them into something you should trust your life to. |
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OACPs never seem to get a good wrap ( except from the folks that own them ). Never had a defender so I can't compare the barrel designs. I've had this Officers as a constant companion for about 20 yrs. Reliabilty as never been a problem. Accuracy was was something I was never happy with. Think I have cured this with a oversize Match barrel & bushing. It will shoot now as accurate as I can hold it. Not much left of what left the Colt factory these days, When I think about it, there isn't much that has'nt been changed or modified. Its been reblasted and cleaned up for the 3nd time and already showing some roadwear after a couple weeks.....http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m179/gentjn/johnspictures155.jpg |
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Officer: unreliable by design Defender: nightmarishly unreliable by design In response to an earlier poster's claim that officers seem to get a bad rap, but only from those who don't own... I owned 3. That is to say I owned one that was so fucking unreliable the company replaced it... TWICE. I am done with Officers. Go ahead and roll the dice. Yours might run like a top. The thing is that it's a crapshoot and hardly worth the odds, especially at those prices. |
| Good Note - sounds like you've had a Defender also. Some of these Colts from the 80s are like some of the old H-Ds I've had, buy the time you get it straightened out there isn't much left that is stock. These things can be a challenge and can seem more trouble than its worth sometimes. I always liked the OACP size, but the CCO seems to be way to go according to experianced folks. Any input on the new Detonics models? Is the Defender design a copy of the Det.? A friend is all jack'd up about getting a new Det. I wondered if they're worth the hype I hear. |
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I am another that has an Officers Model and love it! Only failures I have had in the 15 years are traceable to some of my sloppy handloads. Adding a pass through a taper crimp eliminated that too. Accuracy isn't too good at 100 yards, 'minute of trash can', but 3" to 3 1/2" at 25 yards put many full size 1911's to shame. |
Dare I even say it in the 1911 forum? OK, I fired the G36 the other day at the range - now that was a nice compact 45ACP pistol that I wouldn't even worry about reliability or accuracy wise. Why bother with the super compact 1911's? You may or may not get a good one but they run "best" in the gov't and commander size. |
Actually the working solution to a carry 1911 (for those who rather not go full size) is the commander, as listed above, AND the "compact". The compact fills the niche the Officer tried to defend on its own. A compact is an officer frame and a 4" slide (which is reliable by design) instead of a 3.5" slide. So, there are 3 size varieties of 1911 that work very well. |
| CCO stands for “Concealed Carry Officers” model and comprises the short 4¼-inch barrel/slide assembly of the Commander pistol on the even shorter frame of the little Officers ACP. Think I remember the Compac being what Colt renamed the Officers in the 90s. Guess I'm just testing my memory - I'm now over 45 havehttp://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m179/gentjn/johnspictures193-1.jpg |
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CCO is the Colt Concealed Carry Officers pistol now huh? Logically that is a stupid name, like calling the Goverment the CCC (Concealed Carry Commander pistol) seing how the barrel is .75 LONGER than the standard officer pistol. They should have called it the RBDO (reliable by design Officer) . Stupid, stupid name. Good idea though. |