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Which2Buy? Colt Commander or Springfield Champion

dirtyharry331
Hello Ladies & Gentlemen,
My question is for the truth about aluminum framed Colt 45's. Does the frame wear out quickly? What about cracks? I am a toss-up between the Colt LW 45 Commander or a Springfield Champion? Have a Springfield TRP in stainless and love the gun. Would like a short one for protection. Which one? Does porting hurt or help? I am looking for serious answers from people like Perry-shooter, Colt, Lardo Lefty, etc. How bad is the trigger issue on the colts in the "80" series guns. Is the Springfield based on the "70" series Colts? I appreciate the knowledge to help with my decision? I'm sure I'll use up 10 responses and get locked out so pay attention for I do want all the info that is up to date. Thank you all for responding.
God Bless Our Troops, God Bless America!!!
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Comments

3 comments

Date Votes
  • perry shooter
    Hello Dirty Harry . I guess I can only speak on FULL SIZE 1911 type pistols. I have never owned a shorter style. With that said I think a few things hold true. The Colt aluminum frame guns will never make a good long term BULLS-EYE pistol but this is Not your intended purpose. I have never know anyone that had the frame to crack But I would limit the number of +p loads and might go so far as to say I would limit the shooting to say less then 2000 rounds a year . get a full size to practice with and the transition to the commander as far as hitting your target will duck soup. I hate the series 80 as to It is IMHO a rip off when they could have paid for the use of the PRE WW II Swartz safety and had a much better system . Again for a carry gun I could live with a series 80 if I had to. You don't need or IMHO want a Match Trigger in a carry piece. The series 70 Colt had a collet barrel bushing I don't think anyone else has built a 1911 Clone with anything but a solid bushing. all 1911's made by colt before the series 70 had solid bushings and they do work I I personally don't like the barrels with a big bell on the end and no bushing. Now to what brand you buy it is my belief that a COLT will hold or go up in value no matter if you like it or not while all the rest will be lucky to not loss a large % of their value when put on the used gun market. I hope my opinion has helped in some small way but it is just one old skinny man's opinion. "PRAISE THE HARD-BALL GUN"
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  • JudgeColt
    Skeeter Skelton put 10,000 rounds through a Commander (the term "Lightweight Commander" was not introduced until the Series 80 guns came along if I recall correctly) in the 1970s as I recall, and the gun survived, although there it did develop a non-critical crack out of the slide stop hole to the rail as I recall. I think the crack came somewhere in the 8,000 to 9,000 range, but it shot fine and the test continued. Unless you intend to shoot 10,000 rounds in a short while, the service life will probably exceed yours. If it doesn't, and a non-critical crack bothers you, get another one to take you to the end of your run.

    There were never any Series 70 Commanders (not to be confused with Commanders having a "70" prefix on the serial number - a mere coincidence), since Commanders never got the collet bushing, the defining characteristic of the Series 70 Colts. The slides of the Pre-Series 80 guns never got the Series 70 marking found on full-size Models O like the Government Models and Gold Cups. There are Series 80 Lightweight Commanders, and they have the firing pin safety as stated. Some serious shooters like Perry Shooter find the Series 80 triggers to be less than desirable, but, on a personal defense gun, I don't think it is much of an issue. On a Series 80 gun, you also get the benefit of the firing pin safety preventing a discharge should the gun be dropped just right on the muzzle.

    The collet bushing contributed to accuracy on Series 70 guns, but had a reputation of breaking in high round count guns. Many are still in service with the original collet bushing, so it is not every Series 70 that has a broken collet bushing. Since no Commander or Combat Commander ever had a collet bushing, it is a non-issue with any Commander.
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  • dcs shooters
    I've owned both, and my choice would be the Champion, in a used one.
    If you buy new, it's a toss up. The new Champions are "loaded" and shouldn't need anything done to feed HP'S. The Colt's might need some feed ramp work done.

    EDIT, the 70 LW Commander I had cracked where the dust cover met the rear where the slide hit. I don't know how many rounds it had through it as I bought it used.
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