Brown Truck of Happy Arrived today!
That’s my Carry S&W1911Sc with what might be a fraternal twin (certainly not identical) a Colt Commander Blue gun, I got from botach tactical FYI this was one of the only distributors I could find that had a Colt Commander that was modeled with the hammer cocked. (The retention strap of my holster only fits around a cocked hammer…plus a 1911 with the hammer down is a 1911 that isn’t ready for work!) The price was right, and while the site appears to be a mall-ninja haven, and the product photo is a Commander with the hammer down, I decided to take a chance. It was a good chance, the gun arrived inside of a week and exactly how I ordered it.
Let’s talk about the gun. First up this gun will never be mistaken for a real gun, it was obviously made from two halves fused together, and the “rim” from the melted plastic was filed down. Also there are a few chips and nicks in it, possibly from bubbles in the plastic, also things like the loop hammer are “webbed” with plastic. This is all 100% non-functional issues. The grip, the Slide, the trigger and trigger guard (places where the user handles the gun, or the holster retains the gun) all feel very real.
One BIG downside of this gun is it weighs just over 10 oz! TEN, my J-Frame weighs more than this Colt Commander mock-up! That does make training with this slightly less realistic. Also a few nits to pick are that this is modeled off of a Colt Series 80 Commander, meaning it has the standard colt grips, the “Stubby” colt safety, and a smooth “Duckbill” grip safety. These features are all different from my gun so it feels a bit different in the hand. Also it has a flat Main Spring Housing, which my gun has, but some people prefer the arched kind.
Why did I buy it? Big reason is look at the picture. You may not be able to tell but my 1911 is cocked-and-locked, and loaded. That’s how it stays. More information from Tam and here. Many new shooters might not realize that if you have a safe or vault to tuck your carry gun away at the end of the day, the safest way to keep your gun is fully-loaded. Every morning I put on my holster, check my magazines, check my chamber, holster the gun. I don’t touch it again until I’m getting ready for bed (or changing into my workout clothes) when I simply unholster, and drop it in the safe and lock the door.
As Tam points out the less you fiddle with your gun, the less chance you have of something undesirable happening. No problem, but when do I practice drawing from the holster?
Short answer, I rarely do. There will only be a few days a month when my gun will be unloaded, and those are the days I practice. No good, so now I have an inert gun to fiddle with. Also it might make a useful intermediate step for teaching a new shooter the 4 rules before handing them an unloaded gun, and lastly a loaded one.
Also if I ever wanted to get into training gun retention, or other techniques where somebody has to point a gun at somebody else this will be VERY nice.
And for $40, I really should have bought this ages ago!
I’ve thought about picking up a bluegun, but I went airsoft instead. Weight still isn’t perfect, but I like having working safeties and being able to fire a round at the end of the stroke. Thankfully my 1911 is a government model so I can pick up a spring pistol for $20. Commanders seem a lot harder to find. My other centerfire pistol is a BHP and nobody makes one of those in airsoft either.
Airsoft is also a good alternative….but I don’t feel like sweeping up pellets in my armory, and frankly the safety isn’t THAT relevant to me. Also I’ve seen a TON of 1911 airsofts that have fixed hammers, no good if my retention strap won’t fit behind it.
Aren’t those banned in MA?
Harr Harr!
Botach is also involved (is the uncle of) the florida hairdresser that the DOD contacted with to supply ammo for the Afgan army and police. He was selling them rotten stuff from the 50’s. He eventually was busted. The uncle address is on some of the contracts that the hairdresser signed with the DOD.
I vaguely remember that story….you have a link handy?
Can you drill it out and put some lead weights or something in it to bump up the weight?
Probably could, but I’d likely fuck it up, or make it horribly off balance. Really the weight is only a minor grievance.
here is the latest
http://www.laweekly.com/2010-08-05/news/arms-merchants-of-south-central/
If you’d like some practice drawing from a holster, IDPA 9/17 in my neighborhood.
oops – the date should be 9/19 (and there is also a 10/17 too)
9/19 might be a bit soon to leave for a weekend, but we’ll see how the wife is doing in October! Thanks for the invite, I really do need to get out there!