Description
3/18/26 - This is an excellent example of an early Satin Nickel Colt Combat Commander, manufactured in 1971, the first year of production. Chambered in .45 ACP, this example comes with its original matching box, and includes a few notable modifications, which further increase the shoot-ability of a gun many have classed the best shooting 1911 platform Colt ever produced. The first is a Wilson Combat made “drop-in” beavertail, designed specifically to fit the Commander, drastically reducing hammer bite. The second is the Wilson Combat, Dan Dwyer "Group Gripper" kit, which is designed to significantly reduce recoil by replacing the original link and recoil spring guide. The original parts are included in the box, as is the paperwork for Gripper modification. There are also improved front and rear sights. The pistol is fitted with a mint set of original rough (non-checkered) wood grips, emblazoned with silver Colt medallions. It also comes with an extra set of Pachmayr grips and one proper magazine. The pistol itself has retained virtually all of its satin nickel finish, with a faint takedown scratch, some scattered handing marks, and a few areas of patina. Excellent bore, with very minor signs of use. General mechanics are smooth, trigger is an unmodified Commander style, fairly heavy, but slightly lighter than military 1911s.
There has been much speculation and legitimate mystery surrounding the serial range of this example. From Colt and every other publicly available source, the serial range starts with the five-digit 01001, made in 1970. Combat Commanders aren't supposed to exist in the four digit serial range, and yet this pistol does. While exceedingly rare, a few other examples with four-digit serial numbers have emerged, and though these will not come up directly on Colt's serial number lookup website or be found in publicly available ranges, Colt itself has confirmed that these four digit examples were made sometime in the first production year, and that issue likely stems from Colt's inconsistent application of the leading zero.
