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I gave my Colt Combat Commander a new look.

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4.4K views 17 replies 9 participants last post by  Richard  
#1 ·
I took off the arched stainless MSH and replaced it with a flat black one. I also replaced the silver trigger with a black one. I was a little nervous about completely disassembling the gun to add the trigger but it is really a simple 5-10 minute process.

I think the black accents really look good on a stainless gun with rosewood grips.

This is a crappy pic using the flash but you get the idea. :)

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#4 ·
...I was a little nervous about completely disassembling the gun to add the trigger but it is really a simple 5-10 minute process...
Do it a few times, in order to achieve a really deep cleaning, and to learn how each and every part works, and you'll see just how very clever old Mr. Browning really was.
Unless you force something, you just can't put it back together incorrectly.
The whole thing disassembles completely without requiring any tools other than one of the other parts you've already removed. (Except for the hammer spring, that is. To get that one out requires "other" tools).
The 1911 is a fascinating piece of sculpture.
 
#6 ·
The whole thing disassembles completely without requiring any tools other than one of the other parts you've already removed.
I actually did use two tools. Both are just things I made. I made a punch out of a piece of brass rod, which I used to remove and reinstall the pin at the bottom of the MSH, and I drove a nail into a board to help me put the mainsprings back into the housing. I would just turn the mainspring and housing upside down and push it up inside by forcing it down onto the nail head. Then I still had a free hand to install the retaining pic. :)

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#7 ·
Where did U get the black MSH? All I ever see in the catelogs are "blue" MSH. Is it really black?

I may like to eventually replace the ILS system in my MC Operator with a standard MSH - but I don't want to have to send it off to get refinished in true black), like I just had to do with a Wilson magwell (I hope to have the magwell back this week)
 
#9 ·
BTW: If there are any of you out there that, like me, have never replaced a trigger on a 1911 and are curious how far you have to tear one down to do it;this pic should answer your question. You pretty much have to tear it down completely. The only thing you do not have to remove is the firing pic assembly. :)

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PS: I also ordered a new stainless MSH and put it on my other COlt Commander. I also took the silver trigger from the XSE and put it on the standard Commander too. Before it had a black solid trigger and a serrated plastic MSH. It is amazing how something as small as a trigger and MSH can make such a difference in the look and feel of a gun.

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#11 ·
Have you ever handled a 1911 with a Gunsite Low Sweep Safety on it? I put one on my Commander when I had some work done on it. It is AWESOME for a high grip, but it can be a bit of a problem shooting offhand.

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#15 ·
The safety is only on the right side. I suspect it would interfere if it was ambi as it can when shooting with the left hand. I have short fingers. Between the high relief cut in the rear of the trigger guard, low sweep safety, bobbed flat mainspring and thin grip panels the gun feels amazing in my hand. I do wish I had gone for a short trigger though.
 
#16 ·
Bill;
A mere trigger swap-out shouldn't change the trigger job, unless the trigger bow interferes with either its own relief cuts or the magazine.
I switched the trigger of one of my 1911s, to fit my wife's small hand, and it kept its 3.5-pound pull and its crispness.
Just be very careful when removing the sear parts and the hammer.