I have now put 10,000 rounds through this pistol. I would have hit 10,000 rounds a lot earlier, but I had spent the past two years overseas and didn’t have this Colt with me during that time. I am back stateside and have put a lot more rounds through this pistol.
I can now provide a more thorough review of the most recent work I had done by Dave over at Evolution Armory in New Hampshire, namely the IonBond DLC finish and the Harrison rear sight. I am very happy with both. The IonBond finish is darned near indestructible and looks great. It simply does not scratch. In the corrosion-resistance department, it performs better than bluing. You can see in this picture that the blued Harrison rear sight has started to rust on a muggy, hot day, but the IonBond-finished slide has not yet succumbed to rust. It will surface rust if neglected for too long, however, and I have had to scrub off rust with a bronze brush on a few occasions -- definitely not as much as with the blued finish, but still. I try to wipe it down every other day with CRC 3-36, which is what the IonBond folks themselves use when they ship their refinished parts and guns back to dealers, according to Dave, and that seems to keep the rust at bay.
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The Harrison rear sight is fantastic, but I’m sure a 10-8 rear sight -- or any other brand that has a ledge for one-handed cocking and no dots -- would perform similarly. I did not specify the Harrison brand. I just provided my requirements to Dave (black, cocking ledge, no dots) and let him pick the appropriate sight. As you can see, the ledge on this Harrison rear sight is rounded, not sharp like other brands, and I was initially concerned that that might be a problem when racking the slide with one hand on an improvised surface (such as my belt), but that has not been the case, as the Harrison rear sight seems to grab onto anything.
I have five magazines, all of them Wilson Combat ETM 10-round magazines. I make notes whenever there are any bobbles in my system, and if I have two malfunctions with any given magazine, I just toss that magazine and replace it. $30 is not worth the headache. I’ve replaced two of the ETM’s over 10,000 rounds. I love having 10 rounds versus 9 rounds, not only for the extra round, but also because it makes things nice and even when counting through a box of ammo (20 rounds means 2 mags, 50 rounds means 5 mags, etc.). As noted in previous write-ups on this gun, I did initially have to send this gun to Dave to get the ejector squared away with WC ETM 10-rounders.
I’ve shot a lot of 115 grain, 124 grain, and 147 grain ball ammo over the past few weeks, and all ran through the gun with no problem. Of course, I still love the weight of the gun and the way it fits my hands. The all-steel frame designed to fire .45 ACP really controls the 9mm, which is the entire reason I got the gun in the first place. Before I got this Colt, I was using my Sig Sauer P938 as both a carry weapon and a range gun, and the small, aluminum-framed 9mm P938 was abusing my hands and wrists (note that I was shooting 600 rounds a week or more). I can shoot this all-steel Colt Combat Commander all day with no discomfort.
I also opted against front strap checkering or stippling, and I stuck with the stock Colt Delrin MSH. Those choices seem to surprise people the most when I tell them about the work I’ve had done to my gun. It seems that many people would replace the MSH and would checker the front strap if they were having extensive work done to a 1911. But I saw no need to add an ounce or two for no reason, I did not need or want more aggressive checkering, and I have never heard of a Colt Delrin MSH failing.
I also know from first-hand experience that some people who find themselves in intensive training environments with front strap checkering and an aggressively-checkered steel MSH and grip panels often find themselves covering their grips with tape by day 2 of training! This is also why I opted for one of the least aggressive VZ grips, rather than one of their cheese-grater offerings. In my experience, pistol control can be mastered without the need for aggressive checkering.
Bottom line, would I do it again? I am very happy with this gun; it feels like it is my gun, if you know what I mean. At the same time, if I had it to do all over again, knowing what I know now, I would start with a Colt Combat Elite Commander in 9mm because that is basically the same as my gun, but in stainless steel, and I would send it off to Dave, just like I did with my current Colt. I would have Dave do the trigger job and all the work, as well as perform the IonBond DLC refinish on the stainless Colt, and then I would have him ship it to Robar for Poly-T2 coating on top of the IonBond. I have Poly-T2 on a long gun, and I love it. That would permanently nip the corrosion issue in the bud. As it is, I don’t mind wiping this Combat Commander down with CRC 3-36 every other day, so I’m not really complaining, and I’m certainly not about to ship this gun off yet again for something that doesn’t matter that much.
Oh, and if I had it to do all over again, I might go with a different brand of 10-round magazines, as it appears there are other brands out there that don’t suffer the infamous WC ETM 9mm ejector-interaction problems and thus wouldn’t require ejector fitting work to ensure functionality. Now that I’ve got mine squared away, however, plus the fact that I own 5 WC ETM magazines (a $150+ investment), I’ll stick with the ETM’s; they are fine as long as your ejector clears them and/or isn’t constantly being smacked by the top round.
As far as tactics, I have changed a few things over the 10,000 rounds. For example, I used to lube the hell out of this pistol. I have since concluded that I was over-lubricating and creating unnecessary mess, as well as risking a malfunction by getting lubrication into the magazine. Now, I try to keep it fairly dry and clean behind the breach face of the slide and in the frame. I use the smallest dab of grease (currently using Enos Slide Glide because I bought a small tub in 2016 that is looking like it will be a lifetime supply, but I’m sure TW25B would be just fine) in the frame rails, on the hammer ramp, on the barrel shroud, on the lugs, and where the barrel meets the bushing. I top that off with a drop of Hoppes gun oil on frame rails, the hammer ramp,the barrel shroud, and barrel/bushing contact point. That’s it. I will add another drop of oil to those points after 100-200 rounds or so and keep shooting. I have not experienced any malfunctions this way. I field-strip and clean the gun every 400-600 rounds or so. I used to put a drop of oil forward of the hammer to reach the sear -- following advice from Hilton Yam of 10-8 Performance. However, I stopped doing that, as the oil tends to work itself over the bow onto the trigger, which tells me there is a risk of stuff gunking up there. I discussed other changes in my previous posts (such as the rationale behind changing the rear sight, the IonBond refinish, etc.).
I am still loving the Crossbreed SuperTuck IWB holster on a Simply Rugged 1.75” laminated leather gun belt, with a spare mag on the weak side. Very comfortable, very concealable. No plans to change that. I will stick with Federal HST 147 gr standard pressure as my carry ammo. There have been a lot of tests done on this ammo: tests from Lucky Gunner, Active Self Protection, TN Outdoors, Ammo Quest, and others show excellent expansion and penetration of 13.5” to 14.5” in ballistic gelatin when shot from a 3” to 4” barrel. My Colt Combat Commander has a 4.25” barrel, so I would expect to see at least 12” penetration with this ammo from my gun. That meets the FBI standard. Plus I’ve already verified that 147 gr. HST runs in my gun (I have 400 rounds through it).
I have not yet run into any high-round-count issues yet (cracked slide/frame, broken thumb safety, loose plunger tube, broken plunger spring, extractor tension issues, etc.), but I am watching out for them, and I carry a field kit with spare parts.
![Image]()
![Image]()
I can now provide a more thorough review of the most recent work I had done by Dave over at Evolution Armory in New Hampshire, namely the IonBond DLC finish and the Harrison rear sight. I am very happy with both. The IonBond finish is darned near indestructible and looks great. It simply does not scratch. In the corrosion-resistance department, it performs better than bluing. You can see in this picture that the blued Harrison rear sight has started to rust on a muggy, hot day, but the IonBond-finished slide has not yet succumbed to rust. It will surface rust if neglected for too long, however, and I have had to scrub off rust with a bronze brush on a few occasions -- definitely not as much as with the blued finish, but still. I try to wipe it down every other day with CRC 3-36, which is what the IonBond folks themselves use when they ship their refinished parts and guns back to dealers, according to Dave, and that seems to keep the rust at bay.
The Harrison rear sight is fantastic, but I’m sure a 10-8 rear sight -- or any other brand that has a ledge for one-handed cocking and no dots -- would perform similarly. I did not specify the Harrison brand. I just provided my requirements to Dave (black, cocking ledge, no dots) and let him pick the appropriate sight. As you can see, the ledge on this Harrison rear sight is rounded, not sharp like other brands, and I was initially concerned that that might be a problem when racking the slide with one hand on an improvised surface (such as my belt), but that has not been the case, as the Harrison rear sight seems to grab onto anything.
I have five magazines, all of them Wilson Combat ETM 10-round magazines. I make notes whenever there are any bobbles in my system, and if I have two malfunctions with any given magazine, I just toss that magazine and replace it. $30 is not worth the headache. I’ve replaced two of the ETM’s over 10,000 rounds. I love having 10 rounds versus 9 rounds, not only for the extra round, but also because it makes things nice and even when counting through a box of ammo (20 rounds means 2 mags, 50 rounds means 5 mags, etc.). As noted in previous write-ups on this gun, I did initially have to send this gun to Dave to get the ejector squared away with WC ETM 10-rounders.
I’ve shot a lot of 115 grain, 124 grain, and 147 grain ball ammo over the past few weeks, and all ran through the gun with no problem. Of course, I still love the weight of the gun and the way it fits my hands. The all-steel frame designed to fire .45 ACP really controls the 9mm, which is the entire reason I got the gun in the first place. Before I got this Colt, I was using my Sig Sauer P938 as both a carry weapon and a range gun, and the small, aluminum-framed 9mm P938 was abusing my hands and wrists (note that I was shooting 600 rounds a week or more). I can shoot this all-steel Colt Combat Commander all day with no discomfort.
I also opted against front strap checkering or stippling, and I stuck with the stock Colt Delrin MSH. Those choices seem to surprise people the most when I tell them about the work I’ve had done to my gun. It seems that many people would replace the MSH and would checker the front strap if they were having extensive work done to a 1911. But I saw no need to add an ounce or two for no reason, I did not need or want more aggressive checkering, and I have never heard of a Colt Delrin MSH failing.
I also know from first-hand experience that some people who find themselves in intensive training environments with front strap checkering and an aggressively-checkered steel MSH and grip panels often find themselves covering their grips with tape by day 2 of training! This is also why I opted for one of the least aggressive VZ grips, rather than one of their cheese-grater offerings. In my experience, pistol control can be mastered without the need for aggressive checkering.
Bottom line, would I do it again? I am very happy with this gun; it feels like it is my gun, if you know what I mean. At the same time, if I had it to do all over again, knowing what I know now, I would start with a Colt Combat Elite Commander in 9mm because that is basically the same as my gun, but in stainless steel, and I would send it off to Dave, just like I did with my current Colt. I would have Dave do the trigger job and all the work, as well as perform the IonBond DLC refinish on the stainless Colt, and then I would have him ship it to Robar for Poly-T2 coating on top of the IonBond. I have Poly-T2 on a long gun, and I love it. That would permanently nip the corrosion issue in the bud. As it is, I don’t mind wiping this Combat Commander down with CRC 3-36 every other day, so I’m not really complaining, and I’m certainly not about to ship this gun off yet again for something that doesn’t matter that much.
Oh, and if I had it to do all over again, I might go with a different brand of 10-round magazines, as it appears there are other brands out there that don’t suffer the infamous WC ETM 9mm ejector-interaction problems and thus wouldn’t require ejector fitting work to ensure functionality. Now that I’ve got mine squared away, however, plus the fact that I own 5 WC ETM magazines (a $150+ investment), I’ll stick with the ETM’s; they are fine as long as your ejector clears them and/or isn’t constantly being smacked by the top round.
As far as tactics, I have changed a few things over the 10,000 rounds. For example, I used to lube the hell out of this pistol. I have since concluded that I was over-lubricating and creating unnecessary mess, as well as risking a malfunction by getting lubrication into the magazine. Now, I try to keep it fairly dry and clean behind the breach face of the slide and in the frame. I use the smallest dab of grease (currently using Enos Slide Glide because I bought a small tub in 2016 that is looking like it will be a lifetime supply, but I’m sure TW25B would be just fine) in the frame rails, on the hammer ramp, on the barrel shroud, on the lugs, and where the barrel meets the bushing. I top that off with a drop of Hoppes gun oil on frame rails, the hammer ramp,the barrel shroud, and barrel/bushing contact point. That’s it. I will add another drop of oil to those points after 100-200 rounds or so and keep shooting. I have not experienced any malfunctions this way. I field-strip and clean the gun every 400-600 rounds or so. I used to put a drop of oil forward of the hammer to reach the sear -- following advice from Hilton Yam of 10-8 Performance. However, I stopped doing that, as the oil tends to work itself over the bow onto the trigger, which tells me there is a risk of stuff gunking up there. I discussed other changes in my previous posts (such as the rationale behind changing the rear sight, the IonBond refinish, etc.).
I am still loving the Crossbreed SuperTuck IWB holster on a Simply Rugged 1.75” laminated leather gun belt, with a spare mag on the weak side. Very comfortable, very concealable. No plans to change that. I will stick with Federal HST 147 gr standard pressure as my carry ammo. There have been a lot of tests done on this ammo: tests from Lucky Gunner, Active Self Protection, TN Outdoors, Ammo Quest, and others show excellent expansion and penetration of 13.5” to 14.5” in ballistic gelatin when shot from a 3” to 4” barrel. My Colt Combat Commander has a 4.25” barrel, so I would expect to see at least 12” penetration with this ammo from my gun. That meets the FBI standard. Plus I’ve already verified that 147 gr. HST runs in my gun (I have 400 rounds through it).
I have not yet run into any high-round-count issues yet (cracked slide/frame, broken thumb safety, loose plunger tube, broken plunger spring, extractor tension issues, etc.), but I am watching out for them, and I carry a field kit with spare parts.
