OKAY I'M JUICED!!!!

I have a LWT. that I am deeeelighted with. I bought it about a year ago on AA. That lying Bas$%^&* that sold it to me relayed in a telephone conversation that it was mint and all original......When it came it had a Barstow barrel with a "drop in" Barstow collet bushing, a replacement, stainless, arched mainspring Housing, no grips at all, and 1 POS Colt magazine (I know opinions vary on Colt Magazines on this forum)that FTF at least 50% of the time on the first round and a commander hammer. So much for "all original". Fortunately for me, my local smith (who is excellent and reasonable) fitted a solid barrel bushing, replaced the MH with the original and replaced the factory trigger with a lightweight trigger. The finish cleaned up easily. After this, I have been deeelighted with the pistol. I paid $650.00 for the pistol, $15.00 for the local FFL to handle the deal, $12.00 postage, and $135.00 to the smith including parts and labor. I figure I have $812.00 in the pistol. It is drop dead reliable and very accurate. It has a crisp 4lb trigger. It is a great carry piece if you like to carry a 1911. It truly is lighter than my 1911A1 which is more than I can say for my Combat commander.

I recently found a LWT. in a shop near me. It was 98%-99%. The finish was not perfect but new ones aren't 100% either......Did you ever look closely at NIB firearms? The ramp showed no signs of use AT ALL. It did not have any scratches anywhere including where the slide stop is put on and off. The dealer asked me $600.00 OTD. I put 6 crisp $100.00 bills on him so fast he had to look twice to see that I had moved.

I think you got a great deal.

The advantage of the LWT. is that it is LWT. The finish is beautiful! Something a holster will soon change......I carry mine but not in a holster! It can be very reliable and it is a .45ACP

The disadvantage is that it does not have the more recent advances in 45 ACP. IMO, the worst disadvantage is that the grip safety (which is not a beavertail) will eat into your hand if you shoot it many times in a row.

Others will say, that the aluminum frame willl not hold up well and particularly firing max loads (mil. surplus ball ammo) and that certainly the feed ramp will wear prematurely. I say, it is a carry piece! Buy you a current production government model to shoot 200 rounds a week with if that's what you want to do and then carry the LWT. (*after firing sufficent rounds to assure reliability with the chosen ammo).

Of course you can have a beavertail safety installed (as well as other modern advancements) without changing the pistol frame... usually such that you can return it to original configuration at will but I really don't think it is the weapon I would choose to shoot a lot with major loads.

In summary, I think you got a great piece at a bargin basement price. It will serve you well if you carry it a lot and fire it a little (which is what a carry piece is for). If you wish get a reputable smith to modify it to suit you in such a way that you can return it to it's original configuaration if you wish. My favorite mods are listed in order of preference:

• 
  
  1. Lightweight aluminum trigger.
  2. 4lb crisp trigger job
  3. Flat MH
  4. Solid Barrel bushing fitted to the barrel (Not the otherway around)
  5. commander hammer
  6. Night Sights
  7. Match barrel

You'll probably have it thr rest of your life.




[This message has been edited by PigPen (edited 07-23-2001).]

LWT's... I love LWT's... It was my very first gun. The Commanders were first produced in the late 40's thankfully, as there are a few floating around that qualify as C&R's for sales in the PRK, although they are rare, and pricey.

Most likely, that one has the roll mark I like, small letters, little pony, yadda, yadda...

$550 is a great price, but don't be surpised if you are buying someone elses nightmare, and need to spend some more to get it running good. Of course, in CA, an S70 Colt is only legal for transfer through Private Sale (through the FFL). See if you can talk with the owner of the gun.

Also, the "Barely Shot" description is often one that comes out "Shot to Sh1t" Again, see if you can speak with the former owner.

It's hard to tell a gun that has 100 rounds from one that has 3000 rounds, if the person took great care of the weapon. My "caution Flag" always goes up on Used Guns when I hear "Less than 200 or 500 rounds" through it, kinda that "Little Ole Lady from Altadena" thing

Bottom line, enjoy the new baby when you finally pick it up next weekend. Give it a good once over before you shoot her. Since she is an Alloy, ensure that the rails are well lubed, and double check the ramp for gouges, if the former owner shot lots of JHP's through it, you may see some scar's.

I am guessing that since it's wearing Ivories, it's probably a Satin Nickle finish. Check the finish really closely, and chek the rails. Finally, check the staking on the front post. You may want to have a dovetailed one installed, but I have had a few staked on posts that popped off.

FWIW, enjoy your new baby... I am hoping to find an early 38 Super, preferably a LWT, but a Steel frame would be fine, to add to the Enhance S80's LWT I have now.