Book Research Question: Go to gunsmith for Colt Commander in the 1970s?

[Lester Polfus]

A handful of my readers have commented that they'd like more details about the firearms in my books. I'm leery, as too much can make a story read like an American Handgunner article, but I figure I can always put it in, and if needs to wind up on the cutting room floor, so be it.

One of my supporting characters is in his early 70's. In his youth, he did a couple of tours in The Land Of Bad Things, and when he returned he bought himself a brace of Colt Combat Commanders, had them customized and has carried them ever since.

Where might he have had them customized in the early 1970s? Armand Swenson? King's? What might that look like? I'm thinking reliability package, maybe some checkering, an ambi safety, and sights.

Was Novak in business then? I was actually born in Parkersburg, and my late grandfather was I believe mildly acquanted with Wayne Novak, but I don't know when he started his business.

Thanks!

[TiroFijo]

Jim Hoag could be one...

[Duelist]

Clark’s?

[Wondering Beard]

Paging Jason Burton for what a Swenson Commander would be like.

[Jason Burton]

Throughout the 1970's I would say "big 3" were Armand Swenson, Pachmayr (especially in the later '70s), and Jim Hoag. There were of course others but these remain "marquee" names from that era.

[Jason Burton]

Not a Commander but this is very typical of the classic Swenson build from the mid-'70s.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/487/31945279706_1cc02ab33b_c.jpg

[Lester Polfus]

This thread is bringing up a bunch of names I remember from reading American Handgunner in study hall in the '80s.

Thank you all.

[Lester Polfus]

Not a Commander but this is very typical of the classic Swenson build from the mid-'70s.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/487/31945279706_1cc02ab33b_c.jpg

Awesome.

Is that a Smith and Wesson revolver rear sight? I'd forgotten that was A Thing.

[Wondering Beard]

Posted the same photo that jason did. No need for duplicates

[RevolverRob]

This may also prove fruitful - https://gunsmagazine.com/classic-guns-magazine-editions/ every issue from 1955-1968 digitally. More get added regularly (for instance, the 1968 year is currently up to July. August is forthcoming). If you needed a specific edition/issue I'm sure you could write to them and request a scan of it.

ETA: PS - look at the cover of the July '68 issue, "AK 47 vs. M 16" - It's as old as the guns themselves it seems. :rolleyes:

[feudist]

This may also prove fruitful - https://gunsmagazine.com/classic-guns-magazine-editions/ every issue from 1955-1968 digitally. More get added regularly (for instance, the 1968 year is currently up to July. August is forthcoming). If you needed a specific edition/issue I'm sure you could write to them and request a scan of it.

ETA: PS - look at the cover of the July '68 issue, "AK 47 vs. M 16" - It's as old as the guns themselves it seems. :rolleyes:

Holy score, Batman!

[Poconnor]

Austin behlert , pachmayr. Chen? 1970 or 1978? I have a beat up colt combat commander with the coltguard nickel finish that I always thought was a serious carry gun circa 1975

[DamonL]

Austin behlert , pachmayr. Chen? 1970 or 1978? I have a beat up colt combat commander with the coltguard nickel finish that I always thought was a serious carry gun circa 1975

You might be thinking of Bob Chow, not Chen. Also Jim Clark. But I agree with Jason, Pachmayr, Jim Swenson, and Jim Hoag were the top names.

[Jim Watson]

A lot of the gunsmiths of the 1970s still concentrated on accurizing target pistols.
Ikey Starks was a Commander man, though.

Skeeter Skelton once wrote of his pair of Commanders or Combat Commanders worked on by Clark. I don't remember anything about them except the phrase "triggers worked to a delicate 3 lb creep-fire."

I am of your character's generation, though not a veteran, and have a few guns left over from the 1970s.

My first name gunsmith pistol was a GM by John Lawson, based on his column in American Handgunner of the day and plugs by a well known instructor/writer.
S&W adjustable sights, long trigger, tight barrel fit, and his peculiar spring balance of a strong recoil spring and a soft mainspring, pretty much the opposite of current practice.

My pet Commander was lightly fixed up by a local guy. All it has is King sights and aluminum GI match trigger, with a GM hammer and grip safety for Condition 2 carry. (As recommended by the main local dealer at the time. It took me a while to realize that was because he was a southpaw in a day before common ambidextrous safeties. I then read Cooper and applied the thumb safety. Still have the spur hammer, though.)

The very mechanical looking Pachmayr Signature was available in a Commander length version, and I really pined for one of those, but the work cost more than the base gun and that was hard to justify.

[SeriousStudent]

Austin behlert , pachmayr. Chen? 1970 or 1978? I have a beat up colt combat commander with the coltguard nickel finish that I always thought was a serious carry gun circa 1975

Such a coincidence - I acquired an Austin Behlert 1911 today. I'll shoot some pics and post them.

[DamonL]

SeriousStudent. I am looking forward to seeing your Behlert pistol.

In the mean time, here is a picture of a gun I was told is a Hoag gun. It had his signature grip safety and beautiful buried Bomars. I had the Swenson ambi-safety installed and the trigger redone with new parts and the sharp edges on the sight dehorned. So it is not original any more.

28715

[SeriousStudent]

SeriousStudent. I am looking forward to seeing your Behlert pistol.



Here they are:

28716

28717

The guy I bought it from at work didn't want a 1911 "with some guy's name he had never heard of messing up the slide." Mr Behlert (God rest his soul) never had a Youtube channel, and the lad was therefore unfamiliar with him. Not kidding, I'm quoting.

The young Philistine got a wad of cash, and some future tutoring. The Herrett rosewood stocks are mine, he had some goofy Punisher grips I threw in the trash; lest they contaminate anything in my safes.

I'll be shooting it next week, and let you know how it shoots. I will probably change the mainspring housing to a Wilson flat checkered stainless steel one, to match the Colt Combat Government Model that I carried back in the 1980's.

Dagga Boy and I talked about this pistol the other night. I'll let him share his quote about it. :cool:.

[SeriousStudent]

Oh, and yeah, it has some idiot marks near the slide stop and on the slide, they do not bother me. I'll whisper sweetly to the pistol, and carry it in a Tony Kanaly VM-2 or a Earnie Hill Speed Leather rig.

That should comfort it, and soothe it's feelings. :)

[okie john]

SeriousStudent. I am looking forward to seeing your Behlert pistol.

In the mean time, here is a picture of a gun I was told is a Hoag gun. It had his signature grip safety and beautiful buried Bomars. I had the Swenson ambi-safety installed and the trigger redone with new parts and the sharp edges on the sight dehorned. So it is not original any more.

28715

No idea whether that's an original Hoag, but it looks a lot like Pat McNamara's old work gun. Sometimes it's the formula as much as the guy who does the work.


Okie John

[DamonL]

You are so right. The Pachmayr Combat Special is the formula from that era for a fighting handgun and continues to be the classic .45.

Paul Liebenberg worked at Pachmayr and is still making that same formula at Pistol Dynamics.

http://www.pistoldynamics.com/CS_Intro_2011.html

Wilson Combat builds the Combat Classic.

https://www.wilsoncombat.com/classic/

Heirloom Precision calls it the Retro.

https://www.heirloomprecision.com/portfolio_page/retro-gun/

SeriousStudent, I am glad you rescued that pistol.

[jtcarm]

Austin Behlert?

[Poconnor]

You are correct, I was thinking of Bob Chow. I used to love stopping by behlerts shop on route 611 in Pa. they always had something interesting to fondle. They did great hipower work. I stopped by Ikey Starks shop in Denver once. He did a nice 1911. Didn’t he have a chuck Taylor commando model?. It sounds like you want a pre 1976 1911, before IPSC and the survival movement. Checkout Mel tappans book and kings gunworks in CA. Don’t forget super vel ammo

[DamonL]

Jim Watson. If you have pics of your old guns, I would love to see them. I had forgotten about Pachmayr Signature guns.

SeriousStudent. It looks like an older gun because of the parts they used. The trigger looks like it's from a Gold cup as well as the Elliason rear sight. I bet the hammer is a factory Colt Commander part. No beaver tail grip safeties yet. No Videcki triggers etc.

Lester Polfus. I think Wayne Novak was a little later. He is one of my favorite builders for a carry gun.

[Drang]

A handful of my readers have commented that they'd like more details about the firearms in my books. I'm leery, as too much can make a story read like an American Handgunner article, but I figure I can always put it in, and if needs to wind up on the cutting room floor, so be it.

You could always just make something up. At some point, verisimilitude is a waste of time and effort. (Not that posting on PF.com constituted a lot of research effort, although if you ask enough questions here maybe you can deduct the cost of membership...)

[Ed L]

A handful of my readers have commented that they'd like more details about the firearms in my books.

What name do you write under? If you prefer to PM me, feel free.

thanks

[Lester Polfus]

You could always just make something up. At some point, verisimilitude is a waste of time and effort. (Not that posting on PF.com constituted a lot of research effort, although if you ask enough questions here maybe you can deduct the cost of membership...)

The REAL question is, can I deduct the cost of firearms "for research?"

For example, in the new series I will launch in 2019, the protagonist carries a GP-100. I don't have one of those yet. So can I deduct one?

[Lester Polfus]

What name do you write under? If you prefer to PM me, feel free.

thanks

Let's just say when DL Barbur (https://www.amazon.com/Rose-City-Free-Fall-Thrillers-ebook/dp/B075PNK53L/ref=la_B075PXYD3M_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1509855032&sr=1-1)walks into a phone booth, I often walk out.... :D

[Lester Polfus]

I appreciate all the replies I've received in this thread. Looks like Dale the sniper will be toting a Swenson Combat Commander.

[Dagga Boy]

I appreciate all the replies I've received in this thread. Looks like Dale the sniper will be toting a Swenson Combat Commander.

Sorry to be late. On the road. Swenson is a good choice. Also, in that era things were very regional depending on where you lived. Obviously, in SoCal, Pachmayr and Kings was big. In the South, Clark would be more common.

[SeriousStudent]

Jim Watson. If you have pics of your old guns, I would love to see them. I had forgotten about Pachmayr Signature guns.

SeriousStudent. It looks like an older gun because of the parts they used. The trigger looks like it's from a Gold cup as well as the Elliason rear sight. I bet the hammer is a factory Colt Commander part. No beaver tail grip safeties yet. No Videcki triggers etc.

Lester Polfus. I think Wayne Novak was a little later. He is one of my favorite builders for a carry gun.

Actually, the rear sight is a Behlert. I'll put up some pics. I have not seen another like it before. It has his name on it.

[DamonL]

You made me google. It looks like a Behlert revolver sight.

[Robinson]

This thread is awesome.