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1911 officer vs commander

21K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  rodneybeam 
#1 ·
how much smaller is the offcier 1911 to the commander 1911 is the frame the same size?
 
#3 ·
First basic difference is barrel length: Government - 5"; Commander - 4.25"; Officers - 3.75/3.5". Officers-sized also has a shortened grip length which means a shorter magazine. You will note two sizes for officers-sized barrels, 3.75" is the more common.
There are also six-inch guns built for special purposes like hunting and target shooting.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Overall, it's about 3/4" shorter on the barrel/slide and also shorter by 3/4" on the grip. The mags are one round shorter than Commander/Government models. Keep in mind, there are several "Officers" like models out there by various companies, which are not exactly like the original Colt Officers model. Springfield Micro and RIA/Armscor have "Officer" size 1911s, but they are not 100% like the original Colt.

This is my RIA compact 1911. Has the 3.5" bull barrel, so no barrel bushing to deal with like the original Colt, which I heard was prone to breaking. The SA Micro is 3" barrel I believe and just shorter.

 
#9 ·
You should realize that the original "Officers" 1911's were not really built by Colts. They were made by government arsenals (mostly Rock Island) for presentation to General Officers who wanted something more than the 1900 or 1905 Colt autos or M1917 revolvers usually available. They weren't considered really "combat-operational" but more like the sidearm of European forces, an emblem of rank and status. "Commander"-sized pistols were intended for Field-grade officers (Major, Lt.Colonel and Colonel) and usually ended up with staff officers far to the rear. Psychologically, the idea of having an ever-smaller gun as the rank gets ever-higher seems counter-intuitive but I guess Freudian analysis of the process never came to mind though the increased caliber from .32 to .45 ACP must have pleased the Generals. I really like my compact Rock and I was a lowly E-5!
 
#10 ·
Never heard the shrinking of the1911 platform explained this way before.

I believe you're referencing the Colt Pocket Hammerless models of 1903 & 1908 in .32 and .380.

I've heard of similar thinking in the German armed forces, with higher ranking officers preferring Walther PPs and PPKs over P-08s and P-38s.
 
#11 ·
RIA does not call their pistols Officer, Commander, they are marked as FS= Full size, MS=Midsize, CS= Compact Size.
The FS is 5''
The MS is either 4'' or 4.1/4''on some, I guess? not sure, maybe they may have changed, in the last yr. mine is 4"
The CS is either 31/2" or 3.3/4''on some I guess? not sure, maybe they have changed in the last year, mine is 3 1/2"..........:confused:....Maybe..:scratch:...:rofl:
 
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