Tag Archives: outdoor survival

Safety is first when handling any firearm, everything else is secondary. Always follow these basic rules:
1. ALWAYS treat all guns as if they are loaded.
2. ALWAYS never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
4. ALWAYS be sure of your target and what is beyond it.

Colt XSE Series Combat Commander
Gun details
Model: O4012XSE
Action: Single Action
Barrel: Length 4 1/4″
Caliber: .45 ACP
Capacity: 8 + 1
Frame: Finish Brushed Stainless Steel
Frame: Material Stainless Steel
Front Sight: White Dot Carry
Grip Safety: Beavertail
Grips: Double Diamond Rosewood
Hammer: Enhanced
Name: Commander
Overall Length: 7 3/4″
Rear Sight: White Dot Carry
Thumb Safety: Extended Ambidextrous
Trigger Aluminum: 3 Hole
Price (2010): $800+

If you are looking for a reliable self-defense pistol in a great stopping power caliber, that is pleasant to shoot and handle then look no further. The Colt XSE Series Combat Commander has it all. There are many fine pistols produced by great manufacturers, but today I’ll talk about the legendary Colt Commander model.

The Pistol

I truly believe that pistol selection is a very personal matter. Try handling and shooting as many handguns as you can find and get the ones that fit your needs and shooting preferences best.

I picked the Colt Combat Commander model because it feels natural in my medium-sized hands, making handling and shot placement easy, even with one hand. It is a well built and nicely finished pistol… you get what you pay for. The new gun was pretty tight, but after about 200 rounds it loosened up and became just right. I didn’t find absence of a front strap checkering a problem, probably because of a “shark skin” finish on a handle. The trigger had a little travel, which I learned is quite common for a carry gun, and had a pull about 5-6 pounds. It requires little effort to make a shot, compared to let’s say new Glock’s trigger.

Disassembly of the pistol is straight forward, but assembly had a small challenge, and that was the insertion of the slide stop without scratching the frame. No, I didn’t manage it without a scratch, but what carry gun does not have them? There is a few step safety check in the manual, that is really worth to go through after each cleaning. Knowing the design helps one trust one’s weapon more.

I use a GALCO STO 266 holster for carrying my pistol and couldn’t say anything bad about it, even after long hikes in mountains. It feels right and comfortable, considering the weight of the gun. If the weight is a concern, there is a lightweight version of the Colt Commander…  Any decent belt would do but a wider and thicker one will fit perfectly into GALCO holster’s nylon clip.

The Shooting

This gun handles the power of the .45 caliber with excellence, making recoil very manageable and easy to control. A good and correct grip is essential. I found Todd Jerrett’s online grip and shooting tips very useful, just search for “todd jerrett grip” on google. The pistol delivers rounds to the point of aim at closer ranges (5-15 yards), making one big hole on a target, but it is quite capable at longer distances as well, if  a shooter does his part. By no means it is a target gun though.

I would recommend the Colt Combat Commander model to any shooting enthusiast who is looking for a 1911 model. It is a nice and reliable pistol with a proven record that is 100% made in the US. For those who would like to continue their research or learn more facts please visit the http://m1911.org/ website.

I love Mossberg shotguns. For my readers who will say that I love all the guns I review I have to agree with you. I love guns. It’s a rare gun that annoys me so much that I do not like shooting it. One recent example of a gun that I don’t care for is my friends Glock 19. He works for NY State and they are required to have a 12 1/2 lb trigger pull on their firearms. The trigger modification makes the gun suck balls. It’s fine for a magazine or two but if you try to take it out to the range for the day your finger will go numb. I have nothing against the Glock, only his trigger pull. Now back to the Mossberg 500. The Mossberg you see below is my friends gun that he received for free from a retiring police officer in NYC. He couldn’t complain about the price so he decided to bling it up a bit. He put a folding stock on it, a sling and a side saddle. The downside of the folding stock is that it makes accessing the safety switch somewhat difficult. Other than that it is a fine stock. Here are some pics.

I fired the Mossberg 500 with some ridiculously cheap Polish made Hunter brand ammo purchased about 15 – 20 years ago. The brass on the shells was tarnished and some of them were downright corroded. I thought it was a bad idea but my friend insisted we go through them so he can finally get rid of them. Even though we got one hell of a jam where I needed to take a pair of pliers to pull the spent round out of the chamber the shotgun performed flawlessly. The crappy ammo was loaded with #4 shot. We also had 50 rounds of 00 buck from Remington. We fired both types of ammunition at 50 Yards while standing in rapid fire. You can see the results below.

The number four shot was ideal at a distance of 50 yards. The double 00 shot was hit or miss. The spread was too wide for that distance. I would have felt more comfortable using slugs, which we were not allowed to use at the range, or 0 or 1 shot. The gun handled well, the action was smooth and the accuracy was great. I attributed the accuracy to the ghost ring sights on the shotgun. We fired a Remington 870 with a brass bead for comparison and the difference was pretty apparent. I personally own a Mossberg 590 which I cherish. There is something universal about that action being worked that put’s fear into people. That alone is worth the money to defend your home.