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This gun is a Sams Custom Caspian 10mm “Commander.” It is now about five years old or so, and started life as a .357 Sig, which it still is on a part-time basis. We had a few issues using the 10mm at the very beginning which were feed ramp and magazine related, but they have long since been remedied and this thing just plain shoots… with authority. I chose McCormick parts for the large majority of the small parts on this, so, yes, there is a lot of MIM here. But, even with full power loads and heavy recoil springs, nothing has changed and there have been no failures of any kind while shooting. I did break the ambi safety that was on it, but this was done by my chair leg while cleaning it and not a shooting failure. The breaking of the ambi was the cause of the latest refinishing, as the new safety had to be blended in. As you can see, the slide stop and thumb safety are examples of a common gunsmith’s problem… orange or purple parts after bluing. I’ll just have Dave throw these in the stainless tanks the next time he runs a batch and have them flat black.

The parts used on this gun were:

Caspian Slide:
-Bar-Sto 10mm C/P Ramped Barrel
-Bar-Sto Bushing, Wrench Tight (Never Removed Anyway)
-Wilson Full Length Guide Rod
-26# Wolff Recoil Spring
-Novak Lo-Mount Rear Sight and Dovetailed & Pinned Front, Ramped & Serrated
-Colt Extractor
-Caspian Firing Pin & Stop

Caspian Receiver Serial Number “JAK001”:
-Ed Brown Extended Ejector
-McCormick Mag Catch & Lock
-Colt Plunger Tube
-Nowlin Pin Set
-McCormick Slide Stop
-Greider Medium Solid Trigger
-McCormick Hammer, Sear, & Disconnector
-McCormick Beavertail Grip Safety
-Colt Stock Bushings
-Ed Brown Hex Grip Screws
-Wolff Mainspring & Sear Spring
-Ed Brown Wedge Mainspring Housing
-Navidrex Micarta Stocks

This gun is as tight and smooth as they day I got it… as a .357 Sig. That problem has been solved, too. I stopped keeping count of the 10mm count after 7500, as I lost my log book somewhere during a move. It had quite a few .357 Sig rounds through it, too, but I have no idea how many. No, it’s not seen anywhere near the round count that some competition guns see, but it has proven its durability. A 10mm commander can be done and work out quite well. I have seen a few, and all that were well thought out have been a success.

~Jim Keeney

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"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

Jim...good to see you back online, I'd been wondering where you were! Great pics and great post as always. I was going nutz all weekend about these two posts because the pictures would not come up on my computer, but I could tell by the comments that everybody else was enjoying what they were seeing! I checked tonight, and WOW....loved what I saw. Take care old buddy!-John

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"There is a true glory and a true honor, the glory of duty done, the honor of integrity and principle."--Gen. Robert Edward Lee