The year was 1952. The average price for a gallon of gasoline was $0.20. The NY Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 4 games to 3 in the World Series… and Colt produced a pistol destined for finding its way to John Harrison’s custom shop 56 years later. Ah, to be made better than new 56 years after birth. We mortals can only wish…
“Why was I not made of [steel] like thee?†On the brighter side of living 56 years, Darwin has significantly thinned the playing field for me… so you won’t find many fools my age.
The design concept for the birth-year custom Colt Commercial Government Model .45ACP was straight forward. “John… build a pistol for me that retains the beauty originally bestowed upon it by JMB to the extent possible without sacrificing performanceâ€. He said, “Do what?!!†John’s execution was nothing short of brilliant. It’s all about the subtle refinements you probably won’t see in the following photos.
Fit and finish meets or exceeds all quality standards we’ve come to expect from world-class gunsmiths these days so there’s no need to occupy space stating the obvious. Let’s instead focus on the little things that make this gun and its maker very special.
Although cleverly disguised, the SDM front sight is dovetailed into the slide. John painstakingly hand fit the oversized sight base tightly to the slot, carefully blending it with the slide contours. The end result is a virtually seamless installation as the following photos indicate!
John also excels in factory magazine-well enhancements, providing maximum relief to the opening while appearing unmodified from every angle except from directly underneath.
Understanding the importance of knowing his client, John’s fully aware that I’m a “both-thumbs-forward†two-handed grip guy (we’re talking about guns of course), therefore the thumb safety presented a challenge. No one manufactures a safety offering a suitable thumb-shelf without detracting from the gun’s OEM theme according to John. So what was his solution? Fabricate a thumb safety that meets the spec by radically reworking a quality aftermarket part. Check out the rear sight too. What retro-styled, hotrod Colt would be complete without a Yost rear sight?
The OEM spur hammer received equal attention. John’s grip enhancements lower the gun deeply into the strong-hand (more on that later) which would in theory increase the frequency and severity of HBS (that’s Hammer Bite Syndrome… I know you’re laughing at that one). There’s no miracle drug for treating HBS like there is for ED (don’t ask how I know). “So, John, why don’t we just bob the hammer like most smithies would and let it ride?†He’d rather die than compromise, so John reworked the factory part to satisfy his self-imposed standard, eliminate HBS and preserve 85% of its original look. Refer to photo directly below.
There’s not a single part of this gun that was not graced by John’s skillful hands. Even its springs were tweaked to ensure flawless performance and reliability… and its pins and screws mirror-polished. Also check out those handcrafted Walnut grip panels… wow! John fabricated those babies from a block of raw material. The photos do no justice to the craftsmanship, beauty and reflective properties of the grain in those stocks.
John wouldn’t dare overlook the business end of this gorgeous birth-year beast. For would-be assailants, the muzzle could be the last thing they’ll ever see. So let’s make it extra special… just for them.
Now for the good stuff that’s really difficult to detect, let’s talk ergonomics. Immediately upon mounting a classic two-handed hold, the gun melds with the strong-hand to become an extension of the arm. The union of man and machine transpires so quickly and naturally with this pistol the sensation could almost be described as a metaphysical experience; the arm ending in a .45 caliber appendage rather than a hand (okay… so maybe pitching Edward Scissorhands was a bit over the top).
All rhetorical bull stuff aside, the gun sets deeply into the strong-hand bringing the alignment of forearm and barrel bore axes significantly closer together than would its unmodified counterpart. John has tremendous instinct for knowing exactly how much material to remove from the gun’s critical contact points with the hand which include but are not limited to the front strap; the underside of the trigger guard; the underside of the grip safety where it contacts the web of the hand; and the rear of frame underneath its tangs matching the grip safety cut. When properly executed these subtle enrichments reap extraordinary rewards in comfort, handling and general feel of the weapon without noticeably altering its appearance as [not] shown in the following photos.
So how does one acquire such instinct and skill with shop machines and tools enabling him to reshape a block of steel with such precision that it so naturally bonds with its Homo Sapien host? In my highly unqualified opinion, unlike basic fit and finish skills, this is one element of the art that does not easily transfer between men. This specific element, ergonomics, so undetectable to the human eye, yet so critical to the touch and feel of the finished product, is not an acquired skill… it’s a gift from God possessed by precious few. John is truly blessed with natural talent as I am blessed to have found him several years ago, both as friend and gunsmith.
Range Report Added November 10, 2008:
You’d have to want doing something pretty badly if the only time you could carve from your crazy work schedule involved getting up at 5:00 on a Sunday morning, driving 85.4 miles round trip to stand outdoors in the freezing cold for an hour and a half. I wheeled onto club property at River Bend in Dawson County just as dawn began breaking above the tree line of the eastern sky. Glancing at the onboard thermometer prior to shutting down the engine, I noted 28F in the digital display. “Holy smokes… twenty-freaking-eight degrees. This gun better be damn good,†I muttered to myself climbing down out of the big Chevy 4x4. I would not be disappointed.
After signing in, setting up, measuring off the distance between shooting station and target stand and dressing out in club-mandated PPE, darkness had finally succumbed to the light of day. I stood anxiously ready to shoot my new custom Colt Commercial Government Model .45ACP for the very first time. With eight cartridges in the magazine I shattered the peaceful Sunday morning calm firing all eight rounds in rapid succession at an unsuspecting Birchwood Casey 5-1/2†Shoot-N-C. Fired offhand from 21 yards and change, the first seven shots cut through one jagged hole in the target. The eighth shot went slightly high and right of the group breaking up an otherwise picture-perfect cluster (see photo below). “Wow!†I thought to myself, “Maybe I should
not practice more often!†Also noteworthy the target pictured below does not represent the tightest group for the day… just the first group ever fired by my hands with this newly custom-built Colt. That’s enough said regarding the accuracy potential of this gun.
I fired exactly 150 rounds through the new Colt. Out of 150 shots fired there were two FTF’s which is about par for my home-brewed ammo regardless of gun used. Speaking of ammo I would have preferred to function-test the gun with factory ammunition but did not have the opportunity to shop before hand. My home grown stuff is Laser-Cast 200gr LSWC over 6.7gr of Hodgdon Universal; a fairly healthy load yielding 987 fps from a 5†barrel. Universal, however, is not the cleanest burning powder on the market offering plenty of opportunity to hone one’s gun-cleaning skills after an outing at the pistol range.
Outside of the two previously mentioned FTF’s (probably caused by over-crimp), functioning was flawless. One characteristic of a finely tuned weapon is its ejection pattern. The custom Colt calmly and consistently placed the empty brass within a 4 foot diameter circle approximately 5 or 6 feet to the right of the gun. It sure made collecting empties a snap. But fear not for me becoming spoiled and lazy. Chasing after brass erratically springing from my stone stock Colt Combat Commander later the same morning provided plenty of aerobic exercise.
The trigger on the custom gun is awesome as one comes to expect from a world-class smith such as John Harrison. Breaking cleanly at an estimated 3-1/2 pounds, it offers just a hair of take-up, zero creep and virtually no over-travel helping me mow down the 6†falling metal plates in rapid two-shot successions. Bang-bang…bang-bang…bang-bang… that was at least until I shot low at one plate hitting the heavy steel frame on the plate rack. The bullet shattered sending a fragment straight back into my face cutting/bruising me just above the right eyebrow. "Ouch! What the…?!!" There’s nothing quite like getting “fragged†before you’ve had your first cup of coffee for the day. At least I can say the gun and I are now blood brothers… and thank God my wife is out of town so I won’t have to explain this one. “This one†meaning 2 years ago or so a sizeable fragment from a fellow shooter’s .223 Rem found my left leg just below the knee resulting in minor outpatient surgery. Prior to that, I was injured at an indoor range from a ricochet off the backstop caused by careless shot placement from a neighboring stall. She strongly expresses her displeasure for my chosen sport and passion so I would not have looked forward to explaining away yet another incident involving firearms to Mrs. Ross. I should probably also note that those who know me generally maintain their distance from me during a thunder storm.
Let’s talk sights. Every so many hundred or thousand years someone makes a discovery or invents a device, process or system that is so profound it marks a new era for mankind. In the beginning it was fire. Later the wheel revolutionized how man would work and travel. Eventually Edison’s light bulb brightened our futures forever. And today... it’s Heirloom Precision’s Retro Rear Sight (aka the “Tedâ€). I just can’t say enough about this sight; the clarity of picture and quick target acquisition, its aesthetics and simplicity… it’s just plain genius. If you pair the “Ted†with John Harrison’s custom fabricated SDM front sight with gold (or white) bead the sight picture and speed is practically a new dawning for mankind (well, okay... maybe for some of us anyway). In comparison with many other sighting systems its clarity of target picture is synonymous with upgrading from VHS tape to DVD disk. In my humble opinion every 1911-type pistol enthusiast should have a Ted on his rear and a John at his front (you know… I didn’t mean that how it probably sounded
).
The best way to describe the gun’s handling qualities under fire is extreme comfort and confidence. Its modestly reshaped front and rear straps, trigger guard and grip safety lowers the gun substantially into the hands helping reduce felt recoil and muzzle lift. The sharply cut front/rear serrations anchor the gun securely to the hand without the prickly sensation frequently associated with checkering. Not once did I have to re-grip the gun or adjust my grip while firing. That says tons for how well the ergonomics of this pistol are designed and executed which all equate to controllability and speed. Don’t allow its handsome good looks, graceful lines and refined elegance to lure you away from the cold, hard technical facts… this is one serious-ass performance pistol.
Although there was no premeditation on my part for taking along an unmodified pistol of same make and similar design for establishing a baseline of comparison with the new custom gun, I wish I’d thought of doing that earlier in life. The direct A-B comparison helped me fully appreciate the tremendous amount of effort John poured into improving this gun. Picking up my box-stock 70's-vintage Combat Commander immediately following the custom Government and shooting 50 rounds with it was comparable to stepping out of a finely made European sports car and climbing into a truck. The distinction is particularly meaningful when maintaining clear perspective that there's not a damn thing wrong with a well-maintained original Combat Commander. And much like finely made performance cars nothing that rolls out of John’s shop is just another pretty face. They’re built for “go†as well as for “showâ€.
Thank you for taking the time to read the range report.
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). The only part I regret about this gun is it's a shocking reminder (too beautiful to ignore) for how old I've become