Let me start by saying that I have always had a "Thing" for Colt Combat Government Models. I don't know if it is because they were a somewhat limited run of model from Colt as their first attempt as a semi-custom production gun, or if it is because it was the first .45 ACP that I carried on duty or what? Colt made a brief run of this model in a series 70 confiuration, followed by a short run in series 80. To date I own one series 70 model and 3 series 80's.
The particular gun to be discussed and pictured is my series 70 pistol which I purchased second hand in 1986 and was carried as my duty pistol for quite some time. It was a stock gun which made its way to Accurate Plating and Weaponary where it received a hardchrome finish on the frame, a reblue of the slide, a commander hammer, a Pachmayr flat mainspring housing and a drop in grip safety. I eventually sold it to a Deputy Sheriff buddy of mine with the one condition of first right of refusal should he decide to sell it. Years later, the pistol found it's way back to me. I swapped out the duckbill grip safety for a wilson drop in and the pistol spent the next couple of years sitting in my safe. I got a bug to start doing something with the pistol. I pulled the slide off and shipped it to Colt to have the rollmarks redone and a facotry blue finish. Still not satisfied after it's return, I made the decision to make it the base gun for a full custom rebuild. I had been lurking this forum for a while and had pretty much decided that it was going to Heirloom Precision for some of Jason's magic work. We had a couple of phone conversations and finally a face to face meeting at SHOT 2009. One week later, the pistol was shipped to Arizona.
Jason was instructed to think "black gun" and think "working family heirloom." My plans for this gun were to be something that would be carried and shot on a regualr basis, that has history to it since it was a duty pistol for me, and coould still be considered a work of art to be passed to my son and generations beyond. There were only a couple of "must do" requirements on my part, such as a traditional commander ring hammer instead of the elongated style, no serrations on the back of the slide, and a flat mainspring housing with vertical serrations and a lanyard loop. Beyone that, Jason was given carte blanche to build my Black Fighting Family Heirloom.
First, a quick look of what Jason had to work with:
Jason performed the following flawless work:
Complete detail frame and slide, straighten lines
Weld Frame and re-fit frame and slide
Hand file the magazine well
High cut under trigger guard
Fit flat MSH, blend to frame and fit lanyard loop
Fit Nowlin mag catch, relieve, shorten, angle back and re-serrate, bevel edge and chamfer the mag catch hole
EGW slide stop, serrated on bottom at 40LPI, shorten slide stop pin and chamfer slide stop pin hole
S&A beavertail grip safety
EGW single side extended thumb safety, trimmed and de-horned
Best quality trigger job with Vicker's Tactical tool steel hammer, sear and disconnect, set at 4lbs
Long, solid aluminum trigger
Kart barrel crowned at 20 degrees, EGW barrel bushing, beveled edges
Blend rear of slide and frame
Machine ball cuts on slide, flatten and serrate top of slide at 50LPI, triple arrow pattern
Install Professional Grade rear sight, blend to top of slide, wrapped edges, front sight blended to slide with tritium insert
EGWfiring pin stop
Wilson Bulletproof ejector and extractor
Complete dependability package
Lowered and flared ejection port
Bordered slide
Bar stock plunger tube
Complete Wolff spring set
Complete hand filed de-horning
Satin matte blast complete pistol and finish in IonBond DLC
Shorten stock screws and stock screw bushings
Custom engraving on slide by JR French (At my request, "Custom Built For Ron King" reministent of the Pachmayr Combat Special Pistols of an era gone by).
The finished product:
This pistol saw use at Larry Vicker's Level 1 Tactical Carbine/Pistol Class April 9, 10 & 11 at US Training Center (Blackwater), performed without a hiccup and drew inquiry from LAV about the builder.
Jason, feel free to add comments or additional photos
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