I stole away Sunday morning in the early hours to arrive at River Bend Gun Club in Dawson County, Georgia around daybreak. Perfect … my wife was sleeping soundly when I left home, the air was crisp and cool upon arrival and not a soul was stirring at the steel plate range. Shooting the freshly built Colt .38 Super Government for the first time for me was like a teenager discovering sex. Wow … what I’ve been missing all these years! I was there to rate the platform, not the cartridge and quite sure the finely crafted Colt Commercial had everything to do with sweetening the experience. But, I found that .38 Super is much like 9mm on steroids. I was pleased to discover that it combines the sweetness of 9mm with the knock-out punch near .45 ACP magnitudes. I also loved the way the gun pressed firmly rearward into the strong hand upon discharging with minimal muzzle lift and was awestruck by its quick recovery compared to .45 ACP. What a hoot, this .38 Super round.
The gun is a Colt Commercial Government, 1964 vintage, custom built by John Harrison. It’s a masterful piece of work, damn near perfection. Our objective was to build a retro-styled gun with minimal sacrifice in performance for the sake of fashion. However, I never anticipated that a retro-styled gun could deliver the level of performance equal to or greater than my finest tactical pistols (also built by J.B. Harrison). What a thrilling surprise.
The trigger pull is perfectly matched to the .38 Super cartridge … breaking predictably and consistently with no surprises from either going “bang†too soon from hypersensitivity … or causing delayed-bang induced flinch from heaviness or creep. The Yost-Bonitz retro rear sight combined with the SDM dovetail front with inset gold bead are so visible that target acquisition is quick and positive, more so than most open tactical sighting systems I’ve used recently. Ergonomically the gun points like an extension of my arm and snuggles deeply into the strong hand. This is credited to the masterful machine work that John performed on the front strap, particularly under the trigger guard and at the rear of the frame underneath the grip safety tang. An equally amazing piece of engineering and craftsmanship is the custom contoured thumb safety. It provides a solid platform for a thumbs-forward, two-handed grip yet retains much of its OEM appeal. Furthermore, I thought no alternative grip-surface enhancement could cure my addiction for John’s finely cut 25 LPI checkering. However, I found the serrations on the front and back straps of this pistol solidly anchor it to my strong hand during rapid-fire drills, comfortably and without fanfare, while preserving more of the gun’s original styling than would checkering or scallops. It’s unfortunate that photos cannot possibly capture all of the subtle, but brilliant, amenities that contribute to this pistol‘s extraordinary handling, feel and shoot-ability.
Functioning was flawless; 100 rounds fed and 100 rounds went “Bang†without incident. Further evidence of the gun’s extraordinary craftsmanship was the fact it deposited 100 empty casings neatly into one 5-foot diameter circle approximately 15 feet away and 120 deg off the bore axis. It sure made collecting spent brass a cinch! Lock-up was consistent and solid. There’s no hint of free-play between any of its hard-fit components. The gun feels more like a bank vault than it does a Colt 1911-A1 pistol. Locking back the slide on an empty magazine is synonymous with opening the doors of an expensive hand-made European sports car.
As the photos indicate this is one handsome pistol; elegant and tastefully understated in execution. John’s metal polishing skill and eye for retro-styling are clearly evident in the photos. He also carefully hand-selected the aged elephant ivory grip panels for this project. Unfortunately the beautiful grain pattern in the ivory is not clearly visible in the photographs.
What else can I say about John Harrison? He is a pleasure to work with (John’s currently building my 5th full-house custom pistol) and his work just keeps getting better each time he produces another. John has evolved into a true world-class master craftsman with an eye for the art as well. Oh ... and his lovely wife, Melanie, digs him too.
I hope you enjoy the pictures...
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