In March of 1977, having a little extra cash in my pocket, I indulged myself and bought something I had always wanted: a pistol.
After a little research, I decided to buy a weapon I was familiar with, and similar to one that I had been trained on in the military. I chose Colt’s Combat Commander, chambered in .45 caliber. Colt had a good reputation for quality and the armed forces have been using the Government Model since 1911, when it was finally phased out for a 9mm Beretta in the 1990′s to be compatible with NATO ammunition specs.
The Combat Commander is essentially the same as the Government Model, except it has a barrel about an inch shorter, making it a bit more compact. The ballistic performance is about the same in both firearms, and most of the parts are interchangeable. The Commander also sports a fancy blued finish, unlike the dull Parkerized coating of the GI version. I paid $238 brand new for it at Oshman’s Sporting Goods in Tampa.
I take good care of the pistol, and I don’t fire it too frequently. I would guess in the forty-odd years I’ve owned it I have probably put only one or two thousand rounds through it. I field strip, clean and lube it immediately after each visit to the range. Consequently, the piece is in really good condition, in spite of its age.
Today I decided to take it to a gunsmith and have it taken down to its component parts, thoroughly inspected, cleaned and oiled. Field stripping is all the Navy taught me, it is suggested any other maintenance be left to the Gunner’s Mates. I did it once myself, but it took me all day and a lot of aggravation to get it back together, even with detailed instructions. I decided I would leave this job to the professionals. The local gunsmith said he’d take care of it for $60.
The gun shop (more like a gun supermarket) was quite a place, if you haven’t been to one lately I highly recommend it. It is, to say the least, an educational experience; a real cultural eye-opener. Everybody working there was packing heat, and I don’t blame them, those places get held up and broken into frequently. The walls were covered with very menacing looking military-style long guns, and every conceivable accessory was for sale.
But when the staff saw my piece, they flipped out. Apparently, the pistol has now become a collector’s item (“The new ones ain’t worth a shit, and they’re way overpriced.”) and was bringing in high prices, more than brand new ones. One guy logged on to the internet and saw one similar to mine on sale for over a thousand bucks, and he felt the price would eventually be bid up much higher. I guess a lot of this was just forty years of inflation, but the guys were really enthusiastic, they were calling in all their workmates to get a look at this treasure. They suggested I never fire it again, put it in a bank safe deposit box, and save it like a family heirloom.
