Have you been wondering what the difference is between the Officer, Commander and Government model 1911? Well wonder no more. This week Iāll dive into the big differences across the board, a small snipit of history, and give you some of the big manufacturers.
Officer
The officer model 1911 is generally 3.5ā³ (I say generally because any manufacturer can call their 3.5ā³ something else as well asĀ call another length āofficerā). This is considered a compact 1911. Most items on an officerās model 1911 cannot be swapped with commander or government item. The frame size is different than the commander and government. Not only is the length shorter 3.5ā³, but the magazine capacity is shorter. You can use longer mags in a compact officerās 1911 but it doesnāt go the other way around. Compact mags cannot be used in a full size 1911.
Commander
The commander model 1911 is generally 4.25ā³. The length, 4.25ā³ refers to the barrel length. Some guns may be marketed as commander length with a 4ā³ bushingless barrel. They really arenāt considered a true commander gun, more so the āmid-sizeā. For the purpose of grips and magazines, this is still considered a full size gun.
Government
The government model 1911 is generally 5ā³ and considered full size. Other than the uppers (barrel, recoil springs, slide, guide rodā¦), parts for a government are usually interchangeable with a commander model 1911. The frames of government and commander versions are the same.
Other Variants
We already pointed out that a 4ā³ bushingless barrel gun is considered a mid-size more than a true Commander. Well, there are other variants of the 1911 and Iāll only briefly mention them here.
- Longslide ā usually a 6ā³ barrel on a government frame
- CCO (Combat Carry Officer) ā commander (4.25ā³) or mid-size (4ā³) barrel on officerās frame
- Commanding Officer ā officerās (3.5ā³) barrel on a government frame.
Also, different manufactures like to spiffy up their guns by giving them fancy names. Kimber is one of these manufacturers. While I love Kimber guns and how lightweight they can be for carry, the did go and name their guns all different just to be spiffy (16 different families of guns and many variations of eachĀ on their website as of this writing). For the full story visit Kimberās website. For now, the Kimber guns are generally explained like this:
- Government ā Custom
- Commander ā Pro
- Officers ā Ultra
- Kimber also has the compact which has a shorter grip then their Ultra.
History
The history of the 1911 begins with John Browningās amazing design for the worldās most well known handgun. The US ArmyĀ formally adopted the .45 model March 29, 1911 and thatās when it became known simply as the 1911. It was the standard issue for the US armed forces from 1911 to 1985. While it is no longer the standard issue, that doesnāt mean that military membersĀ are not still loyal to their old time favorite.
While the standard 1911 comes in .45 ACP, they are also offered in other calibers like .38 super, 9 mm, and 10 mm.
For a more in depth history of the 1911, check out this tribute to John Browning on Browningās website or the simple Wikipedia article.
Manufacturers
There are to many manufacturers to list them all and the firearmās industry is always changing but here are a few to give you a taste. Iāve included links to the manufactureres where possible.
- Rock Island Armory / Armscor (a rock solid gun that I test all my parts on)
- Kimber (a great lightweight alternative)
- Colt
- SpringfieldĀ (their Range Officer is great with our upgraded ambi-safety)
- Wilson Combat
- Smith & Wesson
- Taurus
- Ruger
- Nighthawk (known for their sights)
- Para-Ordnance
- Remington
- Sig Sauer
- Ed Brown
- and many, many more. If your favorite 1911 manufacturer isnāt on the list, let me know and Iāll put it here to help promote your favorite 1911 manufacturer.
If there is something youāve been dying to know about the 1911, drop us a line and weāll share our answer with everyone.
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