Handloading the .45 ACP: Part 4

The U.S. Military used the 1911 through two world wars and then in 1947 the Army began looking at the possibility of adopting a smaller, lighter .45 ACP pistol. Colt engineers came up with an alloy-framed .45 weighing one-third less than the 1911 and having a barrel length of 4-1/4″ compared to the original 5″ length of the 1911. The Army never did adopt such a pistol, however, in late 1949 Colt began offering a commercial version of what is now known as the Commander. With its lighter weight, the Commander is much easier to carry all day — 26 oz. as compared to the all-steel 1911 at 39 oz. — and makes a major fatigue difference as the day wears on. However, the trade-off is its greater felt recoil so in 1970 an all-steel version was offered as the Combat Commander.

What It Is

We have confusion these days about just what is a Commander. Originally, “Commander” referred to the original alloy-frame 1911 while the all-steel version was the Combat Commander. Now we often hear Commander to refer to the all-steel version while the alloy-frame model is known as the Lightweight Commander. Herein I will use the original terms, meaning when I say “Commander” I am talking about the alloy-framed version and the steel model will be called the Combat Commander.

The question was earlier raised as to whether the Commander would stand up to a lot of firing of standard loads. Col. Jeff Cooper wrote he did see aluminum shavings, in fact he says a “good deal” of them, while shooting a Commander. Fifty years ago Skeeter Skelton did torture testing of both the Colt Gold Cup and the Commander trying to see if the alloy frame is good only for a relatively small amount of shooting. To answer this question 5,500 rounds of Super Vel .45s where shot through his Commander and at the end of the testing he found the plunger tube had loosened. The ejector, though still functioning, had broken and needed to be replaced, and there was a 1/8″ to 3/16″ vertical crack in the frame in front of the slide stop pin. None of these prevented the Commander from functioning and in all probability the alloy used today for Commander frames is a lot stronger.

Reloading

In reloading for the Commander, it is not necessary to cut back on loads normally used for the 1911. However, although I find the Combat Commander just about as easy to shoot as the 1911, I cut back on the load when shooting a large quantity of ammunition through the Commander as the recoil gets to me very quickly. My most-used loads with the Colt Commander are both assembled with cast bullets. The Lyman #452460 hollow-point version weighs out at 190 grains and loaded over 5.0 grains of W231 clocks out at 780 fps while grouping five shots in just over 1″ at 20 yards. Using the 219-grain Lyman #452424 over the same charge increases the muzzle velocity to 825 fps while grouping in 1-1/2″. This semi-wadcutter bullet has a large flat nose that increases shocking power. I am surprised at the fact it feeds flawlessly in this Colt Commander, which will not work with 185-grain jacketed hollow points.

Switching to the Ruger Commander and using the same charge of 5.0 grains of W231 with three different cast bullets also works out exceptionally well. The Lyman #452424 clocks out at 837 fps while grouping in 1-1/8″; Lyman #452460 HP, 791 fps, 1-1/4″; and the RCBS #45-225 RN groups into 1-1/2″ while clocking out at 807 fps. All of these loads are not that far removed from factory hardball.

My more powerful loads are saved for the Combat Commander pistols. Ruger’s version with the Hornady 185 JHP over 7.0 grains of Unique registers 938 fps on the LabRadar and puts five shots in just over 1″ while the same powder charge with the 190-grain Lyman #452460 HP puts five-shots in 1-1/2″ with a muzzle velocity of 1,034 fps. This Ruger also shoots exceptionally well with the easy-shooting load of #452460 with 5.0 grains of W231 for 746 fps and a 1″ group. A potent load for the Wilson Professional has proven to be the Hornady 185 JHP over 7.0 grains of Unique for just over 900 fps. With 230-grain FMJ bullets over 5.0 grains of Bullseye or 6.0 grains of Unique, the Wilson Professional clocks out at 755-765 fps while grouping into just over 1″. This is slightly less than factory hardball however I have no doubt it would get the job done.

I have no doubt today’s Commanders will handle any reasonable 1911 loads, however life is more pleasant if loads are tailored specifically for the gun and shooter.

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