Colt Combat Commander 38 Super 4.25" 9rd Pistol

Colt introduced the 38 Super in 1929 to punch through the car doors and vests of the day, and the cartridge never really went away. It runs at higher pressure than a 45 and pushes a lighter bullet a good deal faster, which gives flat trajectory and a sharp, quick recoil impulse that a heavy steel gun settles down nicely. The Combat Commander is the 4.25" steel framed 1911, and this version pairs the chambering with a stainless National Match barrel and a slide cut for an optic.

Competition shooters kept the 38 Super alive for decades because it makes power factor with less recoil than a 45 does, and it stacks nine rounds in a single column magazine where a 45 gets seven or eight. The optics cut carries a removable cover plate and a G style dovetail rear sight, so a red dot mounts directly to the slide. The frame has an upswept beavertail grip safety and black cherry G10 grips, with an ambidextrous thumb safety for either hand. Colt's dual spring recoil system handles the higher slide velocity this cartridge generates and extends spring life along the way. In a rack full of 9mm carry guns it is a genuinely different thing to own and shoot.