1911 Steel Frame CCO - Reliable GRM edition?

Looking for recommendations for a reliable and reasonably priced all steel 1911 CCO sized pistol in 45 acp. Desired size is CCO = Officers length grip and Commander length barrel/slide. No debate on format (1911), material (all steel), or size (CCO) because that is what I want period.

I've had a couple of CCO's with aluminum frames and the frames have not held up to "normal" use. The manufacturers were good in honoring warranty so I'm not complaining about that, but the durability was not what I want. I'm quite willing to live with the extra weight of a steel frame, a few oz is worth long term durability to me.

Is there a budget on this? That is, what is "reasonably priced?"

The Rock Island stuff has been getting good reviews. I don't have one, so no personal experience, but they have been getting good reviews.

Have you considered building up what you want yourself? Find a steel frame, get a commander length upper, etc.? Even dealing with SARCO (which should be called "SARCO-PITA") could get you what you want pretty reasonably. And I've seen some massive deals on name brand stuff like Remington and Rugger on Grab-a-Gun.

Kimber was the absolute gold standard ten years ago. Quality costs.

Now......I don't know if anything has changed.

I won't try to sway you from what you're after, but the only companies I can find selling the gun you're describing are Nighthawk, Fusion, Les Baer and Guncrafter. All are excellent, but rather expensive.

It may be easier for you to build what you're after. That said, I'm not sure a regular officer frame will work. When I tried mixing and matching parts from my Kimber Commander and Officer, there was a gap between the Officer frame and the Commander dust cover.

I googled "CCO" but it comes up with Costco. What does that mean?

I have a Nighthawk. For a 1911 they make nice guns.

On 1911's, I bought a Chinese one for Christmas a couple years ago. Norinco. Paid 4 bills at a pawn shop and they wouldn't come down a penny, despite them having only 1 bill in it. Complete 1911A1 clone, with the only difference from total clone being 3 white dots on the sights. Uncle Bill banned their import, which was probably a good thing as otherwise the Chinese would have decimated our firearms industry also by now. Anyway, it was said that at the time, custom gunsmiths were looking for the Norinco frames to build high end guns on because the steel was a better quality than anything else around. It is a very well made gun.

I love my Kimbers and I have shot a Fusion which a family member owns. The Fusion is easily one of the nicest pistols I've ever shot but it's like 3x the price of my Kimber.

Kimber you have to look at what you're getting. A large number of them are Aluminum. Their older ones like the Custom Compact are steel. The downside is that they often have goofy nonstandard lengths.

Springfield still makes steel frames no? They're standard sizes so you can DIY upgrades

Springfield. Love my full size but they also make one in your size.

I would imagine piecing one together would be the answer.

I absolutely love my all stainless steel Kimber. Soooooo nice to shoot! Mine is full sized, but they make smaller 1911 versions.

In reply to Dr. Hess:

I'd love to be under $1k, but willing to go up to $1.5k if need be. So that leaves out the big money producers like Nighthawk, Les Baer, Ed Brown, and Wilson.

In reply to KyAllroad & einy:

I don't think Kimber makes one with a steel frame any more (I could be wrong, haven't searched their catalog in a year or two). One of the aluminum frames I had a problem with was a Kimber. They replaced the frame for free with no hassle at all and I promptly sold it off.

In reply to Ojala:

CCO is an abbreviation for Concealed Carry Officers which IIRC was an official Colt model name for a 1911 with an officers sized frame (shorter grip & 7 round capacity instead of 8) and commander length barrel/slide.

In reply to Bobzilla:

I'll have to look at Springfield's catalog and see if they have what I'm looking for. I have a nice GI model Springer that I really like. Probably ought to get some better sights on it one day. As I'm getting older, the GI sights are harder to use...

Anyone know if Rock Island makes such a thing? Last time I looked at their catalog all the officer frames had 3" or 3.5" barrels. I've not experienced the kind of reliability I want with the couple of 1911's I've fired that had barrels shorter than 4".

KyAllroad wrote: Kimber was the absolute gold standard ten years ago. Quality costs. Now......I don't know if anything has changed.

Kimber hasn't been the absolute gold standard since, well, ever. Now, their branding and marketing might be...

MIM parts, history of jamm-o-matics...

Dan Wesson makes a great gun, but their CCO is aluminium.

Osterkraut wrote:

KyAllroad wrote: Kimber was the absolute gold standard ten years ago. Quality costs. Now......I don't know if anything has changed.

Kimber hasn't been the absolute gold standard since, well, ever. Now, their branding and marketing might be... MIM parts, history of jamm-o-matics... Dan Wesson makes a great gun, but their CCO is aluminium.

My Kimber was old enough to precede MIM parts and I never had issues with it jamming or not running reliably. It was a nice gun, but the frame developed a small crack at about 8000 rounds.

Dan Wesson Point Man Carry PM-C http://danwessonfirearms.com/product/pointman-carry-pm-c/

Never mind just seen it is 9mm only.

Please explain what MIM parts with respect to Kimber means ?

In reply to einy:

Metal Injection Molding

It's like the "powered metal" controversy in car parts. It comes down to if the process has been done properly.

I've never had an issue with Kimbers MIM parts.

Would this one work with a 4" barrel/upper?

SARCO-PITA

Page 8 at the bottom: GUN639 - Compact size, standard Tactical frame, .45 cal., parkerized. For 6 rd. magazine & 3.5" slide $139.00

Dr. Hess wrote: Would this one work with a 4" barrel/upper? SARCO-PITA Page 8 at the bottom: GUN639 - Compact size, standard Tactical frame, .45 cal., parkerized. For 6 rd. magazine & 3.5" slide $139.00

I need to double check, but IIRC frames set up for 3.5" slides leave a gap between the end of the frame and the bottom of the slide where the guide rod/spring will be exposed when used with longer slides.

Bobzilla wrote: Springfield. Love my full size but they also make one in your size.

Just checked their website and the only one in the size I'm looking for is the Range Officer Compact and it has an aluminum frame. That is the only Compact sized .45 they show and from what I can tell the Compact is the Officer sized frame. The Champions are full sized frames with 4" (or 4.25" but I think it's 4") barrel/slides.

In reply to secretariata:

The Kimber Eclipse Pro II matches those specs. I've shot both that and the target version. They're Cadillacs.

4 inch barrel, full grip, 7+1 capacity, stainless frame.

The Pro TLE II matches as well but it's steel rather than stainless. It'll run you about a grand MSRP.

Sig also has the 1911 Fastback Nightmare Carry it's more officer sized at 4.2 inches. Stainless frame etc. MSRP is about 1200.

I came to suggest Sig too.

They've got a plethora of models. The Fastback that The0retical mentioned, and the Nickle Compact look the part.

In reply to The0retical:

Both those Kimbers appear to be full size frames not officer size. The Pro TLE II shows 7 round capacity, but the height is the same for both models on their specs.

The Sig Carry models also look to be full sized frames. Looks like the Compact models have officer size frames. Will look into that.

In reply to bigdaddylee82:

The Nickle Compact is the only one with a steel frame. Not sure what I think of the finish. It's going on the very short list to consider...

Please keep the ideas coming and don't be offended if I dismissed your suggestions. I didn't just blow them off, I did go look at each suggested model/manufacturer to see if it fit the desired criteria.

My main requirement is a steel officer sized frame and a reliable weapon. The 1/2" shorter grip helps reduce "printing" for concealed carry and doesn't impact my shooting because I don't have ginormous hands (that size is reserved for other anatomical features). The 4" to 4.25" barrel length seems to be easier for manufacturers to come up with a formula that is reliable compared to shorter barrels and is better balanced than a full-sized 5" barrel would be on the shorter grip.