A.D. Swenson Custom Colt Model Series ’70 Combat Commander, Hard Chrome 4 ¼” — BEAUTIFUL SA Semi-Automatic Pistol, MFD 1971
Sold For: $5,580.00
LSB#: 160617CG08
Make: The pistol was originally made by Colt and was customized by A.D. Swenson.
Model: Series 70 Combat Commander
Serial Number: 70SC24851
Year of Manufacture: The pistol was manufactured in 1971, the first year of production of the Combat Commander. We don’t know when it was customized by Swenson.
Caliber: .45 ACP
Action Type: Single Action Semi-Automatic with Removable Magazine
Markings: The left side of the slide is marked “COMBAT / COMMANDER”, “COLT”, “AUTOMATIC / CAL. 45” and with the Rampant Colt logo. The right side of the slide is marked “COLT’S COMBAT COMMANDER”. The right side of the frame is marked “COLT’S PT. F.A. MFG. CO. HARTFORD, CONN. U.S.A.”, “70SC2485” and “A.D. SWENSON / GARDENA, CALIF.”. The barrel is marked “COLT .45 AUTO”. The left front of the trigger guard is marked “3” and the rear with “VP” in a triangle. The right front of the trigger guard is marked with “Z”. The left side of the safety is marked “A. D. SWENSON / GARDENA, CALIF.“. The top of the rear sight base is marked “S”.
Barrel Length: 4 ¼”
Sights / Optics: This pistol is mounted with a blued square notched flat topped white outline rear sight screwed into the top of the slide. The sight has fine adjustments for windage and elevation and its base is serrated to reduce glare. The front sight is a serrated ramp. There is a fluorescent red plastic insert inlet into the ramp.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are textured walnut with nickel Colt medallions. The texturing gives the appearance of bark. Please see our pictures. There are no handling marks in the grips that we could see. The grips rate in about Excellent overall condition.
Type of Finish: The pistol has a hard chrome finish. The rear sight is blued and the safety is stainless steel. The mainspring housing is serrated, and the front strap and the front of the trigger guard are finely checkered.
Finish Originality: The front strap and trigger guard checkering and the hard chrome finish were done by A. D. Swenson.
Bore Condition: The bore is bright and the rifling is sharp. There is no erosion.
Overall Condition: This pistol retains about 99+% of its current metal finish. There are no marks in the metal finish that we could find. The serrated/knurled/checkered surfaces are all sharp. . The hammer, safety, slide release, and magazine release serrations are sharp. The grip screws are sharp but the magazine release screw shows marks of a screwdriver. The markings are clear. Overall, this gun rates in about Excellent condition.
Mechanics: This pistol has a tight slide and a crisp trigger. The action functions correctly. The front face of the trigger guard was squared-off before being checkered to provide a firm grip for the index finger of the off hand. The pistol has an extended safety. We did not fire this pistol.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This pistol comes with one hard chromed 7 round magazine that has a light brown leather bumper pad marked “F. / S.”. The magazine shows moderate wear and is in about Very Good to Fine condition.
Our Assessment: This is a Colt Combat Commander that has been customized by famed gunsmith A. D. Swenson. From a March 2001 article in the American Rifleman: “Custom tuning of the M1911 is not new, but, prior to Swenson, gunsmiths such as Bob Chow, Jim Clark and Al Dinan had focused solely on accuracy work for NRA Bullseye pistol competition. Along with lightening triggers and installing adjustable sights, the Government Model had never been customized specifically for combative purposes—a genre that later came to be known as “custom combat” gunsmithing—until a handful of pistolsmiths in Southern California began modifying the big slab-sided pistol for down-and-dirty use. The late Armand Swenson remains the foremost of these pioneering pistolsmiths and the man who defined the custom combat .45 for evermore.” The front face of the trigger guard was squared-off and it and the front strap were finely checkered. The top of the slide was inlet for the base of a rear target sight and a red ramp front sight was installed along with an extended safety. The pistol was then given a hard chrome finish. The grip panels were modified to provide a textured surface with the look of bark. This is a VERY NICE looking pistol! We couldn’t find any handling marks in either the metal surfaces or the grips. This pistol was made for the serious shooter who wanted a top performing pistol. This pistol is perfect for a carry gun. Its 4 ¼” barrel isn’t too long for carrying and is long enough to provide a decent sight radius. The Combat Commander has a full-size grip frame and this one has sharp checkering on the front strap and trigger guard to ensure a firm grip. The hard chrome finish will resist wear and tear better than just about any other, and the sights are about the best iron sights you could ask for. The .45 ACP chambering on this pistol will provide plenty of knockdown punch. This is an extremely nice looking gun that can also be used for home defense, or perhaps you will want to keep it in your safe and just take it out once in a while to admire.
