[Jrfrank90]

Hello everyone,I am new to the forum so please excuse some of my pictures being the wrong way.I recently purchased a nice little colt and I have a few questions about it. I'm not sure how oraginal it is, the owner passed away and his daughter sold off all his guns to the local gun shop...so my information is limited. From my research on the gun I know he had the trigger pull shortened but what I am more interested in is the recoil spring. It seemes to be set up like a colt defender and the gun is very hard to disassemble because depressing the plug and removing the barrel bushing does nothing. The spring and the rod that the spring is around has to lift out as one piece. Any knowledge or advice on this gun would be greatly appreciated! I can add more pics if needed when I get off of work.

 

[El Bibliotecario]

The Officer's ACP I purchased in the 80s did not have a guide rod; perhaps someone more knowledgable can say if this was added to the later pistols, or if yours is an aftermarket affair.

An alternate method of disassembly is to retract the slide to where the slide stop lines up with the disassembly notch, remove the slide stop, remove the slide assembly from the frame, then remove the guide rod assembly from the slide. I am personally no fan of guide rods; your experience reinforces my prejudice.

I am sorry to hear the owner passed away, but gratified that he didn't 'past away,' as I have read twice in the last hour.

 

[Jrfrank90]

I'm thinking that it could be an aftermarket part because I cannot find another example of an officers acp like this. The manual on colts web page shows the officers acp having two recoil springs and what looks like a shorter guide rod.That is the method I used for disassembly, it is just a pain to get the guide rod to clear.

 

[Major Dad]

I'm thinking that it could be an aftermarket part because I cannot find another example of an officers acp like this. The manual on colts web page shows the officers acp having two recoil springs and what looks like a shorter guide rod.That is the method I used for disassembly, it is just a pain to get the guide rod to clear.

Hi, Jrfrank90, and welcome to the forum. I bought my first Officers ACP in 1991 and still own it to this day. According to Joe at Colt customer service it was built in 1990. It came with and still has the original two springs and guide rod. It's held up very well after thousands of rounds downrange. No complaints, and I disassemble it as El Bib describes above. My greatest attention to care is when removing the slide stop so as to not further aggravate that infamous "idiot scratch" on the receiver. Yeah, it can be a real pain to work with compared to the M1911s I worked with in the military. But, I've owned more than one Officers ACP and wish to this day I still had those that "got away." Overall, I like the weapon and sometimes carry it concealed, depending on the clothes I wear.

 

[kenhwind]

IIRC the Officers ACP had the short GI length trigger that Colt has used since after WWII. But you are correct the gun has been modified to a reverse recoil spring plug and full length guide rod.

 

[SamColtFan]

The pistol as stated above, is not factory original. It came with a short recoil guide, two springs and was held all together at the muzzle with a short recoil plug with small leg that fit into a slot in the bottom of the slide at the muzzle end.

 

[Jrfrank90]

Thanks for all the information everyone! Glad to know what I actually have, would this modification take away from the value of the gun? Or is it better than the factory recoil spring? Just curious. I paid 800 for it...hopefully I didn't over pay lol. Regardless I like the gun so far

 

[SamColtFan]

I think you got a nice Officers ACP for $800. Take her out and see how she performs. It looks good and I wouldn't hesitate purchasing it as is, assuming it looks as good in person as it does in your pictures.

 

[Major Dad]

..........I paid 800 for it...hopefully I didn't over pay lol. Regardless I like the gun so far

I'd say you got a really sweet deal on your Officer's ACP. I paid $430 for mine with a matte finish in 1991 and I've seen them sell for roughly twice that nowadays at auction. Just from I've seen above I'd have given $800 for your SS also. Great job, and enjoy shooting her!