By: Greg Chabot
Photos Sasha Steadman
While stationed on Guam many moons ago, I was a member of the Tweed’s Cave Rod and Gun Club. Located on NAVCAMS it is where I would go and shoot skeet and trap. It wasn’t much but it was enjoyable and fun. One perk of the club was we had an FFL and could order guns. At that time, I only had my Remington 870 which was home in New England and the logistics of shipping would have been a nightmare. I wanted a handgun and narrowed it down to a Colt Delta Elite or a Double Eagle. Unfortunately for me none were available. My shooting buddy suggested I get a 1911 in .45 ACP, which made sense as I was Seabee, and we still used 1911s as our standard issue weapon. Most of the fleet was still using them into the ‘90s until M9s came into inventory. It made sense as I would have access to free mags, parts and ammo. And if something broke, I could find a gunner’s mate to fix it.
I really wanted a Gold Cup, but being a non-rate, I didn’t make a lot of money. Looking at the catalog, a two-tone MKIV Colt caught my eye and for $575 it was in my budget. Being young, I liked that it was called a Combat Elite which gave it the “cool factor” along with the two-tone look which was the rage back then. I sent in my money, and it arrived in a month. With great excitement I opened the box and was taken aback by my purchase. The pictures didn’t do it justice as the deep bluing on the slide looked almost black. The white three dot sights were easy to pick up. I really liked the Series 80 trigger; I know it gets a bad rap but compared to issued 1911s the Series 80 was a step above.
The Combat Elite is a production gun very similar to the Government model with some enhanced features geared towards combat. It comes with a stainless-steel frame and a blue carbon steel slide. Three-dot white sights are standard as is a flared and lowered ejection port. The main-spring housing is a flat polymer type as is the trigger. The hammer is a commander style with a rat tail grip safety. The front strap is serrated but for some reason Colt covered it with their wrap around rubber grips. The grips have a pebble texture and provide a decent grip even with sweaty hands. The magazine well has a slight bevel from the factory. The features found on the Combat Elite were a step above other production guns on the market at that time.
I promptly bought a bunch of ammo and a cheap nylon holster and headed into the jungle to go to the tank farm. The tank farm was the site of an armored battle during the liberation of Guam during the Second World War. There were some wrecked Shermans there. It was used by locals and military alike to go off-roading and target shooting. I was impressed with the out-of-the-box accuracy and reliability compared to issued 1911s. The trigger broke clean, and it ran like a top with both military ball and lead round nose ammo. While out running it a Navy chief befriended me, and I let him try it out. He was impressed with it and asked if I would be interested in loaning it to him so he could qualify with it. I was hesitant at first and he offered to bring me along so I could qualify also, which I readily accepted.
Now you are probably wondering how this could happen. Well, back in those days the chiefs ran the Navy, and they wielded a lot of power. On range day the chief arranged for me to be temporarily assigned to the range, and I showed up with my Combat Elite. After a senior chief gunner’s mate looked it over and gave his blessing it was time to shoot. My chief buddy shot expert, and the other chiefs waited so they could use my pistol with all of them getting their expert medal. I missed expert by one point which was on me.
After that range session, word got around the chief’s mess and my gun was in demand for pistol quals. If my memory serves me correct, around twenty chiefs got their expert medal with it. It was nice to be held in high regard by the chiefs as it made my life easier. I rarely stood duty and quite a few times I was a guest at the chiefs’ club. When I was on a field exercise as Opfor I carried my Combat Elite as an M60 gunner. A Marine gunny ended up borrowing it which gained me another friend. Before I was transferred stateside a few phone calls were made on my behalf to my next command. The one drawback was my gun got a nice reassembly (Idiot) mark on the frame. It didn’t bother me as that was how we were trained to reassemble issued 1911s. When one is being timed on dis/reassembly a scratch is the least of your worries. I wasn’t about to piss off the chief’s mess over a scratch.
I also carried it out in town on Liberty as I enjoyed going to the cockfights which were legal at the time. The arena was in a shady part of town, and it was reassuring walking into a high crime area armed. Eventually it was time PCS and luckily my grandfather had an FFL. The chief that ran the post office didn’t bat an eye when I mailed my package to New Hampshire. It was a great relief to know it had arrived safely.
For many years it was the only handgun I owned, and it was shot on a weekly basis. I estimate it has around 15k down the barrel. It is still stock except for the grips that I swapped for some wooden ones. The trigger is as smooth as butter which is testament to the case of ammo trigger job. I can honestly say I have never experienced a malfunction with this gun. I know Colt’s QC wasn’t the best during that time period, but I have full confidence in this weapon and would have no issue buying another one from that era if the price is right.
After my discharge it was either on my hip or bedside whether in the woods or getting groceries. It never left my side during 9-11 and the days after. After enlisting in the Army Guard, I contemplated taking it to Iraq but knew I’d have a hell of a time trying to get it home. So sadly, it didn’t get to do a war time deployment. As I acquired more handguns, the Combat Elite became more of a safe queen than a shooter. In 2008 with the election of anti-2A Obama my local shop called and begged me for anything as he had been cleaned out. He wasn’t kidding! I foolishly sold it and some beaters I had to finance another Wilson 1911. I regretted that decision for years until recently. I stopped by the shop and there it was! I recognized the scratch and grips. Looking it over it still had the grease I used on it in ‘08. The owner stated he never shot it; we worked out a deal and it came home for the second time, and I promptly ran 300 flawless rounds through it! The muscle memory was still there as I hammered my steel targets. With the round count and age, the frame and internals look great, and I will be putting this fine weapon into regular rotation as it would be a shame not to shoot a weapon with this many memories. Do you still have your first handgun?
I want to thank readers who went out and voted. We have caught some breathing room, but we need to stay vigilant. Support a gun rights group that best represents your interest.