Colt Double Eagle yes or no?

[FM12]

Thinking about looking for a Colt Double Eagle in 45. Any thoughts, pro or con?

Do standard colt magazines fit this variant?

[ms6852]

Not a fan of Colt when it comes to semi autos, something about them that does not capture my interest, wheel guns on the other hand is a different story. I always say that if you are hungering for a certain firearm you gotta feed the beast, so get it.

[Jim Watson]

Two friends had Double Eagles.
One Commander length .45 had the second best auto DA I had shot at the time.
The other was a 10mm. When the owner got tired of buying and loading 10mm, he cared enough to put a .45 barrel and slide on it.

[JERRYS.]

I had a buddy with Strongsville (Ohio) P.D. back in the 90s that was issued the double eagle. few on the department liked it. magazine interchange I don't recall.

[PatientWolf]

I like the Double Eagle Commander in Stainless. I wouldn’t be afraid to buy one.

Pros:
Accurate (at least for me)

Commander has good ergonomics (again, for me)

They take standard 1911 mags.

Cons:
More than one person has warned me to never disassemble the grips. There are evidently some springs that are very hard to put back in place.

One gunsmith told me there was an issue with the grips swelling causing some problems and that Colt took a lot back from LEOs, but I never heard that elsewhere or verified it.

Can be difficult to find holsters for. I think I used a Sig P226, if I remember correctly.

[Aguila Blanca]

Originally Posted by FM12

Thinking about looking for a Colt Double Eagle in 45. Any thoughts, pro or con?

I owned one for several years, but I never warmed up to it and I finally sold it. Mine was reliable and accurate, but HEAVY. Also, being accustomed to 1911s, I didn't like the long, comparatively heavy trigger pull.

If you want to get one, be advised that there were two generations of the Double Eagle. Colt achieved the double action with a Rube Goldberg arrangement of drawbars and hairpin springs on the outside of the frame. In the first generation, the little springs (one on each side, IIRC) were retained only by the grips, so if you removed the grips casually -- the springs would go flying. A previous owner had messed up those little springs on the one I bought. Once I set them right, it functioned properly.

The second generation added some kind of provision to retain those little springs. I don't know what it was, but I would recommend that you look for a second generation pistol.

Do standard colt magazines fit this variant?

Yes.

[agtman]

Are you referring to the Mk I or Mk II model?

[tipoc]

As I recall they manufactured these, a few variations, from about 1989 to 96. The first edition was produced in 1989 and was a run of 1,000 or so. The second edition continued on till 96 or so.

They (the double eagle)were produced in 9mm, 10mm, 38 Super and 45. The runs of 9mm and 38 Super were rarer.

They produced the DE in a Commander steel framed version, 4 1/4" barrel in 40 S&W and 45 acp.

Colt produced an Officers sized version, 3 1/2" barrel in 45 acp.

Colt also produced a light weight aluminum framed version of the Officer's Model in 45.

The above info is taken from the Blue Book.

tipoc

[RickB]

They all had the full-length grip frame, so even the Officers DE uses Gov't/Commander mags.

[Ibmikey]

I was never fond of the pistol thought Colt engineers could do better in the DA world than morph up a decent design. I tested one prior to the dept adopting the 659, had numerous officers shoot it and most commented on why they did not like the pistol, particularly after firing the S&W 659.

[agtman]

FYI, Colt came out with the Mk II DEs to correct the design problems inherent in the Mk Is.

The primary problem seemed to be the immediate desire of the gun's innards to explode from within once the user took off the grips.

[tipoc]

These never sold well.

The real issue with them was that few wanted a double action 1911 pattern gun. Especially one that had a hard da trigger pull.

By the time these showed up even Seecamps 1911 conversions were losing steam.

The Sig P220 in 45 acp was around by then and a better gun.

It was also the case that the transition to da/sa 9mm handguns was well underway in law enforcement and the military. The wondernines were the guns of the moment and so...

tipoc

[D-Ric902]

I don’t think they ever lived up to their potential
If they had been more popular, they could have been developed into excellent

[FM12]

Well, Ive decided against it for now. Gonna buy one of those new fangled S&W 9MM EZ and go from there.

Thanks for all the input, yall are always helpful.!!

[HighValleyRanch]

Kahr p45 is the closest. Size of a Colt Officers model, DA only with super smooth trigger, thin as a 1911 or even thinner, takes officers magazines, and light in weight, yet shoots +P .45 acp.
What more can one want in a compact .45?

I'm using flush fitting Mecgar Officers 6 round magazine in mine.

[Aguila Blanca]

Kahr p45 is the closest. Size of a Colt Officers model, DA only with super smooth trigger, thin as a 1911 or even thinner, takes officers magazines, and light in weight, yet shoots +P .45 acp.

I had no idea the Kahr uses 1911 Officers ACP magazines. Thanks.

[HighValleyRanch]

The Kahr P45 will take almost all 1911 magazines. All my OEM colt magazines fit, and all the mecgars I have tried. I even use a 10 round mecgar in it. Some don't lock back on empty however, but with a little alteration on the Kahr frontstrap, the Officers magazine fits more flush than the stock Kahr magazine.

[smee78]

I have a DE in a Commander steel framed version, 4 1/4" barrel in 40 S&W and I like it just fine. It takes normal 1911 mags and I haven't had any problems with it.

[silvermane_1]

Originally Posted by FM12

Thinking about looking for a Colt Double Eagle in 45. Any thoughts, pro or con?

Do standard colt magazines fit this variant?

Well if your a fan of the Colt Double Eagle there FM12, buy if the deal is right.