colt commander hammer problem

[joeyg131]

my grandpa just gave me his colt commander he says he never got around to shooting it and he kept it in great shape. when i got it home and messed with it a bit i noticed that some times when i released the slide the hammer follows the slide to the half cocked position not every time just once in a while. any ideas?

[swifty]

If it has been sitting for quite some time, it may just need a very thorough clean and lube. Old oil gets hard and sticky and can prevent parts from moving correctly.

[oddjob]

Don't let the slide slam forward on an empty magazine. It will mess up the sear. Does it do it with a round in the mag from slide lock?

[joeyg131]

i have only chambered a few rounds ill know better after i take it to the range

[joeyg131]

it has been sitting for a long time so i should take a the internal parts out and clean them. will do. i read something about bending the left spring on the sear spring is that something i should try

[swifty]

Don't do any alterations until cleaned well and lubed. Bending the sear spring is relatively easy, but it's also very easy to make the trigger pull too heavy or too light(which is unsafe).

[joeyg131]

got it my guess is that he oiled it put it away and didnt think about it. not sure how all i can think about is shooting it. is it unsafe to shoot if the hammer does this after i clean the inner parts?

[swifty]

I would not shoot it until all the safety mechanisms work correctly.

The full cock notch is not holding at this point, the safety notch/ledge appears to be working. Not knowing the history or condition of the parts, don't attempt to fire until fixed.

[ojisan]

Not the best situation.
Each time the hammer drops to half cock, the sear gets damaged.
Eventually it will be bad enough to stop the hammer from cocking and parts will need replacement.
If you are local and want help, let me know.

(PS: always best to put your location, area code or zip in your screen info so people know roughly where you are. CA is a big place.)

[joeyg131]

shot thats a bummer its done it maybe 15 times or so is that a lot. is replacing the sear something i could try to fix it i see midway has colt sears for 20.99

[ojisan]

Sears and hammers need to be fitted and checked for proper function.
If you are good at this stuff, go for it, but be darn sure you triple check everything, and maybe get an experienced person to double check it before firing.
Otherwise, now that we can see your location (Thank you!), I am sure some members in your area will be willing to help as needed.
Just give people time to post, lots of good and knowledgeable Cal Gunners here!

[BigDogatPlay]

Unless you are a reasonable experienced gunsmith, changing out or modifying fire control parts is not something I would recommend. The full cock notch failing to hold when the slide is released could have a number of reasons for happening.

Take the gun to a qualified smith and have it looked at.

[swifty]

That's one you have to decide. Skill level, knowledge, equipment etc. etc. are all factors. The sear, hammer and sear spring may all be damaged or altered. These parts may need to be replaced or refit.

Clean and lube first.

[joeyg131]

so when you say clean and lube do you mean remove sear and hammer and lube those

[swifty]

I would strip the gun down, detail clean and inspect all the parts for wear and tear. Just a light lube on reassembly should be all you need. This a fairly simple gun to tear down, the 80 Series guns have a couple of extra parts though.