Laser for the Combat Master

Illustration of Crimson Trace Laser grips on a 1911 compact.

I've seen the light!
Or more correctly stated, the laser; and my choice for the one that compliments the Detonics Combat Masters is Crimson Trace's LaserGrips. Unobtrusive and instantly activated, the laser dot will paint your target from the draw and all the way up the arc to your normal 'iron' sight acquisition point. I've practiced for years attempting to perfect my waist shots and still I'm not confident in a good 100% hit at any range. The laser tells you if you are on target or off, instantly and continuously, and although it will never replace my front sight it would allow accurate shooting where the front sight is not available and eliminates a miss aimed shot wreaking havoc and collateral damage. 

I'm looking for fellow Combat Master owners to help me with a campaign to convince Crimson Trace that    enough owners "see the light" to make it a viable financial move to develop a set of LaserGrips for the combat pistol. If you agree, the following link will take you to Crimson Trace's model request page. Add the Combat Master (Detonics) in the form provided. While you are there sign up for Crimson Trace's catalogue-it is complete with a dvd and full of information on laser technology; well worth the read.

Request for LaserGrips for Detonics Combat Master.

I packed my Combat Master down to Wilsonville, the home of Crimson Trace to see if they had LaserGrips  I could jury rig to work on my Combat Master. Randy McNamara ( customer service: (800) 442-2406 or ryanm@crimsontrace.com) gently dashed any ideas I had of rigging something that could work. Each LaserGrip is independently designed for the specific firearm. Batteries, electronics and wiring live inside a specially designed, interchangeable grip. Modifying the existing grip is out of the question-either it is fully engineered for the firearm or it's not supported. If you are fortunate enough to own a Combat Master in one of it's variants you probably carry it, and I know the last thing I want to do with mine, is bulk it up. All the Combat Master versions, from the original Seattle Mk I's thru Mk Vs, and the Phoenix and Georgia MK VIIs to the latest Illinois Detonics Defense Combat Masters use the same frame and grip dimensions-one LaserGrips would fit them all. For more information you can check out the web page at 

http://www.crimsontrace.com/products/manufacturer/1911-pistols?p=2

Burlwood and walnut are two of the available grip materials.

 

Another Evaluation for Your Consideration

Photo's in this article are by the original author.

I found this excellent article, penned by David (no last name provided) "DOC", on a thread dated 03-03-13 on watchtryst.com

www.watchtryst.com/showthread.php?t=1969

"The Detonics .45 - praise for a legend

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As promised, a short treatise on the legendary Detonics .45 ACP pistol, which was and remains my all time favorite .45 auto.

I don't need to get into the efficacy of the .45 ACP round for this. For years after WWII, countless folks were trying to come up with a way to make the basic 1911 Colt-pattern pistol into a smaller package for easier concealment, with varying degrees of (un)success. The problem, mostly, was how to tame the recoil, especially in a pistol that by necessity would have a shorter slide, and thus a shorter travel when cycling. The usual approach was to use a much stiffer spring with buffer pads at the rear end. The downside to this was that although this could help relieve a good deal of the felt recoil to the hand, it made it nearly impossible to use different types of rounds as the cup pressure of the round had to be more or less mated to the particular spring used. It also did nothing to reduce muzzle flip, another big concern.

Long about the early '70's a couple of guys came up with a radical idea for springing a chopped .45. Instead of a single spring captured at the front end by a spring plug mated to a barrel-bushing, use a self-contained multiple spring unit, with the springs counterwound to cancel out the wave-pulse generated when the individual spring is compressed. Make the springs/guide rod/front plug into one self contained unit which never needed disassembly, and while we're at it, get rid of the barrel-bushing (a nuisance part if ever there was one), in favor of a self centering barrel. Keep the rest of the Browning operating system the same; after all, it was nothing if not reliable.

Numbers-Numbers-Numbers

Production numbers are of great interest to collectors as a secondary market opens up on the early production Detonics. The earliest production Combat Masters, manufactured with cut down frames and welded barrels are considered "a carry often, shoot not so much" weapon. The following information from

http://www.biggerhammer.net/detonics/

contains data from 1984 to 1987 the only info I have found to date.  Very difficult to independently verify, but at this point I do not see any glaring reason to challenge the validity as biggerhammer houses a great Detonics forum with contributions reaching back years.

Life After Thirty; It Only Gets Better

The latest innovation from Detonics-the MTX,
features a precision milled frame cut from a solid block of aluminum, features state of the art ergonomic grips designed to place your hand up high on the grips for excellent weapon control, and an indent allowing your fingers an easy reach for the trigger. The rail allows for a  mounted laser or light attachment. Watch for a striker version in the near future. The original Combat Master was a good 25 years ahead of it's time, I suspect the MTX's innovations have it a few years ahead of the pact as well. For more detail check out Dectonics web site.

( http://www.detonicsdefense.com/  )

Pat Yates, From Concept To Prototype, (must read!)

In this article, dated August 8th 2002, Pat Yates describes the development of his one-off compact .45acp which became the Detonics .45 Combat Master. An amazing read, he addresses most of the issues and solutions of designing a compact one-off .45 acp. This article touches on every aspect of the compact pistol's design. Absorbing this information should give the shooter an edge in understanding what's happening during the firing cycle, and a feel for working with that energy, a major step to mastering this little gun.

" Foreword:   This is a summary of the very early development of what eventually became the Detonics Combat Master series of compact pistols, written by the developer of the first prototype, myself.   It covers the development of the first two prototypes and the eventual sale to the Detonics limited partnership.  From that point on, Detonics devoted considerable additional effort to the refinement of the design, especially the production factors.   There is much of that part of the history of this gun that I can't

1983 Combat Master Product line Description

 

 

Follows a succinct description and price list for Detonic's line of Combat Masters- circa a factory manual from '83;

Detonics Instruction Manual

“Although there are six different models available to the general buying public, a Detonics is a Detonics is a Detonics. Only finish, type of material used and adjustable rear sight differentiate one model from another. The plain-Jane entrant is the Combat Master Mark I, attired in a matte blue finish, fixed sights, with a retail price of $369 (1980). Stepping up a notch, the Mark II is a fixed-sight model dressed in a satin nickel finish with a price tag of $390. The Mark III is handsome in its hard chrome appearance with fixed sights and sells for $488. Variation number IV is resplendent in a

CIA, SAS, SEALS

Spook Pistols, secret government contracts, lots of legend surrounds this little beast, as it should. Highly tuned, engineered to work in an environment where malfunctions could cost lives, a combat pistol out of the box. Designed for close combat, designed to stop an aggressors flat in their tracks.
All great stories-but just that. This thread will shed some light on this part of the CM's spooky past.
The Mk VII and the CIA contract truly refuses to die. The most specific version of the tale has a number of Combat Master  MkVIIs (without factory sights) purchased by Langely.