The release of the new Watchtower Defense Apache Commander caught my attention recently because I really like 4.25" 2011 style guns with full length dust covers. Watchtower has had some negative drama in the past due to quality control issues as well as financial issues that resulted in bankruptcy. Now that the financial issues appear to be over, the QC appears to have improved with their most recent production of pistols.
Unfortunately, I feel like the new Commander is overpriced at $4000, so wrote it off until I recently came across a dealer on Gunbroker that I believe mistakenly listed this Commander with the specs and pricing for the newer aluminum frame Tactical Commander, which is priced at only $2700. So, I ended up with a $1300 discount on a brand new pistol. 😁
Photos from the Gunbroker auction
The pistol has a lot of features that I like... a wide steel frame, full length dust cover, aesthetically pleasing and usable front cocking serrations, an MJD Solutions grip module, a Dawson tool-less guide rod, and EGW internal components. While I would prefer an optic mounting plate for a Holosun 509T, I like that their RMR footprint optic plate has a thin rear backup iron sight like an Atlas optic plate that allows a Trijicon SRO or RMR HD to sit farther back on the slide so that it doesn't hang over the ejection port and potentially cause ejection issues. Unfortunately, like the Atlas optic plate, it does not position the optic very low on the slide.
The pistol has good fit and finish with nice chamfers on the front of the slide and frame and is done in Black Nitride, so I didn't feel the need to do my typical dehorn and Cerakote refinish work. While not yet installed when these photos were taken, I also upgraded the MIM thumb safeties and slide stop lever with hardened steel components from EGW.
The machined checkering on the MJD grip module provides plenty of good traction, but I prefer the look and feel of my RFV Tactical texture work on a polymer grip module. As I did with my Kimber 2K11 Pro's grip module, I only stippled over the factory checkered areas while retaining the Watchtower logos, added a smooth border at the bottom of the mainspring housing to match the magwell border, and did a step-cut grip chop to accept 16-round Staccato C2 magazines.
The EGW internal components made it easy to tune the trigger down from a little over 4 pounds to my preferred weight of just under 3 pounds. The recoil spring was heavier than I would prefer, but I understand that the gun is marketed as a duty pistol that is expected to handle high power duty ammo. I installed a medium weight Dawson recoil spring so that it runs my lower powered reloaded ammo that I use frequently for training and matches without any issues but will still work with defensive ammo. It has a little more muzzle rise than my non-ported Prodigy 1911DS and my Kimber 2K11 Pro, but it has a quick and consistent return to zero.
To be honest, the gun doesn't really have that much of a "wow factor" to justify its $4000 price tag, so I am a little disappointed with it in that regard, but I am definitely happy that I only paid $2700 for it. I think the gun would be a much better value if it actually retailed for $2700 and came with quality non-MIM external controls.
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