Editor's Note: This review originally appeared in our companion service, The Tactical Wire. Longtime friend Wiley Clapp has had an impact on handgun refinement through his preferred custom packages. The first of these was from Colt, a Government Model to his specifications, followed by a Commander. Most recently, the "Concealed Carry Officers." This is a lightweight Officer ACP frame mated to a Commander slide. Properly rendered as the 4.25" barrel/slide/shortened bushing, it makes the pistol appropriately convenient to field strip. The Commander-length slide/barrel setup is the shortest reliable upper for the 1911 pattern pistol in .45 ACP. His tag line, "Everything you need and nothing you don't," is appropriate here. The O9840WC is clear of "curb feelers and mud flaps." Starting with blue steel on top, a match barrel and a black anodized Officers ACP lightweight frame, he adds 25 LPI checkering by Pete Single. The front strap is cut high under the trigger guard to keep the user's hand high on the piece relative to the bore.

Front strap checkering at 25 LPI -- and other metal work -- by Pete Single. The butt is subtly rounded.

Wiley was especially concerned about the heel of the frame. Classically a sharp point with a flat mainspring housing, some have chopped that edge as an angle to minimize print under a cover garment. This creates discomfort for some hands and doesn't "feel right" for many of the rest of us. The result is a nicely rounded heel. In dry handling, I was feeling a sharp edge which I ran down to the left Altamont stock panel. This was unnoticed in the first 300 round shooting trip showing that I'm more critical when not shooting. The safety lever is the old style with the raised tab. The slide stop and magazine release button are likewise original style and not extended types. A long trigger and flat mainspring housing complete the treatment. For the aiming component, Wiley prefers the Novak sights – and Wayne's sights are simply great. In a nod to those of us in our twilight, the rear notch is wide at .170" and the front sight has a brass bead in the face. The Altamont Tactical Oval stocks feature a forward taper – thinner at the front than the rear – and "fingerprint" checkering, both designed to use the feel of the gun in your hand to move the muzzle to the target.

Great leather goods by Simply Rugged Holsters.

While "feel" in a pistol has been overstated as critical, subtle changes like these really do assist in your personal firing solution. The Altamont Tactical Oval stocks on this gun are modified to match the rounded butt. I took the custom cannon to the range with a selection of ammo. I was assisted by a trio of magazines I'd picked up from CDNN Sports. One was marked Nighthawk Custom -- the second was a PSI ACT-Mag and the third was a McCormick Power Mag, the 8-shot for compact guns. For leather, I used the Simply Rugged Holsters pancake holster, nicely rendered in cape buffalo, with matching single magazine pouch – which I won at a shoot-off at Gunsite Academy last August. Rob Leahy's rendition of the classic is made of better materials than the originals and are a testament to the design. The butt in pulled in closely and the rig simply stays put. The day started roughly as the Power Mag wasn't terribly impressed with the CCO magazine catch – nor was a Brownell's 8-shot standard 1911 magazine. Either would stick on entry and my first try resulted in a lost stock screw I hadn't noticed when the day started. The remainder of the magazines – both Colts, the ACT and the Nighthawk Custom – worked smoothly. This is a minor fitting issue and something to be expected when dealing with classic designs and parts made 104 years post-introduction. As I shot the WC-CCO, I just wasn't getting the hits I expected. My old numb hand ultimately felt the slippage of the right stock panel and I found the problem. A frustrating search of the grass on the range led to recovery of the screw. Then I couldn't get the screw – a short screw for a short stock screw bushing because we have to make the pistol so much thinner – started on the threads. I was able to get a bit of metal debris dislodged and the piece reinstalled as I told myself "Check your equipment before coming to the range and again before you start shooting."

This target is from the FBI Qual course plus some trigger "demand" drills and some alternative aiming singles from ready. Low hits in torso, head courtesy of the shooter.

At that point, the trip became uneventful. The little gun ran through all the ammunition I brought along without objections – from Federal 185 grain SWC Gold Medal Match, ASYM Practical Match 230 FMJ, Winchester Winclean 230 gr. BEB to ASYM Solid Defense-X and Cor-Bon DPX 185 gr. +P. Federal Aluminum case 230 grain hardball and Hornady Critical Duty 220 grain +P likewise functioned through the little gun. I shot the FBI's current qual course, starting at their 25 yard stage first before moving to three yards, working back to finish at fifteen yards. The 25 yard stage showed how accurate the .45 ACP can be in the right gun. The FBI qual was an easy task with the WC-CCO. The trigger was crisp and firm with nearly no take-up. I had ammunition left, so I did the "demand drill" – on target, on trigger, on sights and breaking the shot in .25 second. This compressed break exercise is a good way to learn a new trigger. I finished with head-shots from guard. My newly gained trigger control failed on one of those last few rounds and one dropped, Mozambique-style, into the neck. Wiley Clapp is respected in the trade due to his wisdom and willingness to say what he means. This gun is a great testament to one of the industry greats. Take a look at the Wiley Clapp CCO. If the old way is the right way for you, I don't know you can find any better. -- Rich Grassi Grassi is editor and founder of our companion service, The Tactical Wire (www.thetacticalwire.com)