SAM Commander Stainless

... tried and true brands....

This is SAM.

I am sorry for you that you were swayed by the negative comments of others. For every one negative comment a person posts, there are thousands upon thousands of people who have nothing but good experiences but who don't take the time to post about it.
 
At over $900 landed I'd be looking at something else too....if they were $600 +/- like the .45's it's worth a look.
STI Spartan come in 9mm....
 
At over $900 landed I'd be looking at something else too....if they were $600 +/- like the .45's it's worth a look.
STI Spartan come in 9mm....

What's a Spartan worth these days?
The thunderbolt is far from Spartan.....more like fully pimped.
The Filipinos sure do love their 1911's.
 
What's a Spartan worth these days?
The thunderbolt is far from Spartan.....more like fully pimped.
The Filipinos sure do love their 1911's.

Around $800....other then the rail, the Spartan V has pretty much all the same features, better sights, plus the benefit of STI small parts and STI tuning.
sti_sp11.jpg
 
Checkered front strap, magazine well and stainless finish adds to the price.
I was under the impression that the Thunderbolt's get a finer touch at the factory.

SAMTBLT45STSV2_1000.jpg
 
What's a Spartan worth these days?
The thunderbolt is far from Spartan.....more like fully pimped.
The Filipinos sure do love their 1911's.

Checkered front strap, magazine well and stainless finish adds to the price.
I was under the impression that the Thunderbolt's get a finer touch at the factory.

SAMTBLT45STSV2_1000.jpg

The checkered front strap on my TB is almost uncomfortable it's cut so sharp, the gun itself would only take ACT mags...frame was too long in the front for Mecgar/metalform to seat, and the magwell kept Elander mags from fitting as well. The front sight white plastic insert is pretty useless too and dull compared to the painted back dots....but why 3 dots on target sights anyway? Should be black all around, or black rear/fo front. The ambi safety is too thick on the right hand side that no other grips would fit without modding. Anyway at $520 sale price, I didn't mind fixing up a few "issues". At $900 it would have been sent back.....and I would have gone the Spartan route.
Everything else is tight and it shoots well, but it's no tighter or better trigger then my Omega or Commander, so I doubt there is any extra work done on these. I'd actually say my commander has been the closest to being perfect out of the box, and it was the cheapest of the 3 SAMS I own lol
 
$900!!! Yikes! That's a far cry from the $500 I spent on my Omega 9 SS.
At $900 I would be doing some serious looking around.
I've seen mid-tier Kimbers (pre-owned) for not much more.
Mind you, I'm happy to buy some other person's safe queen they are not using where-as other folks are strictly "buy new"... so I realize I'm not omparing apples to apples in everyone else's world...but I am in mine.
 
The checkered front strap on my TB is almost uncomfortable it's cut so sharp, the gun itself would only take ACT mags...frame was too long in the front for Mecgar/metalform to seat, and the magwell kept Elander mags from fitting as well. The front sight white plastic insert is pretty useless too and dull compared to the painted back dots....but why 3 dots on target sights anyway? Should be black all around, or black rear/fo front. The ambi safety is too thick on the right hand side that no other grips would fit without modding. Anyway at $520 sale price, I didn't mind fixing up a few "issues". At $900 it would have been sent back.....and I would have gone the Spartan route.
Everything else is tight and it shoots well, but it's no tighter or better trigger then my Omega or Commander, so I doubt there is any extra work done on these. I'd actually say my commander has been the closest to being perfect out of the box, and it was the cheapest of the 3 SAMS I own lol

I'd also expect more then what you got for your $520 , if the price increased to $900.00.
 
I tried to drink the SAM cool-aid but no 9mm Commanders and no plans to order more...
Seems the world is conspiring against me to ensure I keep buying STI...I can live with that :)
 
The STI Spartan IV is pretty decent. I bought a used one a while back.

You could also look up the other SAM importer, Seraphim Armory - they will have 9mm in all models.

It's not really a kook aide thing... They are a relatively inexpensive 1911 that generally represent good value for what you're paying. Yes there are some very passionate owners of the brand, but it's not really cultish.
 
Last edited:
You could also look up the other SAM importer, Seraphim Armory - they will have 9mm in all models.

They're based out of BC. One of the guys from work owns the company. You're find to deal with him. They're pre-order only, so you can get what you want, just need to be a little patient.

On another note, I took my Thunderbolt out the range today. I'M IN LOVE! Shot GREAT, very tight and accurate.

An earlier poster was complaining about not being able use mags. Mine ran fine with USGI as well as Mec-Gar mags. The flared magwell means you need to be forceful slamming your flat bottom mags in, but almost every competition mag has some sort of plastic or rubber extension on it nowadays.

The grip checkering is aggressive, but at least you know it won't slip!

GREAT pistol for the $600 including tax, shipping and LEO/Mil discount. Based on my experience I highly recommend the SAM Thunderbolt.
 
They're based out of BC. One of the guys from work owns the company. You're find to deal with him. They're pre-order only, so you can get what you want, just need to be a little patient.

On another note, I took my Thunderbolt out the range today. I'M IN LOVE! Shot GREAT, very tight and accurate.

An earlier poster was complaining about not being able use mags. Mine ran fine with USGI as well as Mec-Gar mags. The flared magwell means you need to be forceful slamming your flat bottom mags in, but almost every competition mag has some sort of plastic or rubber extension on it nowadays.

The grip checkering is aggressive, but at least you know it won't slip!

GREAT pistol for the $600 including tax, shipping and LEO/Mil discount. Based on my experience I highly recommend the SAM Thunderbolt.

wait till you see what i did with mine, gonna pick it up tomorrow!
ill give you a hint, 2 words, first word starts with 'fiber' and the second word sounds like 'optics front site'.
 
i didnt feel like mucking around with mine so i just sent it back to Wolverine and had them put it on.
i never did ask what brand they where.
but i like it!

3636D524-608D-4F6E-AB48-0C8B3472F348_zpsintsinz0.jpg
 
Back
Top Bottom