quote:

Originally posted by tha1000:
Seems to be a trend. STI killed their entire 1911 lineup a couple years back.

I highly doubt Dan Wesson is getting out of 1911s altogether. They tend to discontinue a model or two every couple years, and introduce new models from time to time. I was just surprised by this particular one, as it's their self-described "flagship" model.

Darn. I had been saving for a Valor in the duty treat finish. Sigh. Oh well.

For a couple of years up to the first quarter of last year, our CZ rep had been hounding me to buy DWs because they had plenty and were willing to deal. I was instead more interested in getting then very hard-to-source 75s, P-01s, P-10Cs, Scorpions and 97s instead. So I ordered a token amount of Valors on a couple of occasions, with a Guardian, Specialist or ECO sprinkled in. Now I'm sorry I didn't order a few more Valors. I've always like that Duty Black finish of theirs.

I have a stainless Valor and it's a ridiculous amount of gun for the money. I will put it up against any other much more expensive boutique 1911 out there. Though I have sometimes thought about selling to fund a V-Bob. Though I probably wouldn't ever carry such a nice 1911, so probably not going to get around to it.

quote:

Originally posted by Rick Lee:
Though I probably wouldn't ever carry such a nice 1911, so probably not going to get around to it.

Why not? Guns are meant to be shot and carried. Even nice guns.

With my upcoming promotion (or demotion, or sidemotion) to an admin position, I'm even considering carrying my Valor Commander on duty. Carrying a fancy gun is one of the consolation perks for being a House Mouse, while the other guys are out doing all the fun stuff.

Sold a rifle to a guy locally who was carrying a DW Valor. Seemed to carry well for him and he liked it.

I was hoping to get one someday!

They are still out there, I just bought a 9mm 5” blued Valor from Grabagun.

It has to be that it was no longer profitable. To replace it with a different high quality model is ok but why not have two high quality models in your line? I really wanted one, but could not justify spending the money; in other words I couldn't afford it.
Rod

Sorry I didn't get a V-Bob when I was spending that kind of $$ on guns. I have a Stainless Valor, glad to have gotten it when I did.

One of my "must have someday" pistols is an all-stainless steel 1911 Commander length 38 Super. Having said that, would the following idea work?
Buy a NIB Valor chambered in 9mm, have a 38 Super barrel fitted and abracadabra(!), mission accomplished? Of course, 38 Super mags are necessary. One final thought, are Valor 1911 frames and slides marked with the caliber or is that solely found on the barrel? Hopefully only the barrel!

quote:

One final thought, are Valor 1911 frames and slides marked with the caliber or is that solely found on the barrel? Hopefully only the barrel!

Just checked mine, no caliber markings on barrel or slide. One of the charms is how clean the slide and frame are.

Mine have caliber on the barrel

quote:

Originally posted by kaschi:
One of my "must have someday" pistols is an all-stainless steel 1911 Commander length 38 Super. Having said that, would the following idea work?
Buy a NIB Valor chambered in 9mm, have a 38 Super barrel fitted and abracadabra(!), mission accomplished? Of course, 38 Super mags are necessary. One final thought, are Valor 1911 frames and slides marked with the caliber or is that solely found on the barrel? Hopefully only the barrel!

Yes, you can have a .38 super barrel fitted to a 9mm 1911 commander. You should also use a .38 super recoil spring in addition to the mags.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by Rick Lee:
Though I probably wouldn't ever carry such a nice 1911, so probably not going to get around to it.

Why not? Guns are meant to be shot and carried. Even nice guns.

Because it's too damned heavy. I tried carrying my V-Bob for a couple years but wound up selling it a few weeks ago. It would keep dragging my pants down unless I cinched up the belt to the point that it was painful. I had better luck using belt and suspenders both, but suspenders make bathroom breaks a hassle. If I'd known that DW was going to discontinue them I'd have waited a while longer to sell it, though.

Good to hear it really is that simple with the barrel swap. I never gave the recoil spring a thought however. Now, as far as barrels go, is it simply a "drop in" proposition or will one have to be fitted? It seems that Barsto gets a lot of positive mentioning so that's probably a good place to get one. If there are any other worthwhile sources, feel free to chime in!

Kaschi, Within my humble experience, I've done a couple Colts and Kimber 38S to 9mm conversions, it really is about that simple. If you want a barrel that fits as well as the factory DW barrel, it will likely require some fitting. I have used BarSto, KART, Schuemann, Remsport, Wilson, etc. I've used a few of the BarStos you mention in Colts and Hi Powers, beginning back in the '70s. Barsto would no longer be my first choice. Most recently I fitted a RemSport 9mm barrel to a Kimber 38S. The 9mm barrel and 9mm magazine were they only changes. Nothing else was changed or adjusted. The 9mm to Super conversion is just as easy, but if the 9 uses a super long ejector, it would have to be trimmed back so you could unload the longer 38S rounds when necessary. I'd have to go check my DW 9mm, but I think the stock DW 9mm ejector is short enough for both 9mm and 38S. So pretty simple either way.

I just picked up a blued Valor yesterday. Shame they are going away. This is probably the nicest finished gun I've ever owned. If it shoots half as nice as it looks its going to be something special.

Thanks for the detailed information and advice rock185. I'm looking forward to your post about the DW ejector and whether it would have to be trimmed back or not. In the meantime, I'll check into those barrel manufacturers to see what their prices are.

I’ll be interested to see what this means for direction DW is headed. Perhaps those that like a more “traditional” 1911 are becoming fewer. If they parallel many of Nighthawk’s new offerings, I won’t be at all interested. I chose a Guardian over a Valor for carry potential, and there was no difference whatsoever in build quality, on any of the copies I’ve seen, so I’m convined that is an urban myth promoted by the webxperts.