For some reason, Dan Wesson has decided to discontinue their Valor line of 1911s. https://danwessonfirearms.com/...tegory/discontinued/

Seems like an odd choice for what were ostensibly their premium "flagship" line. (Unless they plan to release a new "flagship" at SHOT.)

Now I'm even happier that I picked up a Valor Commander last year.

If you want a Valor, there are still some available from some retailers, for the time being. But it looks like those are the last ones.

It's their best pistol. Some designs like the Heritage and Pointman don't ever seem to die, but they're dropping the top model...must be a lack of sales.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
must be a lack of sales.

That was one of my thoughts. Maybe a lack of sales, combined with them already being somewhat underpriced for the amount of hand-fitting and other work that goes into them, meant they weren't financially viable any more?

I am glad I got my blued Valor when I did.

Good thing about it is, it really doesn't matter. 1911 aftermarket support will never die.

quote:

1911 aftermarket support will never die.

Yup. 1911s, Glocks, and ARs support will be forever.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
Good thing about it is, it really doesn't matter.

Not to current Valor owners, but to future 1911 buyers it does.

The Dan Wesson Valors are the best value in semi-custom 1911s on the market, IMO.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
The Dan Wesson Valors were the best value in semi-custom 1911s on the market, IMO.

+1 There is little to no discernible difference between the Dan Wesson Valor and a basic Ed Brown Custom. I went with Ed Brown simply because I wanted old school Bo-Mar style adjustable sights and a plain front strap.

damn, I sold one a couple years ago figuring I could always grab another and really wanted the commander version more.

Guess I will be buying one very soon...if I can find one at a reasonable price.

One thing you can do with Dan Wesson is do a custom build. I had one priced out and it was pretty reasonable. That way you can mix and match features from their line and even add some extra touches and get exactly what you want.

A couple of my favorite 1911s, Valor .45 & 9mm. Glad I've got them before they're discontinued.

Whoa....glad I got mine when I did! Now I'm sorta tempted to get another!

That is a bit of a surprise to me (someone who has owned a cool dozen DW's over the years). I trust they will continue rolling out high quality production 1911's and likely will continue to wrest more $ from me.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
must be a lack of sales.

Don't think lack of sales is the reason. More than likely DW is replacing Valor with a new flagship line. A quote from DW president's letter in the 2019 catalog: "DW will be debuting a very special handgun line sometime in 2019."

My Valor has been admired often and shot very little, still I am happy to have it. Just hope that the new premium DW is not a knock off of the Legion marketing campaign.

In 2016 CZ-USA NY sold 9787 pistols.

ATF has not yet published 2017 numbers.

To be universally so highly regarded on the forums the sales numbers are not that high.

Will a new line go higher end or will DW attempt to go mass market?

https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/data-statistics

quote:

Originally posted by clayflingythingy:
Will a new line go higher end or will DW attempt to go mass market?

Dan Wesson discontinued a couple of their other higher-end pistol lines in the last year or two, like the Valkyrie, in favor of introducing less expensive lines like the A2 and Vigil.

Quality hasn't suffered so far, but it's at least one indication that they might be chasing a lower price point, trying to corner the ~$1000 1911 market instead of the ~$1500 1911 market.

In stock at time of this post: (on Bud's website, just type "Valor" in their search box to see in-stock versions)

https://grabagun.com/cz-dw-val...5acp-blk-ss-8-1.html

https://grabagun.com/cz-01864-...esson-valor-9mm.html

https://www.budsgunshop.com/ca...t/719018139/redirect

I have a V-Bob in 45....wish I had one in 9

Seems to be a trend. STI killed their entire 1911 lineup a couple years back.