Good Morning,
I hope everyone is doing well after this past weekend. I have an itch as usual and I would like some feedback from my constituents on the topic of using a Springfield operator champion that I already have vs getting a Dan Wesson Specialist in either full size or commander size.
The background is that I have had the operator for years in the safe, I just used my USP 45 Compact with a light for bedside duty. Recently I picked up a Valkyrie CCO and started carrying it and I got an itch to sell the Operator and get another Dan Wesson. Do I sell the unused SA Operator and get the Dan Wesson with the rail or just run the SA that I have.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Have. A great week!

Forgot to ask. Commander or full size DW?

I think you already know the answer. buy the DW specialist!!!

If you've got the money, Dan Wesson.
I will add that my nightstand pistol is what I carry everyday. Comes out of the holster and onto the nightstand when I go to bed.

While I have never shot a Springfield, I have a DW Valor and Specialist commander...and I love them both. Extremely well built and both have been 100% reliable with every type of ammo I have put through them...my most important criteria for a nightstand gun..

Which one would you rather the cops take after you used it to shoot an intruder? And which one would you rather be stored without getting wiped down and cleaned and possibly returned banged up?

Honestly you’d do just as well with a ruger sr1911. Id stick with the usp compact or some other double stack .45 for the extra rounds

Letting you in on a secret you already know, they'll likely function identically, especially for non-carry duty. If you have either already, you don't need the other.

However, I'm sure you WANT the other one. So having the bedside gun is more the excuse than the reason

Thank you for the feedback.

I'm a big fan of commander-length 1911s. I had a Sig Fastback Carry, which was nice, but I sold it when I picked up a DW Guardian on consignment at a local brick-and-mortar gun shop. It was too sweet to pass up.

quote:

Originally posted by limblessbiff:
Which one would you rather the cops take after you used it to shoot an intruder? And which one would you rather be stored without getting wiped down and cleaned and possibly returned banged up?

Honestly you’d do just as well with a ruger sr1911. Id stick with the usp compact or some other double stack .45 for the extra rounds

This is utterly silly. If you're involved in a shooting, the last thing to worry about is, "Will my gun get scratched up in an evidence locker."

Who cares?

Having a good lawyer and being calmly polite and quiet are about the only things anyone should be worried about. Not a mass produced tool that t can be repurchased.

quote:

Originally posted by caneau:

quote:

Originally posted by limblessbiff:
Which one would you rather the cops take after you used it to shoot an intruder? And which one would you rather be stored without getting wiped down and cleaned and possibly returned banged up?

Honestly you’d do just as well with a ruger sr1911. Id stick with the usp compact or some other double stack .45 for the extra rounds

This is utterly silly. If you're involved in a shooting, the last thing to worry about is, "Will my gun get scratched up in an evidence locker."

Who cares?

Having a good lawyer and being calmly polite and quiet are about the only things anyone should be worried about. Not a mass produced tool that t can be repurchased.

Both pistols will work the same, why use the nicer gun that doesn’t honestly do anything the cheaper one won’t and have it go to an evidence locker? And not everyone has the money to just replace a pistol like that right away.

quote:

Originally posted by limblessbiff:

quote:

Originally posted by caneau:

quote:

Originally posted by limblessbiff:
Which one would you rather the cops take after you used it to shoot an intruder? And which one would you rather be stored without getting wiped down and cleaned and possibly returned banged up?

Honestly you’d do just as well with a ruger sr1911. Id stick with the usp compact or some other double stack .45 for the extra rounds

This is utterly silly. If you're involved in a shooting, the last thing to worry about is, "Will my gun get scratched up in an evidence locker."

Who cares?

Having a good lawyer and being calmly polite and quiet are about the only things anyone should be worried about. Not a mass produced tool that t can be repurchased.

Both pistols will work the same, why use the nicer gun that doesn’t honestly do anything the cheaper one won’t and have it go to an evidence locker? And not everyone has the money to just replace a pistol like that right away.

By that definition, why have anything nice at all? Should we wear burlap sacks because there is some tiny chance the clothing we're wearing will be seized in the course of an investigation?

If money is really an issue, the cost of a gun is dwarfed by the cost of a legal defense. And by that perspective, the most important characteristic of any defensive firearm is the one you shoot best. Because shot placement can mean orders of magnitude when it comes to legal bills and damages.

Put the USP 45 back in the night stand.

Combat tupperware for the win, when it comes to home defense.

quote:

Originally posted by limblessbiff:
Which one would you rather the cops take after you used it to shoot an intruder? And which one would you rather be stored without getting wiped down and cleaned and possibly returned banged up?

Honestly you’d do just as well with a ruger sr1911. Id stick with the usp compact or some other double stack .45 for the extra rounds

I never understood this mentality. Use what floats your boat. If it gets confiscated because of a shooting so what? Least of your worries. PLUS....the likelihood of you being involved in a shooting to begin with is EXTREMELY REMOTE.

If a weapon is going to get taken off me and tossed in an evidence locker, then I want it to be the best, most reliable pistol in that locker.

It will put all the lorcin's and hi-points to shame.

I guess it depends on how you use your night stand gun. My criteria for a gun that pulls night stand duty are it must be a) reliable, b) have a light on it, and c) night sights. Being an "operator" model, your SA Champion is going to have a rail. You didn't specify if it has Night Sights or not, or if it has a proven track record of reliability. If so, I wouldn't change a thing...the DW isn't going to do anything that the SA doesn't already do for you.

My bedside gun is a P320 carry...it's my ex-duty gun, which is an exact copy of my current duty gun (I bought it back from Sig when they sent us new ones with the upgraded trigger, then promptly sent it in for the upgrade). As such, it checks all the boxes, but rarely leaves the safe because when I go to the range, my current duty gun comes with me instead.

I'd hate to see somebody spend that kind of money to let a nice handgun like that sit in a safe...But if you're going to get it out and shoot it regularly, and you really want the DW, then maybe it's worth it. There's nothing wrong with buying something because you want it...but don't buy it thinking it's going to provide some life-changing improvement in functionality over your current SA, because it won't.

As to the full-size vs commander question, I'd go with the full-size for a night stand gun. The advantage of the commander is it's handier length and better balance, but by the time you stick a light on it, you'll be looking at a similar overall length to the full-size, anyway, not to mention that lights that stick out beyond the muzzle get filthy really quickly.

I have a SA TRP Operator with full rail, it has a killer persona and the accuracy on that things feels like custom gun.