I have my fair share of striker fired guns that are mainly for carry and self defense tools, I been looking for a metal frame handgun that has lower felt recoil due to having a wrist injury. I had a Sig 226 Legion sao and was an awesome handgun but the issue was due to grips thickness at times it was hard for me to engage and disengage the safety, yesterday I got the chance to handle a Dan Wesson specialist and it felt fantastic in my hand and it was easy to get to all the controls. A very knowledgeable person a talk to yesterday told me that the DW have really tight tolerances and would be difficult to keep it running during a pistol class, would this be true and need to look for an other option?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: venenoindy,

quote:

Originally posted by venenoindy:
A very knowledgeable person a talk to yesterday told me that the DW have really tight tolerances and would be difficult to keep it running while a pistol class, would this be true and need to look for an other option?

It's a 9mm 1911. I imagine just about any decent 9mm 1911 would do about as well for you. Mind you: DWs are some of the better production 1911s available.

As for keeping it running during a pistol class: Dunno. You will certainly want it thoroughly broken-in before trying it. I'm thinking at least 500 rounds.

Keep it clean, lube it thoroughly, but don't over-lube and I'd stay away from heavier greases. Maybe stick with something like Wilson Combat Ultima-Lube II. Perhaps TW-25B on the rails.

(N.B.: Some [?] DWs have an explicit break-in procedure that, from what I've read, demands certain types of lubes during break-in.)

My Sig P210A Target is really tight, and I'm thinking even Slide-Glide Lite is too heavy on the rails--though I've never had a malfunction, using it on that pistol.

My Remington R1 Enhanced .45 ACP, while not as tight and smooth as my P210A, is pretty darn close. I've been using Slide-Glide Lite on the rails and barrel lugs and it's run flawlessly.

In the “Competition...” folder of this forum, there is a 6-month-old thread in which the OP sought pistol advice for an OpSpec fundamentals course. Responses were provided by Jerry Jones, etc. Basically, they noted past problems with inexperienced 1911 students but were not prohibiting 1911’s. But they did caution that the class would not wait for a student experiencing any difficulty. They also strongly encouraged having a backup pistol for any student.

As others have said a good break in prior to class is necessary. If you want to be fully prepared I would have a spare recoil spring and extractor (tuned to your gun) in my kit should I start experiencing problems.

I went to gunsite with a fairly new Kimber and had some issues. The first few nights I cleaned it religiously and she ran fine. I then got lazy for the last day of class and didn't. I had a few issues with the dirty gun. If you are worried you could pull the slide at lunch wipe it down bore snaked the barrel re lube and go back to it. Robably take you less than 3 minutes.

Jd

I've had 3 Dan Wessons and they all were quality pistols.
Break in is important and if I recall correctly, it's 100 rounds and then clean for the first 300?
The oil that comes in the case is basically FP10 that you can get at your LGS but any good oil should work.
As for a training class with a 1911? As commented before, you might take a back up pistol with you. Then again it may not have a problem. Any weapon can malfunction.

I own several Dan Wesson 1911's. I haven't had a hiccup out of them, though I haven't shot them extensively. They're good pistols, and yes, they are tight in that there's no obvious play in the slide to frame rail, or barrel link. The triggers are very good, everything operates crisply, including the safety. No slop. Fit and finish are good. They've been 100% thus far.

The 1911 will eventually begin to experience failures to extract over time, due to the design of the extractor. It's a wise choice to have a spare extractor (the time honored temporary fix is to give the extractor a slight bend when the failure-to-extract begins to be a problem). I haven't reached that point with my 1911's, with the exception of one Springfield a number of years ago. They're soldiering on.

I haven't invested in Nighthawks or Wilsons, though I may one day. I own various 1911's, and of them, the Dan Wessons are the best fit and by far the smoothest and nicest of the lot. I would have no concerns with purchasing another.

My 1911 experience is very limited, so take that into account. I own a DW ECO and have only shot my friends' non DW 1911s. The DW fit & finish is really good. Initially, I experienced a number of failure to feed issues with one magazine and a few failure to eject issues. After getting a replacement magazine and a trip back to DW the ECO has been flawless in my hands. My daughter and the female firrarms instructor at my club experienced failure to eject nearly every round. Frustrating for them when it runs flawlessly for me. Could not figure it out, but now ~ 500 rounds later it will run flawlessly for them also. Just had to loosen up?

Anyway, the Specialist is a different animal, maybe not as prone to the short barrel 1911 blues? Still I would be worried about trying to run a 500+ round weekend until I had 500-750 down the pipe for break in. After that, I would not be concerned.

I had a wrist and elbow tendon injury before I took one of my courses. I used a wrist brace and it helped relieve some pain and improved my accuracy.

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I had a DW Valor and wish I still did. The quality was just amazing and one (if not the smoothest) cycling 1911s I ever had out of Springfields, Colt, and even Baer. Was a great piece.

DW builds a high quality production 1911. I prefer my new Colt Competition 9mm govt over the DW for looks reasons and features it came with. But you can't go wrong with a DW and I'd put them at the top of the list compared to other production 1911's.

That being said, keep it well oiled and you should be good in competitions. I have 2 9mm 1911's and had a 3rd. While all are reliable, I've had stoppages with all of them over the years and feel the 9mm is just a touch less reliable in a 1911 than the .45 ACP the gun was initially designed for. I love 1911's, but feel as a whole the modern designs from one manufacturer, HK/SIG/CZ etc are a little more reliable than the 1911 design as a whole, and I have a Brown and a Wilson as well.

I had a DW 1911 Valor I traded into and loved it. The quality is amazing for the cost. I never had a 9mm version but if they are anything like their 45 counterparts, they should last you a good while. I can't add anymore than what the others have said and agree they need a break in period like any other gun to see what it likes.

Just picked up a Specialist Commander in 45 with their distressed finish. Absolutely in love with the pistol.

I've got several DW 1911s, a Bruin, Valor .45 & Valor 9mm. The 9mm is one of my favorite guns to shoot, super smooth and easy to shoot accurately. Have never had a single glitch of any sort. Here it is:

I don't own the DW. But I have shot a very large number of 9mm 1911 rounds out of a Springfield and a Kimber at one time. Thousands and thousands. Not exactly the same circumstances as the class concern that is in the original post question, but close. I didn't have any reliability issues. In the classes I've taken the mag capacity issue would be a concern, but with a tiny amount of care during the day I am very confident the gun would run fine.

1) Make sure it will eject live rounds (for malfunction clearing), especially longer 147gr. type hollow points.
2) As someone else stated, make sure it runs reliably with all the provided factory mags, or invest in some Tripp Research Cobra magazines.