New Dan Wesson Specialist - Initial Pics & Impressions

General Firearms Handguns - 1911
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Last weekend I picked up a NIB Stainless Dan Wesson Specialist pistol. These are some of my initial impressions and some basic pictures and a quick range session.

I have to say, that this pistol, feels better and more natural in the hand than any other that I have owned or handled (which includes guns that cost 2-3X the Specialist). I realize that’s purely subjective, but it is what it is.

After buying the pistol, I went through to the shop’s attached indoor range, and put ~ 100 rounds through it (all I had with me). I fired (10) 185gr ASYM Barnes DPX rounds, (20) Winchester PDX1 230gr rounds, and 70 of mixed Winchester and Federal 230gr FMJ rounds. I lubed the rails and barrel before shooting, and had zero issues throughout the session.
The pistol is very soft shooting, especially with the ASYM 185gr rounds. It is quite accurate - I kept one target for the entire session at 15 yards, so a specific test target can’t be seen, only one big hole, but it’s QUITE accurate.
The sights are very intuitive and easy to see and pick up - this was much better than any of my previous Henie type sighting experiences, not sure what it was, but I like these a lot and will keep them. The Clark serrated rib is also a very nice.

Here’s the initial target:

As for the pistol itself, the build quality and feel just screams quality to me. The front strap and MSH checkering is perfect, and makes for a very secure, but not painful grip. The sights and top rib as mentioned are excellent and top notch. The trigger is fantastic. My $4k Nighthawk MIGHT have had a better trigger. Might have. The grip safety is very nicely fitted and blended, and the engagement is just how I like it. The barrel/bushing fit is tight, needs a wrench to disassemble. Barrel lug impact on the slide stop appears to be very uniform and even.

The VZ Operator II grips are great, but I dislike the color. Some new ones are inbound already.

The rail will see use with an Inforce APL light.

The magwell was loose after the range session. I tightened and secured it with blue loctite when I cleaned it. The ambi thumb safety has a very positive snick/snack engagement/disengagement, and I like the contours/paddles. Like every other Swenson/Ed Brown safety I have ever experienced, it will loosen with repeated use. I plan to tighten the joint, as well as tighten the grip relief to retain it (as advised by Chuck & Log Man in other threads/forums) to resolve this, and if it isn’t to my liking, I will spring for a Wilson BP Ambi.

In all honesty, I haven’t felt this good about a pistol in a LONG time. This thing just feels like a literal extension of my arm, and every engagement/interaction point with my hands is just perfect. And the thing shoots to boot.

I generally dislike Checkmate magazines, so I have some Wilson ETMs on order for this just because. Aside from that, the only potential changes I will make aside from the grips, would be an ambi upgrade if I can’t tighten it up to my liking, or possibly a one-piece magwell-MSH combo.

I also love my Dan Wesson VBOB, but I really feel like this pistol is a step up… when I get around to detail stripping it I will post some more in depth photographs of each of the individual components. For now, here’s what I got, so enjoy:



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Congrats on the awesome pistol. I recently bought a Dan Wesson PM9 and I concur with everything you’ve said about the level of refinement put into the pistol vs. the cost. The most surprising thing for myself was how perfectly fit the trigger was. Something that is usually given little attention to in a production pistol. Same goes for the beavertail. Miine was perfectly blended into the frame, and the frame into the slide.

I’m no fanboy of any particular brand, but I was caught off guard and lured into buying one myself.

I unfortunately had to use the customer service, and that was no slouch either. Don’t forget you can always ship your pistol in for their melonite duty treatment finish for $350. If you are also not happy with the safety, I’m sure they will adjust it for you.

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Congrats on the Specialist. I have one in the Duty Black finish and have been very happy with it. It has eaten everything all of the HPs I’ve tried and all of the 230gr FMJ I can send it and is more accurate than I am. I did the same issue with the bottom of the magwell coming loose, blue loctite solved the problem. Something else that has been pretty well documented is the rear sight drifting to the left so keep your eyes open. I’m not a straight 8 style sight fan so I’ve swapped them with Trijicon HDs. DW is one of the best kept secrets in the semi-custom/production 1911 world there is a lot more hand fitting in these guns then most people admit. I’m glad to see they are getting guns back out the door after the factory fire, we still can’t get any here in Spokane.

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Ever since buying my DW VALOR I’ve been saying the same thing, it is the best $1600 I ever spent on a 1911.

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Hey congrats man enjoy it…DW makes a fine 1911.

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Ditto regarding my Valor. Aside from really dim heinie sights - it is damn near perfect.
Have heard that the melonite sights on a melonite slide is the worst combo regarding sight drift. Lock that puppy down!
John

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Nice 1911. I have a CBOB and I really like it. You certainly get a lot for your money with Dan Wesson. I did have a couple of issues with mine though. The first time I fired it the slide galled and completely locked up and I had to send it back. They took care of it quickly and with no problems. Some time later it went full auto at the range. Turns out the overtravel screw loosened. It was an easy fix with some blue locktite and adjustment. Despite these two things its a really nice pistol and runs very well now. I know they’ve stepped up their game even further since the Valor line came out. Good luck with it. Are they still using a lot of Ed Brown parts?

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Good to hear. I have a PM9 enroute! :slight_smile:

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Dan Wessons 1911s are by far the best value 1911 on the market. Kimber prices and Wilson Combat quality. No mim parts.

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There was a parts list that made it’s way out on 1911 forum, IIRC, for the Valor and the Specialist. There were a lot of Ed Brown and other high end names mixed in with some DW parts.

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Just picked up my Specialist 3 hours ago. The initial resposne - quality out of the box. I am now looking for a Valor!

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Congrats on the new Specialist, and thanks for posting your thoughts & pics. That pistol is on my “need” list, and look forward to picking one up in the near future

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Again thanks for the pics, That’s Great looking 1911, the more and more I see the rails the more I like that look.

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Done and done,

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I’m not sure if DW has solved this yet but keep an eye on your factory rear sight. Mine, and many others, have walked themselves out to the left. I solved it by going to Trijicon HDs, other’s have used loctite on the set screw used to hold the sight in place.

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Will do. I personally like the Heinie-esque sights. If they move, I’ll loc-tite 'em

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Another vote for the DW Valor. Other than the rear sight working loose once, mine has been perfect. Feels great in my hand and eats everything I feed it.

Oh yes, the accuracy is great too. I shoot it better than any other handgun I own except possibly my Ruger .22 target pistol.

COTEP CBOB638

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It’s good to see others appreciating the Dan Wesson 1911s. I enjoy reading about the “aha” moments when DW owners realize how much quality they have purchased with their hard-earned dollars.

There should be a “Congregation/Church/Coalition Of The Enlightened Pistolero”, or something like that.:wink:

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I’m not so sure about all that…my Specialist had 3 significant issues. First is the safety lever. They way they’re made they work themselves loose with just a little use.

Second was the slide stop. It just barely engaged the slide. It was due to the “tombstone” cut on the slide stop having too much material, and it was contacting the cut out in the frame. This only allowed the slide stop to barely make contact with the slide stop notch in the slide. The slide catch notch on the slide would have taken a beating and peened over right quick.

Last was significant barrel springing. there was not any relief in the bushing to allow the barrel to lock up into battery. I measured .011" of spring from the top of the slide to the top of the hood.

Then there is the complete lack of fitting of the mag well, but I saw that going in. Still, the assembler should have said “This ain’t right”

I did contact DW regarding these issues, but I am equipped to remedy them myself, and did so. These are simple fitting issues that need to be addressed at assembly

This particular pistol did not exhibit any signs of hand fitting…unless you consider the hammer strut being ground way undersized where it is pinned into the hammer. It turned brown from the heat of a bench grinder. The barrel hood, where it contacts the breechface was hacked as well. It appears to have been filed crooked then buffed. It is not flat or square to the breechface. These are just parts put together by workers who aren’t quite sure what to do and how to do it. DW has ramped up production, and has about 20 workers assembling pistols now. Their inexperience is showing up in the product they put out.

Here’s a couple pics of the magwell as it came from DW. Note how deep the mainspring housing rides in the frame. This is why the front of the magwell sticks out so far forward,

I re-worked the profile of the magwell,

Frankly, I am not impressed with this pistol as it came from the factory

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Fixed it for you.

COTEP CBOB 0638