Finally picked her up from Bass N' Bucks in Wabash (Bass N' Bucks is not a Dan Wesson dealer they just ordered it for me). Upon receiving the pistol it comes in a very nice hard case with two Check-Mate magazines (one of them had a bent lip and was defective) a bushing wrench (needed later) and a bottle of lube for the absolutely immaculate pistol inside.
Street price for VBOB's (Valor Bobtail) are around $1800 for the Duty Coated VBOB and $1600 for the stainless model. I opted for the black finish as Dan Wesson's proprietary Duty Coat is almost indestructible my ECO with the same finish shows no wear even after nine solid months of carry. Upon first inspection the gun is very well put together with allot of attention put into every step of its assembly. Sights are clear and crisp featuring Heine straight eight sights with a ledge on the rear sight for one handed manipulation of the gun. The trigger broke evenly at 3.7 LBS and was very crisp with almost no pre-travel making it seem even lighter.
The VBOB was then taken to the range out back and we (my father, Bass N' Bucks owner and I ) shot around 240-250 rounds through it straight out of the box. The rounds used in this range trip were as follows.
Blazer Brass 230gr. FMJ
Magtech 230gr JHP +P (Very hot producing 518 foot pounds of energy on target at 1007 FPS)
Federal 230gr Hydra-Shok JHP
Federal 165gr Guard Dog Expanding FMJ
Federal 230gr HST (my preferred carry round)
Side note: The sights are set up as a loli-pop from Dan Wesson and were quite east to get the hang of.
During the entire range trip the VBOB did not experience a single malfunction across all types of ammunition and magazine types used. Recoil was very manageable and did not fatigue the shooter. Upon presenting the pistol towards the target it pointed very well and the VG slim line G10 grips gave the shooter allot of control over the weapon. The safety comes off with an nice audible click and the Heine straight eight sights were easy to acquire and shoot, all three of us were able to shoot an eight shot group around two inches wide at 20 yards by the end of the range trip with little difficulty attesting to how well the VBOB is put together. (Forgot to take pictures of the targets will post next time I take the VBOB to the range)
Now after proving itself on the range it was time to take the VBOB down and see what made it such an incredible shooting pistol. All the parts on the VBOB are either forged steel of milled from bar stock there are absolutely no MIM parts on any Dan Wesson pistol (Kimber, Colt and Springfield I am looking at you). The Slide to frame fit is very tight as well as the barrel to slide fit with no discernible movement evident in the pistol.
The bushing to barrel fit was also very tight with a bushing wrench needed to get the bushing off the slide. The part used by Dan Wesson is an EGW carry bevel bushing (the bushing and the main spring housing are the only two parts not made by Dan Wesson in house).
The slide and frame are totally coated in the Duty Coat finish inside and out. The coating wears very well and provides a smooth surface for which the action to ride. There are no visible machine marks or imperfections evident on any part of the VBOB.
The front strap checkering is 25LPI and is very grippy but not overly aggressive like on a Springfield TRP. A side note is that the checkering on the steel frames seems to be sharper than that on the alloy framed Dan Wessons despite both being the exact same LPI.
(VBOB on the right with the alloy framed ECO to the left)
The match grade barrel is also very well done on the VBOB helping aid in the guns incredible accuracy. While it is a match grade barrel the chamber is not so tight as to cause malfunctions with reloaded ammunition. The throat is also polished helping to aid in reliability.
The VBOB features an GI style recoil system and was re assembled very easily with everything fitting back together perfectly and smoother than ever. The smoothness of the action is easily comparable to our Wilson Combat CQB.
All in all the VBOB is an amazing value coming with the same fit and finish as other 1911's that cost $1000+ more. A person at the range who handled the VBOB said it was as nice as his Ed Brown Kobra Carry and were almost identical when compared to each other. So if you are looking for a commander sized 1911 look no further the VBOB comes with everything a good defensive pistol needs: great fit and finish, 100% reliability, ultra slim, and in a caliber suitable for self defense.
10/10 would buy again.
Street price for VBOB's (Valor Bobtail) are around $1800 for the Duty Coated VBOB and $1600 for the stainless model. I opted for the black finish as Dan Wesson's proprietary Duty Coat is almost indestructible my ECO with the same finish shows no wear even after nine solid months of carry. Upon first inspection the gun is very well put together with allot of attention put into every step of its assembly. Sights are clear and crisp featuring Heine straight eight sights with a ledge on the rear sight for one handed manipulation of the gun. The trigger broke evenly at 3.7 LBS and was very crisp with almost no pre-travel making it seem even lighter.
The VBOB was then taken to the range out back and we (my father, Bass N' Bucks owner and I ) shot around 240-250 rounds through it straight out of the box. The rounds used in this range trip were as follows.
Blazer Brass 230gr. FMJ
Magtech 230gr JHP +P (Very hot producing 518 foot pounds of energy on target at 1007 FPS)
Federal 230gr Hydra-Shok JHP
Federal 165gr Guard Dog Expanding FMJ
Federal 230gr HST (my preferred carry round)
Side note: The sights are set up as a loli-pop from Dan Wesson and were quite east to get the hang of.
During the entire range trip the VBOB did not experience a single malfunction across all types of ammunition and magazine types used. Recoil was very manageable and did not fatigue the shooter. Upon presenting the pistol towards the target it pointed very well and the VG slim line G10 grips gave the shooter allot of control over the weapon. The safety comes off with an nice audible click and the Heine straight eight sights were easy to acquire and shoot, all three of us were able to shoot an eight shot group around two inches wide at 20 yards by the end of the range trip with little difficulty attesting to how well the VBOB is put together. (Forgot to take pictures of the targets will post next time I take the VBOB to the range)
Now after proving itself on the range it was time to take the VBOB down and see what made it such an incredible shooting pistol. All the parts on the VBOB are either forged steel of milled from bar stock there are absolutely no MIM parts on any Dan Wesson pistol (Kimber, Colt and Springfield I am looking at you). The Slide to frame fit is very tight as well as the barrel to slide fit with no discernible movement evident in the pistol.
The bushing to barrel fit was also very tight with a bushing wrench needed to get the bushing off the slide. The part used by Dan Wesson is an EGW carry bevel bushing (the bushing and the main spring housing are the only two parts not made by Dan Wesson in house).
The slide and frame are totally coated in the Duty Coat finish inside and out. The coating wears very well and provides a smooth surface for which the action to ride. There are no visible machine marks or imperfections evident on any part of the VBOB.
The front strap checkering is 25LPI and is very grippy but not overly aggressive like on a Springfield TRP. A side note is that the checkering on the steel frames seems to be sharper than that on the alloy framed Dan Wessons despite both being the exact same LPI.
(VBOB on the right with the alloy framed ECO to the left)
The match grade barrel is also very well done on the VBOB helping aid in the guns incredible accuracy. While it is a match grade barrel the chamber is not so tight as to cause malfunctions with reloaded ammunition. The throat is also polished helping to aid in reliability.
The VBOB features an GI style recoil system and was re assembled very easily with everything fitting back together perfectly and smoother than ever. The smoothness of the action is easily comparable to our Wilson Combat CQB.
All in all the VBOB is an amazing value coming with the same fit and finish as other 1911's that cost $1000+ more. A person at the range who handled the VBOB said it was as nice as his Ed Brown Kobra Carry and were almost identical when compared to each other. So if you are looking for a commander sized 1911 look no further the VBOB comes with everything a good defensive pistol needs: great fit and finish, 100% reliability, ultra slim, and in a caliber suitable for self defense.
10/10 would buy again.
