Need advice. 1911 Valor vs Range Officer

[Thegeek]

Is there an increased potential for lead exposure during your own loads? Or any way to just avoid that at all? Its been awhile since I looked into it, but I thought it was from cleaning the brass yourself.

Yes, but easy to mitigate. Wear cloves and a particulate mask when cleaning/sorting brass from vibratory media. I've found Acme Bullet Co. has great coated bullets, so touching lead isn't a big issue. Just use your head and you're good to go.

 

[throttletony]

Once the addictions sets in, do most of you that shoot a lot of .45 do your own reloading?

THe day I got my DW, I went a bought a set of .45 acp dies for reloading. I - not a bargain hunter and I don't smelt/pour my own lead projectiles - can reload .45 for about $0.14-17 a piece. I have been reloading 38 spl and 300blk for a few years.

Reusing my brass and anyone else's brass that I can scrounge at the range = free
Buying 1k primers for $20-30 (on sale or not)
Buying copper plated projectiles, 500 for $45-60
Buying 1 lb of powder for $22-30 (on sale or not)

If I made my own lead projectiles or bought in huge bulk, I could get that down to under $.10 each. For now, with the amount of shooting I do, this suits me well.
I use a Lee classic turret press.

 

[Tooms]

I picked up the pointman 9 from the wonderful guys at USDS today. I am a believer now in why some of the 1911s are so expensive. This is the best fit I've ever seen on a handgun that I've held in person. I can't even imagine what a fully custom one would feel like if its worth almost double what a DW is!

 

[churchmouse]

I picked up the pointman 9 from the wonderful guys at USDS today. I am a believer now in why some of the 1911s are so expensive. This is the best fit I've ever seen on a handgun that I've held in person. I can't even imagine what a fully custom one would feel like if its worth almost double what a DW is!

Actual worth is subjective. I learned that right here on Ingo.

Congrates on the new DW.

 

[Tooms]

Took it to the range today. Had to adjust the rear sight quite a bit out of the box, but shot accurate afterwards. The real disappointment was the Wilson Combat mags I bought would FTF about every 1-2 rounds. I switched to factory mags and only had 2 FTF out of around 100 rds.

This is the Wilson Mag I bought: 1911 Elite Tactical Magazine | 10 Round 9mm | Full-Size-http://shopwilsoncombat.com/

They aer very hard to even push the rounds out by hand when mostly full. I am going to leave them filled up for awhile to see if that helps the situation.

These are from the DW PM9 (7 yards)
View attachment 62180 View attachment 62181 View attachment 62182 View attachment 62183

These are the last 4 targets I shot with my XDM 5.25 at a previous visit as a comparison. (7 yards)
View attachment 62184

 

[Brad69]

I have followed the thread with anticipation I am going to acquire a $1000.00 plus Commander size 1911 soon.
DW,S&W,SIG,SA are in the running because of LEO/MIL pricing.
I know a 1911 might need a few rounds to break in but several FTF on a $1200.00 pistol kinda steers me away from DW.

 

[churchmouse]

I have followed the thread with anticipation I am going to acquire a $1000.00 plus Commander size 1911 soon.
DW,S&W,SIG,SA are in the running because of LEO/MIL pricing.
I know a 1911 might need a few rounds to break in but several FTF on a $1200.00 pistol kinda steers me away from DW.

That does not sound right but he stated it came around with the factory mags.

 

[Tooms]

That does not sound right but he stated it came around with the factory mags.

Thats true. Factory mags were fine. I think you have to get the DW through the break in period.

The wilson 10rd mags were the major issue. When loaded to capacity the rounds were very tight. It is hard to remove them by hand. I think thats where the ftf problem is.

 

[Dean C.]

I have followed the thread with anticipation I am going to acquire a $1000.00 plus Commander size 1911 soon.
DW,S&W,SIG,SA are in the running because of LEO/MIL pricing.
I know a 1911 might need a few rounds to break in but several FTF on a $1200.00 pistol kinda steers me away from DW.

Run Wilson magazines in all 1911s and you won't have problems. I own 6 Dan Wesson's and none of them have ever given me problems or needed "breaking in"

 

[Brad69]

I will stay tuned for updates I am in no hurry to purchase.

I will also take advise from our resident 1911 experts.

 

[ChristianPatriot]

I miss my Valor

 

[churchmouse]

Thats true. Factory mags were fine. I think you have to get the DW through the break in period.

The wilson 10rd mags were the major issue. When loaded to capacity the rounds were very tight. It is hard to remove them by hand. I think thats where the ftf problem is.

That should only show on the 1st round in the mag if tightness was the issue.

 

[migunner]

I've had them both sitting in my shopping online shopping cart all week. I've been reading everything I can get my hands on. I was wanting to get a single stack .45 to be used primarily for range target shooting and IDPA. All of my existing handguns are 9mm with the SA XDM 5.25 being my favorite.

I think I want the Dan Wesson Valor .45 ACP (stainless). However, I am on the fence of whether or not its a big step up from a SA Range Officer. I keep going back and forth from A) Would I notice a difference in accuracy or B) Would I "want more" if I bought the Range Officer and end up buying the DW .45 anyways.


Curious on your feedback. Open to other suggestions too, but the $1500 is the limit of I want to buy.

DW 1911's are generally thought to be the best value for the buck of production 1911's. A step up from Production but not custom or semi-custom pricing. I would pay for the DW with my money.

 

[Tooms]

That should only show on the 1st round in the mag if tightness was the issue.

Seemed like it was mostly the first two. I'll have to retest more closely. Wilson Combat responded and said it should work fine with tje PM9. They offered a refund if they don't work out.

 

[halfmileharry]

Thats true. Factory mags were fine. I think you have to get the DW through the break in period.

The wilson 10rd mags were the major issue. When loaded to capacity the rounds were very tight. It is hard to remove them by hand. I think thats where the ftf problem is.

On some of the guns I have I have to run the mags one round short to make them function fully, eg...7 rounds in the 8 round mags and 9 rds in the 10 rd mags.
I do NOT have that issue with the CMC mags.
Some guns are too tight out of the box to run right. The more expensive the gun the more the break in period.

 

[churchmouse]

Load them 1 short. Tap them down on a solid surface after you load them.

 

[Doublehelix]

I run Wilson mags in my DW Silverback, and they work perfectly, although mine is a .45. I had ZERO issues, even from day 1 before it was "broken in". I also have a few of the Chip McCormick and they also work flawlessly. I have NEVER had a FTF other than with some SWCs that I hand loaded a bit too long (my fault).

 

[Tooms]

I think I'll just return the WC ETM 10rd mags. I think the spring is just way too stiff.

Anyone else have a 1911 9mm 10rd mag they'd recommend?

 

[churchmouse]

I think I'll just return the WC ETM 10rd mags. I think the spring is just way too stiff.

Anyone else have a 1911 9mm 10rd mag they'd recommend?

Chip McCormick's.

 

[Thegeek]

Not sure about your weapon, but my Valor took about 350 rounds to finally behave. Even then, all the factory mags were "loose" and cause feed issues.

EDIT: Churchmouse loaned me one of his Wilson mags last year. All of the DW magazines are either Checkmate or Metalform. I watched a few youtube vids on magazine tuning, and took measurements from the Wison mag. It ran great. It was also "in spec" according to the videos. I tightened up all 5 of my magazines and haven't had a problem since. My problems would best be described as nose up into the chamber hood or it would eject, throw a good round out the ejection port, and feed the next one. It's like the recoil would provide enough shock to send the top round forward and the spring pressure under would just force the nose up and squirt it out.