So, my never ending quest to find a reliable 9mm 1911 has taken a new turn. My search for this white whale has previously led me to disappointments with Colt’s CCU and various Wilson offerings. In fact only, the Wilson EDC X9 series has been sufficiently reliable to carry.
Hence, I decided to auction one of my kid’s kidneys (the other will probably be up on organbroker.com next week) to buy this:
Total cost on GB after fees and shipping was a tad over $1800. It shipped new, inbox, with 2 10-round mags that were strikingly similar to my Cobramags.
Fit and Finish B+
This gun approaches the fit/finish of my Wilson’s and Springfield Pros (A-). The slide to frame fit is nowhere near as tight as as a Les Baer or Pro; it is almost identical to an Ed Brown. The interior of the slide has an etched serial number.
The safeties have no play with the thumb safety being very crisp. Grip has very aggressive texture and the front are 25 lpi. The finish reminds me of Wilson’s; time will tell how it holds up. The mag well is noice and seems well fit but not perfectly blended like my Wilson’s or Pros. I’d prefer not to have front cocking serrations but like the single notched rail.
The barrel/bushing/slide fit is tight and approaches my Pros and Baers. The barrel crown is recessed and blended perfectly to the bushing. The barrel has a feed ramp which should fell with reliability. I suspect that much of my Colt CcU’s reliability issues came from the barrel lacking this feature.
Trigger A-
Crisp 4.3 lbs with very little grit and take-up before the wall. Reset is very positive.
Reliability B+
DW recommends a 300-round break-in with ball ammo and cleaning after every 50 rounds. I put 50 rounds of 124 grain AE though it today with a mixture of factory, Tripp Cobra, Wilson ETM, and Wilson Vickers mags. No failures. The reason for only a B+ is that the cleaning after every 50 rounds is obnoxious. The grade may improve with time. Semi-custom manufacturers often test fire in the factory which earns the A at this point. Tomorrow, I will clean and repeat the 50 round with a 10-8 extractor test.