MAC 1911-9 DS

[60167]

Well?

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I want the world to know that I generally have categorical hatred for gunshop parking lot lap photos, but I think this is an exception since I'm proving that receipt of a gun that's been "out for delivery" since Feb. Initial impressions are good. Barrel and slide are tight. The small parts seem to be of good quality. No MIM. I like the nitride finish and the optics cut seems promising. They did a good job of applying lube from the factory. The trigger reach isn't quite as bad as it looks, although it will be replaced. Overall, this gun seems like it would probably work out of the box.

However- the gun is way over sprung, the grip isn't grippy at all, and they forgot to clean out the metal shavings when they cut the slide stop hole.



The good news is that the side stop doesn't seem to have the same problems that @Tokarev seems to have had.

Overall, I think this gun is worth the $900 I paid for it, and I'm feeling pretty confident that it will work with minimal drama once I get springs changed out. More pics and analysis to come.

[60167]

Iron sight plate was tight. Took some convincing with a mallet to get it off.





I pulled it all the way apart to swap parts and get a feel for the thing. This is an interesting gun, you can tell that the product development guys made a list of great ideas that the engineering folks didn't quite execute. They got some stuff right and also missed the mark on other things. Here are some random musings:

1. I love that it's nitrided.
2. The slide to frame fit is really good. I can feel it when I'm taking the slide on/off the rails. It's tight.
3. The hammer and sear pins fit tightly in the frame. IDK if that's good or otherwise, but it seems like quality.
4. They didn't clean the metal chips out of the frame when they drilled the slide stop hole, but someone clearly DID hand polish the disconnector head. The finish is polished away and there's no disco bump when I let the slide forward.
5. The hardware for the optics plate is trash. The cap screw heads are neither standard or metric, and there's enough variance that I used two different sizes of Allen key. I bet they will shear off if I don't replace them. The pan head optic screws are the same. I feel like they executed the slide cut and the plate really well and then they fumbled the hardware.
6. It's cute they included a paper clip for takedown. I don't mind the guiderod, it's light years ahead of the two-piece.
7. I really like the look and feel of the Atlas trigger/Prodigy grip combo. It's a winner for me, and I think it's a big improvement over the factory stuff. The factory Magwell won't fit without fitting, and I'm not sure if I'm going to do that yet.
8. Extractor came tensioned properly and is blended pretty well from the factory. Aight then.

I'm going to have my gunsmith buddy to a trigger job before I put some rounds through it.

I know I'm not shooting it in it's factory form so it's hard for me to assess then gun as-is.

[Tokarev]

Mine is 99% stock.

My gun has been reliable and fun to shoot. I did have some failures to lock open with the factory 18# spring or whatever it is. The gun works fine now with an Atlas 14# spring and Atlas or Check Mate mags. I still have an occasional lock back issue with Dura Mags. Maybe Atlas springs and followers would fix that?

I did tweak my extractor a little just for the sake of bending it. Tension seemed a bit light but I didn't have any failures as a result.

The trigger is too long in dry fire but I don't really seem to notice it much when actually shooting. If and when I get around to having a trigger job done and some parts replaced I'll probably have a shorter trigger put in just to keep the general reach and feel on par with my Prodigy.

I haven't seen anything new from SDS regarding the availability of different optic plates or taller sights. Hopefully these aren't too far away.

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[Tokarev]

Eleven 71 Design has some titanium optic plates available. I assume the EPS or EPS Carry could be used by removing the factory rear sight from the OEM RMR plate. But that's just a guess. Maybe a taller front and rear combo will be needed regardless of optic.

https://eleven71design.com/shop/mac-pistols

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[Tokarev]

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[60167]

My right side thumb safety is wobbly and loose. Not sure if it's long for this world. I forgot to mention in my previous post that the grip screws had loctite on them. That's impressive.

Hopefully I'm training tomorrow so I'll put some rounds through if life doesn't get in the way.

[60167]

First 300.

To recap: I resprung it to 12# recoil 19# hammer. Added a prodigy grip and atlas flat trigger. I tuned the sear spring and checked the extractor. Everything functions with weighted dummy rounds, even when I slow feed the gun. I should have started with the 10-8 extractor test but I decided to just start training. No confirmation whatsoever- just jumped straight in with 10 loaded 2011 mags.

I had 4 failures to feed. I suspected the extractor was a little tight, but I traced the malfunction to a single dirty prodigy mag that's been dropped in the moon dust too many times. I removed that mag from circulation and the problems stopped.

I shoot USPSA and my training reflects that. Lots of moving into and out of position. Shooting with less than ideal stance and grip. I shot it pretty fast (1.80 ish bill drills) and it chugged along minus the mentioned malfunctions. I think this is a very promising start, given that I was ready to chuck my Prodigy into the river at this stage with that gun.

I would have hit 500 rounds but: Whomp whomp.



This was my bad. Totally on me. Life is tougher when you are dumb. The gun came with 3 sets of optics screws. I used the mediums which got me a few threads of engagement, but it wasn't enough. I should have used the long screws cut to length but I decided to use my free time shooting instead of tinkering. I thought this would happen. Don't be me. Do better.

That said, I went to the hardware store and got stainless Torx head bolts of better quality and cut them down to length. These aint going nowhere. These are 6/32 screws if anyone is wondering.

TLDR: Promising start. I'm cautiously optimistic.

[60167]

550 rounds.

I tweaked my extractor and had my gunsmith buddy mess with it a little. He noted that there is a negative sear angle that will require a bit of work to get out. The sear spring was adjusted as much as possible to lighten the trigger, but you can visibly see the hammer rock back ever so slightly before it breaks. I also showed him my worn out dirty Prodigy mag and he laughed at me for thinking anything would function with that mag.

I shot at an indoor range at a pace that broke the rules (it's cool, I'm a regular). I shot all 250 rounds in about 10 minutes or so, and the gun got too hot to handle. Zero stoppages, malfunctions, "almost malfunctions", flaws or anything to note.

TLDR: 500 rounds total, no stoppages today. The 4 yesterday were attributed to an old crappy mag that didn't even come with the gun. Hammer and sear on the chopping block.

[60167]

This Harrison Design safety is realllllllly nice.

[Tokarev]

This Harrison Design safety is realllllllly nice.

It appears to mate well with the color and lines of the gun. Any obnoxious work to fit?

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