MAC 1911-9 DS

[Trooper224]

I handled one of these today for the first time. My observations eco Tokarevs. I'm not deep into the 2011 tall grass, but I have spent some time with a Staccato. This is not that, but niether is the price. I'm a bit puzzled by the lack of any texturing on the mag release. I'd also like the texturing on the grip to be a bit more aggressive. But, niether of those seem to be deal breakers. I'd say the trigger on this sample was a clean five pounds. Everything seemed to operate smoothly. I recently handled an LFA Apollo 11 and, IMHO, that's hot garbage. I suspect the Tisas will be the way to go, if getting out of the boat and going all the way with a Staccato isn't preferable or possible.

[Tokarev]

I handled one of these today for the first time. My observations eco Tokarevs. I'm not deep into the 2011 tall grass, but I have spent some time with a Staccato. This is not that, but niether is the price. I'm a bit puzzled by the lack of any texturing on the mag release. I'd also like the texturing on the grip to be a bit more aggressive. But, niether of those seem to be deal breakers. I'd say the trigger on this sample was a clean five pounds. Everything seemed to operate smoothly. I recently handled an LFA Apollo 11 and, IMHO, that's hot garbage. I suspect the Tisas will be the way to go, if getting out of the boat and going all the way with a Staccato isn't preferable or possible.

Never get out of the boat. Unless you're getting mangoes.

I'd like to see the MAC and the cheaper Tisas side by side. My guess is the MAC would be the easy button for a shooter wanting essentially a turn key option. The Tisas will probably be the better bet as a builder. Maybe @Skinner Precision, LLC can post his thoughts on this.

Hopefully the metallurgy on all these is good. That was one of the things that came up from time to time with the Filipino guns.

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[Tokarev]

I was texting with a buddy who works for a fairly large retail shop and indoor range in AZ. He says the shop has a MAC on order for the rental counter. I'll have to keep in touch with him to see how the gun performs in this capacity.

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[Skinner Precision, LLC]

Never get out of the boat. Unless you're getting mangoes.

I'd like to see the MAC and the cheaper Tisas side by side. My guess is the MAC would be the easy button for a shooter wanting essentially a turn key option. The Tisas will probably be the better bet as a builder. Maybe @Skinner Precision, LLC can post his thoughts on this.

Hopefully the metallurgy on all these is good. That was one of the things that came up from time to time with the Filipino guns.

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First blush opinion, the MAC is nicer, it may be because of extra polising before the finishing but there are more machine marks on the tisas (dealer cost is also significantly less). If the Tisas had a bull barrel instead of a bushing barrel, I probably would have already milled in some ports. The tisas had decent fit on the barrel bushing but when you press downward on the hood there is some movement, I would hope with the stated competition emphasis of the MAC that the barrel would fit better. Tisas also has a GI style recoil spring plug (I didn't even check slide to see if it was reverse cut on the slide ) not really good or bad, easier to disassemble than a 1 price guide rod but not as nice as a dawson tooless...

I am well over 500 rounds (probably over 750 in the three range sessions i have had with it) with the only bobble being when my son got a gen 1 sti (Geppeto workshop era) practice mag out of the range bag and had a feed issue. When I realized what he did, I duplicated the feed issue 5 times hand cycling it and declared it a mag issue. With gen 2/3 staccato, old style SVI, and checkmate mags it hasn't bobbled. I still need to detail strip and look at the insides. While I have it apart I will pin gauge the extractor tunnel in the slide as @Tokarev asked about it and I never responded.

If your high cap 1911 budget previously only allowed a broke down para or a Ria highcap , either of the TISAS/MAC options is way better IMO. I would take either over a EAA girsan or a Prodigy also but it isn't a staccato or custom. I have more than one friend or acquaintance who wants a STI/Staccato after a couple of runs on the plate rack, right up until I tell them the price.

Deciding between the two, the optics plate vs direct mount, bull barrel vs bushing,longer dust cover, and a better finish all make me lean towards the MAC but I would say either is a great gateway drug for the non 2011 owner. If you really plan on swapping out a lot of parts and or whittling on the slide etc go for the cheaper one...

[Tokarev]

@Skinner Precision, LLC can you do me another favor and check the mag catch in the Tisas? Is it the newer Staccato style or the old legacy STI style? I'm also wondering if the polymer frame has the wider material reinforced areas above the trigger guard that Staccato is doing nowadays.

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[Phred]

…If your high cap 1911 budget previously only allowed a broke down para or a Ria highcap , either of the TISAS/MAC options is way better IMO. I would take either over a EAA girsan or a Prodigy also but it isn't a staccato or custom.

Can you expound on this? I’ve been wanting to get into the 2011 world for a little while now. I’m not really interested in spending Staccato money, as this will be a range toy more than anything. I was pretty set on the Prodigy when in was announced, but held off due to the teething issues it exhibited. Was considering pulling the trigger on a Prodigy soon, then the MAC comes on the scene. Why is the MAC a better option than the Prodigy?

[Skinner Precision, LLC]

Can you expound on this? I’ve been wanting to get into the 2011 world for a little while now. I’m not really interested in spending Staccato money, as this will be a range toy more than anything. I was pretty set on the Prodigy when in was announced, but held off due to the teething issues it exhibited. Was considering pulling the trigger on a Prodigy soon, then the MAC comes on the scene. Why is the MAC a better option than the Prodigy?

If there isn't a compelling reason to dive in, it may be safer to sit back another year and see how the Tisas hold up. Given that it is an election year, investing in staccato/atlas/or checkmate magazines now while contemplating the pros and cons of which one you land on may be prudent. I say this not as a fear monger but as someone who was USPSA competitor in the post'94 AWB 90's where mag cost /availability was unthinkable for most who have started more recently.

Initially, I was interested in a Prodigy when they came out but they seemed to all go to high volume dealers first and by the time the dust settled a little , my enthusiasm waned with the teething problems.

As a range toy any of the three (tisas, MAC made by tisas, and SA ) will probably suffice, I am not advocating any of them for "duty" applications. There is a non-insignificant cost delta. SA puts a fair amount of MIM parts in theirs where Tisas has moved away from MIM in their 1911's (yes, I know not all MIM is the same).

I am not ready to declare Tisas DS as superior based on my sample of 1 but I have been happy with the reliability and what I got for what I paid.

I would be less aggravated having to fit a good extractor to a $749 tisas or a $899 MAC than a $ 1334 Prodigy (I used Blackhawk armory retail prices for a apples to apples comparison).

I am not a fan of Prodigy mags (based on the 2 mags I bought to try out when the Prodigy first came out) and prefer other choices so the price delta increases w/getting better mags from the start.

A tricked out Prodigy, the way you like it, after playing with it, may cost you 70-80% of a used staccato but it is hard to sell them for that, with a cheaper base gun you don't price yourself into a tougher resell (1911addicts.com classifieds is a decent place to look at selling trends for this market).

[Tokarev]

I put almost 300 rounds through the MAC this morning. Ammo was a mix of some 90 grain frangible, various weights and brands of JHP and then some 125ish power factor game loads.

The gun is fun to shoot and decently accurate. At 25 yards I can keep five rounds into two and a half or three inches. A few groups were a little better. While not stellar I think that's okay for an off the shelf mass production 1911 style pistol.

The trigger is good but per my earlier comment I think it is a little too long. Most groups were pushed slightly left. The sights appear centered on the gun so I'm likely pushing the gun that way a little when I shoot. I think a slightly shorter trigger may help. Or maybe not.

The recoil spring is too heavy for target loads. I had one failure to feed with an Atlas 20rd and then three or four instances where the slide didn't lock open when empty. This was all with my USPSA stuff. Duty / JHP locked the slide open just fine.

The rear sight plate worked loose around 150 rounds in. I caught it and tightened it before it became an issue. All the other screws stayed tight and are still there. No missing cap screw in the trigger guard, etc.

The gun passes the 10-8 extractor test mostly. It didn't malfunction with no mag in but ejection was a little scattered. I did the test early on and then again at the end of the day. I didn't notice any change in ejection pattern.

I'm pleased. I think I'm off to a good start.



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[Tokarev]

This isn't my pic. But just to give everyone an idea of where the iron sight on the RMR plate falls.

Why, MAC? Why?



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[Tokarev]

MJD posting on socialist media that his grip fits the MAC nicely.



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