Dan Wesson A2 in the house

[JAH 3rd]

About 6 weeks ago I purchased a new Dan Wesson A2 1911 parkerized, 5" barrel. So what about the pistol appealed to me? I like the following: 1) The GI finish, 2) Upgrades sights, 3) Flared and lowered ejection port, 4) Match barrel, 5) arched mainspring housing, 6) A holeless trigger, and 7) No MIM parts.

I did the typical clean and lube job. This pistol box had a date on it of 6/2018. This was not a problem at all. But she was bone dry. The bushing was tight in the slide because of no lube; same with the slide stop. No complaints here, just how the pistol was when i received it.

My first 200 rounds was with Winchester white box ball ammo. 100% feed, fire and eject. This was done in two 100 round sessions with a cleaning after each 100 rounds. About 2 weeks later I shot 150 rounds of Remington Golden Saber 230 gr JHP ammo through it in one session. Again, 100% function.

I don't have any way of measuring the trigger pull. It is by far the nicest trigger of any pistol I own. A shooting buddy tried the trigger and was amazed at the take-up then hammer fall. My only other 1911 is a Springfield Loaded. The two triggers don't come close. The DW is by far the better of the two.

In sum, it's a lot of money for a 1911 but I am satisfied with the DW and look forward to many more outings with it. The only downside is my S&W M&P 2.0 full-size .45ACP had an improved trigger over the 1.0 ( and still does ), but this DW 1911 sure has put things in perspective.

[Robinson]

Nice. Congrats on the new pistol.

[FrankB]

It’s tough to beat a good 1911 trigger. Enjoy!

[Tom Duffy]

Before I bought my DW V-Bob, I tried the A2 in the store. I was amazed at the trigger pull and overall fit, finish, and function of the gun. I decided that I really wanted a 9mm for ammo costs and recoil considerations or I'd have been very happy with the A2. Congratulations on the purchase.

[JAH 3rd]

Went to the range today and shot 250 rounds thru my DW A2 1911. The menu consisted of 50 rounds HST 230 +P JHP, 100 rounds Remington Golden Saber 230 JHP, and 100 rounds of American Eagle 230 FMJ. All rounds fed, fired, and ejected.

Had a variety of magazines: Chip McCormick Power Mag and Railed Mags, both 8 rounds. Checkmate 7 round magazines with the dimpled follower and slam pad. Dan Wesson 8 round mags which look an awful like Checkmate 8 round hybrid feedlips. Springfield Armory 7 round magazines. Wilson Combat 7 round stainless mags.

All in all, a good day. I shot the two JHP loads first. Saved the FMJ for last which made them seem even more serene after the first 150 rounds.

[JAH 3rd]

Over the past two months I have put 400 rounds of American Eagle 230 fmj and 23 rounds of 230 JHP (HST and GD) The pistol continues to chug right along, 100% in all facets of function. It has one sweet trigger. I'm a believer!!

[JonInWA]

The only thing that doesn't appeal to me on the A2 is the hamer profile, and that's a purely aesthetic reaction on my part. I'd imagine that it would be easy enough to swap it for a "standard" 1911 hammer.

Best, Jon

[Trooper224]

The DWA2 sounds a lot like the short run of CZ1911A1s CZ put out a few years ago. Since CZ owns DW I suspect the two are heavily related. I own one of the CZs and it's as fine a plain vanilla 1911 as I've ever seen.

[TOTS]

Congratulations on a classy gun! I have the same feelings about my Valor.
So.............Pics?

[ReverendMeat]

Cleaning every 100 rounds? Is that for like a break in procedure of some kind?

[JAH 3rd]

I was reading my DW owner's manual last night. The break-in procedure calls for shooting 300-500 rounds of "ball" ammunition with cleaning and lubrication after shooting 50 rounds. DW rates their 1911s as capable of handling +P ammo. Also for "best results", DW recommends using "ball" ammo and this comment was not in the "break-in" section of the manual. The use of reloaded ammo, commercial or individual, voids the warranty. They recommend the use of factory loaded "new" ammo that meets SAAMI standards.

They recommend a high quality gun oil such as FP-10, Militec-1, or Mil-Comm TW25B grease.

[CalAlumnus]

The use of reloaded ammo, commercial or individual, voids the warranty.

I’m pretty sure every gun manual says this.

[Robinson]

Cleaning every 100 rounds? Is that for like a break in procedure of some kind?

There have been numerous instances of people having trouble with Dan Wesson pistols that did not follow the break-in process provided in the manual. I think they also tell you to use the supplied lube during the break-in.

DW offers a lot of value at the price point and I think their guns are very good. But for reasons I don't completely understand, it's important to follow the prescribed break-in process with their guns otherwise you may be asking for trouble.

[ReverendMeat]

There have been numerous instances of people having trouble with Dan Wesson pistols that did not follow the break-in process provided in the manual. I think they also tell you to use the supplied lube during the break-in.

DW offers a lot of value at the price point and I think their guns are very good. But for reasons I don't completely understand, it's important to follow the prescribed break-in process with their guns otherwise you may be asking for trouble.

Weird. My valor got through the 2k challenge out of the box without any real trouble.

[Cory]

Weird. My valor got through the 2k challenge out of the box without any real trouble.

I think most of the issues with following break in rules involves galling in stainless guns. I haven't read about that in a few years, but I'm not reading about 1911s as much as I was in 2015. It might be fixed by now.

-Ciry

[Sauer Koch]

Mine had some feeding issues, which were mag issues. In the end I chose the Tripp Cobra mag as my go-to, and feel they are built like tanks, and uber-reliable. I sent it off to John Harrison for a round-butt, FS & MSH scallops, and had him replace the thumb safety with one of his, since the stock one wasn’t fitted properly, and DW refused to fix it under warranty. He also did a tune & reliability check, and found the extractor was a bit too long, and installed one of his. He fitted a pair of his VZ grips, and had it sent off to Birdsong to be coated with Black T.
He was quite impressed with the overall quality of the gun, and said he wouldn’t hesitate to recommend a DW to a customer for a base gun for a full custom gun, or as is.

It’s ran great ever since.

55320

[Wingate's Hairbrush]

I think most of the issues with following break in rules involves galling in stainless guns. I haven't read about that in a few years, but I'm not reading about 1911s as much as I was in 2015. It might be fixed by now.

-CiryThis. I think DW continues to advise a specific break-in protocol in part because they spec their guns pretty tight, but largely as a result of the galling issues they had for a discrete period. I follow the two main 1911 sites closely and galling chatter has dropped almost entirely for the last few years.

[Totem Polar]

Mine had some feeding issues, which were mag issues. In the end I chose the Tripp Cobra mag as my go-to, and feel they are built like tanks, and uber-reliable. I sent it off to John Harrison for a round-butt, FS & MSH scallops, and had him replace the thumb safety with one of his, since the stock one wasn’t fitted properly, and DW refused to fix it under warranty. He also did a tune & reliability check, and found the extractor was a bit too long, and installed one of his. He fitted a pair of his VZ grips, and had it sent off to Birdsong to be coated with Black T.
He was quite impressed with the overall quality of the gun, and said he wouldn’t hesitate to recommend a DW to a customer for a base gun for a full custom gun, or as is.

It’s ran great ever since.

55320

Beautiful gun!

Plus, it’s the rare A2 that runs on 9mm...

;) ;)

I keep eyeballing one of these in an out-of-the way LGS in my region; I could probably make an offer, since they’ve had it a while.

But I’m sort of spoiled by my $450 Mil-Spec Springer that’s actually run Extremely well for me. I don’t want to jinx my luck by buying a “better” 1911...

[Sauer Koch]

Beautiful gun!

Plus, it’s the rare A2 that runs on 9mm...

;) ;)

I keep eyeballing one of these in an out-of-the way LGS in my region; I could probably make an offer, since they’ve had it a while.

But I’m sort of spoiled by my $450 Mil-Spec Springer that’s actually run Extremely well for me. I don’t want to jinx my luck by buying a “better” 1911...

Thanks. My A2 is 45, I just had it on my ammo shelf for the pic. That 9mm ammo is for my Sig’s & HK’s & CZ.

[Trooper224]

With my Valor, I followed the break in recommendations concerning rounds fired before cleaning, lubing, etc. However, I did use my own SWC handloads and had no issues.

[Totem Polar]

Thanks. My A2 is 45, I just had it on my ammo shelf for the pic. That 9mm ammo is for my Sig’s & HK’s & CZ.

I figured. the A2 has been on my list, so I know it’s .45-only. Just yanking your chain. Seriously, John’s work looks great on it. #want

[45dotACP]

He also did a tune & reliability check, and found the extractor was a bit too long, and installed one of his.
55320

Lots of factory production 1911s suffer this problem.

Damn that's a good looking gun though.

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

[TC215]

There have been numerous instances of people having trouble with Dan Wesson pistols that did not follow the break-in process provided in the manual. I think they also tell you to use the supplied lube during the break-in.

DW offers a lot of value at the price point and I think their guns are very good. But for reasons I don't completely understand, it's important to follow the prescribed break-in process with their guns otherwise you may be asking for trouble.

That's mainly been with the bare stainless guns.

They also quit supplying the lube a few years ago.

[Robinson]

That's mainly been with the bare stainless guns.

They also quit supplying the lube a few years ago.

I agree, the cases I've read about have been with the bare stainless guns and galling. I don't know if that has been addressed by DW or if they still rely on the user following the break-in procedure.