Yay verily, more 1911 talk was thrown upon the cyberwater and the teeth gnashing of the P-F Hive Mind did thusly commence. Trooper224 cast his gaze upon it and saw that it was good.
For your consideration and whatever value you may find in it, if nothing more than a guilty pleasure.
About three years ago I decided it was time to start using something more modern than the 1911, which had served as my carry gun for almost twenty five years. Over a two year period I experimented with several designs and while most of them were satisfactory for the most part, none of them worked quite as well for me as God's Gun. Consequently, I decided to return to the fold, so to speak. There was only one problem, I'd given my long serving Colt Government Model to my youngest son on his twenty first birthday. Unlike many, I'm not dogmatic in my love for John Browning's wonder gun. I don't think it's the only gun "real men" carry, or any of that drivel. I don't think the .45acp is a lightning bolt from the hand of Zeus, whereas the 9mm is a grain of sand fired from a slingshot. I'm well aware of the designs quirks and limitations, but I also know that it works better for me, in my personal context, than any other handgun. This time I was sure I was done with it. So sure that I gave my companion of over a decade to my youngest offspring. I should have known better since I'd been down this particular road more than once, but heck, it meant quite a lot to give it to him and it meant a lot to him to receive it. It also turned out to be the perfect excuse to buy a new gun.
In the interim I carried one of the guns I use for training and competition, a lightly modified Springfield Range Officer, in .45acp. While the aforementioned pistol has been a very solid performer in the years I've had it, the round count is getting pretty high. I'm also a firm believer in having more than one example of a chosen carry gun: one for carry, one for training and, if possible, a spare. Consequently, I started the search for a new carry companion. I had recently picked up a CZ1911A1 and for those unfamiliar, the pistol is actually made by Dan Wesson, of which CZ is the parent company. The CZ was pretty much a straight up GI style 1911, which I consider unsuitable for dedicated carry. I bought it primarily for nostalgia, as it reminded me of the pistols I was issued while in servitude to Uncle Sugar. However, I was impressed by the overall quality of the build. Therefore, I decided to give Dan Wesson 1911's a closer look. Enter the Valor.
I had handled the Valor on several occasions when it was first introduced, but at the time I had no need for another 1911, so I put it out of mind. Over the years, most of my pistols have been from Colt and Springfield Armory and I've always received yeoman service from them, so I didn't have much incentive to look elsewhere. I've had the Valor since June 14th and at the time of this writing I've fired 2500 rounds through my example. I can unequivocally state that this is a large step up from my old pistols.
The fit and finish of the Valor is excellent, bordering on perfect and the interior is as well finished as the exterior.. All edges are nicely broken, not scalpel sharp like many found on Colt pistols. The aesthetics of the Valor are much to my liking. I don't care for forward cocking serrations for one thing. I won't turn my nose up at a fine pistol if it has them, but I'll pass on the option if I have a choice. The Valor's clean appearance also greatly appeals to me. No billboard slide markings here. Once again, not a deal breaker but their absence is welcome.
All parts are very well fit and finished, far better than the standard production gun. The Valor is tightly fit, but not excessively so. I've seen semi-custom pistols, such as those from Les Baer, that are prohibitively tight, in my opinion. The Valor is tight enough out of the box to require a bushing wrench for disassembly, but not so tight as to practically need a mallet to take it apart. The 25 lines per inch checkering on the frame's front strap and mainspring housing is very well executed and provides a very secure griping surface. I find the 25 LPI checkering to be the perfect balance for security and comfort, not nearly as harsh as Springfield's 20 LPI and more secure than the 30 LPI found on some custom guns.
Dan Wesson's black Duty Treat finish has impressed me greatly. Unlike the popular spray on/bake on finishes, Duty Treat in a ferritic nitrocarburizing process that bonds with the metal instead of simply covering the surface. Dan Wesson is certainly proud of their finish since it increases the cost of the gun by more than three hundred dollars. However, after thousands of presentations from the holster the exterior finish shows shows no perceptible wear. the interior finish is nearl as unscathed after 2500 rounds.
The finish in the magazine well is of particular note. After thousands of magazine changes, with metal on metal contact, the finish is as new. Expensive yes, but worthwhile in my opinion.
The sights are of Heine straight eight style. I believe they aren't actually Heine sights, but rather licensed copies made by Dan Wesson. Regardless, this is my first experience with them past the gun shop counter and they've quickly become my favorite sights for use on a carry/duty gun. The green tritium vial on the front sight is quickly and easily aligned over the single amber vial in the rear sight. I prefer an uncluttered black rear sight and this rear sight provides this in daylight, as the single vial located below the sight notch doesn't draw the shooter's focus like bars or dots on either side of the notch will. All in all, very quick and accurate sights that are usable in a variety of situations, an excellent choice. The rear sight also has the popular ledge feature, used to assist in one-handed manipulation. I find I prefer this feature on a carry gun. Like tritium sights, it's merit is often debated in cyberspace. However, like the aforementioned sights it adds neither weight or bulk to the weapon so why not?
The pistol's trigger breaks at an even and very consistent four pounds. I consider this perfect for a carry 1911. The trigger features minimal take up and no over travel, as well as breaking like the proverbial glass rod. (I won't describe it as crisp. Since it isn't a piece of celery. I don't like the term and prefer not to use it. Well, I just did didn't I, but since it's in parentheses it doesn't count.) The thumb safety exhibits very positive engagement in both directions, unlike other production 1911's I've recently examined that feature very sloppy safeties. It's paddle is neither too wide nor too narrow, but rather splits the perfect difference between the two. The grip safety is also very well fit and tuned. I've seen many 1911's that required a full depressing of the grip safety to deactivate it. Not so the Valor, the safety provides secure engagement when static, but disengages with little pressure. Again, perfect for a carry gun.
The factory supplied slimline VZ grips are attractive and feature a good surface texture, but unfortunately they don't work with my large hands. Because of this I replaced them with a set of VZ Slants, of standard thickness and in the same black/grey color scheme. The Slants have become my favorite working grips. Since I carry the 1911 as an off duty weapon I often carry it against my bare skin in an inside the waistband holster. I find the grips texture to provide a nice balance of security and comfort. I also replaced the torx head grip screws with a proper set of slotted screws. The hole in the torx head penetrates into the screw's shaft, past the head. This results in a weak juncture between the head and the shaft and it's far too easy to snap the head off with over tightening. I know many reading this will think, "I've never done it." No one has, until they do. As such, torx head screws have no place on a weapon meant for serious use.
All of this is immaterial though if the gun doesn't shoot. Does the Valor perform? I think it does. Dan Wesson recommends a three to five hundred round break in period, with cleaning every fifty rounds. I've always considered break in periods to be bunk. A gun should work right out of the box. I've traditionally considered break in periods to be the manufacturer using the consumer as the Beta tester, in the final manufacturing steps they should be doing themselves. Given the Valor's tight assembly I decided to adhere, not perfectly but closely, to the advised procedure. I cleaned the pistol every one hundred or so rounds for the first five hundred and used the supplied oil for lubrication. During the break in I only encountered one issue: the Valor's barrel features a tight chamber, tight enough that I had to increase the taper crimp on my handloads just a bit. This was observed and rectified during the first range session and no malfunctions have been experienced since. I fired several hundred rounds of factory hollow points through the Valor, including two hundred Federal 230 grain HST's, one hundred 230 grain Speer Gold Dots and two hundred 230 grain Remington Golden Sabres. Thus far, the rest of my ammunition expenditure has consisted of my handloads, using both 230 grain round nose and 200 grain semi-wadcutter bullets with various powders. Other than the previously mentioned crimp issue no other problems have been encountered.
The following groups are illustrative of the usual results I've seen thus far.
An eight round group fired from a benchrest position, at twentyfive yards.
An eight round group fired off hand, also at twenty five yards.
The right orientation of the groups are due entirely to the boob on the bang switch at the given time, not the gun itself. I've used the two factory supplied eight round Metalform magazines, as well as my prefered Checkmate eight round extended tube magazines. No magazine related issues have been encountered.
Overall I find the Dan Wesson Valor to be an excellent handgun. It features everything I prefer in a 1911 and nothing I don't. The build quality is far above other production guns. I really think the Valor takes a production 1911 as far as it can go. Step up another notch and I think you're looking at something else entirely. In fact, I think the quality is such that I question the need for other semi-production guns. I've had experience with guns in that category: Wilsons, Baers, Browns, Nighthawks, etc. They are all beautiful guns to be sure. However, as with anything, one eventually reaches a point of diminishing returns wherein the cost continues to increase, but the incremental increases in quality become smaller. A shooting partner of mine recently purchased a Wilson Combat CQB and it's without a doubt an excellent pistol. However, it's price tag is roughly twice that of the Valor. Is it twice the pistol? No, not even close. In the end I have to ask the question, if something more is desired, would it be better to skip the semi-custom offerings and go to a full custom build instead? I can't answer that off hand, but I can say with considered certainly that the Dan Wesson Valor is an excellent 1911.
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