Finally bought first 1911-Dan Wesson Specialist

[Rmiked]

After looking since Covid hit I finally was able to put my hands on a Dan Wesson Specialist. I was seriously considering the Heritage but decided all the additional features (night sights, magwell, ambi safety, VZ grips and rail) was a good value. Admittedly the Heritage has the more classic look. I live in Fort Mill, SC. The gun shop that had the pistol is in Charlotte , NC (25 minute drive). I was able to physically examine the pistol vs order online (very tight frame to slide fit). Since it is an “out of State sale”, I paid for it but it is being shipped yesterday to FFL here for transfer, so I don’t physically possess it yet. Hopefully by tomorrow. I have not seen in person ANY Specialists in any LGS within an hour of me for 9 months. This one is 10mm. After discussing it with my adult sons, I went with 10mm as we all want to take a deer with pistol. I called Dan Wesson and straight up asked them IF they had 10mm figured out regarding the ramped barrel, feeding, ejection etc. They assured me they do. This pistol will be a fun gun, bedside, truck and likely hunting. I will carry my Beretta 92A1 when carry is needed. For hunting the 10mm should do nicely reading ballistics comparing to 357. Anyway, I hate paying for a pistol and NOT bringing it home. But the wait is over. I bought 2 boxes of 180 grain FMJ by Sellior and Beloit to start breaking it in. Ammo still scarce of course. Thanks for all the nuances about 1911. I’m retired and the more I read I kept hearing good things about Dan Wesson. Not cheap (to me, but I realize not Custom) but it sure felt good in hand and looks awesome.

[claymore504]

Glad you found what you wanted locally. I have been wanting a railed 45ACP Specialist for a while, but never see one. I should have bought on through CZ directly when they still had the LE/MIL program.

[sabasarge]

Looking forward to the pics!

[Rmiked]

Glad you found what you wanted locally. I have been wanting a railed 45ACP Specialist for a while, but never see one. I should have bought on through CZ directly when they still had the LE/MIL program.

Agreed. Didn’t want to order one sight unseen. This is the first Specialist I have physically held in 9 months. Another LGS has a Heritage that is $200 above retail. For some reason the 10mm is $120 higher than 45 or 9mm? At least on the DW website. Not sure why. I paid $40 above the DW retail. Supply and demand.

[FrankB]

Congratulations! I bought two Dan Wesson Vigil CCO pistols last August: a 9mm and a .45acp. The 9mm has been 100% flawless, and deadly accurate at 25 yards. I never shot the .45, but it was an equally beautiful pistol. Another PF member owns it now, so maybe they’ll report on it.

[Cory]

I'm sure it'll be great! Can't wait to see pictures.

If I had a 10mm for hunting I know I'd be looking for a WW2 era tanker style chest holster.

[JTQ]

Congratulations. It should give you many years of fine service.



Make sure you read the manual.

Don't be that guy who damages his Duty Treat finish or has a galling issue because they didn't read the manual.

[HCM]

After looking since Covid hit I finally was able to put my hands on a Dan Wesson Specialist. I was seriously considering the Heritage but decided all the additional features (night sights, magwell, ambi safety, VZ grips and rail) was a good value. Admittedly the Heritage has the more classic look. I live in Fort Mill, SC. The gun shop that had the pistol is in Charlotte , NC (25 minute drive). I was able to physically examine the pistol vs order online (very tight frame to slide fit). Since it is an “out of State sale”, I paid for it but it is being shipped yesterday to FFL here for transfer, so I don’t physically possess it yet. Hopefully by tomorrow. I have not seen in person ANY Specialists in any LGS within an hour of me for 9 months. This one is 10mm. After discussing it with my adult sons, I went with 10mm as we all want to take a deer with pistol. I called Dan Wesson and straight up asked them IF they had 10mm figured out regarding the ramped barrel, feeding, ejection etc. They assured me they do. This pistol will be a fun gun, bedside, truck and likely hunting. I will carry my Beretta 92A1 when carry is needed. For hunting the 10mm should do nicely reading ballistics comparing to 357. Anyway, I hate paying for a pistol and NOT bringing it home. But the wait is over. I bought 2 boxes of 180 grain FMJ by Sellior and Beloit to start breaking it in. Ammo still scarce of course. Thanks for all the nuances about 1911. I’m retired and the more I read I kept hearing good things about Dan Wesson. Not cheap (to me, but I realize not Custom) but it sure felt good in hand and looks awesome.

Dan Wesson makes great 1911s and I’m sure they have 10mm in a 1911 figured out as well as anyone.

Just keep in mind that there is a broad range of 10mm ammo in terms of power. It ranges from duplicating 40 S&W performance on the low end to .41 mag performance on the other.

As such, I would expect the gun to run standard 10mm like your S&B without issue, however if you are running hotter .41 mag level loads such as those from Buffalo Bore and other boutique makers expect to re-spring the gun to compensate for the hotter ammo.

[Rmiked]

I have thought about that. Is there a standard guide for recoil spring rating (20# spring etc) for various energy loads? I don’t even know what comes standard in the 10mm Specialist. I can call DW. I guess if a spring is too light there might be some failure to feed issues. If a spring is too heavy likely some failure to eject issues. I’m thinking failing to lock back on empty mag implies the spring is too heavy for the load being fired.

Update: Just called DW. They said the 10mm spring is 22#.

[farscott]

Congrats on your first 1911 and on finding factory 10mm ammo. The latter is truly impressive.

As for DW's 10mm offerings, it appears that CZ/DW has figured out 10mm 1911s as well as anyone. The good news is the 10mm round is long enough to be a good fit for the 1911 magazine length. It also offers sufficient impulse to operate the pistol. As such, it should be reliable. If more magazines are needed, Tripp offers very good ones at https://www.trippresearchinc.com/10mm/ .

I would run the gun wet with lube, more than you are used to using with the Beretta. 1911s have fairly long bearing surfaces compared to later designs like the Glock and need a bit more lube. My preference is a drop on the barrel near the muzzle where the barrel bushing locks, a drop each on the barrel locking lugs (top and bottom), a drop on the disconnect rail, and a drop on each slide rail. Cycle the pistol by hand. If the slide does not appear to move smoothly, something needs lube. The place where the hesitation is noted is what tells you what needs lube.