Dan Wesson Specialist 9mm Review and Impressions

[Sensei]

150 more rounds of 124 grain AE and 50 rounds of 147 grain HST. Lots of FAST drills and some timed 6-plate rack, so plenty of opportunities for reloads. No feeding or extraction issues. There were 3 instances where the slide dropped when an empty mag was ejected and 1 instance of failure of the slide to lock back on an empty mag. 2 of the instances of the slide dropping occurred with Wilson Vickers mags; the other with a Tripp Cobra. I do not recall what mag was involved in the failure to lock back. All of these slide issues occurred during timed drills.

It’s not uncommon for me to have my support hand muck with the side stop lever. The slide dropping with mag release is fairly uncommon for me though. I inspected the lever and there is no abnormal wear. The mags did not appear to be dirty or weak sprung. So, it’s very possible that it was my support hand getting a little sloppy.

Still, I’m encouraged by the results so far. I’m coming up on 500 rounds with no major feeding or extraction issues despite introducing some JHP ammo to the diet.

[Ichiban]

150 more rounds of 124 grain AE and 50 rounds of 147 grain HST. Lots of FAST drills and some timed 6-plate rack, so plenty of opportunities for reloads. No feeding or extraction issues. There were 3 instances where the slide dropped when an empty mag was ejected and 1 instance of failure of the slide to lock back on an empty mag. 2 of the instances of the slide dropping occurred with Wilson Vickers mags; the other with a Tripp Cobra. I do not recall what mag was involved in the failure to lock back. All of these slide issues occurred during timed drills.

It’s not uncommon for me to have my support hand muck with the side stop lever. The slide dropping with mag release is fairly uncommon for me though. I inspected the lever and there is no abnormal wear. The mags did not appear to be dirty or weak sprung. So, it’s very possible that it was my support hand getting a little sloppy.

Still, I’m encouraged by the results so far. I’m coming up on 500 rounds with no major feeding or extraction issues despite introducing some JHP ammo to the diet.

I have had magazines that didn't properly engage the slide stop with the cutout in the frame. Just barely making contact and when the magazine was dropped it would slip out of the cutout. Might have been a weak spring in the magazine or the shape of the follower. It has been a while so I really don't remember the manufacture but I didn't keep them.

[Sensei]

Round count totals: 450

50 Rounds Federal 147 grain HST
50 Rounds Speer 124 grain Lawman
350 Rounds Federal 124 grain AE

FTF 0
FTE 1 on 10-8 Extractor Test (one handed); 0 with mag

Slide Lock Failures: 5 Likely shooter induced.

Reliability grade B (need more JHP rounds to make an A)

[Sensei]

A couple of illustrations as to why the fit and finish are a B+ and not an A. Here are 3 magwells. The top is a Springfield Professional Operator, middle is my Colt CCU cost mixed by Wilson, and the bottom is the specialist. Notice the blending of the magwell into the frame on the top 2 whereas the Specialist has a shelf. That shelf is noticeable on fast reloads. Then, there are sharp corners on the frame’s magazine relief cut that are circled red. Those are rounded on both the Pro and CCU.



Small details like this move from the B+ to A- range at the cost of $500-1000.

[Polecat]

I loved my DW ECO, factory 2.75 Lbs. trigger, one hole accuracy at 10-15 yards, just unreal. Can’t wait for a DWX!

[Sensei]

Wiped down the gun one last time before going to the range. Then, I put 50 more rounds of 124 grain AE and 20 rounds of 147 grain HST. All rounds were fired either strong or weak hand only (50:50 split) with the mags only loaded with 5 rounds at a time. No failures of any kind using a mixture of Cobra, Vickers, ETM, and DW mags. This would strongly suggest that my slide lock/release issues were shooter-induced.

We are now up to 520 round (450 ball; 70 HST). It is now officially broken-in and the action is much smother (Berettaesque) than when I took it out of the box. No unusual finish wear after hundreds of holster presentations. I’m bumping the reliability grade back up to a B+. Accuracy is still excellent and on par with my other semi-custom 1911s. It still needs another 100 rounds of flawless HST before I’ll carry it.

[Sensei]

Another 50 rounds of 124 grain AE without issue. Total round count is as follows:
570 total rounds
-500 124 grain Federal AE
-50 124 grain Speer Lawman
-70 147 grain Federal HST

FTF 0
FTE 1 on 10-8 extractor test; 0 with magazine

I plan on replenishing my supply of HST soon and will try and get some more JHP ammo through it. In the meantime, I plan to get 200-300 more rounds of 124 grain FMJ through it using all factory parts.

Along those lines, I’m probably going to go ahead and order a variety pack of recoil springs from Wolfe. The factory recoil spring is supposedly 10lbs which may be a little light for the 147 grain HST which seems to run just a tad bit hotter than the 124 grain AE. My customized Colt CCU in 9mm really ran better with heavy spring weights and even needed a 14lb to prevent feeding issues when using JHP.

[TOTS]

Another 50 rounds of 124 grain AE without issue. Total round count is as follows:


Along those lines, I’m probably going to go ahead and order a variety pack of recoil springs from Wolfe. The factory recoil spring is supposedly 10lbs which may be a little light for the 147 grain HST which seems to run just a tad bit hotter than the 124 grain AE. My customized Colt CCU in 9mm really ran better with heavy spring weights and even needed a 14lb to prevent feeding issues when using JHP.

Just passing this along. Joe Chambers recommended Sprinco springs in 13 lb for the 5in 1911s in 9mm. I found the factory 10 lbs to be sluggish but reliable on my similar Valor. Changing to the 13lb er, I’m very happy with it.

https://sprinco-com.3dcartstores.com...INK_p_687.html

[Sensei]

Thanks @TOTS. I have typically relied on Wolff for all my spring needs and don’t have any experience with Springco. I’m not opposed to giving them a try though if the forum consensus is positive.

I’ll probably get a variety pack of springs between 11-14 pounds and see which runs best with 147 grain HST and 124 grain AE. Hopefully that weight range is close enough to factory spect that I won’t need to change the mainspring.

My observation with the 10lb is similar to yours - feels a bit weak/sluggish but has performed pretty good with standard pressure 9mm in the mid-weight range. In a full-size, all steel 1911, I bet the 10lb is probably perfect for standard pressure 115 grain and light hand loads, while 14lb is best for higher pressure NATO spec and hot +P loads. Everything in between is reasonable for standard pressure defensive and most +P loads.

[Sensei]

50 more rounds of 124 grain AE. No failures. All rounds fired through Wilson black ETM 10-round mags.

Now, we are up to 670 rounds.
-550 with 124 grain AE
-50 with 124 grain Lawman
-70 with 147 grain HST

Malfunctions to date: FTF 0; FTE 1 during 10-8 extractor test, 0 during regular fire.

I’m liking this gun so much that I’ve started stalking 9mm DW Guardians on Gunbroker…