MAC 1911-9 DS

[Tokarev]

I picked this up from my local dealer this afternoon.

Initial impressions are decent. The finish is smooth and even and the gun appears free of any nasty tooling or machine marks. The frame and slide fit is decent. Not hand-fit tight but not loose and rattling either. The barrel fits pretty nicely at the muzzle and does have a little bounce or spring at the ejection port.

The gun is Commander length but the dust cover is a little longer than the usual Commander. A TLR-1 with the 1913 key fits fine. An X300B also seems to fit but the battery cap is right up against the front of the trigger guard. I don't suppose that's a big issue.

The guide rod is one piece and requires a paper clip or little piece of wire poked through the spring guide to take apart. The recoil spring seems a little heavy. I'd guess it is 14 pounds.

The barrel is bull style and is ramped in the Clark / Para style.

The front and rear are both dovetailed. The front is fiber optic. The rear is Novak in appearance. I don't know the actual dovetail measurements of either. Hopefully they aren't something oddball.

The trigger is crisp and measures right at five pounds. The trigger itself could fit a little better. It has a bit of side-to-side as well as up and down play. The safety snaps on and off cleanly but the detent spring seems a little light. Conversely the magazine release spring seems a bit heavier than it needs to be.

So overall fit and finish seems good. I don't see anything alarming yet. The only complaint I have right now is that the iron sights aren't high enough to work with a Holosun 508T. If and when MAC comes out with an EPS plate I'm sure the standard sights will be fine.

The gun ships in a black nylon zippered bag that is basically a knockoff of the Staccato gun bag. It came with an RMR plate, two mags, a bore brush and cleaning rod and a cable lock.

One thing I do see right off the bat is that the mag release is the Gen 2 Staccato style. I don't know if it will actually swap with a Staccato part.



















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[Tokarev]

I haven't shot the gun yet, but I did spend a good amount of time dry firing at the TV last night.

The trigger is actually quite good. It is a little on the heavy side but still usable as is. The trigger itself is long and flat with a little bit of texture on its face. It is longer than what usually comes in 1911s or 2011s nowadays. I'd equate it to a current length trigger from other makers with the concave surface removed. Does that make sense? Personally, I'd prefer it to be a tad shorter, but it will work fine for the time being.

The gun is generally devoid of sharp edges and rough spots, although the top edges of the thumb safety could use a little bit more radius. They certainly aren't bad, but I can feel the edges when gripping the gun and working the safety on and off. Cocking serrations are decent and work okay but could stand to be a little deeper and/or more aggressive. But in theory the gun will be reliable and cocking serrations will only be needed to initially load and then unload when on the range.

The grip texture is somewhat smooth and could stand to be a bit more aggressive as well. The mainspring housing is plastic with molded checkering. The front strap is also checkered. The sides of the grip are a sort of interrupted series of lines. It looks okay but doesn't have much tooth.

The gun does not stall on the disconnector like everyone's Prodigy seems to. The slide does not have a Marvel cut but is radiused so as not to hang.

The extractor seems to have decent tension out of the box. A loaded round placed under the hook stays under its own weight and takes a little jiggling to fall off.

The gun is S70 style with a titanium firing pin.

I haven't had the gun apart yet other than to field strip for an initial cleaning and oiling. Once I have a couple hundred rounds fired, I'll take it completely apart to see how things are wearing.

So far, I'd say it compares nicely to the Prodigy in general features and includes an aluminum magazine well that the Springfield lacks. I'd also say it is a much better value than the similar EAA Witness 2311. EAA will have to step up its game or lower the price to compete with the MAC. I'd guess the EAA is actually going to compare more directly to the less expensive and fewer features Tisas than to the MAC. Frankly, there's no reason to consider the EAA over the MAC unless you specifically want the aluminum frame of the EAA for whatever reason.

I have emailed SDS Imports to inquire about other optic plates and to ask about dovetail dimensions. I don't mind running my Holosun 508 here but do want the iron sights to be tall enough to be seen. It isn't a duty gun but I still want the option to use the irons from time to time. I will hopefully have an answer shortly.

I will hopefully shoot the gun sometime this weekend. I'll update as soon as I do.

Happy Saturday!




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[Tokarev]

Regarding the optic plate. I'm going to predict that these will be solid and secure.

Note in this picture I stole off the American Rifleman website that there are two small pin holes in front of the mounting screw holes. These pin holes align with two small pins on the bottom of the plate. There is also a semicircular cut in front of the firing pin stop plate that mates with a corresponding cut on the plate. Then the back of the slide itself has a sort of angled shelf that should serve as a recoil lug.

I haven't mounted an optic yet obviously but I'm confident the included RMR plate will work well once I figure the iron sights out.



The semicircular cut is kind of hard to see in this photo. I can try to get a better one later.

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[03RN]

Thanks

[Tokarev]

[Tokarev]

Here is a look at the pistol bag. It has a faint chemical smell to it. I assume it is the black dye. Maybe it is some kind of mildew treatment.

These is a zippered pocket on the outside. The inside is open with sewn in loops on one side for mags and then moveable straps for the pistol. The two sides are separated by a padded flap. It is a little big and bulky but is actually a pretty decent range bag.






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[Tokarev]

The iron sights. U notched rear with serrations. Fiber optic front with no serrations.





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[Tokarev]

And the pistol this Saturday morning.





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[60167]

This is the post I've been waiting for!

Where does this stand compared to the Prodigy? My hypothesis is that all things being equal, you get a free magwell and a better finish.

[Tokarev]

This is the post I've been waiting for!

Where does this stand compared to the Prodigy? My hypothesis is that all things being equal, you get a free magwell and a better finish.

Yes. Free mag well and probably a more secure optic mounting plate. The MAC doesn't have any MIM either for whatever that's worth.

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