Wilson Sentinel or Nighthawk Talon IV?

[Dr. T]

Wilson Sentinel (new for 2006) vs. Nighthawk Talon IV
Same price ($2300), same size. Will likely replace my Kimber Ultra CDP that my wife shot monday and now has her eyes on ;) .
Same question for the CQB Compact vs. Talon III
Any input will be appreciated.
Thanks

[switch]

I absolutely love my Sentinel. It's older (4-5 years?) but hands down the best gun I own. I simply didn't know what I was missing until I fired it. If anything ever happened to it I'd place an order for a new one the same day. The only thing I did later was to have an ambi saftey and mag release put in (I bought it used). I was originally thinking about a Kimber Ultra CDP and a custom compact Springfield, but I was fortunate to find the Sentinel before I bought anything else. Even though the price was substantially higher, it was worth every penny.

[Frank]

I"m not sure that the Sentinel is the same size as the Talon IV. The Talon IV is basically the size of an Officers model and will use the same grips and magazines as an Officers model or various other compacts. I think that the Sentinel may have a slightly shorter grip frame and therefore require unique magazines and grips.

I've been very pleased with the performance of my Talon IV. I'm sure that the Wilson is a fine gun. I just prefer something of a more common size permitting the use of a variety of magazines and grips.

DVC

[switch]

If the Talon IV is the size of an Officers model then yes, the Sentinel's dimensions are different (at least from a quick compare I previously did). As far as "unique" magazines and grips, the mags are 6+1, and since I only use Wilson mags in all my 1911's, I don't know if they are unique :-) You can use 7's as well, though unless you have these little metal finger extentions that mine came with, they might look and feel a bit funny. Grips are.....grips. Though the Sentinels are of the slimline variety. But like you said, I don't think a standard Officers model grip would fit.

[Frank]

...Grips are.....grips... I don't think a standard Officers model grip would fit.

True -- I just tend to dress up my pistols with my own choice of grips. Some other folks prefer to do that as well -- replacing the factory stocks with something that better suits their fancy. It's a way of making one's personal weapon a little more personal.

DVC

[switch]

Very true! I have at least one pair of bling-bling grips myself :-)