Opinions/experiences with DWF Commander Classic?

[Surefiregeek]

1911ers,
I have been hearing pretty good word-of-mouth reports about the quality, reliability and accuracy of the Dan Wesson Commander Classic. Does anyone own one of these pistols or has at least fired them? If so, I'd appreciate hearing about any opinions/problems/other idiosyncracies that were encountered. Also, thoughts on how Dan Wesson Fireamrs handled any problems would be appreciated. Thanks.

[xkimberman]

I first started with a PM-7 in 45ACP and I liked it so good I bought a 45ACP bobtail then I purchased a PM-7 10mm. The only problem I had was with the 10mm. The gun never had a FTF of a FTE but the mag followers would run buy the slide stop. I called Billy at DW and sent him the old slide stop. The gun was shipped with a 45acp slide stop instead of the longer 10mm/38 super slide stop. Easy fix gun now runs great. All three of my DW are great guns. I am a 1911 fan and own other premium aa-1911's and I can say they have nothing on the DW's. If I had to sell some of my toys the DW's would be the last to go.

[Gun Shooter]

The BobTail Is The Most Comfortable Grip Ever Of Any Handgun!!

[screwman]

I like mine. Had alot of trouble with it feeding my SWC's, but I shortened 'em up some, sqeezed the crimp alittle tighter, and all is well. No problems with any factory rounds I've tried.


Mike

[CharlieinKansas]

I took my DW CBOB to the range for the first time yesterday. I fed her 200rds. WW 230gr. fmj., 16rds. Corbon 230gr. hp., 20rds. Corbon 165gr. hp., 24rds. WW 230gr. Ranger hp. & 24rds. Federal 230gr. Golden Sabre hp. I was relieved after all the postings I have read, she ate everything I fed her without a hitch, and asked for more. The range owner fed her a mag and his first first round was dead center bullseye at 7yrds. After he was finnished he said he was very impressed at the fit, feel and performance. I am very pleased with DW/CZ's 1911, it will deffinately be my backup to my brain wherever I go.
And again, when I can figure out how to use this confuser properly I will proudly post pictures of her.

[John]

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[screwman]

Tore mine apart the other day and discovered the bushing's cracked. Fitted an EGW angle bore to it today. Hopin' it'll quit stormin' so I can shoot it.

Mike

[jacketch]

After buying my Dan Wesson/CZ Commander Classic Bobtail in .45acp I found myself quite busy and unable to get to the range to break it in. Finally I got the chance and here is the report.

Pistol: Dan Wesson/CZ Commander Classic Bobtail, Ser. No. C54xxCZ
Caliber: .45acp
Capacity: 7+1 round with supplied magazines

The trip to the range was on a very uncomfortable 97F day with very high humidity and little breeze.

For ammo I had 300 rounds of WWB 230g ball that was purchased at WalMart. In addition, I had 40 rounds of Winchester SXT 230g hollow points and 20 rounds of Speer .45 +p 200g GDHP.

For magazines, I had two Dan Wesson 7 round blue steel magazines (supplied with the pistol), two Kimber 7 round blue steel magazines and two 8 round Wilson Combat SS magazines.

Targets were NRA B-3 50ft Timed and Rapid Fire Pistol Targets. All firing was done at the 15 yd range.

The pistol came in a black plastic case with clasps that could be locked. No lock was provided. Upon first inspection of the pistol it was obvious that the gun was well made. All surfaces were very well finished and the Cocobolo grip stocks were of high quality and well finished with the traditional double diamond checkering. Grip screws were the Allen head variety. The front grip strap was checkered with what was supposed to be 20lpi but upon checking, it was measured to be 16lpi. At first this seemed to be too course but after some extended use, it became apparent that it worked well with this gun. The serrations on the slide, safety and mag release were not overly rough but provided sufficient grip. The safety was very positive and gave off a reassuring “snick” when applied or released. Although the gun appeared too be lubricated, I pulled the slide, cleaned it and re-lubricated and reassembled.

The trigger pull, although not measured, was smooth, crisp at let-off, had little over-travel and I would guess it is close to 4.5lb (very similar to my Kimber).

The sights were blued Novak style night sights by Trijicon and in addition to looking good on the gun, were easy to use.

After loading all the magazines with 230 grain ball I started slow fire to see where the point of impact was in relation to point of aim. I was pleased to find that the gun impacted exactly where aimed when using a 6 o’clock hold. Ejection was very positive with most empties flying over my right shoulder and landing 6 feet back. All magazines inserted easily and dropped free when the mag release was pushed. With little effort I could place all my rounds within the 8.25” circles of the target. Recoil was moderate for .45acp. After firing over 50 rounds, I began to do drills, firing doubles and triples. Occasionally, empties would eject upwards, coming down on my head or arms and on one occasion, getting in my shooting glasses (jeez they are hot). Although not as quick to recover as a 9mm, the gun was reasonably fast to bring back on target. At approximately 210 rounds I had a premature slide lock with one round left in a Wilson mag. At that point I began firing weak hand until at round 280 I had a failure to return to battery. At round 290 I had another failure to return to battery so I sprayed Breakfree into the slide as the pistol was very dirty. The last 10 rounds of ball were uneventful.

I then proceeded to load up and fire the Speer .45 +p 200g GDHP. There were no failures and accuracy was similar to the WWB. I then loaded up and began firing the Winchester SXT 230g hollow points and again there were no failures. Accuracy was slightly better than with the Speer or WWB although by then, my 59-year-old eyes were somewhat tired.

Observations:
I have been shooting 1911’s for 40 years and have always liked them so take my report with a grain of salt.

This is my first Commander size 1911, something I’ve wanted for a while as a carry gun and when I saw the bobtailed Dan Wesson I was most interested. The gun was in the right price range ($849) and the fact that it was a model 70-style gun with night sights and internal extractor and appeared to be well made convinced me to buy it. The grip stocks are very well checkered and finished and have beautiful grain running through them. There are no forward serrations (something I dislike) and the gun is nicely finished stainless steel so it is a good-looking gun with high-end parts. From a functional standpoint, there is little I would change. The CBOB has a traditional guide rod, an excellent if not match quality trigger and functioned as well as could be expected for a gun with such a tight slide fit and match barrel. The only problem found when the gun was disassembled after the range trip was loose grip screws and that may have been partly due to the heavy coat of oil under the grip panels. The ejection of rounds straight up in the air was unwanted but can be fixed if it proves troublesome.

From an aesthetic viewpoint, the only change I can think of would be going to 20 or 25lpi on the front strap checkering. During my range trip the temps were quite high and at no time did my sweaty hands have a problem with grasping the gun, even one handed but a higher lpi count wouldn’t hurt.

Over all I am very pleased with my CBOB and I will update as I have more time for the range.

[Rio Vista Slim]

jacketch,
That was a very detailed and informative range report. Thank you very much for sharing.

Now, how about some pictures of your gun so that we may all see how nice it is?

[John]

Or to put it in another way.....

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