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Last year I was looking for a commander size 1911 in 45 ACP and stumbled on the Dan Wesson Classic Bobtail. After doing some research on the web and finding a lot of people that had positive results I found a used one on Gunbroker and made the purchase.
When the gun came it had been fired but was clean and oiled. Out of the box I was very impressed and so was my FFL. The fit and finish of the gun are were excellent with a slide to frame fit that was tight and the barrel lockup was tight as well. I believe the night sights are made by Champion but are almost identical to Novak.
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I took it to the range and set a target up around 30 feet. Right away I was impressed with the accuracy especially compared to a Springfield Champion that I owned but the gun seemed to be shooting left.
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This is my second target aiming for the right hand number 9.
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Since the gun was so tight I decided to run it for a while without cleaning. I shot some of my reloads which are 200 grain lead semi wadcutters loaded warm. The gun ran for almost 250 rounds before choking due to lead buildup in the match chamber. When I took it apart to clean it I found that the barrel bushing was pretty loose and asked about it on the 1911 forum. I got a response from one of the Dan Wesson employees saying that they had an issue with soft bushings in the early models so I purchased a replacement from Ed Brown and it fit the gun perfectly.
Here are two five shot groups after the bushing install:
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It still seems to be shooting left but not like it was before. So far I have nearly 1000 rounds through the gun and am very happy with it. The only hiccups have been when the chamber got really dirty and this won't be a problem shooting quality jacketed self defense ammo. The trigger is about right for a combat handgun and good for concealed carry. The bobtail feature is really nice, especially if you have ever bent over the wrong way and had your gun stab you in the ribs.
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When the gun came it had been fired but was clean and oiled. Out of the box I was very impressed and so was my FFL. The fit and finish of the gun are were excellent with a slide to frame fit that was tight and the barrel lockup was tight as well. I believe the night sights are made by Champion but are almost identical to Novak.
I took it to the range and set a target up around 30 feet. Right away I was impressed with the accuracy especially compared to a Springfield Champion that I owned but the gun seemed to be shooting left.
This is my second target aiming for the right hand number 9.
Since the gun was so tight I decided to run it for a while without cleaning. I shot some of my reloads which are 200 grain lead semi wadcutters loaded warm. The gun ran for almost 250 rounds before choking due to lead buildup in the match chamber. When I took it apart to clean it I found that the barrel bushing was pretty loose and asked about it on the 1911 forum. I got a response from one of the Dan Wesson employees saying that they had an issue with soft bushings in the early models so I purchased a replacement from Ed Brown and it fit the gun perfectly.
Here are two five shot groups after the bushing install:
It still seems to be shooting left but not like it was before. So far I have nearly 1000 rounds through the gun and am very happy with it. The only hiccups have been when the chamber got really dirty and this won't be a problem shooting quality jacketed self defense ammo. The trigger is about right for a combat handgun and good for concealed carry. The bobtail feature is really nice, especially if you have ever bent over the wrong way and had your gun stab you in the ribs.
ics: and nice review!
