Man, this 1911 is a joy to operate... I'm even getting a kick out of field-stripping, cleaning, and lubricating it! Each time I field-strip it, I'm amazed at the machining and fitting that Dan Wesson has done on this handgun. Everything is just perfect - especially the slide-frame fit.
I tell you what, it's true what they say - there's really a Swiss watch-type feeling of precision that you get in the operation of a good 1911-style pistol. The good snap when you drive the magazine home with the heel of your palm (more on that later), the crisp snick of engaging and disengaging the safety catch, and the precise mechanical thunk when you press the slide lock lever and allow the slide to go home, slingshotting a big 230-grain round into the chamber, are all very satisfying. And, it goes without saying that the good ole single-action trigger is in a class by itself.
I have been to the range 3 times already! Twice yesterday and once tonight. The first time, I fired 100 rounds, came home and cleaned and lubed the gun (the ceiling over my dining room table now has a little grease spot that will always remind me to keep my finger over the recoil spring plug when I remove the barrel bushing...haha...). Then I went back later and fired 115 more rounds, another clean & lube, then back to the range today (luckily I have a membership at Guns & Leather and they have a location 5 min away) for another 100 rounds.
Two of the times, I've taken my HiPower along for comparison, though tonight, I had one of the set screws in the rear target sight on the HiPower come loose (all of a sudden the gun started shooting really low and I was like what the heck!), so I only got a couple of mags through it tonight.
Both the HiPower and the Heritage are really sweet shooters in their own right. In past shooting, I've found the HiPower to be very accurate, with groups smaller than my fist (haven't actually measured groups I've shot with it) at 50-60 feet no problem. Of course, the HiPower is made by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FNH or FN) of Belgium, a company that has had a rep for quality for a long time. As far as quality, I'd say the two guns are similar. The Dan Wesson has its slide fit much tighter, but the HiPower is a service pistol that requires no break-in to be reliable. The few hangups I remember with the BHP were when the gun was dirty and/or I was shooting cheap, Russian-made, steel-cased ammo (the MecGar mags of the BHP don't care much for steel-cased ammo, but they do fine with aluminum). Of course the Dan Wesson has a sweet, 4-lb trigger with no creep or grit. The BHP also has no creep or grit. I'm not sure what the pull weight on it is, but, despite being single-action, it's a military/police service pistol, so the trigger is fairly heavy. Probably about 8 lbs.
I'd say I still shoot the BHP a little better than the 1911 at this point. The BHP has one of the best grips of any handgun I've ever handled, and, of course, there's little recoil, being a full-sized 9mm pistol. I really like the HiPower. The trigger is one that takes a bit of practice, but once you've shot it quite a bit, it grows on you. I'd say most people wouldn't pick the gun up and be able to hit really well with it, right off the bat, like I've seen people do with Glocks.
I still haven't shot one of the new-generation, Uber-polymer pistols with really light, good striker-fired triggers yet, such as the Walther PPQ, HK VP9, even the Ruger SR9... (I do own 2 Glocks - a G20 and a G36. I find the triggers on those guns to be OK - just a little soft, definitely, when compared to the crisp, steel single-action triggers of the all-steel, hammer-fired Dan Wesson and Browning HiPower.) It would be interesting to do a comparo against one or two of those new striker-fired handguns that have such great striker-fired triggers. I would probably bet that most people would probably be able to pick up a VP9, PPQ or even a Glock and hit better right away than with a BHP or a 1911.
Of course there's more recoil with the .45 ACP, though it's not a sharp recoil - more like a shove. The muzzle does jump more. It feels like it has a higher bore axis than the BHP.
Anyway, enough rambling - Here's a shot of some of my groups yesterday and today. Best I seem to have done is maybe a little over an inch. All groups were fired from a standing position, off-hand, at a distance of what I am told is 33 feet (that's the max distance at this indoor range, and there are no markers for distance - I inquired as to what the max distance was, and was told 33 ft).
Hard to say right now if the gun prefers any load over another - I feel I'm not consistent enough and that adds too much of a variable. Need to do some bench-rest shooting for that. By the way, I haven't really done much of that with a handgun, so if any of you have, I'm open to suggestions. However, interestingly enough, I am seemingly getting pretty fair results with the Federal aluminum-cased 230-gr. FMJ, which is also the cheapest ammo I've shot ($15/50 rounds at WalMart). I've also shot Federal American Eagle 230, Blazer Brass 230, Perfecta 230, and Remington UMC 185 (that Remington has flat points and really cuts a nice round hole in the paper, which I like). I'd say the Perfecta is the most inconsistent so-far. Also shot a few assorted hollowpoints I had laying around.
All groups shown are 5 rounds, from 33 feet. All these are FMJ. Looks like my best 2 groups so far are with the Federal aluminum-case 230-gr.
Inner spot is 1", first ring is 2", outer ring is 3".
Oh, about the magazines - when I load 8 rounds into the magazines, they won't fit in the gun. If I lock the slide back and then insert the mag, and then let the slide go home, it will chamber the round, and feed, no problem. AND if I load 7 rounds in the magazine, it will fit in the gun with the slide in battery. But a fully-loaded mag (8 rounds) will not fit in the gun with the slide closed.
What do you guys think is the issue? A friend said to leave the mags loaded and let the springs take a set. But with 8 rounds in these magazines, they're tight as a drum. I don't see it helping anything to let the springs loosen up.
