Hi Shahman,
I saw your original post on the 1911 forum and was not surprised at all to see the folks there lean fairly heavily toward the Dan Wesson. S&W products tend to have a smaller following on the other forums, and that's normal because most people tend to congregate into groups of like-minded end users. I am surprised, however, to find many of the same sentiments over here. I have several older model Dan Wesson semis, the Pointman Major, Seven, Patriot and Aussie, but no experience with the new models, and I have collected S&W Performance Center guns for some time. Both are fine guns with excellent workmanship. From a Fit & Finish point of view I think they are equal. The only noticeable differences are the external extractor, the size of the frame, and how the gun feels in your hand. I think you said earlier that you had been unable to look at the CCO first hand. That will make all the difference in the world, and in fact probably should be your deciding factor. I own one or two legendarily great performance center semi autos that I don't find particularly comfortable in the hand. Others are so good they feel like an extension of my arm, as Fast Eddie Felson famously observed in "The Hustler". I would be hesitant to buy a gun for carry purposes that I hadn't handled. 99% of the opinions you get on which is best are personal and subjective, sort of like asking the waiter, "What's good?" The answer will be what he likes, and not necessarily what you will like. Bottom line - get your hands on a CCO before you decide, then pick the one that feels best. They will both function extremely well. And btw, welcome to the forum.
Bill
Bill,
Firstly, I appreciate you spelling out your thoughts and insights regarding my query and taking the time. As you mentioned, you saw my similar post on the 1911 forum; however, since I offered a firearm for sale to a guy who was looking for something I had, the administrator/moderator banned me for 2 weeks from being able to use the sight. (Which I thought was ridiculous, since not the whole rule book is memorized by new comers. They could have given me a onetime courtesy reminder, given that I had no prior 'violations' and was a new comer to the site. I think they operate under martial law on that forum). It's unfortunate because it was a useful forum.
I completely understand what you are saying. Each piece is very unique to the individual, there are very few generalities when it comes to fit, and 'extension of the hand'. Unfortunately, I don't think I will ever get my hands on a CCO to try it out. What I did do however, was go into a store locally, and asked them to show me an officer model and a commander model 1911. I held the officer model and it felt very good in my hands (my hands are on the smaller side of the 'medium' size category). I then looked at the commander model, to get a visual idea of slide. I have a full size 1911, and a 3". I use the 3" as an alt carry gun, but have been looking to get a slightly longer slide. The CCO and the SW are perfect contenders in that regard, with their 4.25" slide. The CCO however has a smaller (officer size) butt than the SW. While the SW felt very good in the hands, I like the smaller option with the CCO, for concealment factor. This was further backed by the fact that the Officer model felt very good in my hands too. It's butt is similar to my Walther PPS, which I use for conceal carry. They both have the same length butts. And the fact that I want a slightly longer slide, the CCO fits that bill too. I also wanted an alt carry option –with my Walther being a 9mm, I want to have a .45 option and the CCO fits that requirement too.
I feel that I may need to change the grips on the CCO, if I find them to 'swelly'/ bulky. I did that with my full size .45 and it feels excellent. They came with thicker wood/ cocobolo grips, and I got slimline G10/VZ grips, and it fits beautifully in my hand.
I am leaning towards the CCO, given everything I mentioned above, plus it's quality, and build, and the input I've heard so far from the various people.
The reason I posted my query on a S&W forum, is simply to pose the query to a group of people who I would assume would be based towards the S&W products, and when they're leaning towards the Dan Wesson CCO, then I think that says a lot.
Thank you for welcoming me to the forum… I hope to contribute as much as I stand to gain.
-Shahman
) then return and have fun. It's a lot of knowledge there, just like here.
