Dan Wesson vs Ed Brown 1911's **** EDITED****

[bc1023]

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I have 2 Dan Wesson’s. Both have wood grips and solid triggers now. Both are the finest examples of the 1911 to my eye.

I have handled and shot Ed Brown, Nighthawk, and Wilson. Only the Wilson was close. I’m probably just not seeing it, but I cannot imagine a higher grade of production custom which all of them are. I think the difference is that Dan Wesson’s are machined to the final surface and the others may have some polish or rework done. Maybe the Duty Treat masks some of that.

So now Dan Wesson is finer than Wilson, Brown, and Nighthawk? Ok…

 

[Thaddeus Beauregard]

I love the RRA Limited Matches, but I have some favorites not among those I posted.

This Salient is likely nicer than everything I posted, honestly.

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Warren Sear]

Never handled a Dan Wesson. A guy at the range had a Ed Brown that he was shooting and saying how great it was. He offered to let me see it and then to shoot it. To me it shot the same as any other tuned M1911 platform. I then shot my original Series 70 Gold Cup National Match. Maybe because it was my gun, I shot it better. So did one of the Range Officers. For the extra money I was not impressed.

I would go with the Gold Cup over any of the fancy pants dude guns.

 

[SteveJewels]

I think Dan Wesson 1911s are the very best you can buy among production guns without spending considerably more for the semi-custom and custom 1911s. You can never go wrong with a DW even if you have a bunch of custom 1911s; they are a tremendous value, and you have to get really picky to find fault with them.

This is pretty much where I am at.

I have three DWs. I am quite pleased with all three. All three needed trigger work that the higher end pistols would not have needed.,

The rest of the world is catching on too. I can't buy either of the two models I have, PM9 and Vigil, for what I paid a year ago.

 

[GeeBee]

my favorite is the Guardian; it has an alloy frame with steel slide. The accuracy is superb, balance is great, and the trigger outstanding.

I have a Guardian 45ACP and it's my most accurate 1911. I installed a pair of mammoth ivory grips. The swag is way up there. Maybe one of these days I'll strip it, polish it to a mirror shine and rust blue it to a indigo, "tuareg" blue

 

[Trooper224]

I own two DWs. They were my training/carry guns before arthritis forced me to go to the 9mm. I've shot nearly every other brand of 1911 in existence. At least pre-COVID, I felt that DW was about the best bang for buck value out there. I didn't think the boutique brands offered anything over DW that justified the extra cost.

If you wanted something truly better, you'd need to go to a truly bespoke custom. Then, better meant other things than mechanical reliability. Since DW was forced to restructure due to COVID, I can't say where they are now.

 

[Narragansett]

I own two DWs. They were my training/carry guns before arthritis forced me to go to the 9mm. I've shot nearly every other brand of 1911 in existence. At least pre-COVID, I felt that DW was about the best bang for buck value out there. I didn't think the boutique brands offered anything over DW that justified the extra cost.

If you wanted something truly better, you'd need to go to a truly bespoke custom. Then, better meant other things than mechanical reliability. Since DW was forced to restructure due to COVID, I can't say where they are now.

What do you mean restructure?

 

[Trooper224]

What do you mean restructure?

DW had to shut down during COVID, like every other business in New York State. That lasted long enough that they lost a lot of their key people. They all had families to feed. They also had a big fire during the same time frame.

I only mention it because I haven't done business with them since they opened back up, so I can't make a knowledgeable statement on the current state of the company.

 

[GeeBee]

I bought a Guardian 45acp coupla months ago and it's become my favorite 1911. Very nice everything

 

[WardenRoss]

DW had to shut down during COVID, like every other business in New York State. That lasted long enough that they lost a lot of their key people. They all had families to feed. They also had a big fire during the same time frame.

I only mention it because I haven't done business with them since they opened back up, so I can't make a knowledgeable statement on the current state of the company.

I believe the fire was in November of 2012.


,

 

[Trooper224]

I believe the fire was in November of 2012.


,

Okay.

 

[huntsman22]

haven't felt the need to even try a Baer......

 

[GeeBee]

haven't felt the need to even try a Baer......

that red trigger and that ivory grip are dope, brother
are those guns 45ACP?

 

[huntsman22]

yessir, both. I wanted the Guardian to be like its little 9mm brother DWX compact.

 

[GeeBee]

how did you install the red trigger, I just checked on the DW website and it doenst seem like their red triggers are for "pure" 1911 guns, or did I miss something?

 

[huntsman22]

No, you didn't miss anything. DW don't have red 1911 triggers. If ya look close, the 'K' style is backwards from the one on the DWX. The 1911 red trigger is a Fusion......

 

[GeeBee]

No, you didn't miss anything. DW don't have red 1911 triggers. If ya look close, the 'K' style is backwards from the one on the DWX. The 1911 red trigger is a Fusion......

I googled red trigger for 1911 and it took me to Atlas Gunworks, which I had bookmarked a while ago. I also visit the Fusion site for their 1911 kits, but they are out of stock for government and commander kits, very frustrating because they look like good quality

 

[PauldL]

haven't felt the need to even try a Baer......

I really love the looks of the bottom pictured gun - thats sharp