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

PauldL said:
Funny you mention that 500 round business- I actually had a gun maker - he makes custom 1911 & 2011 race guns - he told me that 500 round stuff was total horse ****! He said all that was, was Les Baer covering his azz - he then said, (about 1911's in general) either they run or they dont!
And, I would agree!!
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Not sure about the 500 rounds mentioned here. When I was stationed in Calif., I shot with many law enforcement agencies on our ranges at the Weapons Station. Several had a 250 round requirement. The gun had to shoot 250 trouble free rounds before an officer could carry it on the street. Seemed to make sense to me. I guess you could call it a break-in period.
 
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AJ said:
Not sure about the 500 rounds mem=ntioned here. When I was stationed in Calif., I shot with many law enforcement agencies on our ranges at the Weapons Station. Several had a 250 round requirement. The gun had to shoot 250 trouble free rounds before an officer could carry it on the street. Seemed to make sense to me. I guess you could call it a break-in period.
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Well sure, but thats different- its not like saying this thing probably ain't gonna work until you put half a thousand rounds thru it and even then it still might screw up!
A lot different ....
What your talkin about is probably std procedure with many depts
And probably most do fine
And furthermore, from what ive seen those Baers are terrible - and the owner is a real prick - plain & simple
Its a joke imo
 
I apologize fellas
It just hard to imagine someone spending that type money on a les Baer- then calling him after putting over 300 400 rounds thru it because all it does is jam up & gettin an azz chewin for your trouble lol
 
Autonomous said:
Les Baer guns occupy a unique niche. Lower price than the other semi-customs and give nothing away when it comes to accuracy.
Where does the price delta come from? LBs are not hand fitted internally as nice. Try Calling LB and saying the gun feels rough before you have run 500 rounds through it. Get back to us with his gentile response, LOL. Until lately the frame had some non-standard dimensions. A high end grip maker will offer grips for those frames. Standard grips will fit but if you know what you are looking at you can tell.
They are good guns, and I am not insulting them or their owners. It is just that the final fit is accomplished by battering the mating surfaces with LB's famous 500 round requirement.
It is up to you.

I do not own a good watch and in fact haven't worn one for years. No original art either.
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Sounds like …..Cut to fit, beat to suit and paint to match
 
I hear great things about Dan Wesson's and my friends who have them speak very highly of them.
I bought myself a used Wilson Combat Bobtail Professional for a 60th birthday present. While it was in the used case, I don't think it had been fired. The original owner had custom ordered it, but when it came in I was told he was not in love with it, so traded it in on another. It was $1,900.00. It has an obvious feel of hand fitting. The slide feels like it's on ball bearings. Great trigger. Shoots very accurately, but so do my Springfield Armory Trophy Match and my other 1911s. None of my other 1911s feel like the Wilson. Would I buy another or a Nighthawk or whatever - probably not. Dan Wesson would be looked at hard if I was in the market.
 

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In my limited experience owning 1911s, beyond a certain price point you're mostly paying for fluff, and only you can determine if it's worth the extra money. If I'm spending $2k or more, I'm custom ordering to get it exactly how I want it. I went with Wilson and Brown, and might go with Guncrafter if I order another. A Brown is about a 7 week wait, fantastic gun. Wilson is considerably longer, about a year and a half, also a fantastic gun. I wouldn'y say one is better thsn the othet. They are different. No regrets on either one.
 
Onomea said:
Nice lookin' gun! What's the significance of "no toggle link design?" Does "toggle" refer to a trigger safety dingus? it with a 1911 design, right?

(Will edit my newly ordered P226 model above to add SAO, single action only.)
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The barrel locks up on the hood like a CZ and doesn't have the barrel toggle link like a 1911. Easier to take down (think Sig Classic pistols).
But the DWX uses a 1911 style trigger. It also uses inexpensive CZ P10 magazines.

Sorry to get off the main subject but worth the trouble to check it out.


,
 
BrBa said:
In my limited experience owning 1911s, beyond a certain price point you're mostly paying for fluff, and only you can determine if it's worth the extra money. If I'm spending $2k or more, I'm custom ordering to get it exactly how I want it. I went with Wilson and Brown, and might go with Guncrafter if I order another. A Brown is about a 7 week wait, fantastic gun. Wilson is considerably longer, about a year and a half, also a fantastic gun. I wouldn'y say one is better thsn the othet. They are different. No regrets on either one.
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Ive always dreamed of owning either a Wilson or Brown
I love that Ed Brown snake scales ?
Very nice 1911's
 
PauldL said:
Ive always dreamed of owning either a Wilson or Brown
I love that Ed Brown snake scales ?
Very nice 1911's
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Same here! Snakeskin is one of the reasons I went with a Brown. I loved the look but had never handled one in person, so I was pleasantly surprised to feel how functional they are.
 
There are so many options in the high end custom/semi custom 1911 world. To name a few from my collection in no particular order, Ed Brown, Guncrafter, Rock River Arms, Nighthawk, Wilson, Springfield Custom, Alchemy Custom Weaponry, Les Baer, and Cabot


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PauldL said:
Well sure, but thats different- its not like saying this thing probably ain't gonna work until you put half a thousand rounds thru it and even then it still might screw up!
A lot different ....
What your talkin about is probably std procedure with many depts
And probably most do fine
And furthermore, from what ive seen those Baers are terrible - and the owner is a real prick - plain & simple
Its a joke imo
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I've had experience with only one Les Baer .45; bought new not long ago and probably has no more that about a thousand rounds fired through it. Almost all of these have been my own cast bullet target loads. The gun functions perfectly, is tight, and very accurate. No complaints. Granted, a sample of one doesn't tell us much.

Can you describe and detail your personal bad experiences with Les Baer guns? I'd be curious to know about the problems you've had. I don't know the owner as you do, so I can't comment on his personality.
 
Thaddeus Beauregard said:
This is one of those cases where the "Law of Diminishing Returns" applies. As with so many other products, you reach a certain point in the quality to price ratio where the product becomes good enough that making further improvements in one way or another starts to involve much more time and work, and that all adds up in the price getting exponentially higher. The difference between a DW and an EB or Wilson, Nighthawk, Les Baer, etc is the degree of hand fitting to make sure all parts are mated to each other very precisely, and this gives a look and feel that a DW cannot quite match to someone who is picky about such things. This extra hand fitting is very labor- and time-intensive and that involves a lot of shop overhead that must be recouped in the price. Whether the price difference for that little bit of extra refinement is "worth it" is an individual subjective decision. For many people, it isn't and that's understandable. The higher end 1911s may not shoot any better or function any better... but if you are picky, you can clearly see they are a made a little better.
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And this is why some 30 years ago I started acquiring guns that were customized by some of the old time pistolsmiths like John Giles, Jim Clark and Austin Behlert. I have 2 hardball spec Government Models that were made by John Giles. Hardball gun match rules call for a 4 pound minimum trigger pull. That hammer falls at precisely 4 pounds. Mr. Giles includes a test target as to what the gun will do from a machine rest and in hand. Was the price I paid worth it to me? Every last dime.
 
Thaddeus Beauregard said:
This is one of those cases where the "Law of Diminishing Returns" applies. As with so many other products, you reach a certain point in the quality to price ratio where the product becomes good enough that making further improvements in one way or another starts to involve much more time and work, and that all adds up in the price getting exponentially higher. The difference between a DW and an EB or Wilson, Nighthawk, Les Baer, etc is the degree of hand fitting to make sure all parts are mated to each other very precisely, and this gives a look and feel that a DW cannot quite match to someone who is picky about such things. This extra hand fitting is very labor- and time-intensive and that involves a lot of shop overhead that must be recouped in the price. Whether the price difference for that little bit of extra refinement is "worth it" is an individual subjective decision. For many people, it isn't and that's understandable. The higher end 1911s may not shoot any better or function any better... but if you are picky, you can clearly see they are a made a little better. Dan Wesson 1911s are very good, well made guns that are priced very fairly for what you get in return. No, they aren't quite as refined and as well fitted as a higher end custom 1911, but they are pretty close. They are as good as regular production 1911s get.
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As so many have already posted; much depends upon your expected use/purpose. Is it for target shooting @50yds...self defense or simply the joy of owning a piece of mechanical art?
I remember back in the early 2000's Para made a nice govt style 5" and ran an add where one of the then top-tier shooters pulled one off the production line and ran 1k rounds thru it w/o extra lube, cleaning etc...the video was a hot back then...turned the barrel blue, no stoppages. I bought a used one locally for 300...shot like a dream, was more accurate than I could hold it...BUT it was certainly Not a work of mechanical art...
 
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I am fortunate enough to own an Ed Brown Konrad Carry Lt Wt in 45 ACP, a DW ECO in 9mm, and a DW Guardian in 38 Super. Excellent pistols all, great shooter too but my favorite is the Guardian; it has an alloy frame with steel slide. The accuracy is superb, balance is great, and the trigger outstanding. Same for all the pistols; the Brown in lightweight configuration packs a wallop to both the shooter and target. I own several Commander and CCO size lightweight pistols ranging from 9mm through 38 Super and 45acp. The Kobra Carry Lt Wt in my opinion has the most felt recoil of all the pistols. It is a fun gun to shoot for a limited range session it is not a full range day pistol for me.
 

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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.
 
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