Valor Durability??

[SmokeyMonkees]

So I ordered a Dan Wesson Valor. It is newer than the last one I saw. The Ejection port is lowered to .390 and the bevel next to the extractor leaves the metal real thin. Is there any worry about the slide cracking?

Probably a dumb question, but the one I had seen in the store a while back was probably only cut to .450 with a much higher bevel by the extractor.

[SmokeyMonkees]

http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z476/smokeymonkees/Valor.jpg

1913 was the year the Marine Corps adopted the 1911?

[SmokeyMonkees]

Finally shot the Valor.

We also took out a Series 70 Colt and a Kimber Raptor?

The Valor shot the best for everyone. The valor ejected the brass about 7-10 feet to the right. The Kimber ejected the brass about 3 feet to the right and the Colt aimed the brass at my forehead.

With new factory ball ammo 230gr S&B and Winchester the Valor ran flawless and liked to rip a ragged hole off hand at about 15 meters.

I had bucket with loose rounds at home, and filled up a sandwich bag with a variety of hollow points. There was one fail to feed when the Valor had weak ejection and the Valor failed to feed a ball round that was next in the magazine. Not sure what ammo preceded it, but it did feel remarkably weak. This was with a Colt factory mag, wadcutter style feed lips.

I had to adjust the rear sight slightly to the right to move the group so point of aim met point of impact. Not perfect, but this is why it is an adjustable rear sight.

Rapid fire is extremely easy, and all the checkering keeps the gun from moving around in the hand.

The long ejector does make ejecting unfired rounds unreliable and this could be a deficit if a round fails to fire and I need to chamber a new one. The Kimber and the Colt did not have this problem.

[SmokeyMonkees]

We managed to get the frame hot, real hot.

[BadOscar]

Nice looking Valor, too bad your serial number isn't 2 numbers lower, how cool would that be.

[SmokeyMonkees]

1911 is THE SERIAL NUMBER, but being 1913 is the year the Corps went with it, I'm almost as happy. almost.

In concluding my review:

Dan Wesson sure likes to cut steel then. The ejection port lowered to .390, the very thin metal left around the extractor after flaring the ejection port, and a very then dust cover on frame. I'm not an engineer, but I sure hope their engineer knows what he or she is doing.

Some of the parts are less precisely fitted. The rear of the ejector extends past the frame and the slide, while both the Kimber and the Colt were fitted flush. There is also daylight visible around the ejector when looking through the pistol, while the Colt and the Kimber did not.

The other criticism of the ejector is the extended length makes ejection of unfired rounds unreliable, while the Colt and the Kimber did not have that problem.

The grip safety is loose in the frame. The Colt grip safety was loose in the frame, the Kimber was tight.

The finish wore on the front of the extractor, which tells me that maybe some rounds were not being fed under the extractor. I will look for some stainless GI mags.

I had to adjust the sights. It was not just me. Other seasoned shooters were hitting the same point of impact. There was a spent case in the box and copper fouling in the bore, so I know the weapon was tested at the factory.

It is a nice pistol, but I can't say maybe I shouldn't have just bought a Colt and had the same improvements put to it.

[SmokeyMonkees]

And how may I get that "Mimber Lover" removed from by my name? :confused:

[BadOscar]

I'm curious how tight the slide to frame fit is on it? Got any pics from the back? Usually that's where DW really shines.

You got to ask Clyde aka Namvet72 for a COTEP card to get to be a full member. But so far I think you qualify so maybe I will let you in a little early. :D

[SmokeyMonkees]

http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z476/smokeymonkees/valor3.jpg

Thanks for removing the member lover!

[SmokeyMonkees]

I filed the extractor back a little, so now loaded rounds reliably extract, although it is best to tilt to extract the last round. Went out and hot about 150 rounds today and it was still reliable.

The rear sight is not as far to the right as it seems, just a tad. Checked it off the bench, different ammo, everything. The gun just shoots a little to the lift.

[SmokeyMonkees]

I continued shooting with shooting the Valor. It does not like the Colt wadcutter (no dimple) mags. The last round jams frequently. I will order more of the mags that came with it.