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Soccerdad1995 wrote:Thanks all. There are definitely a lot of decent choices out there and fortunately I don't need this one urgently. A couple quick questions:

1. What are y'all's thoughts about the trade off between an aluminum vs steel frame for a carry 1911 in the Commander size. Steel frame versions seem to be right around 35-36 ounces and aluminum are 29-30, so we are looking at an extra 6 ounces. Is this worth it for the added durability?

2. Dumb question but should I have any concerns that Dan Wesson guns are being sold by CZ-USA? Was there a merger and if so, are the guns still up to the same quality standards?

Aluminum vs. steel: Probably in my head, even at the rates I shoot, but I prefer the steel for perceived durability. I also compete with the same C-BOB I carry (often in the 500+ rounds per month range when I was pretty active) and I also like the slight weight advantage for recoil management. That said, Aluminum guns have easily gone the same number of rounds as the steel guns, and the 6 oz or so difference is significant in a daily carry. I'd say get the one you like best when you handle them -- you won't make a mistake in picking the "wrong" metal.

The merger between Dan Wesson and CZ was quite some time ago, and my C-BOB is actually a CZ gun. The quality is fine. When I bought mine, I had set aside and budgeted for an Ed Brown Cobra Carry, and stumbled across the DW CBOB. I won't pretend that the $1100 version was as finely fit and perfectly tuned as the $3500 version of essentially the same gun, BUT numerous parts on the DW were in fact indiscernible from the Brown. The only single complaint I had about the gun was that the rear sight dovetail was milled a bit loose (to the tune of .001, so not really significant) and after a few thousand rounds let the rear sight loose. It was fixed with a different rear sight that I bought and filed to fit. It could have also been fixed with a drop of threadlock on the set-screw, but I wanted a different sight anyway. The front sight dovetail isn't standard, but again, this isn't a big deal.

Point being, the DW's that I've seen, and the one I have, while not hand-fit guns, are as well fit as any production gun, and slightly better than most.

I carry a Dan Wesson Commander Bobtail (usually known as the CBOB) and I love it. I find it easy to conceal, and it shoots almost as good as a square-butt 1911. I do give up a bit of "meat in the hand" to the round-butt in favor of easier concealment, but not enough to have kept it from being my competition rig in IDPA.

The CBOB is out of production now, but Kimber and Dan Wesson are both making essentially identical guns (4 1/4" barrel, standard grip frame with the Ed Brown bobtail mainspring housing) and it's been a favorite for a number of years among 1911 folks.

Ed Brown, of course, is still making a number of bobtail models, including commander sized guns, but they're significantly more expensive (north of $3k last time I looked).

Any commander-sized 1911 makes my list of 'perfect packin' pistols,' and adding the bobtail cut to the mainspring makes it an entire order of magnitude easier to conceal.

I also like the officer-sized (chopped and channeled) 1911's, but they can be a bit more finicky about ammo and magazines. The commander sized guns I've had have all been dead-nuts reliable.