Spring has sprung. Get out and shoot your Henry

Dan Wesson Vigil CCO 1911

garryj
Tenderfoot
Posts: 43
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2017 10:17 pm
United States of America

Dan Wesson Vigil CCO 1911

Post by garryj » Mon Jul 15, 2019 9:27 pm

I just picked up my Dan Wesson Vigil CCO 1911 in .45 ACP. The Dan Wesson CCO 1911 has been on my wish list for at least ten years and when I found out about the Vigil CCO, I had to get it. When I field stripped it at my FFL, I couldn’t get the bushing to release from the frame. I thought it was strange and that was confirmed when I got it home. It took some doing to get it to release and even more to get it back in. Maybe it will loosen up after a couple hundred rounds. Other than that, the fit was very tight and the finish was beautiful. I did notice that the barrel was ramped, which is strange for a .45 ACP. I can see the need for it on a 9mm or .38 Super, but not on a .45 ACP. The front sight is a tritium night sight with a white circle around it. The rear sight is a no-dot combat sight. I took the DW grips off and put on some older ones that I had in my parts drawer. I didn’t do this because I prefer them over the DW grips, but to keep the original grips in good condition.

If the weather cooperates, I will have a range report soon.

Specs from Dan Wesson:

Model: Vigil CCO
Caliber: .45 ACP
Magazine Capacity: 7
Frame Material: Forged Aluminum
Slide Finish: Duty Finish
Grips: Wood
Overall Length: 7.9 in
Barrel Length: 4.25
Width: 1.45 in
Weight: 29.5 oz
Trigger Mech: Single Action
Front Sight: Fixed Night Sight
Rear Sight: Tactical Rear Sight
Safety: Manual thumb safety, grip safety

Garry
DWVR.JPG
DWVL.JPG
DWV1L.JPG
DWV1R.JPG
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
1 x

User avatar
JEBar
Town Marshal / Deputy Admin
Posts: 19274
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2016 10:58 pm
Location: central NC
United States of America

Re: Dan Wesson Vigil CCO 1911

Post by JEBar » Mon Jul 15, 2019 9:42 pm

nice looking handgun .... looking forward to your coming reports
1 x

Henry88
Cowboy
Posts: 1872
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2016 9:12 am
Location: Osteen FL
United States of America

Re: Dan Wesson Vigil CCO 1911

Post by Henry88 » Mon Jul 15, 2019 10:50 pm

What a great carry piece.
0 x

dddrees
Cattle Driver
Posts: 703
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2016 5:55 pm
United States of America

Re: Dan Wesson Vigil CCO 1911

Post by dddrees » Tue Jul 16, 2019 2:50 am

Congrats, Great Choice!!!

Dan Wesson makes some very nice 1911s and probably the best value for your money. My first 1911 was a Dan Wesson V-Bob in Duty Finish. It's just a shame they discontinued their top of line Valor 1911s.
0 x

User avatar
BrokenolMarine
Ranch Foreman
Posts: 5770
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 8:28 am
Location: South Central Oklahoma in the mountains
United States of America

Re: Dan Wesson Vigil CCO 1911

Post by BrokenolMarine » Tue Jul 16, 2019 4:05 am

I wouldn't concern yourself about the overly tight bushing fit. As I just posted in another post a day or two ago, my custom competition 1911 is so tight that I have to use a nylon mallet and a bushing wrench if I want to take it apart. The gunsmith who built the pistol advised against breaking it down unless it was absolutely necessary.

This gun is way more accurate than I will ever hope to be. :D
0 x
You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
by the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.

dddrees
Cattle Driver
Posts: 703
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2016 5:55 pm
United States of America

Re: Dan Wesson Vigil CCO 1911

Post by dddrees » Tue Jul 16, 2019 9:06 am

BrokenolMarine wrote:
Tue Jul 16, 2019 4:05 am
I wouldn't concern yourself about the overly tight bushing fit. As I just posted in another post a day or two ago, my custom competition 1911 is so tight that I have to use a nylon mallet and a bushing wrench if I want to take it apart. The gunsmith who built the pistol advised against breaking it down unless it was absolutely necessary.

This gun is way more accurate than I will ever hope to be. :D
More than one manufacture will typically advise not to breakdown their 1911s until a certain amount of rounds are fired, This is certainly true for my Wilson Combat and Les Baer is known for their extremely tight tolerances.

This was not the case for my Dan Wesson Valor as I was to clean it after every 50 rounds.

Anyway if you have any questions I would first refer to your manual and I would not be afraid to call Dan Wesson Customer Support if you think it still necessary.
0 x

User avatar
North Country Gal
Firearms Advisor
Posts: 6054
Joined: Thu Apr 07, 2016 12:46 pm
Location: northern Wisconsin
United States of America

Re: Dan Wesson Vigil CCO 1911

Post by North Country Gal » Tue Jul 16, 2019 10:13 am

Did a field strip on my Dan Wesson A2, yesterday and, yes, parts do fit tight, but the important thing is that they fit, properly, meaning function is not impaired. My A2 has NEVER had a single jam. I wouldn't lose any sleep over the fit on yours.
0 x

garryj
Tenderfoot
Posts: 43
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2017 10:17 pm
United States of America

Re: Dan Wesson Vigil CCO 1911

Post by garryj » Tue Jul 16, 2019 2:31 pm

I'm not really concerned about the barrel bushing being hard to remove/insert. I actually believe it to be a good thing. I'm just saying it is a pain in the a$$ to do it.

Garry
0 x

garryj
Tenderfoot
Posts: 43
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2017 10:17 pm
United States of America

Re: Dan Wesson Vigil CCO 1911

Post by garryj » Fri Jul 19, 2019 4:44 am

Dan Wesson Vigil CCO Range Report

I went to the range Tuesday morning even though the temperature was going to be in the 90’s with the heat index reaching 103-111. I figured I could at least check my new Dan Wesson Vigil CCO for function if not accuracy, which is exactly what I wound up doing. At my age, heat is not your friend.

I set up an 8” steel plate and a few targets at 12 yards. I figured I would fire 100 rounds at the plate to loosen the DW up. The problem was that, with the heat and my age, I was worn out after 100 rounds and couldn't really do any conclusive accuracy tests. I do know that, for me, it shoots low at 12 yards. There were no malfunctions that I could attribute to the gun, but I did have one very peculiar magazine issue. I had four 7-round magazines and two 8-rounders. Two of the 7- rounders were the DW ones that came with the gun and two were Wilson Combats that I’ve had for years. The two 8-rounders are so old that I don’t know or if I ever knew who made them. All functioned flawlessly for the first two sets(a set being one firing of all full magazines or 44 rounds). On the third set, with one of the Wilson Combat magazines, the first round fired and the second—click!-nothing. Upon checking the gun, I noticed the magazine was not fully seated. Thinking this was human error, I re-seated the magazine and racked the slide and the magazine unseated itself. I tried this a few more times with the magazine and chamber empty with the same result. Every time the slide went into lockup, the magazine unseated and dropped about 1/2”. Needless to say this magazine is out of the rotation until I figure out why it is doing this.

Other than the magazine problem, there were no malfunctions in all 172 rounds I fired today. 150 were Winchester white box ball target and 22 were some old Federal Hydra-Shoks that I do not use since I switched to Federal HST"s. Next range trip, I will start with accuracy testing and post the results here.

Garry
0 x

User avatar
BrokenolMarine
Ranch Foreman
Posts: 5770
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 8:28 am
Location: South Central Oklahoma in the mountains
United States of America

Re: Dan Wesson Vigil CCO 1911

Post by BrokenolMarine » Fri Jul 19, 2019 7:10 am

Check to see if the malfunctioning mag is dented or malformed around the locking notch or on the off side allowing it to move away from the mag catch. I shot wilson mags in competition, and they were usually very reliable unless they got bent dropping on the concrete firing line. Careful tweeking usually restored them to service. :)
0 x
You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
by the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.

Post Reply