Dan Wesson Vigil CCO 1911

[garryj]

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

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[JEBar]

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

[Henry88]

What a great carry piece.

[dddrees]

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.

[BrokenolMarine]

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.

[dddrees]

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.

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.

[North Country Gal]

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.

[garryj]

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

[garryj]

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

[BrokenolMarine]

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.

[North Country Gal]

Garry, I've had the exact same issue with certain individual mags in certain individual guns. The mags insert just fine, but are just enough off to cause problems. In the same vein, I've had mags that were shipped from the factory with the gun that were causing problems, but the problem disappeared when using someone else's brand of mag. Just the nature of the beast. For me, then, one of the objectives of a function test is to weed out mags that don't cut it with that individual gun. Yeah, you could try to figure out the problem with those iffy mags, but, for me, I have plenty of extra mags around, so it's easier to just change mags. As always, I'd rather be shooting than playing gunsmith.

[Ernie]

Looks like an excellent carry gun. Have a full size Heritage model which I really like, now you have me thinking I need one of these.

[Mistered]

Needless to say this magazine is out of the rotation until I figure out why it is doing this.

The mag lock 'notch' on the right side was probably stamped slightly low or too narrow.
Put this mag in the gun and slowly push it up till you feel it lock in place. Then push on the bottom of the mag. You should have a little bit of 'play' in the mag if the notch is the proper size and in the right location.
Maybe measure the notch on it and compare it to a known, proper fitting mag.
You can probably save the mag with a few file strokes to the top edge of the notch as the top edge is probably a little too low to allow the release pin to clear it completely on seating.

[Carver]

Nice looking gun....Just came in after running 50 rounds thru my new PM-C 45 flawless as always, still not happy about the front sight being glued on with tight bond. I had considered the Vigil but the PM-C won me over. Happy Shooting.

[garryj]

I finally went back to the range do some accuracy testing of my Dan Wesson Vigil CCO in .45ACP. The weather was much more cooperative at 75-81 degrees with the heat index only getting up to 87. The first 49 rounds on 4 targets were Winchester white box 230gr ball target loads. I then tried two of my own target reloads on the next 4 targets. All targets were placed at 12 yards.

1&2-top targets
3&4-2nd targets
5&6-3rd targets
7&8-bottom targets

Targets 1, 3 and 4 are 14 rounds each of WWB 230gr ball target loads
Target 2 is 7 rounds of WWB 230gr ball target loads
Targets 5 and 6 are 7 rounds each of 230gr Berry’s plated with 5.0gr of American Select
Targets 7 and 8 are also 7 rounds each of 230gr Berry’s plated with 5.2gr of W231

The dropped rounds on targets 1 and 3 are on me-once because my rest became unstable and once because I flinched as the guy next to me lit off his 7mm Remington Magnum hunting rifle just as I was firing.
I am very pleased with the way this gun shoots. It shoots very close to POA, maybe slightly low. So far, with only about 250 flawless rounds through it, I’m predicting this one is a keeper. I need to shoot at least 250 more to be sure.

Garry

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[dddrees]

Sounds and looks great.

Still think a Dan Wesson is probably the best bang for the buck when it comes to a 1911.

[North Country Gal]

Looks like a keeper to me. Nice work.

[JEBar]

good report .... it looks like a keeper to me