charles daly 1911

D

doc_auto

New member
Any experiences with these? I saw one yesterday at my local gunship and it looks very nice. Many nice features that I had to pay an extra $250 or so to put on my Colt.
I'd like to get one for my son-in-law, but would like some commentary regarding reliability and other knowledge of this particular version of the classic.
 
With the Charles Daly you will get people who love them, and people that hate them. I have yet to see anyone in the "middle of the road".

I never owned one but have shot several. The ones I have handled all functioned properly and shot accaptable groups. They are not beautiful examples of 1911's by far, but do they do offer some nice added features.

If you go over to www.1911forum.com, they have a whole section devoted to Charles Daly.

If this is a starter 1911 it is worth the money IMHO.
 
I have 2 Charles Daly's a pre-enhanced and an enhanced. The pre-enhanced had some crappy magazines, but once those were replaced, it has been a charm ever since. I've had it for a little over a year.
The other one enhanced is still in the breaking in phase. While I have had no problems with it yet, it is still too early to put it in the "trust my life to it" category.

I will say that the enhanced models seem to be of better quality than the pre-enhanced.

I paid $350 for each one and I have yet to find a Kimber, Colt, or Springfield that is any more accurate or reliable. Just like anything else it has it's share of lemons. But when I can put a completely factory stock Daly against a custom shop Kimber with a professional trigger job done on it and keep up, I think that I am doing pretty good.

Other people have not had the same success as I, but the link in the previous post is a good place to look and get other opinions on both sides.
 
I don't have any experience with them, but what you read is true: some love them & some hate them.

My dealer sells Daly, Colt, Kimber, & Springfield. He recommends Kimber if you are looking for the best quality 1911.

I know that the Daly guns are produced in the Phillipines. I would imagine just about everyone is using CNC machines to do the machining work. I have heard that the Daly does not use as high of quality carbon steel & SS as "The Big Three", but I don't know that to be fact.

But for a gift - hey, I certainly wouldn't feel that you were cheap! I am a Kimber fan myself, but if someone wants to give me a Daly speak up!
 
I talked to the Armscor representative at the SHOT show, and they said their company made the frames for both Charles Daly AND the new Dan Wesson Pointman series. So, if you are gonna plunk down your hard earned cash, either the Charles Daly, or the Armscor 1911, would save you some cash over the Dan Wesson.

Pat Brophy
 
doc_auto, I bought a CD back in September as a cheap way to get a receiver for my Mech-Tech carbine upper. I ended up keeping it stock because it was so good and reliable. Charles Daly frequents the CD forum over at 1911forum.com. I believe the early CDs had some quality problems but it appears that Charles is making a consistent effort to improve the quality of his firearms. I bought mine for $299 and I have been well pleased with it. I didn't have any problems with the stock mag or the two Mec-Gar 10rd replacements I bought but I have heard of folks having problems with the stock mags.

On my pistol the trigger pull was heavy and rough and the edge of the trigger face was sharp. A little time with some stones and a dremel for the trigger face cleaned everything up nicely.

Yes, the current models have all the bells and whistles. ambi safety, beavertail, lowered ejection port, beveled magwell. For what you get I certainly would consider the extra cost of a Kimber a waste.
 
I have had a Charles Daly pre-enhanced model for 3 months and 1000-2000 rounds now. I love it. It is very accurate (much more so than I am- I've heard of people doing 2" groups at 25 yds and I have a buddy who can empty the mag and have virtually all the holes touching at 25", the one ragged hole thing). It has been very reliable (though, like many others, it doesn't like Wolf ammo very much) with no more than 10-12 FTF (feed NOT fire in this case) and fewer FTE. I did have to replace one of the factory mags because it didn't lock the slide open on the last shot and the other may be replaced because most of my ftf (feed) have been magazine related. The fit and finish is ok but leaves something to be desired.

The enhanced models seem to be better and upon handling them I'd definantely say that they are nicer. I will be in the market for another within about a year so I can definately recommend them.

That said, some people do have problems with them. Then again people can have trouble with a Kimber too. However, even if it is more of a risk than some of the bigger names you still will likely get a good gun and it is much cheaper than the big names. It is a 1911 and compatable with just about all the spare parts out there (cheap customization platform). Being a 1911 most smiths will be familiar with it for customization. IF you are unlucky enough to have any problems Charles Daly customer service appears to be top notch (I don't know this first hand, just hearsay from people who have needed to use it).
 
Hi, I F'ing hate them and will never buy another. I purchased one in fall of 99 and put 4500 rds through it. Wouldn't feed reliably from factory, USGI, or CMC mags. accuracy was passable, but never thought it was reliable enough to bet your life on. After about 2,000 rds I did a "fluff & buff", cleaning up the throat and ramp to mirror finish with fine polishing comp, polishing the frame rails and lightening the trigger pull a little. Reliability improved, but still would pull its favorite trick of not going fully into battery about 2 per 50 rds. At this point parts started to break, first the ambi safety, then the barrel bushing cracked. Fit was marginal, finish was a cheap blue, set next to an old colt to see what blue should look like, and yes the steel was substandard, based on what I saw with the small parts they were over-hardened/improperly tempered which made them brittle.

Maybe Chuck has improved, but my money won't find out. The only worse thing I've played with in a 1911 was an as is Sistema, but that was mainly ergonomics(16 lb. trigger pull and hammer bite galore). The difference is I bought the Sistema with the intention of throwing parts at it to make it what I wanted, The Chuck was NIB so I expected it to act like it.
 
I like mine. It has been 100% reliable (so far), but I've only used ball ammo to this point. I bought it because I wanted a 1911 to shoot a lot and tinker with a little. It has exceeded my expectations so far.
 
Well, I went and bought that Charles Daly for my son-in-law!
It is finished in a nice satin-black finish with attractive red toned grips. The checkering leaves something to be desired, but he can replace these if he likes.
It has combat style sights, skeletonized trigger, beavertail, ambi-extended safety, extended slide release, and a crisp trigger pull.
Not wanting to give junk to my kin, I did the responsible thing and tested it.
I grabbed an assortment of ammo and headed out into the backyard.
First, Wolf. I figured this would be the ultimate test. The gun was tight for the first 4 rounds, and I had to coax the slide forward for the last 1/8 inch. No malfunctions, and everything was smooth after that.
Next, WinClean. No malfunctions. Likewise with 185 gr Hi-Shoks.

Accuracy-you're going to think that I'm FOS, but at 15 paces, the first 8 shots-Wolf, went into ONE HOLE!
The other two types of ammo, 2 and 2 1/2 inches, respectivley.

A Kimber? Maybe not.
Will he have fun with it? You betcha.
Can he defend his home and my grandsons with it? I do believe so.
 
Congratulations. You made a good choice. Like I said, my Charles Daly has been great (since I posted I've shot about 300-400 more rounds out of it without 1 problem plus, of course, I shot quite a few fairly recently before that without trouble- 100% reliability in approximately 400-500 rounds out of a gun that some say is a POS :D ). It is very accurate, I don't doubt that the gun is capabable of what you said, probably better once you're more used to it. To top it all off it is very inexpensive. Now you just need to get one for yourself too :) .
 
38 super?

CD doesn't but its maker Armscor does. However the gun is Mil Spec and lacks the Daly's "bells and whistles." :) Would probably be a great platform gun though.
 
I've spent some time in the Philipines and I would be reluctant to buy a handgun made there.
Just my opinion.
 
Charels Daly

I bought one about a year ago (used) at a gun show for about $300 . I have mixed feelings about it the bells and wistles are great but I didnt like the bore. I discovered a small bulge in the bottom of one of the grooves about an inch from the muzzle. This dosent seem to affect accuracy but bothers me because It shouldnt be there.

I had some cycling problems at first . It wouldnt go into battery fully , the slide would stay back about 1/8 in. This was easy to cure from my experince with other 1911s I have I simpley installed a 16lb recoil spring now I have no problems with ball , pure lead ,or hollow points , I particulary like the win-clean It feeds nicley and I dont have to scrub as much when I am done.

Out of personal preference not necessity I replaced the trigger with one that has an overtravel stop. During disassembely I noticed that the trigger grooves in the frame are very rough and could use some honing I wanted to impprove the trigger pull a bit and while I was at it stoned the hammer and sear I also discovered that the disconnecter was a very rough cast It works but as bad as it looks I have to wonder how.

I cant complain about it at all for what I paid and mine has a very low sereial number (under 1500) I suppose quality might have improved since mine was made. But she chews up more ammo faster than I can get it.
 
istructions for the ultimate daly:

had two and loved them. i would say that they are on par with any springfield ive ever owned. just follow these suggestions:

- replace recoil spring with a wolff variable 15 lb and extra strength firing pin spring ($5.00)

-throw the factory mags in the trash and just get some wilson's ($20.00 ea.)

- replace extractor with ed browns match. ($20.00)

- replace trigger with a wilson's adjustable ($15.00) nowlin pro match sear ($14.00) and briley disonnector ($12.00)- the factory parts are MIM garbage like kimbers.

-replace barrel bushing with a wilson combat ($15.00)

- have barrel throated and chamber/ feed ramped polished (bout $25 from any gunsmith)

sights, well the factory ones are ok, but i'd figure out something else.)

i've had two daly's with the above done to each of them. both were 100%
 
Charles Daly

I bought a 1911-a1 in stainless last year. I polished the feed ramp just slightly and broke the corners on the chamber. It came with 2 Chip McCormick Shooting Star mags. I put about 1000 hard balls through it and then started with the hand loads. I haven't had any problems that wasn't my fault (a few faulty hand loads) I have about 3000 rounds through it by now and have installed a Chip McCormick full length guide rod. Groups are in the 5" range at 25yards. The gun has always shot low any help on this would be apreciated.
 
I purchased commander-style Charles Daley and have been very happy with the gun. It is accurate and reliable. I spent $75 on a trigger job and reliability job.
 
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