Dan Wesson ECO - initial reaction

My DW is a 2007 CBOB . No break in I cleaned lubed and shot I had mag problems with the factory mags Went to my Colt mags and ran fine .

Of course my DW is a cast frame and they were a reasonable price. :) Today I would not spend the money they want .:rolleyes: To many reported of problems . When I bought mine was making 3000 a year . Now going for 10,000 a year I think QC has taken a beating
I have returned to my Colts for carry .
 
Bad feed lips or weak mag springs can cause failure to eject in 1911s IIRC. Without enough pressure the spent case does not get under the claw of the extractor. This is what I assumed when he stated the issue went away with a mag change.
 
Throw out any results with Blazer aluminum ammo. A lot of semi-autos, especially 1911s, don't like them. I won't shoot them in semi-autos, only in revolvers.
Click to expand...
I have had at least one revolver that did not like Blazer aluminum cased ammo.
They would stick and not extract. That was a .44Spl S&W 396 with a Scandium cylinder.
Never found aluminum cased ammo to try with my .38, .357 or .45acp Scandium revolvers, so I cannot comment on whether this was a Scandium/aluminum incompatibility.

And I no longer own these revolvers. But I also started handloading since then, so I have no reason to buy aluminum cased ammo. Brass seems to work just fine with everything. Probably why they selected brass as a case material way back when...

Aren't 9mm 1911s notoriously unreliable? There seem to be a few exceptions like the Springfield EMP,
Click to expand...
My experience with the EMP is exactly the opposite. I owned two...one initial purchase, returned to SA twice and eventually replaced. Replacement went back twice.
Springfield may have it figured out now. I sure hope so. Every time I see one, I say, "Great idea, -CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED--poor execution". I'm not tempted to try again.

I currently have two 3" Kimber .45acp 1911s that weigh the same, fit the same holsters, and actually work 100% of the time. And have owned several others that did the same.

Again, IME, the EMP was a great idea executed incredibly poorly.
 
Last edited:
I hope you can get the reliability issues worked out. Pretty little gun, but holy moly, I'll stick with my smith 3913.
 
I'd focus on Colt for officer sized 1911's.


They seem to have hit the winning formula. But all the haters will accuse you of overpaying for the "Name".:o
 
Update -
Took the ECO to the range Saturday. Not a good outing. The gun would extract the spent casings from the chamber but would not eject them from the slide. Much more severe than the initial outing. It seems to need work on the extracter.

Contacted Dan Wesson this morning. They Immediately send a prepaid shipping label to return the pistol to them. The gun is currently enroute back to the factory. Will update again when ..I get it back.

On another note, shot a a NIB Dan Wesson Guardian 9mm 1911 after shooting the ECO. The Guardian was flawless with the 100 rounds I put through it.
 
Update -
Took the ECO to the range Saturday. Not a good outing. The gun would extract the spent casings from the chamber but would not eject them from the slide. Much more severe than the initial outing. It seems to need work on the extracter.
Click to expand...

Could be the recoil spring speeding up the action before the round can eject. I'm curious to see what DW does. That sucks that you're having problems serious enough to send it back. I think I might scratch the ECO off my list.
 
jimbear - I wouldn't scratch it off the list yet. Wait and see how mine performs when I get it back. My shooting partner has a new ECO with about 500 rounds through it and it has been flawless.

DWs has a very good reputation for correcting any problems with their guns. They responded immediately when I contacted them. I'm quite confident it will shoot fine after they're done with it.
 
Update: DW is shipping the gun back today. New ejector and extractor, polished barrel ramp, fit barrel hood. They put six magazines through it with no issues. Anxious to get it back and take it to the range. Turn around time less than three weeks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top