Anthony,
I haven't exactly had a pistol "customized" by Dane, but I did have him convert a Colt 38 Super to 9X23 Win for me.
The Colt is one of the "South American" models; it is highly polished stainless, originally in 38 Super that I bought specifically to get changed over to 9X23 Win. I bought it, and shot about 100 rounds just to get a feel for it. It was accurate, and the trigger was about what you would expect from Colt; not bad, but not up to the level of my Kimber Gold Match.
I had contacted Dane in advance, and although I got the feeling that he didn't do conversions like this very much, he agreed to do the work. In addition, he agreed to install a trigger. We agreed on a price, and I sent it off to him. I would have had him do more, but I was short on $$$ and was trying to pay off a Les Baer.
I got the gun back in about 4-6 weeks (I don't remember exactly). The price was as agreed, and I took it out to the range as soon as I got some factory 9x23 Win Silvertips.
WOW! The gun is easy to shoot accurately. It is low recoil, as long as you don't push it when you reload. Up until this gun, I have always said that the *&* 625 with a red dot is the most accurate handgun I own; this 9X23 Win 1911 is either just as good or better. The trigger that Dane put in and adjusted is a dream!
I have changed e-mail accounts, and can't easily find the information about EXACTLY what Dane did, but as I remember it was a trigger, extractor change, BarSto barrel, and Wolff springs. I am sure this also involved a small amount of fitting/tuning/whatever to get it all to work correctly.
The only problem with this gun is the fact that there is little factory support, other than Winchester. Starline does make brass, but the Winchester brass is much better by all reports. All I shoot is the Winchester brass, so I can't comment on the Starline. The pistol has been dead on reliable since I got it back; I have put about 2000 rounds of target reloads and about 200 rounds of much hotter loads through it without a single problem. Not one.
I would STRONGLY recommend Mr. Burns for work on a pistol. He was easy to deal with, got the work done in the time and for the amount of $$$ agreed upon, and contacted when he needed any additional information. And, I think he REALLY likes the 9X23 Win!
Sorry Dane, if you didn't want me to tell anyone!
Almost forgot to talk about the 9X23 Win as a defensive round. The only negative I can think of is the fact that when you load this round up, it makes a lot of noise. Of course, so does any other round that you load to a similar level.
I load some rounds to 357 Magnum levels, without a hitch in either function of the 1911, or the brass. The rounds push a 125 gr JHP to about 1700 fps, which is plenty good enough to provide expansion of the slug. When you get above 1500 fps, you need to be using rifle primers.
I have high quality 1911's in 45 ACP and 40 *&*, and I think that the extra length of the 9X23 Win case must allow it to feed better. Although I can't knock the accuracy of my Kimber in 45 ACP, this gun is more accurate already.
I am sold on this caliber!
Casey