Dan Wesson 9mm Guardian

[montanadave]

This model has caught my eye and I was wondering if there were any members who might provide some feedback.

[High Tower]

I like it - a lot. I had the chance to run 100 rounds through one and was very pleased with how it handled. It was very accurate and ran trouble free.

I have heard of folks having some issues with them - which is why the owner asked me to shoot it - but most may be the shooter rather than the gun.

[Blayglock]

Ive had two of them. Traded the last one for this one:

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=90752

Overall I am very satisfied.


Ill repost a range review I did:

I never knew the perfect ccw 1911 could be had at this price point. Let me explain in a nutshell: Superb fit, great trigger, good sights, hard use finish, meticulously de-horned, nicely bevel magwell, lightweight frame, bobtailed for ease of concealability and more than accurate. Now what some of you will disagree with it is in 9mm. Personally, I have done a enough testing to satisfy in my own mind that .45 is not big enough or powerful enough to make up for a poor shot, but a good shot with either caliber using modern SD ammo does fine. I've also heard that since the 1911 was designed around .45 yada yada yada... Ive never had problems with any 9mm 1911s that good mags did not solve. So I choose the caliber that is cheaper to practice with (= more shooting for the money) and has less recoil. YMMV.

I picked up this DW Guardian in a trade from Quack. I believe it had 500 rounds through it but cannot remember exactly what he told me. I put 250 rounds comprised of the following:

124 gr +P Speer Gold Dots
115 gr LRN with 4.0gr Tightgroup
115 Gr Plated 4.2gr Titegroup
115 gr Plated 4.5gr Titegroup

Titegroup is my favorite powder for practice ammo even though it is a tad smokey with lead. I only loaded 50 plated with each charge to test how they did. The 4.5 gr seemed a tad more accurate, but both cycled the gun reliability with a smooth recoil impulse. Now that I have tested and found a good load I am going to make some more and head back to the range this week Lord willin and the creek dont rise.

I tried 3 types of mags: 10 round Wilson Combat, 10 round Para Ord, and the Checkmates that come with the gun. I had 3 failures during the range season. 2 were due to bad reloads (slightly bulged cases) and 1 was a stovepipe due to the Checkmate mag. The Checkmate has this annoying habit of pushing the 2nd round too far up after you chamber a round. If you chamber a round and drop the mag, the top round always falls out on one of the mags. More testing is needed, but I have confidence in the 10 rounders.

I had 2 amazing revelations today running this pistol. While running some F.A.S.T. drills (http://pistol-training.com/drills/fast-fundamentals-accuracy-speed-test) I found that the magwell is so nicely beveled that my mag changes were nearly as fast and smooth as with my SA MC Operator that has an S&A magchute. I was surprised and how quick my mag changes were. This makes me a very happy camper.

The other revelation I had was that since this gun is bobtailed & commander sized I could actually conceal the pistol OWB without dressing like a slouch. My normal T-shirts will conceal this just fine with the leather OWB holster that I have. I tested it out by running some errands with this setup. No problems or even second glances. As a side note it is legal to OC here in PA, but I will not be doing it. I’m afraid the people in the area I live would freak out.

If there is one thing I would change (and I will) it is the low profile Novak sights. They are great for concealed carry and do not snag. Likewise, they are easy to find in the dark. However when I was running the FAST drills I was having a harder time picking up the front sight at high speed. The Heinie sights I have on my other guns are better suited for the task. The main problem with the Novak sights is that there isn’t enough daylight between the post and rear sight.

Lastly, I am very please with Cane & Derby holsters and mag carriers. The one in the picture below is so slim and well contoured that wearing it OWB is not problem. I highly recommend them, even over Raven, primarily since leads times are in the 30 day range as opposed to 4 month range. Also pictured is my Tacti-Cool Bear Grylls Gerber. I know I can survive anything with that knife lol.
http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv239/BlayGlock/DWG.jpg