Custom built Dlask 1911 Commander in 9mm - pictures & range test

--Terry--

--Terry--

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After 5 months of waiting, I was finally able to picked up this fun small pistol from Dlask Arms last week. I ordered it on February 19, 2007, and now it is early August. But I guess it is one of those "worth-waiting-for" projects.

The project started with my failed attempt to buy a Colt 1911 Commander in 9mm. I was told at that time that the compact version of 1911 was an ideal platform for 9mm ammunition, but nobody made/sold any of them except a few Colts which were really hard to come by. I decided that I would not wait any more, and ordered a full custom built 9mm Commander with Joe Dlask.

Maybe I should not call it "Commander", since it is Colt's trademark for the compact version of 1911 Government. I will call it 1911 Compact, then.

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The most difficult part of this 1911 is the slide, because 9mm slide is longer than .45 ACP at the breach face, so it had to be custom ordered, and it took Joe a long time to receive it from the States.

The gun was 100% built to my specs. Matte black blued slide and frame, thick but non-bull barrel, ambi-thumb-safety, fibre optic front sight, full length guide rod, and medium length trigger.

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One special feature of this gun is the ADJUSTABLE Novak rear sight. It is combat style, but fully adjustable in height and 2 sides. Neat!

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Range test:
I tried the gun in the past weekend with my wife. We shot at 25 meter distance, at a round target as shown in the picture below. My wife got much better results than I did, so I will show her target only.

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Accuracy and consistency was amazing (much much better than my Norinco, ha ha), due to the super tight lock-up of the thick barrel.

We had not adjusted the rear sight when we shot this one, so all the hits were a little low. We turned it later by one click to "up", and the shots did end up higher.

The gun is on the heavy side (the thick barrel, guide rod, steel frame, etc), so shooting was actually quite comfortable. Because of the beaver tail, I was able to grip the gun high, so the gun does not "jump" much. The recoil was a brief solid push back on my right hand, and then it went back on target again. It felt like shooting a 1911 Government in 9mm.
 
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The gun came with the one piece long guide rod, which made field stripping pretty difficult.
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I filed it down to be about 5mm shorter, so it rests right inside the slide. I can now disassemble the gun quickly without the help of a pin nor a paper clip.
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Field stripping of the pistol:
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Very nice sight picture with the red fibre optic front sight (it appears smaller in the picture because of the camera. It is in fact bigger & brighter when I aim with my eyes):
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One thing that I am not sure whether it is good or not: A fully ramped barrel. I have not experienced any feeding issues in traditional non-ramped barrels in 1911s. Now I have this ramped barrel, will it limit my choices of replacement barrels in the future?

Comments?

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Gongrats, nice looking commander :rockOn:

How much did it set you back, if you don't mind me asking? And what is the source of the frame and slide?
 
Very nice looking... regarding the ramped barrel... could it be because the 9mm is so small?

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Jo knows what he is doing :)
 
G37 said:
Very nice looking... regarding the ramped barrel... could it be because the 9mm is so small?

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Jo knows what he is doing :)
Click to expand...

I don't think it is because of the 9mm ammo, which works OK in all brands of 9mm 1911s. Smaller diameter actually makes feeding easier because of the thicker barrel around the chamber area.
 
Well, from the little research I've done... non-ramped 1911's chambered for the 9mm seem to be the minority.

:)
 
Would it have been more expensive to go with a bushingless barrel? I like that piece and the price is pretty decent, accuracy seems pretty solid as well.
 
Perfect work on the grip safety and the beaver tail fit to the frame.
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The mag well is slightly beveled.
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I ordered the single stack frame. Maybe I will regret it if I try to use this gun in IPSC in the future. But I like single stack frames. It is comfortable to grip.

My wife is now fighting me to be the owner of this 1911 Compact. Well, I guess it will be hers sooner or later.
 
Hitzy said:
Would it have been more expensive to go with a bushingless barrel? I like that piece and the price is pretty decent, accuracy seems pretty solid as well.
Click to expand...

We chose the bushing version because:
1. It was quite hard to find a short bull barrel in 9mm;
2. It is much easier to replace a barrel with bushing: just get a new barrel with a bushing fit to it. But if a bull barrel wears down, it could be hard to fit a new one to that same slide.

Well, again, it is "somebody told me". A bull barrel would be cool, and it was on my original order. But because of the above we made the change. I am fine with the bushing.
 
$1250 and only 5 months wait for a custom gun is almost unheard of if you compare to the Gunsmiths in the states.
 
:cool: That is one beautiful pistol. Joe's work is absolutely incredible. That is a very good price for a custom gun. Hmmmmmmm, maybe next year I'll get him to build me a stainless one..........:evil:
 
Gorgeous pictures. Great project. Uber Cool. I understand that feeling when your wife likes your pistol and wants to shoot it all the time. Same thing happened when I took a box stock GI 1911 IMBEL in 9mm and tweaked the trigger, MSH, hammer, fire control (sear & disconnector), springs into a fine shooting tuned pistol. She said, "This is mine, now." :evil:

Okay dear, I guess I'll just have to go and buy myself another Springfield Armory pistol to compete with.

Life is good. Keep your wife happy. 9mm is great.

Barney
 
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