Charles daly


missoak

Member
Been looking at some used 1911's. There's a Charles Daly Commander I have a chance of picking up. Any comments/ suggestions on this brand?
 

missoak:214388 said:
Been looking at some used 1911's. There's a Charles Daly Commander I have a chance of picking up. Any comments/ suggestions on this brand?
Never owned or fired one. But Ive only heard bad things from those who have.
 
I have a Charles Daly Hi-Power. Nice basic weapon, and a good copy of the older versions of the Hi-Power. I have had no trouble with it. I have also fired their 1911's. Again, a good military grade pistol. Nothing fancy, and pretty reliable with ball ammunition. I have know people who have sent them to gunsmiths for "tuning" and have ended up with a nice carry gun for not a lot of money. Two of my sons carry Rock Island 1911's (one in .45 acp and the other in .38 Super), which are similar to the Daly. A little polishing here and there and they work just fine. The son with the .45 has put several thousand rounds through his, including +P ammunition. His only modifications were to install a Colt slide stop and put in a new recoil spring.
 
Charles Daly is not the same company that it was 30 years ago. The name has been bought and sold many times since then. I'd stay away from them.
 
Charles Daly is not the same company that it was 30 years ago. The name has been bought and sold many times since then. I'd stay away from them.

As far as I know the current incarnation is out of business. The CEO of the company had an ongoing thread on THR answering questions and directing people to the proper customer service rep. In a couple of instances he PM'd the person questioning directly and made their issue right on the spot.

That alone would have made me a devotee but there's no point now because they're gone.

FWIW the current incarnation was made by the Armscorp. company in the Philipines and the quality was about equal to an RIA
 
There are two fundamental mistakes that people who purchace 1911's make.
1- They don't buy Glocks
2- They buy 1911's


:biggrin: LMAO, again !!!


I agree. 1911's, of any brand name or quality are pistols that need a lot of love and care to run smoothly throughout their lifetime. If you get a 1911 and it fires 200 rounds smoothly it is NOT a sign of reliability !! If you can get across the 1,000 round count without a single hiccup then great !! However, that gun will then need gone through with a fine tooth comb and have certain parts replaced and or tuned to continue it's reliability.

The 1911 is a different animal than back in WWII when parts could be easily swapped out of one gun to another. Today it's nearly impossible to swap a part from one 1911 to another and it actually fire and run smoothly. I have experienced the 1911 condundrum for years.

Get a Glock for EDC and get the 1911 for paper target practice.

Hilton Yamm, probably of the best 1911 guys around will tell you the same thing and he's served in a Law Enforcement for decades. I've had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Hilton Yamm at length regarding his take on the carry of the 1911 as a duty weapon/EDC. He's brutally honest, and he loves the 1911.

IIRC the Charles Daly guns are actually just RIA guns with added comsetics and perhaps a slightly nicer finish.

I seriously rec'd every with a 1911 for EDC to read his comments, even the other articles available by Hilton Yamm than this one.

PLease read: Link Removed


Here is his recommendations for actuall carry guns. I personally cary the Springfield MC Operator as my EDC.

HERE is Hilton Yamm:

For a factory light rail gun, the Springfield Loaded Full-Size MC Operator (PX9105MLP), with the green and black paint job, is a leading option. It bridges the quality between the Loaded and TRP grade 1911s and is an excellent value. These guns exhibit excellent overall build quality and tend to run well out of the box. The correct Picatinny spec light rail, corrosion resistant finish and overall configuration of the MC Operator lends itself well to duty use. The TRP models with the standard dust cover (PC9107LP Stainless, PC9108LP Armory Kote) are also excellent choices for a traditional format gun.

If you want to bridge the gap between a full blown hand built custom and a lower priced/entry level production 1911, the Springfield Professional is an excellent choice. I have seen a lot of these guns and have a few myself. Statistically, there are more of the Professional Models out in real street service than any other factory custom 1911, so the quirks are pretty well worked out. They have consistently improved since the original run of guns, and overall are very nicely done. They offer cleanly executed checkering (some of the best on a production type gun), a nice beavertail fit, a blended S&A mag well, premium grade components, real Novak sights with Trijicon inserts, and excellent accuracy from the match fit Nowlin barrel. These guns typically work very well right out of the box, though they should be monitored closely during their break in period. It is available in a standard dust cover format (PC9111) and with the shortened Operator light rail frame (PC9111LR). If you find one of these on the secondary market, it is preferable to pick a later production specimen that has the Trijicon sight inserts and pinned front sight. Very early (low three digit CRG 1xx serial numbers) guns had IWI sight inserts and no pins in the front sights. While these were good guns, the sight inserts do not wear very well and you will want to replace them with Trijicons. Each run of guns differs as to whether their ejectors are pinned or glued, but the Springfield Custom Shop will pin the ejector if you desire.

If you want a Colt, your options are as good as they ever have been, and include the new production 1991A1 (O1991, O1091), Series 70 reproduction (O1970A1CS, O1070A1CS), XSE Series (O1980XSE, O1070XSE, O8011XSE), Rail Gun (O1070RG, O1980RG), and Colt Gunsite Pistols (CGP). The CGP seems to be out of production, but you'll still find them floating around. Given a choice between the stainless and blue models, I'd pick the stainless for ease of refinishing after some very basic modifications. If policy dictates that you need a firing pin safety, the Colts are the way to go. The Colts have great small parts quality but their ridiculously sharp edges need to be addressed to make life more bearable.

What are the main pitfalls of running a 1911 for duty? Weapon maintenance and end user responsibility are the two big issues. The end user needs to be dialed in to the gun's quirks to be able to run it effectively. The day of handing out rack grade 1911s to the masses and using them for duty are pretty much over. A unit, team, or department that is looking at running 1911s needs to seriously consider having the following:
1) Two 1911s issued to each user, to allow for continuity when one weapon goes down for service. Lacking this, the issuing unit needs to have a pool of spare guns to lend out to users when a gun goes down for maintenance.
2) Dedicated and skilled armorer support. Being able to maintain the weapon is key, and it requires more than a one day armorer school to learn how to effectively change parts in this gun.
3) Transition training for the end users so that they may learn the unique manual of arms and proper maintenance of the 1911.

Magazines are a big issue, and users need to try not to become married to a set of magazines. When they stop falling out, stop locking back, or the first time they stop working, they need to either be addressed or replaced. The mags are the weak link, so get over it and throw them out when they give up on you.

Extractor tension is another problem, and stovepipes and double feed (Type 2 and 3) malfunctions are not to be tolerated. Replace the extractor when these start to occur, as retensioning the existing unit is only a temporary fix. I expect only a 5,000 round service cycle on a standard Browning format extractor. Some important caveats are necessary in explaining this very harsh and short service interval. Once the extractor is properly set up - and this may require a skilled hand for fitting as well as some test firing - the extractor should be good to go for its whole service cycle. Once it starts to let go, it is on the downhill slide and more problems will continue to surface. The first time you get a profound extractor related malfunction, don't shrug it off, you're going to get more. Certain brands of extractors will often last 10,000-15,000 rounds or even longer without incident, but I don't necessarily bank on that. If you perform routine detailed inspections and replace them every 5,000-10,000 rounds, you probably will not have too many headaches. Proper fitting is critical to extending the service life of the extractor. A properly designed external extractor would solve the extractor related problems, but the choices are currently limited and the track records of the designs vary in success.

Do you need to have your gun customized or worked over in order to carry it for work? Not necessarily. You really need to shoot the gun for 1000-1500 rounds, to include about 500 or more rounds with duty ammunition to have a good feel for what the gun is doing. Do not just put "200 flawless rounds" through the gun and declare that it is "completely reliable." That is not a statistically significant cycle of service. You may as well tell a race car driver that his car is good for that 500 mile race after you drive it around the parking lot once. You need to be able to fire 1000-1500 rounds through the gun without any malfunctions. Cleaning and lubrication every 200-400 rounds is an acceptable interval of maintenance while evaluating the weapon for suitability. The 1911 is a design that requires hand fitting for maximum performance, and while a hot rodded or tuned gun (by a skilled 1911 specialist, not your local range hack) will always be better in many ways than any factory gun, a stock gun will often do the job if the hand fitting at the factory was done right.

The 1911 is an aficionado's weapon, and still has a place in the modern arsenal for those who are dedicated to it. With proper setup and maintenance, the 1911 can serve you like no other weapon.

Good shopping and good hunting.

Hilton

 
Thanks for the replies. As usual, it pays to do some research, & cheap isn't always the way to go.
My initial choice was a S/A MIL-SPEC IN BLACK.Do not plan on using it as an every day weapon.
Really, I just want one for the anniversary, & I did carry a S/A in the CORPS. So it's more of a nostalgia thing.
 

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