I bought both of my Dan Wesson's for less than $1300, new.
Ok, now that I think on it the Valkyrie was technically used and I paid less than $900 for it, but the original owner bought it new for $1100.
Before things went crazy most DW lines weren't in Ed Brown territory anymore.
The Valkyrie was a $2,012 MSRP pistol. It only dropped to the $1100 mark once they discontinued them and they were sold to a wholesaler. It is actually an example of what DW did wrong. They built $2000 pistols and they could not compete. Ask me how I know.... At $1100 they were a steal at $2,000 they were a hard pass.
Yet you can't get a "what 1911 to get" thread without folks comparing those $1,800 Dan Wesson's to an $800 Kimber, SIG, S&W, Springfield, Colt, etc., 1911's and then have those same folks say it's not fair to compare the Dan Wesson to a $2,400 Ed Brown.
The Dan Wesson's are normally a step up from the typical production 1911, but they are also quite a step up in price too.
I personally never recommend a DW unless the person can stretch to over $1000 and then I recommend say look at the Pointman or the Heritage which sometimes can be had for just over $1100. I think when someone asks what is the best $1000 1911 it is worth mentioning the DW base pistols. It is not a 100% upcharge. If someone is looking for a $500 1911 I recommend a Glock 19.
Valors if you can get them in the $1500 range are still good values. It is almost impossible to find them NIB for that these days. Even the stainless ends up being more. Whenever you talk 1911s price is an issue because really the sky is the limit. You can spend $500 and get a cast frame, forged barrel and MIM parts or you can have someone build you a bespoke pistol.
For me the point of diminishing returns is the Dan Wesson Valor. After that point you are only getting incremental gains in fit, finish and performance. If a Tisas 1911 that does not run is the bottom of the scale and a Jason Burton or Ted Yost is a 10 the Dan Wesson is a easy 7. The cost to get from 7 to 10 is about 3.5 to 4x the MSRP of Valor. It does not mean it is not worth is but it is paying a lot of money for incremental gains. I still think it is worth it. This was built on a Colt 70 Series NM which was a hell of a base gun by Don Williams. Not a Yost but its a solid 8.5+ IMHO.
When you get over $2500 people always talk about Wilson, Baer, Ed Brown, NightHawk etc but these days that will only get you a basic gun from them. I paid that for a Colt Hawk.
The best value in the semi-custom world today IMHO is Alchemy Custom. Their Prime starting at $3200 is one hell of a 1911. It is hard use 1911 with classic styling sub 1.25" accuracy at 25 yards guaranteed and built the right way.
True, if folks do that. Personally I don't mess with sub $1000 1911 anymore. I've owned most of the options out here and know what I like (Ruger is the best sub $1000 value, IMO).
DW belongs in the $1200-$1500 category and are the best common production guns out there, in that range. If you get up near $2K you're in Baer, Brown and some Wilson models and the DW does not, indeed compare well here.
In my opinion, which is worth as much as ya paid for it. YMMV
I think this is correct. Dan Wesson was at its best when it was making high quality production level guns. $1200 guns that were better than the SA Loaded, Colt Combat Elites etc.... The extra $300-$400 was worth the overall quality. They owned that market but then priced themselves out of it.
So that is the problem I see with them taking over Colt. Colts base pistol is $700-$800. They sell upgraded production pistols for $900-$2400 There is a lot of overlap between the Colt Elite Govt and the DW Heritage, the Combat Elite and the Valor etc....
The only way I see it working is Colt taking over the old DW space and DW going to a semi custom shop like Les Baer, Ed Brown, Wilson etc....
, glad I'm not the only one who's noticed
