Please advise - bought defective Wilson

[finalcut]

Thanks all for the concern and replies. I'll follow up and let you all know how the dealer & Wilson treat me.

Thanks for rminding me to be calm - I will. At the end of the day it's not worth freaking out over although I am so very dissapointed....

What has me bummed the most is that I will probably have to keep this weapon, and I'll never trust it, unless I cann get it to where I can put at least 1,000 rounds through it with no trouble.

 

[zeroskillz]

Any dealings with Wilson that I've had have been very amicable. I think that you will do well calling them with the issue. I'd also try a few different brands of ammo in it as well. I had an XD that wouldn't feed remington, but had no problems with WWB. I'd also agree with everyone here who has mentioned a break in period for the Wilson. Much tighter gun than the XD's. Or bail and buy a Sig ...

 

[GW]

I've dug up 2 owner's manuals for 1911's and neither of them say "Need 500 round break in before pistol will be reliable..."

Yes I'm making an absurd point but nonetheless.
This fellow paid serious $$$ for a pistol and at least IMHO the number 1 priority for any Combat/self-defense pistol should be reliability
What good is a hyper-accurate pistol if it doesn't go bang when you pull the trigger?
For $2400.00, Wilson (and this applies to Ed Brown, Les Baer and all the rest) need to provide a reliable,accurate pistol and Reliable right out of the box.
That said I'm positive that Wilson will make it right
Heck, they might even toss something in extra for your trouble...

 

[targatop]

Old Fluff

"Gee... In either case I'd rather have the gun that was most likely to work, when and if I needed it. The Old Fuff says, "Don't send a toy to do a man's job." "

My modern 1911's all work fine and I'd hardly call today's crop of 1911 from Wilson, S&W, Kimber, and Springfield Armory a "toy". As a matter of fact LA SWAT to Marines SOCOM use custom made, advance spec, and high-tolerance Kimber 1911 pistols. These are pistols for true operators, while older service grade and many plastic-fantastic pistols are designed for those people who want medium grade accuracy out of the box with no maintenance. Even when the 1911 was the service pistol of choice, custom shops were still turning out target versions that had higher accuracy. There is a place for both. You want something that goes bang every time, get a wheel gun plain and simple.

For home defense, a good shotgun is 10 times the weapon of any handgun, and easier to get your spouse to use accurately in a time of emergency. Most $2500 1911 from personal collectors and average civilians get put in a safe, because most people don't go carry them every day, and don't go through the process of locking them up every time they leave a house (or unlocking them when they return). So either they are hidden, loaded or near clip, in a rather dangerous spot, or put in the safe. Not too useful. Even the shotgun isn't useful if left loaded, because you will be coming home empty handed into a situation where somebody might have gotten to your loaded gun. A daily carry is the safest solution, so that it is only out of arm's length when in the safe.

As for my comments on the M&P, that goes with me when mountain biking because I don't mind if it gets scratched and dinged, wet and covered in mud. Is it as accurate as my 1911, no. But it's a trade off, a time and place for each.

I don't mind putting the maintenance into a modern day 1911 to get the accuracy results. And truth be told, of my modern day 1911s, I haven't had any "break-in" or "maintenance" to speak of.

Oh, and I do practice at over 15-yards (every week mind you), but wouldn't considering using a handgun for that task unless all other options were exhausted.

His Wilson should have been right out of the box, but will get fixed and will be a super pistol moving forward, with equivalent reliability and better accuracy than older service grade 1911's used by the military.

 

[TonyStarks]

Its been said many times over, CALL WILSON ASAP and make sure you write down the name of the person you spoke to! Its funny how things get done faster when you have their name!

BTW, My Kimber Custom CDP II is flawless!

TonyStarks

 

[Ford]

Very simple. Call Wilson
They messed up and put an alloy slide on my stainless gun. I called and they fixed the problem quick and I think they threw in a few goodies to ease the pain. Its been several years ago now.

 

[CWL]

Really sounds more like a case of needing to break-in your pistol than anything else.

This gun was handmade and tuned, it will be very tight and will need to be broken-in at the range. BTW, Wilson recommends certain ammo for their guns.

You are in a new range of product, the break-in period will help you get a absolute feel for that gun. Look at it this way, if you buy a new $86,000 Porsche, you do not redline it the first day, you need to put some miles on it first in order for the engine to break-in.

 

[RecoilRob]

This also leads me to wonder what kind of preservative Wilson might use on their pistols? Not knowing where they might go, or how long they might sit on a dealers shelf (or an un-airconditioned and humid warehouse) I'd wager that they are oiled up well with some gummy No Rustum.

It isn't really fair to pull ANY pistol new from its' box and expect it to run correctly. Granted, some WILL run just fine. But, many won't.

As suggested, a good cleaning and lubing with another range trip might be less embarrassing than getting the same info from Wilson over the phone.

 

[finalcut]

Follow Up Report from Alaska

Ok. I went back to the Dealer & contacted Wilson. Then the Dealer & I talked with Wilson on the phone together.

Wilson’s Mgr was probably more upset than I was. He said that the ammo I am using should have worked great, and by the way - he said that the gun should have been at 99% right out of the box. They do feel that there is a real problem with the gun & it's on it's way back to them now.

After working with the local Dealer & Wilson I feel much better. All of them are taking five star care of me.

Thanks to every one of you guys for all of your support and input.

I would like to say one thing... Some of you are saying that I should not expect a 2,450 gun to work great out of the box and that a break-in period is needed. Not only does this not make sense - the pros at Wilson disagree as well.
Please don't get me wrong - I appreciate all of your input, but none of you who are saying this have any conclusive/scientific evidence to back up what you are saying, and there again - even the pros at Wilson disagree.
They could have easily tried to sell me that bill of goods but instead they were fast to say that every one of their weapons should work with utter reliability out of the box - and get even better with time ( not broken in and useable - better ) They are accustomed to customers feeling like the guns exceed their expectations - not fall short. I say this because when we all try to help one another in matters as important as CCW & Self defense - we should all make darn sure that we know what we are talking about when sharing opinions. Even the moderator telling me I was in error for expecting this gun to be ready for defense was a little off base, because if he would have read my first post completely he would have seen that before I put it in to service the first thing I did was take it out to test it - the day I bought it....

My Dealer - who will give me a refund if I am not happy when I get the gun back, has been great so far. At this rate I may never shop anywhere else for a weapon.... They are Great Northern Guns.

I'll let you all know what happens when I get the weapon back.

 

[Tecolote]

If I missed this sorry, but did you thoroughly clean the pistol before using it? Did you lube all the metal to metal contact points?

High end 1911s are very tight and they need lots of lube until they break in properly. Don't let the naysayers get you down, a Wilson is a fantastic investment and it will serve you well. But you need to understand that there's a break in period involved.

 

[finalcut]

If I missed this sorry, but did you thoroughly clean the pistol before using it? Did you lube all the metal to metal contact points?

High end 1911s are very tight and they need lots of lube until they break in properly. Don't let the naysayers get you down, a Wilson is a fantastic investment and it will serve you well. But you need to understand that there's a break in period involved.

Good points indeed. I do think "breaking in the gun" is reasonable as long as we understand that breaking in means smoothing it out... I just don't think breaking in means that I should expect seven malfunctions inside of the first hour of use before I should expect to be able to run a box of good ammo through it....

I did inspect the weapon & it was ready for use. It's just so wierd.... Wilson had the weapon on record as firing 96 shots with no malfunctions. Then they cleaned it, lubed/oiled & packed.
I guess stranger things have happened.
I'm getting excited about getting the weapon back - I really hope it will work for me. If not the Dealer has assured me that they'll refund me in full - and if they do I'll walk out of there with about three new pistols & a shotgun I've been eyeballin : )

Anyhow - you guys have all been great - this a an awesome forum!

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

That's good news, finalcut. Sure, there are some jerks in the gun business, but there are far more good guys and gals. Sometimes we forget that.

 

[XavierBreath]

I'm glad Wilson is taking care of you. I sincerely hope you end up satisfied. For any amount of money you spend on a pistol, you should be satisfied. Wilson is in the business of satisfying customers. They make a fine product that many people are happy with.

The Wilson Sentinel is a short barreled 1911. The timing of a short barreled 1911 is much different than a Government Model, or even a Commander. Still, you have every right to expect it to work 100% out of the box. It's a Wilson Combat gun, they are a reputable company, and they say it should. I hope they get your's working. Here's a review on the pistol for those unfamiliar with it.

Even the moderator telling me I was in error for expecting this gun to be ready for defense was a little off base, because if he would have read my first post completely he would have seen that before I put it in to service the first thing I did was take it out to test it - the day I bought it....

I did read your post completely. Your words:

I just paid 2,450 for an expensive rock with a Wilson logo stamped on it.
........I bought this gun because I was assured that Wilson is the best... Well you only get one chance to make a first impression - especially when it's as important as this - and Wilson has failed. My XD40 on the other hand has been 99.9% perfect after 1,250 rounds.

out of ten magazines full of ammo the gun malfunctioned seven times - straight out of the box with two different kinds of ammo & from three different magazines.

You said you put ten magazines through your Wilson Combat pistol. With eight round magazines, that is eighty rounds. But wait....The Sentinel uses six round magazines. That is about four hundred and forty rounds short of five hundred rounds. People who carry firearms for self defense pretty much concur that five hundred failure free rounds down the barrel is the minimum to declare a weapon fit for carry. Perhaps you stopped early, because of the failures to extract. I, personally, would not have made a judgement that a new 1911 pistol was an "expensive rock" at sixty-seventy rounds. I would have worked on through it, or fixed the gun. But, it's your gun, your decision. When a manufacturer states their pistol will work 100% out of the box, you have every right to expect it will.

I sincerely hope you are satisfied with your pistol when it returns from Berryville.

 

[finalcut]

Thanks Xavier.

I'm just doin my best, and trying to keep as good as perspective as I can, cause I was startin to feel real bad when that gun kept malfunctioning over and over. : )

I hope I was not unclear... I have a total of three mags, and between the three I was able to cycle them around ten times combined total. I was loading six in the mag & most of the time one additional in the chamber....

Thanks again.

 

[yongxingfreesty]

damn, that sucks!! i would expect the store to ship it back or take care of the problems. If they dont, let wilson handle it. gluck with it.

 

[aaronrkelly]

From Wilsons site:

What are the differences between Wilson Combat® pistols and other 1911's?

The largest differences between our pistols are assembly methods and manufacturing tolerances. Every Wilson Combat® firearm is assembled by hand, by a master gunsmith. And rigorously tested and inspected before it is shipped. The result is an absolutely reliable firearm with a perfect fit and finish. Wilson Combat® manufacturing tolerances for frames, slides, and components are also much tighter.

The test fire process at Wilson Combat is extensive to say the least. Our custom firearms are not just function fired in a machine like at an assembly line gun manufacturer. Our firearms are each test fired one at a time by an experienced test fire technician. Furthermore, no less than four types of ammunition totaling 50 rounds are fired through each handgun to insure that it is extremely reliable, which is the 1st thing a firearm must be.

They will treat you right, no doubt. They have some of the best customer service Ive heard of.

Ive heard (read on their old website) that when a gun comes in for repair they drop whatever they are doing and get that gun fixed and back right away.

Keep us updated.