REVIEWS
Lucky Seven
Dan Wesson's elegant Pointman Seven proves, once again, the astonishing vitality of the 1911 platform.
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| MAKER: | CZ-USA |
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| ACTION: | Single-Action Semiauto |
| CALIBER: | .45 ACP |
| CAPACITY: | 7 +1 |
| BARREL LENGTH: | 5 inches |
| OVERALL LENGTH: | 8.8 inches |
| WEIGHT: | 38 ounces |
| SIGHTS: | Bo-Mar Adjustable |
| STOCK: | Diamond-checkered cocobolo |
| METAL: | Stainless steel |
| PRICE: | $1,089 |
Specifications
This relatively new century has got to be somewhat aggravating for those who aren't enamored of the 1911 pistol. Wilson Combat, Ed Brown, Les Baer, Colt, Smith & Wesson, SIG, Para-Ordnance, Kimber, Springfield, Taurus, Charles Daly, Auto Ordnance and STI are just a few of the companies now making and/or marketing a slew of variants of what once was simply the military sidearm of the US of A.
Yes, the Greatest Handgun Ever Designed is going stronger than ever, and things show absolutely no sign of tapering off.
Want proof? Well, a U.S. company famed for innovative double-action revolvers now has a line of 1911s. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, Dan Wesson gained fame for a series of exceptionally strong and accurate revolvers featuring a set of quickly interchangeable barrels in various lengths and a unique forward locking cylinder.
A few years ago, the company began producing 1911s. Being a small company, Dan Wesson has had its share of struggles, but last year it was bought up by CZ-USA (the U.S. subsidiary of the Czech company justly famed for a classic 9mm double-action auto, the CZ 75). This arrangement promises to bump up the profile of Dan Wesson guns considerably and gives the parent company two things it didn't have before--namely revolvers and 1911s.
And from what we've seen, the 1911s are pretty darned good in terms of looks, features and performance.
The Dan Wesson Pointman Seven is a Series 70-style 1911 with a stainless frame and slide. In this day of chopped "combat-type" .45s, it's a refreshing throwback--a full-size, five-inch-barreled pistol with a fully adjustable Bo-Mar target rear sight.
Despite the proliferation of compacts, mini compacts, micro compacts and maybe even mini-micro compacts, most shooters would probably agree that it's easier to hit things with a 1911 scaled to Browning's original dimensions.
Most of the other bells and whistles you'd expect on a semi-custom production 1911 are here: an Ed Brown Memory Groove grip safety, extended thumb safety, lowered and flared ejection port, match-grade barrel and bushing, dehorning job, Wolff springs, skeletonized trigger, cocking serrations fore and aft, extended magazine release button and Commander-style match hammer. And very nice diamond-checkered cocobolo grips.
All this, of course, is available on any number of 1911s, but the Pointman Seven is priced well under what you'd expect for a gun as tricked out as it is.
The Ed Brown grip safety is an excellent touch because it helps index your grip when you're in a hurry. The Commander-style hammer and extended beavertail are good insurance against hammer bite, although being small-handed, I've never had that problem with any 1911, although I have seen guys get tagged with a conventional hammer.
Other custom features of the Pointman Seven are going to appeal to dyed-in-the-wool 1911 aficionados. Wolff springs are a byword in the industry. That extended thumb safety is a lot easier to flip down when you're trying to get the gun into action (especially if you're short-thumbed) than the traditional stubby GI unit. Then we've got the beveled magazine well to facilitate quick reloads, plus a nice overall dehorning job to round out those rough edges that can catch and snag clothing. Finally, it had one touch I like a lot: reasonably unobtrusive (yet efficient) cocking serrations on the slide, fore and aft.
