By Joe Gorman
Dan Wesson’s amazing Specialist Commander in .45acp
Dan Wesson has been making firearms since 1968. Dan Wesson has been making pistols based on the 1911 platform since 1999. I was woefully ignorant of their products and a friend suggested I try one as, in his opinion, they were very well made. So I requested a Specialist Commander.
I discovered that Dan Wesson is under the CZ family of companies, just like Colt. I know that corporate mergers with firearms companies have sometimes been abysmal failures. CZ’s acquisition of Colt and Dan Wesson seems to be a very positive thing, however, if the quality of products they are releasing can be entered as exhibit A, your honor.
Dan Wesson’s Specialist Commander
Dan Wesson’s website says that the Specialist was created in response to Police agencies asking for a reliable and robust 1911. That raison d’être really caught my attention. It’s comforting for us boomers to know that in this world of Glocks and plastic superguns that some departments are requesting 1911s built for the demands of law enforcement. And that is why I requested a Specialist Commander in .45acp for test and evaluation.
The author putting the Dan Wesson Specialist Commander .45acp through its paces. The Galco SB 28 belt, Concealable 2.0 holster and dual magazine holder kept everything in place.
Upon initial inspection I saw a masterfully made pistol. The smoothness of the action and crispness of the trigger pull, the exactness of the fit and finish, the quality of the materials used; everything about the pistol radiated quality. Dan Wesson uses forged steel throughout their 1911s which means a very long service life. The Specialist is factory cut for mounting a red dot and sports a rail for lights/lasers. The extended thumb safety and skeletonized hammer are expertly crafted. The checkering on the front strap and the mainspring housing, combined with the moderately aggressive G10 grips provide a slip-free grip. The Specialist also ships with two high quality 8 round magazines that I ended up using during testing and were trouble free. The Specialist also features an inverted rib on top of the slide to cut down on glare and a steel magwell for quick reloads.
Galco’s Concealable 2.0 Holster. Expertly crafted from premium steerhide and made to fit red dot optics! It even has a raised sweat guard.
I carefully field stripped the Specialist and applied Lucas oil to all the key 1911 oil points and noted the fully ramped barrel and super tight barrel to slide fit. The Specialist is a precision instrument.
The full ramp Dan Wesson barrel was expertly fit to the slide/frame and shot crazy tight groups.
After I reassembled the pistol, I noted the night sight and the Battlehook rear sight/cover for the rmr cut. Operation of the ambidextrous thumb safety was positive and perfect. I could hit the extended magazine release button by simply moving my thumb without changing my grip and the 25lpi checkering on the front strap and the flat mainspring housing was skillfully executed. The tan/brown/black G10 grips have an aggressive texture that provides great control of the pistol and are attractive as a counterpoint to the Specialist’s black steel. The Dan Wesson Specialist is an extremely well-built pistol. As testing went on, I was increasingly impressed.
Ready for range time. Wilson’s 500C Stainless Elite Tactical magazines, Missouri Bullet’s 200gr cast and coated SWC bullets over 6.5grs of WAP made for some fun and trouble-free shooting! The Wilson mag gave me just enough length to solidly tap the magazine home.
Field Testing
With the Specialist oiled, I loaded up the two 8-round magazines that came with the pistol, with Winchester 230 FMJ mil-spec ammo. I also loaded up 2 Wilson Combat 8-round 500C Stainless Elite Tactical magazines with the same ammo. I’ve used Wilson Combat .45acp 1911 magazines for years and have never experienced a failure with a Wilson mag. The Wilson Combat Elite magazines are made with aircraft-grade certified stainless steel and the tube walls are .025” thick. They are a known quantity with any new 1911 testing.
Wilson’s superb 500C magazines are proven in the author’s guns. This is the first time we’ve tested Wilson’s ammunition and it’s impressive. Wilson Combat 230gr +P ammunition made with Hornady’s XTP bullets, left the commander-length barrel at 886fps on average.
Even the author’s cast reloads shot well from the Dan Wesson Specialist at 10 yards.
The first two magazines I fired, at the 10-yard line, printed a very tight group. We were off to a good start. I fired two more magazines at the M9 Targets and there was no question I was in charge of an accurate pistol.
Winchester’s 230gr FMJ mil-spec loads functioned flawlessly and were plenty accurate at 10 yards.
I continued to test the Specialist with a series of drills in which I would move, draw from concealment and engage the M9 Target with quick double taps. For this phase I needed a concealment holster that could accommodate a frame rail. Galco’s Concealable 2.0 leather holster securely held the Specialist, and their DMC magazine case held my spare mags for drills in which I actually sprint 😊. This rig gave me the opportunity to practice reloads while moving.
Federal’s discontinued Guard Dog printed a crazy tight group at 12 yards. I loved this ammo.
With .45acp carry ammunition, including Hornady 185gr JHP American Gunner, Hornady Custom 200gr JHP, Hornady 160gr +p Handgun Hunter, Winchester Ranger 230gr+P JHP , Wilson Combat 230 gr +P JHP and Federal Premium 230 gr HST, I started doing 10-yard accuracy tests and moved back to 18-yards to fire from cover. After I’d fired all the carry ammo for accuracy I ran combat drills with it. I even mixed the ammo together in the same magazine to try and trip up the Specialist. She took it in stride.
Wilson Combat’s 230gr XTP +P loading proved to be a crazy accurate defensive load. Yes, that one flier there is due to the author’s Midas touch.
I then stepped back to the 50-yard line to try and relive the glory days of 40 years ago with some bullseye shooting. The Specialist’s sight shot low for my eyes but not to worry, a shorter front sight cured that! The best 5 shot group I scored standing at 50 yards was a 3.5” group using Hornady Custom 200gr JHP ammo! I was amazed.
Wilson Combat’s 230gr +P XTP ammunition was no less remarkable for the velocity I was able to get from the Commander-length barrel and the accuracy I was able to achieve with deliberate fire. The XTP bullet is proven performer in my book as I have recovered a few from deer over the years and have been impressed with their performance. The Wilson Combat ammunition was 100% reliable and very accurate. The Wilson 500C magazines are designed to ensure +P ammunition functions reliably.
A 3.5” 5-shot group at 50 yards offhand?! Heck yes. I’ll take that any day. That was using Hornady’s 200gr XTP custom rounds.
Final thoughts
There is a scene in the 1981 movie Nighthawks, when Billy Dee Williams yells to Sylvester Stallone to “take the shot” when Stallone has the Rutger Hauer at gun point in a subway tunnel, and Rutger is using an old lady as a human shield. The Dan Wesson Specialist, with quality ammunition provides the type of accuracy necessary for a highly trained police officer to take that shot.
If you know your pistol and your ammo, and you have never missed a range session, you can take the shot…
I did not mount a red dot on the Dan Wesson Specialist during my testing. I mounted a Streamlight TLR-10 light/laser to the rail, which was fun. I did attempt to make the Specialist malfunction, as I mentioned earlier, by mixing light target ammo with +P defensive ammo in both the factory magazines and the Wilson Combat 500C magazines. The Specialist didn’t malfunction.
With the Streamlight TLR-10 Light/Laser mounted, the Specialist is ready for duty! It was easy to align the laser with the sights.
I tested this pistol with over 1200 rounds fired, roughly 1/3 reloads and she chewed through them all without incident. After the first 500 rounds, I field stripped the pistol, including removing the extractor and firing pin, and noted no wear or signs of any problems. All the parts fit together as they should. I fired 700 more rounds without cleaning or reapplying oil, trying to recreate the type of use this pistol would get in a day of intensive law enforcement shooting training. She never quit or hiccupped. The Dan Wesson Specialist is a keeper.
Specifications
| PRODUCT NAME | DW SPECIALIST COMMANDER BLACK OPTICS- READY |
| SKU | 01795 |
| MODEL | Specialist Commander |
| CALIBER | .45 ACP |
| MAGAZINE CAPACITY | 8+1 |
| FRAME MATERIAL | Stainless Steel |
| FRAME FINISH | Duty Treat |
| SLIDE FINISH | Duty Treat |
| GRIPS | G10 |
| OVERALL LENGTH | 8 in |
| BARREL LENGTH | 4.25 in |
| WIDTH | 1.5 in |
| WEIGHT | 40 oz |
| TRIGGER MECH | Single Action |
| HEIGHT | 5.5 in |
| FRONT SIGHT | Tritium |
| REAR SIGHT | Fixed |
| SAFETY | Ambi Manual |
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