Devil Dog Arms 1911 tactical Review
My first experience with Devil Dog Arms was as a member of the Marine Corps Rifle Team at the 2018 NRA Worlds competition. Devil Dog Arms was one of the vendors for a side stage. The competition is structured with different firearms at each stage that are provided by each vendor. During the course of the match, all of the competitors had been complaining about the quality, or lack thereof, of some of the chosen firearms, particularly the pistols. Our squad came up to the side stage that was run by Devil Dog Arms with low expectations, after a day of less than Steller pistols on the graded stages, then the one that wasn’t even chosen for the competition must be crap too. Needless to say, every single member of the Marine Corps Shooting Team was shocked at the performance and feel of the DD1911, with many of us purchasing them shortly after the match.
I have had my DD1911 tactical for almost a year and a half, have put around 1000 rounds through it, and could not be happier with my decision to buy it. Although it is a 1911 platform, it has been modernized and upgraded in several ways; First and foremost, the trigger. The trigger is one of the best stock triggers I have felt on a non-match pistol. It has a very short and smooth first stage and the second stage is crisp with no creep or over-travel. The reset is equally as short and is both audible and felt very easily, allowing immediate re-acquisition of the “wall” for quick follow up shots. The second notable feature would be the sights. The standard and tactical models come with modern squared sight with three white dots, very different then the mil-spec blade sights seen on 1911’s of yesteryear. The competition model comes with a fiber optic front sight and an adjustable rear sight. Personally, I prefer adjustable sights; but, for the average shooter, the standard sights are more than adequate. Next is the lock up and accuracy. For those of you who are familiar with the 1911 platform, you will know that slide, frame, and barrel tolerances are the keys to your pistols accuracy. Compared to other stock single stacks on the market the tolerances are very tight, there is none of that tell-tale 1911 rattle you would hear from your granddads bring back. Even with the tight tolerances, the slide still functions very smoothly and precisely with a tight lock-up. Lastly, I would like to bring up the look and style of the pistol. The guys over at Devil Dog put a lot of time and effort into modernizing the style of the 1911 to make it their own. You’ll notice the slide has some hard angles at the 10 and 2 o’clock positions, and the grips have deep grooves cut into them. The frame also has front and back stippling that assists with the shooters grip, and the trigger and hammer are both skeletonized.
The only issue I have had with it was a slight tensioning issue with my extractor when I first purchased the pistol. Devil Dog’s customer service went above and beyond, and after recommending some solutions to try myself, paid for me to ship the slide back to be reworked and returned in perfect functioning order.
I am mainly a rifle shooter by trade, but I have thousands of well over a thousand hours instructing and firing pistols. I would absolutely recommend seriously considering the Devil Dog 1911 if you are in the market for a high-end single stack pistol.
By: POI Sr. Reviewer Johnathon Solinsky
