Charles Daly 1911

[imur_huckle_berry]

Unfortunately, I bought one the other day. I HATE it, piece of junk as far as I'm concerned. Jams almost every shot (will not extract the spent round for some reason) I have to remove the magazine and pull the slide back, then re-insert...ugh...too much trouble. I should have known better when it was only $425, lesson learned I guess. I bought a Ruger P345 at the same time (of course the Ruger was new and the CD was used), that one's a GREAT piece!

Ok, I think I'm through venting for now. Watch for a Charles Daly coming soon to the "for sale" category..:D


oops, misprint..should have been $325

[parlorshark]

Clean it well and put in a new extractor , its probably worn . Then try a few more rounds before you sell , you might change your mind . You already have more in it than a new CD would cost so a few more bucks wont matter much .

[Garand Illusion]

My CD 1911 used to have an occasional problem, but then I quit using Wolf .45 ammo. Been perfect ever since.

Could be the mags, too. In other CD threads I've read that CD's are picky about mags, and the one that comes with it is crap.

Search for some chalres daily 1911 threads. Although not my most expensive gun, my CD 1911 is now my favorite shooter. A real tack driver, too!

[imur_huckle_berry]

Could be the mags, too. In other CD threads I've read that CD's are picky about mags, and the one that comes with it is crap.

I don't know why, but that never even crossed my mind...something to think about. The ammo was the old faithful walmart WWB. I bought an extra mag when I bought the gun...maybe I'll give it one more chance to "hang around with the others"

[rapier144]

Try a wilson combat mag in it.

[Geoff Timm]

Remove and clean CAREFULLY the firing pin, FP Stop and Exractor, including the holes they go in. Use a good pipe cleaner and Hoppes bore cleaner, then lube LIGHTLY with a good gun lube.

Geoff
Who saw some pretty grotty extractors and holes after the invention of spray lubes. US Army Ordnance Corps 1972 -1982. :barf:

[azredhawk44]

I've got one, a CD 1911 Empire.

Got it used for $250.

Wilson Combats run very well with it.

I had failures to return to battery until I smoothed up the slide rails a bit. Now it is a tack driver. The bluing was ancient on it so I had it parkoted by azexarms.com.

It shoots WWB ball, PMC ball, Speer Lawman ball, Corbon 165gr JHP +p, Federal Hydrashok 230gr JHP, reloaded Berry's plated ball, reloaded Rainier JHP 230gr...

[Capt. Charlie]

I have the Chas Daly Field EMS 1911, and I experienced the same problems early on. Swapping out the 16# recoil spring for a Wilson 18 pounder, and dumping the factory mags for Chip McCormick Match Grade mags made all the difference in the world.

I also found that the gun needed breaking in. Initially, a number of rounds failed to chamber, even with the Wilson spring, but after a little more than 500 rounds, performance improved significantly.

I learned the hard way that most times, you do get what you pay for. The Charles Daly's are generally all right for range or plinking, but I wouldn't (again) bet my life on it during serious business. They are what they were intended to be, which is a poor man's Kimber.

[azredhawk44]

They are what they were intended to be, which is a poor man's Kimber.


I don't think I agree with that, Cap'n.

Kimbers are incredibly tight. You rattle one side-to-side and you are lucky if you can hear any metal on metal vibration. They may be excessively tight if 1/2 of the blather on gun boards is to be believed;) .

I've only ever seen one Charles Daly (mine), but she is loose. The slide moves easily, I just had a burr on my rails that stopped the slide prematurely. It's loose like an old Colt would be, which is good in my book. It may not win any bench rest competitions, but it will touch 8 holes together at combat distances.

[CALNRA]

I never understood why people would bother with these Filipino guns when the SA GIs are about the same price and are quality guns out the box...

[JR47]

Prices depend on what part of the country you live in.

We bought a CD Field grade 1911 about five years ago. It came with two Mec-Gar mags, and one of them wouldn't feed at all. Replaced with Chip Mc Cormick mags, and the problem went away. The weapon was detail stripped prior to shooiting, cleaned well, and lubed properly. While the trigger is the usual lawyer-type, at about 5#, the gun has never failed in well over 1000 rounds. That includes Remington's +P 185 gr. JHP.:)

[Capt. Charlie]

I don't think I agree with that, Cap'n.

Kimbers are incredibly tight. You rattle one side-to-side and you are lucky if you can hear any metal on metal vibration. They may be excessively tight if 1/2 of the blather on gun boards is to be believed .
I wasn't even beginning to compare quality between the two. The "Poor Man's Kimber" refered to the extra bells & whistles on the CD, i.e., the extended beavertail, ambidextrous safety, beveled mag well, etc., that makes it a "Kimber Wannabe" :D .

[PILOT_OF_LIGER_ZERO]

i recently bought a CD 1911 EFS. I have already put over 150 rounds (barely bought 2 days ago) and it fires fine, like a dream. the mags i use is meggar and they work like a charm.

[Pinky Carruthers]

I never understood why people would bother with these Filipino guns when the SA GIs are about the same price and are quality guns out the box...

Yeah, because Brazilian guns are so much more superior than Filipino guns.:rolleyes:

[azredhawk44]

I wasn't even beginning to compare quality between the two. The "Poor Man's Kimber" refered to the extra bells & whistles on the CD, i.e., the extended beavertail, ambidextrous safety, beveled mag well, etc., that makes it a "Kimber Wannabe"

Okay, sorry, my bad.

Being a lefty, I do appreciate that ambi-safety, though. I just don't think it should cost a grand to get a 1911 with a left handed safety.

[D-Man]

A range near me uses a Charles Daly 1911 (not sure what model) as a rental gun, so I would assume they get good reliability from it. This was actually the first 1911 that I tried out.

I went to another range, and tried a Kimber and Springfield - both of these either jammed or stovepiped in my session.

So out of the three range guns, the Charles Daly model worked the best. Not a scientific study by any means, but at least it shows that they can be reliable.

[elprofeloco]

Had one.

Couldn't get a full magazine of any brand name quality ammo (FMJ or appropriate HP) through it without FTF.

Got Wilson magazine - same problem.

It finally jammed completely (slide frozen in mid position).

Saw no reason to throw more money at a cheap gun.

Reputable dealer took it back, and said it was the last one he'd buy or sell.

It was last CD I'd put my hands on.

p.s. Have owned other semi-autos: Llama, Walther, Colt (many), Kel-Tec, etc.

[awpk03s]

My dad had one with same issues. Get good mags (wilson, mcormick, etc.) and a new recoil spring and you're good to go.