By R.K. Campbell | Contributing Editor
Dan Wesson’s DWX is advertised as combining the best elements of the CZ 75 and the 1911 handgun, and in most ways it does just that.
The pistol is a versatile and accurate handgun. It joins the ranks of a very few handguns I trust to defend my life. A quality 1911, a CZ 75, a High Power, and a Glock are handguns to be trusted. The DWX is squarely in that category.
When I first learned of the DWX, I was intrigued. This handgun’s appearance doesn’t lead you to believe it will handle as well as it does. However, once you have the Dan Wesson 9mm in your hands something says “friend.” It is that good.
I have a chancellor of purse strings who sometimes screws the tap a little tight, but I was able to obtain the DWX as a personal gun after a two year wait. My pistol is a compact DWX, as this fits my style better than the full size competition handgun.
The DWX 9mm is a mature design not introduced until Dan Wesson had everything right. After all, their reputation as a top-end line is vital to their success. After fifty years of firing the 1911 and plenty of High Powers and a number of CZ 75 pistols in the mix, I have never seen a 9mm handgun that shoots as well as this one. That may be a bold statement but the fact remains that is my conclusion.
The pistol is designed for competition in the full size version and personal defense in the compact version. If we are honest, the CZ 75 and the 1911 are great guns but not perfect. Dan Wesson’s team designed a pistol with the advantages of either handgun maximized and the shortcomings of each minimized. The pistol avoids the pitfalls of the 2011 9mm high capacity design with a nicely designed grip frame that fits most hands well, and it uses readily available CZ 75 magazines. The trigger action is a smooth, tractable single action press. The pistol doesn’t use a barrel bushing and locks up via angled camming surfaces, so the barrel butts into the barrel hood for lockup and unlocks via angled camming surfaces.
The CZ may be carried cocked and locked in some of its variants, some use a decocker. The safety isn’t that easily reached. The single-action-only DWX safety falls under the thumb easily like a 1911, and on the compact DWX model, the safety isn’t ambidextrous although it should be.
You will notice the grip is similar to the CZ Shadow pistol and fits most hands well. Both the front strap and rear strap are checkered to compliment the grip pattern and provide for a steady grasp. A good balance of adhesion and abrasion is present. A low bore centerline makes for little leverage for the pistol’s muzzle to rise in recoil.
The pistol’s grip tang leads the hand into the firing grip and helps relieve recoil.
The trigger in my compact DWX pistol is superb, breaking at 3.9 pounds. Take up is minimal and creep nonexistent. Reset is rapid. The slide lock is easily manipulated and the tapered magazine makes for rapid magazine changes.
The full size competition-oriented pistol features an ambidextrous safety; it would have been easy to add this to the compact version. The full size pistol uses a fiber optic front sight, while my compact features a tritium front sight and wedge type rear sight with serrated rear face.
The Compact DWX
On the scale, the full size pistol weighs approximately 50 ounces loaded. It is a great competition gun and could perhaps do double duty for home defense. On the other hand, the compact with its 4-inch barrel and aluminum frame weighs 28 ounces. This is an ideal balance for carry use.
The frame is the compact CZ type and uses 15-round magazines. Two are supplied with the pistol. A 17-round magazine protrudes from the magazine well and may be useful as the spare magazine on the belt.
The DWX pistol is available with or without a frame rail. I chose the slick dust cover, as it is more to my liking. At this point I should point out that the pistol may or may not qualify as a 2011 type. A 2011 is a 1911 9mm with a redesigned grip to accommodate a high capacity magazine. The DWX comes off better than the average 2011 but that is my opinion.
Firing Tests
For this review I loaded several CZ 75 compact and full size magazines with Black Hills Ammunition 115-grain FMJ loads. This is a clean burning, reliable and accurate load.
The pistol was drawn from a DeSantis speed scabbard, which is a well-designed holster offering a good combination of balance and retention. This holster features three belt loops which allow either a neutral cant or the FBI draw. Speed is very good, and there is no handgun faster to an accurate first shot than a cocked and locked pistol of this type.
The DWX responds well to a trained shooter. I fired 100 cartridges without discomfort. There were no failures to feed chamber fire or eject and there have not been in firing just short of 700 cartridges the past few months. This is a superior defensive pistol by any standard.
Absolute Accuracy
Breaking out the Birchwood Casey firing rest, I was careful to line the sights up and press the trigger properly to achieve the best accuracy. The pistol is regulated for 124-grain loads and turned in good accuracy. The following table shows some of the results obtained. Firing was at 25 yards, firing five shot groups for each group.
Load 5 shot group
Black Hills Ammunition
115 grain EXP 2.1 in.
124 grain JHP 1.25 in.
124 grain JHP +P 1.75 in.
100 grain Honey Badger 2.0 in.
The pistol is reliable and exceptionally accurate, with price being the only impediment. Also, as I discovered, the DWX is a bit difficult to locate at times. But it is a uniquely well-made and accurate handgun.
SPECIFICATIONS
Type: single-action semiauto locked breech
Caliber: 9mm
Capacity: 15
Barrel: 4.0 in. stainless steel
OAL 7.5 in.
Height 5.2 in.
Width 1.25 in.
Weight: 28 oz.
Construction: Aluminum frame, steel slide
Sights: Tritium front, wedge type rear
Trigger pull: 3. 9 lb. pull
Safety: manual thumb
Price: $2,000 approximately
