DVC limited reliability

[GrayR]

Hey everyone. Lifelong shooter that's new to the sport here. I searched and didnt find what I was looking for so if you have a thread for me please put a link in your answer. I've been wanting to shoot competitively for a while and I recently shot my first match. My hands are still

shaking and I can still here the blood pumping through my ears! Safe to say I'm hooked. I think Limited is the division for me for several reasons but I need a new gun for that one. I have wanted an STI for years and this is a perfect excuse. My question is once it's broken in how many of the guns are finicky to a fault? I don't mind an occasional hiccup, that's just guns. But I don't want a 2,800 dollar project gun. So those who have experience with DVC limited please let me know how they run. Thanks in advance! 

[aandabooks]

Alot of guys I shoot with run the DVC Limited.  I haven't noticed them having any more or less issues with their guns.  Once a load is developed and mags are reliable they seem to run.  I wouldn't pay the price for one but I'm not a fan of how they look.  One guy at my local club had to send his back because the finish was flaking.  He had it coated in black and looks really good.

[jaques]

I have the DVC Limited and the DVC 3-gun and both of mine have run perfect from day one until I got the Dawson magazine tuning kit. I messed with 2 magazines and it took an act of God to get them back running again. I have no plans on touching my other 11 magazines, unless they give me problems. It never fails when I'm at a match with either one of my STI's people always ask if I had any troubles to make them run good. They have a pretty bad rep. but luckily mine have run great. Good luck. 

[GrayR]

Thanks guys I appreciate the feedback. My understanding is once they run they're fantastic I just didn't want one that was hard to get there. I've still got a lot of learning and time before I can take advantage of one of them I just hate to keep practicing with something different when I know I'm going to change eventually. But if they run like y'all say then I should be good! 

[jaques]

I have shot 115, 124 and 147 grain projectiles out of mine and never once had a problem with any of them. I tried jacketed, plated and coated projectiles and it eats them all. I can only say positive things about my gun. 

[59nolimit]

I was looking hard at the DVC 3gun myself a month ago. I looked at just a few $$ more into the CK Arms pistols and am so happy I did. I got a limited thunder with steel grip for about $200 more than the DVC. They are more less a custom fit/built gun you just can't choose any options but they have the main ones covered. Shooters connection still has $200 off their old inventory on a few models you might want to check out. Also a few floating around here in the classifieds. 

[davsco]

another good option is the STI Edge, especially if you buy it from Brazos (brazoscustom.com) with their HP package.  they do a trigger job and run some rounds thru it making sure it runs good, and some reliability work though i'm not sure of the details.  i've been super happy with mine.  you can also get a four pack of their 'tuned' mags, so you have a gunsmith-tweaked package right out of the gate.  i also have a dvc open that i'm super happy with, so either way you should be GTG.

[GrayR]

Ok thanks I'll definitely look into the Edge from Brazos. Again I really appreciate it. 

[RangerTrace]

I have one that is sold pending funds.  All I had to do was tune the slide stop to prevent early lock back with stock STI magazines.  It looks great, has a decent stock trigger and is accurate.  There is or was another one for sale on here at a great discount.....

[jcc7x7]

12 hours ago, 59nolimit said:

I was looking hard at the DVC 3gun myself a month ago. I looked at just a few $$ more into the CK Arms pistols and am so happy I did. I got a limited thunder with steel grip for about $200 more than the DVC. They are more less a custom fit/built gun you just can't choose any options but they have the main ones covered. Shooters connection still has $200 off their old inventory on a few models you might want to check out. Also a few floating around here in the classifieds. 

Ignition parts alone are worth the extra money.

Better CS due to smaller company etc. etc

Used to be a fan of STI, not so much after the last couple of years with bad slides etc.  My experience has not been good with warranty/CS with STI in the last few years but others have had great success with them so maybe a mixed bag there.

I would again at least look at the CK's before buying

In the long run both will make a good pistol for you!

[bulldog009]

I've had nothing but good things to say about my 9mm DVC Limited. When I got it, it ran the loads I had been running for years out of my Glock 34, so well in fact that I was able to download the loads even further to reduce recoil. The only thing I had to adjust otherwise was the overall crimp on my rounds, as the chamber was much tighter than the 34's chamber. It has been awesome getting to learn a new pistol, and I have definitely seen some improvements in my shooting, thanks in part to the much better trigger. 

The only caution, or piece of advice, I can give you is one that was given to me several years back when I first got the 2011 bug - "Reload first." Meaning, get good at handloading your own ammo, learn how to tune your round to your gun, it makes a world of difference with the 2011 platform. I took a couple of years to get my handloading down, then made the move to the 2011 platform. My DVC won't run factory ammo, at least any of the small amount I have tried through it. So are you a handloader? If not, be prepared to find a reliable factory load, maybe a "match" type load from Freedom, Stand 1, or any other company may work for you. 

[RangerTrace]

2 hours ago, jcc7x7 said:

Ignition parts alone are worth the extra money.

Better CS due to smaller company etc. etc

Used to be a fan of STI, not so much after the last couple of years with bad slides etc.  My experience has not been good with warranty/CS with STI in the last few years but others have had great success with them so maybe a mixed bag there.

I would again at least look at the CK's before buying

In the long run both will make a good pistol for you!

This is good advice too.  Shooter's Connection has quite a few of the CK guns in stock.  I'm very happy with the IDPA gun I bought and will be ordering a 5.5" Limited gun very soon. 

[Glk21C]

Shooters connection also now carries Limited guns made by AWT.   Check them out.

 

Per SC:

AWT is Donnie Fraley of the the long time known company D&J custom from 
back in the 80's and 90's. Donnie is back at it after spending some time 
in the corporate and political world. He is making many of his own 
parts. Donnie's history in the sport and knowledge of the guns used in 
the sport  are rivaled by  few, if any.   Chuck

[GrayR]

Yes I am a handloader but between time and finicky press issues I want the ability to run factory ammo. If it makes any difference I'm going to go the 40 SW route if and when I pull the trigger. Seems like I oughta get a good polymer gun set up for limited to use while I work out the kinks in a new 2011. Last thing I want is to have one gun and it isn't cooperating 

[jaques]

At times I shoot local matches and you MUST use factory loaded ammo and both of m DVC's shoot them just fine.

[GrayR]

Ok good. I'll just take the plunge and hope it works. If it comes up for sale cheap just know it didn't!

[CHARLES D]

 I have purchased 3 guns from Bob at Brazos. All 3 run like a champ. You can't go wrong with Brazos

[Benz1]

DVC 3 gun here. Runs like a champ. Eats all factory ammo I've tried,no need for reloads

[GrayR]

Awesome thanks everyone. I can't believe how addicting this game is. 

[Mikeski]

I've got a DVC Limited in 40 and it's been great. It needs longer ammo but never had any issues with it. 

[LowSpeedHighDrag]

I've got a DVC Limited and DVC Classic in 9mm, both acquired in the last year and a half.  No issues with keeping them running.

I've used standard SAAMI length 9mm rounds for the Limited, using mags with a spacer.  Lets me use one load for both guns.

[GrayR]

Awesome thanks everyone. when everything sells and my funding lines up ill be going with it.

[IHAVEGAS]

One of the local M class limited shooters has a custom license plate "DVCFTF" if memory serves  . I never asked him about it but I think he formed his opinion fairly soon after the guns were first released.

 

Anyway. Good friend bought a limited in 40. Wouldn't run & he got upset about it. STI fixed it no charge. 

 

After the repair trip back to STI he liked the limited well enough that when his boy wanted an open gun they went with the DCV in 9 major. I guarantee he would not be happy with the 40 if he could not feel confident that the gun would make it through major matches with no issues.

 

The new DVC open gun won't run (apparently the biggest issue is that brass does not eject properly , he is using a well tested load recipe) and his plan was to get it headed back to STI Monday. I suspect STI will get an earful as they do not give the open guns away & you figure that for that money they ought to work when you get them. 

 

Suspect STI will get DVC #2 right for my friend also. 

[72stick]

I think everyone is being a little too general about the 2011 platform. He appears to have years of experience shooting, but not shooting the 1911/2011 and he wants to start shooting USPSA Limited. It’s a good choice for Limited and that’s pretty much where we all end up eventually after trying the plastic fantastic guns. If you haven’t owned a 1911/2011 before, there are a lot of precision parts in there that make it supper accurate and can cause headaches. The basic 2011 is ok, but you’ll need a couple things to really get the most out of it.

I have several 1911/2011s. Some ran perfectly from day one. Others needed a little TLC. For a first time 1911/2011 owner it can be a little frustrating when there’s a grumpy gun. 2 years ago, I bought a brand-new Dawson CRP Edge in 9mm for 3 gun. The trigger was less than desirable. My local gunsmith is a wiz with 1911s and allowed me to use his jig to put a crisp 3# trigger job on the pistol.

The gun was a dream to shoot until I noticed the groups were getting bigger. My GS looked it over and the only thing he could find was the barrel lugs were only locking on the front lug in the slide. I sent it back to STI and they replaced the barrel, barrel link and slide stop. The gun is a tack driver now. I took a pistol class in April and I was consistently drilling 6 inch steel challenge plates at 50 yards.

At about 6k rounds every now and then the gun would have a failure to feed with the bullet nose diving into the bottom of the ramp. I thought it was a mag issue so I called Beven Grams. I use all Grams guts in the mags. He walked me through checking the mags out and I didn’t find anything wrong.

I stripped the pistol down and noticed the extractor had a lot of carbon in the channel behind the extractor. I had a hard time removing the extractor because the channel was packed with carbon. With the extractor locked up from the carbon build up, it wasn’t allowing the rim of the cartridge to slip under the extractor as it was stripped off the top of the mag. Once I cleaned all the carbon out the Edge runs perfectly again.

Last weekend I shot the Nordic/Vortex Tri-gun match. One stage had a 60 round count. The Edge ran perfectly throughout the entire match with zero failures. The take away is that the 2011 is an awesome platform, but it is a little finicky. If your handy with home gunsmithing, it’s a pretty easy to keep it going. Otherwise you need to know a good gunsmith.

 

 

[IHAVEGAS]

33 minutes ago, 72stick said:

Otherwise you need to know a good gunsmith.

 

 

 

Or pay a little more on the front end perhaps.

 

My experience with STI 1911's 2011's has been similar to yours, they work eventually and the repair is free but I have had to send 2 back for issues (Trojan/Edge) and have an Eagle that will likely need to go back.

 

For an extra 500-1000 you can get a Brazo's or Bennie Hill or etc 2011 that has been more carefully fitted, and that is more like buying a 1911 Les Baer. Just shoot it and clean it now and then & be happy.