Firebull

Sent the Marauder to STI and they determined the barrel was shot out and fit a new one. Funny how everyone has chosen to ignore my high praises for the DVC 3 Gun -- a reasonably priced pistol that ran reliably with any ammo and magazine. I had come to 2011 from the CZ platform so expected similar reliability and accuracy. Yes, I did try different ammo (all factory though) and magazines (MBX with brand new Gram’s springs and followers) but the issues persisted with the Atlas. Anyways, just sharing my experience.

Just sold off my last 2011 (STI DVC 3 Gun) because I got an offer I couldn’t refuse. As I switch over to the CZ Shadow 2 platform, just thought I would share my experience with the various 2011s I had owned. STI Marauder: bought it used and the barrel had been shot out (3 in. groups at 10 yards). No FTF/FTE issues though. Contacted STI and they replaced the barrel for free with free shipping both ways. While the grouping vastly improved, the new barrel was not fitted correctly as the gun shot left by 1.5 in. at 10 yards even with the rear sight shifted all the way to the right. Contacted STI again by phone and email but couldn’t get anyone to respond — sold the gun a week later. STI DVC 3 Gun: owned both bushing and bull barrel models. Nicely built and ran with all of my STI mags (126mm, 140mm, 170mm) and with any factory ammo (115, 124, 147). Shot extremely flat with the 147 gr ammo (almost as if shooting with a compensator). Very reliable (never experienced any FTF/FTE) and very accurate as I effortlessly hit steel targets 75 yards out in 3 Gun matches. After more than 10000 rounds, the pistols still looked brand new. My positive experience with the DVC 3 Gun led me to explore higher end custom 2011s. Atlas Titan in 9 mm: very nicely built but at 3+ lbs with PT Evo grip and steel magwell, a bit too heavy for 9 minor in my opinion. Frequent FTF/FTE with half of my 2nd gen STI 140mm mags and all of my 170mm mags. Contacted Atlas and was always able to get someone on the phone. After 2 weeks of being told “there is something wrong with your ammo / magazines”, I sold the gun. I only use CCI Blazer factory ammo, by the way. Akai Limited with PT grip: another beautifully built custom 2011 that attracted attention at the range. Experienced a catastrophic failure within the first 1000 rounds. After Akai fixed it and sent it back (blamed the failure on my factory ammo), the gun grouped poorly. After failing to get Akai to respond to my inquiries, I had my local gunsmith fix the issue (poor fitting between barrel link and slide stop). Sold the gun a week later. Staccato XL: similar to the DVC 3 Gun in specs but inferior in build quality. Experienced frequent FTF with 147 gr ammo. Contacted Staccato and they promptly sent me new proprietary magazine springs (not available on their site yet) and followers which eliminated the FTF issue. Couldn’t get past the fact the slide was rubbing the barrel on the left side (leaving a very visible mark after only 250 rounds) so I sold the gun. The gun was accurate and soft shooting — the polymer grip was quite effective at reducing felt recoil. Atlas Hyperion with aluminum Alpha grip: another very nicely built gun with great balance. Stronger felt recoil than the Staccato XL and STI DVC (aluminum vs polymer grips). Experienced continuous FTFs with the Atlas MBX mag shipped with the gun (disappointing considering the gun was marketed as perfect return to zero with factory ammo). I could not use my 140mm 2nd gen STI mags because the magwell hit the basepad so the magazine could not be seated. I sold the gun.

pick SP-01 Shadow as the model for parts. Accushadow is an SP-01 Shadow with CZcustom bushing and some trigger work.

What’s your opinion of the Nighthawk double stack vs Atlas from accuracy, reliability and recoil management perspectives? Many thanks.

Armanov, large size, for me.

11 lb

Just shot my new Shadow 2 for the first time. Great gun with superb ergonomics but somehow it has noticeably more muzzle flip than my STI DVC 3 Gun when shooting the 147 grain ammo despite being 8 oz heavier. Any technical explanation as to why? Thanks.

Talking about 9mm gamer guns, few people on Brianenos mention the Nighthawk double stack with IOS sights (the most ingenious iron/reddot site swapping mechanism -- far superior/durable to the screwed-on plates you find on Staccatos, Atlas, Akais, etc. in my humble opinion). Any thoughts as to why?

Haha ... that's a good observation.

Touche!

That makes sense. $5k+ is a lot of money (at least for me) so i thought people who buy them would be top caliber competitors.

Serious USPSA Limited shooters go for 40 S&W due to major scoring. Never shot IPSC so don’t Know the rules - perhaps that’s why people buy them.

Custom 2011 makers have been marketing 9mm pistols that cost $5k+ in the last couple of years and much to my surprise, there are buyers for them. These are competition pistols (despite the makers’ claims they could be used for carry) and the only game where they would shine is the Tactical division in 3 Gun. In my 4 years of 3 Gun shooting, however, I have yet to encounter a set up where one would gain significant advantage from a high end 2011 pistol. Just curious who are buying these ultra expensive gamer pistols. Thanks.

Thank you! Someone posted barrel coating issues at 7k rounds so interested to know how common that is.

Hi, I shoot the VR80 in the Open division and so far the gun has been 100% reliable for me (only ~800 rounds through the gun though). Does anyone have a high round count VR80 and how has the gun held up? Any broken parts? Thanks.