MPA DS9 Open - Any reviews?

[Bakerjd]

6 hours ago, adrone said:

I was just noticing that in the first page pic. Glad you said something before I had to. Not only that but on the second page pic the sponsored shooter the beavertail fit is bad.  Not good fitting work. Not that that kind of fitting makes a difference but it would make me question the time and level of detail that was put into rest of the gun. 

I've shot one of the DS9 Hybrid guns and if the open gun is fit like the hybrid I wouldnt be buying one. Sharp edges all over the gun, especially around beavertail and thumb safetys. It does run 100% though. 

 

And why does the gun in the pic on page one look like the finish is cerekote and already chipping off? Also I'm 99% sure the grip is a almost direct copy of the LSI. the one my buddy has when he first got it I thought it was an LSI grip. Put them side by side and they look identical. 

 

I'm not knocking the guns per say. But my impression is they are machine fit and that's it. No hand blending or fitting. I have an idea on why. You can't afford to sell these guns with these options and pay a gunsmith to spend the time needed to hand fit and blend all of them. It's just not possible. 

Edited October 22, 2022 by Bakerjd
Elaborated on comments.

[yigal]

47 minutes ago, Bakerjd said:

I've shot one of the DS9 Hybrid guns and if the open gun is fit like the hybrid I wouldnt be buying one. Sharp edges all over the gun, especially around beavertail and thumb safetys. It does run 100% though. 

 

But if you think positively: sharp edges  are more steel for the same price.

 

[Bravo_Victor]

10 hours ago, Bakerjd said:

I've shot one of the DS9 Hybrid guns and if the open gun is fit like the hybrid I wouldnt be buying one. Sharp edges all over the gun, especially around beavertail and thumb safetys. It does run 100% though. 

 

And why does the gun in the pic on page one look like the finish is cerekote and already chipping off? Also I'm 99% sure the grip is a almost direct copy of the LSI. the one my buddy has when he first got it I thought it was an LSI grip. Put them side by side and they look identical. 

 

I'm not knocking the guns per say. But my impression is they are machine fit and that's it. No hand blending or fitting. I have an idea on why. You can't afford to sell these guns with these options and pay a gunsmith to spend the time needed to hand fit and blend all of them. It's just not possible. 

According to them, they are hand fit so idk

[mrvip27]

Well it is never gonna be handfit like any custom builder. Just won't be.

[CalTeacher]

$4500 for a gun that is visibly fit poor…that’s a pass.

[WYgunner]

17 hours ago, CalTeacher said:

$4500 for a gun that is visibly fit poor…that’s a pass.

I totally get it, but the allure of the MPA for me is the build spec for the price.  Compared to some of the other options out there (i.e. $8000 Chaos), the price is definitely on the low-end.  There is no question that you get what you pay for, but if the gun runs and is accurate, the aesthetics and finishing are secondary for me in this price range.  In order to produce an open gun for $4,500, costs have to be cut somewhere.

[CalTeacher]

1 hour ago, WYgunner said:

I totally get it, but the allure of the MPA for me is the build spec for the price.  Compared to some of the other options out there (i.e. $8000 Chaos), the price is definitely on the low-end.  There is no question that you get what you pay for, but if the gun runs and is accurate, the aesthetics and finishing are secondary for me in this price range.  In order to produce an open gun for $4,500, costs have to be cut somewhere.

Agreed.  For some people the trade off is worth it.

[asierra350]

The only other entry level offerings that I know of are Bul Armory and a Czechmate and they both use proprietary magazines, at least with the MPA the magazines will still work when you get addicted and drop 10k on an Infinity

[Midwest3Gunner]

Brazos Semi Custom Open is right in there with a steel grip for 4900 I think.

[mrvip27]

14 minutes ago, Midwest3Gunner said:

Brazos Semi Custom Open is right in there with a steel grip for 4900 I think.

 

yes correct.

 

but comes as is. not an aggressive texture. no shielded safeties. not a flat metal trigger, etc.

 

Corners cut for a reason. $$

[adrone]

On 10/22/2022 at 1:07 AM, Bakerjd said:

I've shot one of the DS9 Hybrid guns and if the open gun is fit like the hybrid I wouldnt be buying one. Sharp edges all over the gun, especially around beavertail and thumb safetys. It does run 100% though. 

 

And why does the gun in the pic on page one look like the finish is cerekote and already chipping off? Also I'm 99% sure the grip is a almost direct copy of the LSI. the one my buddy has when he first got it I thought it was an LSI grip. Put them side by side and they look identical. 

 

I'm not knocking the guns per say. But my impression is they are machine fit and that's it. No hand blending or fitting. I have an idea on why. You can't afford to sell these guns with these options and pay a gunsmith to spend the time needed to hand fit and blend all of them. It's just not possible. 

Yeah I dont know what the gun in question  costs. I know when a friend built our opens we spent somewhere around 2k in parts and then he did the fitting and machine work.  Thats with us choosing what we thought was the best of everything with regard to parts. I guess that would leave a couple of grand for the work or labor on a gun in the 4’s. A couple of grand is no longer a couple of grand in Biden world so far be it from me to tell someone how cheap someone should be. I personally would rather pay more for great attention to detail on an open gun though. One tiny bur, one out of spec tolerance, or a slightly worn out spring  can ruin many of your days with an open gun.  Detail matters. 

Edited October 24, 2022 by adrone

[adrone]

On 10/19/2022 at 9:01 PM, WYgunner said:

Thanks Cbritt.  On a slightly unrelated note, is it an optical illusion or is the ejection port covered by the thumb rest?

It is but by the time the slide is rearward and ejecting it would not be. You bring up an interesting question for a lefty. With a thumb rest in front of the ejection port you would think your thumb would or could get in the way of ejection? I wouldn’t know. Hmm

Edited October 24, 2022 by adrone

[adrone]

Just for comparison Here is a photo from this thread and then a photo of one of mine  i bought used from a GM out west. Mine was built by a guy named Gary Natalie? As I understand it the one I have cost in the 4’s when it was new. 

 

 

Edited October 24, 2022 by adrone

[APL-G35]

All the comp gaps I have seen photos of MPA guns have terrible gaps and rolled edges from deburring making them stand out even more.  I get that the price is $4500, we arent asking for an SV at that price but the detail work on these is sub par.

[yigal]

4 hours ago, adrone said:

Just for comparison Here is a photo from this thread and then a photo of one of mine  i bought used from a GM out west. Mine was built by a guy named Gary Natalie? As I understand it the one I have cost in the 4’s when it was new. 

 

 

What's wrong with some fresh air?

[Bakerjd]

4 hours ago, APL-G35 said:

All the comp gaps I have seen photos of MPA guns have terrible gaps and rolled edges from deburring making them stand out even more.  I get that the price is $4500, we arent asking for an SV at that price but the detail work on these is sub par.

For $1,000ish more you can get a hand fit gun built with known quality parts in 8 weeks or less. The more I look at these guns the less good I see. 

[Bakerjd]

18 hours ago, mrvip27 said:

 

yes correct.

 

but comes as is. not an aggressive texture. no shielded safeties. not a flat metal trigger, etc.

 

Corners cut for a reason. $$

Bob cut corners that don't really matter.  You ask 5 open shooters what thumb safetys and trigger they want you get 5 different answers. The grip is Cheelys original E2 grip and while not what we call aggressive isn't bad. MPA cut literal corners off the gun in an attempt to deburr it and well you can see the results. 

 

Aside from that who knows how long their in house parts will last. 

[Bravo_Victor]

At the end of the day, does the gun run well? Isnt that all that matters in a practical shooting application? As long as the internal  corners werent cut and the gun functions as intended, who cares? At the $4500 price range, thats what people are looking for, function. At 8-9k? Absolutely not, i want that s#!t perfect and Gucci. 
 

[mrvip27]

Guess we need someone to take one apart and review it and compare.

[donnyglock]

2 hours ago, Bravo_Victor said:

At the end of the day, does the gun run well? Isnt that all that matters in a practical shooting application? As long as the internal  corners werent cut and the gun functions as intended, who cares? At the $4500 price range, thats what people are looking for, function. At 8-9k? Absolutely not, i want that s#!t perfect and Gucci. 
 

So you’re saying they cut all the corners on the stuff we can all clearly see but not on the stuff we  can’t? Seriously doubtful 

 

Edited October 24, 2022 by donnyglock

[asierra350]

Have there been reports of malfunctions or accuracy issues with the limited amount of rounds through them so far? At the price point cutting some corners on the aesthetics while still keeping the reliability makes some sense 

[Bravo_Victor]

3 hours ago, donnyglock said:

So you’re saying they cut all the corners on the stuff we can all clearly see but not on the stuff we  can’t? Seriously doubtful 

 

No im saying maybe they think such details arent as important to the crowd they are trying to market a $4500 open gun to with a 12 week wait time. Maybe some dude who really wants to get into Open, cant afford a $9000 gold Gucci drug lord gun and just wants something that can run well and doesnt care about perfect aesthetics. $4500 is certainly appealing if thats the case. 
Imo it certainly would be more comforting knowing it was intentional rather than them actually thinking they did a pristine job and not realizing its complete ass. 
 

and there certainly are high end guns out there that have made it out of the shop looking like a total wreck. s#!t happens. I think we need to see multiple samples of these guns before a real verdict comes out
 

 

[donnyglock]

35 minutes ago, Bravo_Victor said:

No im saying maybe they think such details arent as important to the crowd they are trying to market a $4500 open gun to with a 12 week wait time. Maybe some dude who really wants to get into Open, cant afford a $9000 gold Gucci drug lord gun and just wants something that can run well and doesnt care about perfect aesthetics. $4500 is certainly appealing if thats the case. 
Imo it certainly would be more comforting knowing it was intentional rather than them actually thinking they did a pristine job and not realizing its complete ass. 
 

and there certainly are high end guns out there that have made it out of the shop looking like a total wreck. s#!t happens. I think we need to see multiple samples of these guns before a real verdict comes out
 

 

As a gun builder I know first hand that comp gaps and such aren’t hard to get correct. I’ve seen plenty of their work to know there is zero attention to detail. 
 Yes the price point isn’t bad but you seem to think there’s either this poor quality workmanship for $4,500 or 9k open guns. There’s a whole world in between where the cost and work are more acceptable 

[jpeters11]

Guess they’re saving weight with the firing pin stop? 

[Bravo_Victor]

3 minutes ago, donnyglock said:

As a gun builder I know first hand that comp gaps and such aren’t hard to get correct. I’ve seen plenty of their work to know there is zero attention to detail. 
 Yes the price point isn’t bad but you seem to think there’s either this poor quality workmanship for $4,500 or 9k open guns. There’s a whole world in between where the cost and work are more acceptable 

It was just a comparison from bare minimum to extreme. Im well aware of whats out there. 
 

but my real question, is the gun we are talking s#!t about a gun that was bought out of pocket, or a prototype gun? I cant recall the exact words, but i was under the impression all the guns being used out there by team guys are prototype guns. Final adjustments to be made and perfected before they make their 38sc come spring. 
 

but who knows, at $4500 i wanna see more.