LHshooter Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 I've always been a striker fired pistol guy, had never even fired a 1911 pistol. When I had a chance to shoot an MPA DS9 several months back I knew I wanted one, it just was a great experience. I had never heard of MPA so I looked into them and found that some people were negative because of earlier quality issues but most people seemed to be positive. I saw the company took care of customers issues and stood behind the product. I then met someone else with a DS9 that also loved it so placed an order. In the meantime, I learned about 1911's in general and read about the gripes that some people had about the DS9 so I would know what to look for. Just under 18 weeks from day of order to day of delivery I picked mine up yesterday. My FFL told me she didn't like the grip because it hurt her hand but thought the slide was amazing. My hands sweat a lot in the summer so I ordered the A3 aggressive grip and it is pretty aggressive. This grip texture is not for dainty handed people. That said, I don't find it too uncomfortable. The only place where I really notice it is the inside of my fingers where I grip the front strap of the grip. The rest of my SH feels fine, even at the meat of my palm where it hits the backstrap. My WH has no issues. I'm pretty sure I will get used to the grip texture pretty quickly and I doubt the gun will slip in my hand when I sweat. Don't know what my hands will feel like after 10 or 15 minutes of dry fire. As far as the finish goes, there are no rough edges, tool/machine marks anywhere. The DLC coating is terrific over the entire pistol and it feels silky smooth to the touch. I think I'm gonna cry the first time this pistol gets a scratch. As far as the fit, the slide to frame fit is amazing. There is zero movement in the left/right, up/down, fore/aft, and rotational directions. It's as if the slide is fused to the frame. There is no movement of the barrel at all. When I rack the slide it is amazing, it's like a well-oiled machine. The feel is like it is gliding on ice. The magwell fits the grip very nicely, there are no gaps, no unevenness around the circumference of the magwell with the grip. The back edge of the extractor is flush with the slide and there are no gaps. Someone had complained that their trigger had a lot of slop and that there was excessive movement up/down. This is the only part of my pistol where I have found some movement. I can move the trigger up/down less than 0.025". Don't know if this is normal or too much. I imagine that some 1911 aficiondos can tell me what if anything else I am missing to look at. Overall, I think MPA has built me a masterpiece but I won't know for sure until I shoot it over the next week. I have 11 different kinds of ammo, a combination of factory and reloads. My plan is to zero the dot using Blazer 124's and then run 25 rounds of each ammo to see how the gun likes it. I'm hoping it shoots as well as the one I shot previously where I had no issues. I will write another post once I get the range results Finally, I also purchased a ported barrel along with the pistol and will get around to testing that as I may want to use it in IDPA CO matches. I'm not familiar with shooting ported barrels so if anyone has any ideas re factory ammo or what reloads work well I would appreciate it. Not sure if I have to look for velocity or PF when finding the right load. May have to pose this question on the Reloading thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truespode Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 Beautiful. I ordered my DS9 LO Comp in November. Only a couple more months to go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LHshooter Posted January 27 Author Share Posted January 27 1 hour ago, truespode said: Beautiful. I ordered my DS9 LO Comp in November. Only a couple more months to go I know the LOCs have been running about 26 weeks but they may have shortened that. In December they told me my model was running 20 weeks but they were working "diligently" to reduce that. Ended up shipping about 2 1/2 weeks quicker. Mine was worth the wait, hope yours is too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynes_world_45 Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Great write up. The gun will shoot better than it looks. Congratulations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bdh821 Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Congrats on your new blaster! Looks great, ya crazy southpaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew1220 Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 Just picked mine up today. Great gun but I’m surprised that the grips aren’t more grippy. Kinda bummed about that. And I’d like an extended slide stop but not sure if any one will fit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LHshooter Posted March 4 Author Share Posted March 4 10 hours ago, andrew1220 said: Just picked mine up today. Great gun but I’m surprised that the grips aren’t more grippy. Kinda bummed about that. And I’d like an extended slide stop but not sure if any one will fit What grip did you select - A2 or A3? I have the A3 and everyone who has held it calls it a cheese grater but I like it. My only beef is I wish they offered a true LH ambi safety with the wider "ledge" on the RH side. I may end up replacing that with one from Atlas if it will fit on the DS9. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandiesel Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 I have a DS9 Open with the A3 grip texture. It’s definitely super aggressive and I’ve noticed that it only tears up the pad of my pinky finger. when it’s hot and humid outside it’s far more tolerable- but when it’s cold, you can definitely see the torn skin. all in all, I wouldn’t change it to A2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LHshooter Posted March 4 Author Share Posted March 4 It didn't take long for my hands to get used to the A3 grip texture. The only place I get some rough skin is on my support hand just below the base of my thumb. I think it's from when I "twist" my hand against the grip surface when I form my grip. Definitely shows up after a bunch of dry fire, not so much during a match. I would not change mine to a less aggressive texture either. My hands really sweat in the Summer so I'm looking forward to shooting it later this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truespode Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 I have wussy hands I guess. I have the S2 and it definitely feels grippy. Makes the Talon grips on my polymer guns feel like Charmin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Watson Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 On 1/27/2024 at 10:02 AM, LHshooter said: I may want to use it in IDPA CO matches. Sidebar Now that we have IDPA SSP 15 and USPSA Production 15, I asked the MD/AC yesterday if he thought IDPA would increase Division Capacity for ESP/CO. He would not comment. On the one hand, that would obsolete a lot of single stacks, on the other hand, it would create an arms race, selling a lot of sponsors' guns. On the gripping hand, I tried SSP 15 when it first went in but soon returned to ESP 10 so I can remember where to reload. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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