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83 Posts
Well, took the new to me DW ECO to the range today.......not good.....
First, the good.....the trigger.....SUUUWWWWWEEEEEETTTTTTTT!!!! I had previously measured it on my lyman digital guage and it showed a break right at 3lbs. It is smooth as butter, and it surprises you every time it goes bang. Triggers just don't get any better.
The not so goods:
1) The grips.....the ECO has slim grips on it, and I just didn't feel like I had a firm grip on it. I could really feel the difference between it and my Kimber Ultra CDP. Next time out, I will swap the grips and see if the problem moves. This is in NO WAY a fault of DW, it's just a personal preference thing....
2) The sights.....I really don't like the sight set up on this gun and the white ring around the vial on the front sight is miniscule. Maybe young perfect eyes could see it, but not me. If I get the really bad below fixed, I will likely change the sights....Once again, no fault of DW, just a personal preference thing.
The really sucks:
Right off the bat failure to feed with ball ammo or hollow points. Different magazines from three different manufacturers, Kimber, DW, and Chip McCormick. The Kimbers and the DW's appear to be identical and made by Checkmate. With it doing it with ball ammo AND hollowpoints and three different makers magazines, I feel safe saying it is NOT ammo and NOT magazines. I did find that if I loaded the magazines with only 5 rounds, it would function. When it would fail, it would just jamb the round into the frame and hold it there, not allowing the slide to go home. This would happen with either a slingshot release of the slide or by hitting the slide release. I did notice, on the rounds that failed to feed, that at the tip, you could feel a sharp edged rough spot. When I noticed that, I made sure to check the rounds first, and that spot was not there before the FTF, but was there afterward.
Upon close inspection after a through cleaning of both guns, I think I may have found something. With the gun assembled slide locked to the rear, which has the barrel in its rearward, lowered position, the feed ramp on the kimber is slightly forward of the edge of the frame (I didn't measure it, but it is probabaly less than 1/64", just enough that you can feel it). On the ECO the edge of the frame and the edge of the bottom of the feed ramp make a sharp point, in fact, it feels like the sharp edge at the bottom of the feed ramp is actually ever so slightly rearward of the edge of the frame. When I had it apart cleaning, I could also feel a rough spot on that edge when running a fingernail across the edge.
Additionally, the very bottom of the feed ramp on the Kimber has a change of angle making it closer to 90 degrees for the last 1/32" or so, which accounts for the edge being slightly forward of the frame. It also makes the edge less sharp. The ECO barrel is REALLY sharp at the bottom end of the feedramp. My theory is that it doesn't fit properly at that junction and the nose of the round hits and catches on that sharp edge, whereas the Kimber allows the round to hit the frame and defect upwards without catching on anything, allowing it to feed.
What is really irritating is that the original purchaser blew a little smoke up my butt. I specifically asked about round count and failures and he reported 200 rounds and zero failures. As the original purchaser, he could have gotten it warranteed, but I really doubt that DW will extend that to me, as their website CLEARLY states that original purchaser ONLY is covered by warranty.....
Suggestions????
Thanks
Lon
First, the good.....the trigger.....SUUUWWWWWEEEEEETTTTTTTT!!!! I had previously measured it on my lyman digital guage and it showed a break right at 3lbs. It is smooth as butter, and it surprises you every time it goes bang. Triggers just don't get any better.
The not so goods:
1) The grips.....the ECO has slim grips on it, and I just didn't feel like I had a firm grip on it. I could really feel the difference between it and my Kimber Ultra CDP. Next time out, I will swap the grips and see if the problem moves. This is in NO WAY a fault of DW, it's just a personal preference thing....
2) The sights.....I really don't like the sight set up on this gun and the white ring around the vial on the front sight is miniscule. Maybe young perfect eyes could see it, but not me. If I get the really bad below fixed, I will likely change the sights....Once again, no fault of DW, just a personal preference thing.
The really sucks:
Right off the bat failure to feed with ball ammo or hollow points. Different magazines from three different manufacturers, Kimber, DW, and Chip McCormick. The Kimbers and the DW's appear to be identical and made by Checkmate. With it doing it with ball ammo AND hollowpoints and three different makers magazines, I feel safe saying it is NOT ammo and NOT magazines. I did find that if I loaded the magazines with only 5 rounds, it would function. When it would fail, it would just jamb the round into the frame and hold it there, not allowing the slide to go home. This would happen with either a slingshot release of the slide or by hitting the slide release. I did notice, on the rounds that failed to feed, that at the tip, you could feel a sharp edged rough spot. When I noticed that, I made sure to check the rounds first, and that spot was not there before the FTF, but was there afterward.
Upon close inspection after a through cleaning of both guns, I think I may have found something. With the gun assembled slide locked to the rear, which has the barrel in its rearward, lowered position, the feed ramp on the kimber is slightly forward of the edge of the frame (I didn't measure it, but it is probabaly less than 1/64", just enough that you can feel it). On the ECO the edge of the frame and the edge of the bottom of the feed ramp make a sharp point, in fact, it feels like the sharp edge at the bottom of the feed ramp is actually ever so slightly rearward of the edge of the frame. When I had it apart cleaning, I could also feel a rough spot on that edge when running a fingernail across the edge.
Additionally, the very bottom of the feed ramp on the Kimber has a change of angle making it closer to 90 degrees for the last 1/32" or so, which accounts for the edge being slightly forward of the frame. It also makes the edge less sharp. The ECO barrel is REALLY sharp at the bottom end of the feedramp. My theory is that it doesn't fit properly at that junction and the nose of the round hits and catches on that sharp edge, whereas the Kimber allows the round to hit the frame and defect upwards without catching on anything, allowing it to feed.
What is really irritating is that the original purchaser blew a little smoke up my butt. I specifically asked about round count and failures and he reported 200 rounds and zero failures. As the original purchaser, he could have gotten it warranteed, but I really doubt that DW will extend that to me, as their website CLEARLY states that original purchaser ONLY is covered by warranty.....
Suggestions????
Thanks
Lon
