So I just got back from the range. The gun shot well. It was smooth and accurate. I shot a total of about 300 rounds through it. I ran 50 rounds down the pipe and then stripped it down and re-lubed it. I shot another 100 rounds or so and repeated. The gun is not as tight as say a Les Baer but still wanted to let it break in with plenty of lube. The bushing it surprisingly not very tight. It is hand turnable. There was no need to bring a bushing wrench. It did not seem to effect accuracy but it was still surprising. I remember my CBOB to be much tighter when new. The safety continues to be tight but I am sure it will work itself out.
The gun ran well except it fail to feed twice on a reload from slide lock. I believe both times it was me not the pistol. It did not bobble at all except for those 2 reloads. I think I was riding the slide a bit with my weak hand. I shot at 7, 10 and 15 yards. The sights shot to POA to POI, maybe a little high but I did not shoot it off a rest so it could have been me. I was happy with the accuracy within the 15 yard range. At 7 yards I could shoot a mag into a single cloverleaf shaped hole at a 1 second a round pace give or take. It is certainly more accurate than I am or than I need it to be. Mostly I just shot for function. I did run 3 rounds of "The Test" and it shot about the same as I shoot The Test with my 75B. Mayber a little slower but not by much. My fastest time was 6.8 second +2 second penalty for 2 in the 8, so my time was 8.8 seconds. I shot a clean target in the 8.5 seconds. I did have a crappy run when I dropped 3 shots in the 8, and shot 8.3 so failed with a 11.3. I did not score it using Ken's point system but I would have done better in Kens more forgiving system. I really need to work on shooting clean targets vs shooting fast but dropping shots outside the "grapefruit". There is always the subconscious need to stomp on the gas petal vs just shoot it clean under 10.
The recoil is minimal. Its 9mm in a commander frame so I did not except it to have much movement. It is an alum frame so it is lighter than say the 75B or BHP but not so much that you notice it in the hand. On the belt it would make a difference. I really noticed how light it was compared to the Shadow 2 I also brought. This and the different sight picture probably added some time to The Test. The Shadow 2 is by far the fastest gun I own on The Test because it simply does not move. I don't carry a Shadow 2 because of its size and weight so it sort of cheating. The 75B at this point is a little faster than the DW Valkyrie but with a little more trigger time that might change.
The Duty finish looks great and should hold up well. Holstered and unholstered from Kydek a few time and it show no wear. One thing that sort of ticks me off is that the Duty Treat finish will show splotches with some CLPs like the one from Breakfree. Of course that is what is currently on the bench so I had to hunt around to find a bottle of Miltec-1 which came with a Sig some time ago. Miltec-1 is a DW Duty Finish approved CLP/oil. I ordered some FP-10 which will be used exclusively for this gun. Seems to be a bit of a a hassle to maintain what is supposed to be such a durable finish but oh well.
Overall it is a nice 1911 in 9mm. I ran it with the factory mags and 4 Tripp Cobra 10R-9mm RGs in black. The all feed fine. No issues. Tripps of course don't fit flush but give you an extra round. I am honestly not sure I like it better than my CGW 75B but it is a stellar gun. For the $$ it is an amazing deal. These Valkyries MSRP is $2012 and they sold for $1,500-$1,600 NIB before they were discontinued. At $1,250 they area steal. They would hav been a good value at the $1,500 range but I cannot think of another high quality 1911 in 9mm in the $1,200 range that meets this build quality and feature set.
I need to send a few more rounds down the pipe and then shoot a box or 2 of Gold Dots out of it and then it will be ready for carry duty if I choose to use it in the roll.
