I've found there are two sticking points when making a high-capacity pistol magazine. One is having a spring lithe enough that the top round can be stripped from the magazine (much less loaded into), yet strong enough to lift all of those cartridges, including the last one, in time for the slide to pick them up during cycling. The other sticking point is having a follower that presents every cartridge from the first to the last at the proper angle to the feedramp for reliable feeding.

(Left) The M-5's barrel is coned at the muzzle where there is no barrel bushing. (Right) The pistol's ejection port is lowered and flared to increase reliability.

Regarding the spring tension, I didn't encounter any timing problems with the one magazine supplied with the sample Daly. There were no problems loading the stick, though getting that last round in is a little tough on the thumb. As for the cartridge presentation to the feedramp, there were no feeding problems that occurred during shooting, and part of the credit for that may be due to the high polish given to the barrel's feedramp.

The feedramp on the M-5 is integral with the bull barrel instead of the frame. The barrel is coned at the muzzle, where there is no barrel bushing, and is locked along with the slide via a swinging link in typical 1911 fashion. Inside the slide is a full-length guide rod. It requires a simple tool, such as a paperclip, to remove. Serrations at the front and rear of the side provide a little cosmetic pizzazz and an additional grasping surface for working the slide. The ejection port is lowered and flared to increase reliability, and the large hook extractor is the standard internal type in contrast to the current trend toward external or Para-Ordnance's PXT unit. Sights are low profile and dovetailed into the slide with the rear drift-adjustable for windage and serrated on its face to reduce glare.

Tightness of lockup is typically a pretty good indicator of accuracy potential for a 1911. One of the classic tests is to press down on the barrel hood with the slide closed. Movement indicates slop at the link, which can degrade accuracy. Likewise, if you can twist, tip, or rock the slide to any degree when it's closed, it indicates poor fit between slide and frame, which can also degrade accuracy. That said, in the mid-price 1911 market, you can expect a little movement in both areas and is why I wasn't surprised to find a little looseness in the Daly M-5. Judging from the powder fouling inside the sample I received, it was clear that the gun had been fired several times, so with the slide off I took the opportunity to check the wear between it and the frame as it came from the company. Wear was uneven--it being more on the rear of the right slide rail and the front of the left slide rail. Taken all together--the looseness and uneven wear--I wasn't optimistic about match-grade accuracy, but I was hopeful for average accuracy, which, again, is what you're buying in this price range.

The M-5 Gets High Marks
Range testing of the Daly began with a series of draw-and-fire drills to break the gun in and get a feel for how it handles compared to a steel 1911. For the most part I started by drawing and firing at Birchwood Casey Shoot-N-C targets and then switched to some failure drills at IDPA targets from seven yards.

When fully loaded, the polymer M-5 has a solid feel and dull "thud" for recoil. As the magazine empties, handling transitions to a more nimble gun with a snappier kick.

Winter's low humidity had dried out my hands, making the polymer frame a little slick to hold when drawing and firing under the pressure of a PACT timer. Despite the checkering on the gun's frontstrap, backstrap, and the grip's side panels, shooters with consistently dry or sweaty hands might want to consider sharpening the molded-in checkering on the side panels by chasing it using a checkering tool.