First, Thanks for creating the Dagger category.
This is an attempt to put all of my thoughts, as well as answers to questions I have taken on the Facebook group and put them into a coherent message.
I picked up my PSA Dagger 9mm Pistol at 11:45 on 5/11/2021. To recap, I was part of the original order group from 9/18/2020. I am not the least bit upset about the delays. I feel that PSA did a fair job compensating me for the time delay. I would rather have one that works all the time than one which does not. The upgrade to a threaded barrel was generous. I have received an email that it will be mailed to me separate and apart from the pistol I picked up yesterday. The added bonus of a free stripped lower when they discovered the delay would be longer than expected was great. I have several in my gun safe already. As I said on the Facebook group, the threaded barrel in an equivalent Glock is 125-175 in value. The stripped lower can be sold right now for 100 bucks, or more depending on where you are. That means for the price point, they have already given back half the money you spent in bonus stuff. I find it hard for people to be ok raising hell and bitching at PSA. Yeah, it didn’t go exactly to plan, but they bent over backwards giving things to make up for it. Also, probably some of the same people bitching about the length of time to delivery were also the same people who were bitching in Feb of last year that there wasn’t a preorder and prepay option. Go figure. OK end of soapbox on that.
Here are a few pictures of it. All in all, I am very pleased. Quality appears great, physically fits my hand well, clean break on the trigger with good reset, didn’t mind different types of magazines. Will put more rounds through it over the next couple weeks for sure.
Initial Presentation:
Unboxings have become a big thing since the release of the first iPhone. It’s a thing and I acknowledge that. When the Dagger was brought out to me from the back room of PSA, Angels were singing a chorus, and… No that’s not right. All the staff members working the front end of the store who were not with a customer, walked over to look at it, and many asked if I would mind if they held it. Not a problem. So the Dagger was placed back in the box and handed to me after all appropriate paperwork was completed. Not the classic Tupperware, or another hard box. It was a simple but stout paper box. The graphics on it were subtle and clean. When you open the box, the owners manual and PSA Dagger sticker are in a little plastic pouch glued to the bottom side of the lid. The pistol sits in a foam tray with cutout in the shape of the pistol. Pull the tray out of the box, and there is a new in wrapping Magpul GL-9 magazine for it. I do wish it came with two or even three magazines instead of one, but that is probably unfair at the price point. Besides which, I’m a magazine hoarding whore.
Feel and handling:
The grip feels a little thicker than the Glock 19. Might be my imagination, but just a little bit of the feel. the length of the grip might be just a hair longer, or it may be the way the bottom flares out a bit. It has a very good and very natural point of aim as you bring it up and into battery. The cutouts on both sides of the grip are not noticeable while holding and firing the pistol, but also make the changing of magazines better.
I took measurements of both my Dagger and Glock 19 using a soft tape measure my wife uses for measuring cloth. Here we go:
Glock 19:
9 1/2 inches around the top of grip including trigger guard.
4 3/8 inches around top of grip under the trigger guard.
5 inches around middle of grip (not on the raised portion between fingers).
6 1/4 inches around bottom of grip at the flare.
2 1/4 inches from the bottom of the trigger guard to the edge of the flare.
Dagger:
9 3/8 inches around the top of grip including trigger guard.
5 3/4 inches around top of grip under the trigger guard.
5 3/4 inches around middle of grip (not on the raised portion between fingers).
6 inches around bottom of grip at the flare.
2 3/8 inches from the bottom of the trigger guard to the edge of the flare.
Honestly feels a little better in my hand than the Glock 19.
Ammunition and Magazines:
Put four mags through it at the range attached to the PSA store before leaving where I picked it up. One Glock magazine, one ETS, and two Magpul. It worked flawlessly. Very good feel in the hand, well balanced and accurate. Of the 4 magazines, two were Monarch brass cased, one was Winchester brass cased, and the last magazine were brass cased reloads from a fellow LEO.
Firing the Dagger 9mm:
The trigger pull is different from that of the Glock, so expect a difference there. Much more similar to the S&W. I fired two magazines at 10 yards, and 2 magazines at 20 yards free standing, using a Weaver stance. At both distances the pistol is accurate out of the box. One flier in the 7 ring at 10 yards, and entirely my fault. At most, maybe a slight adjustment to bring my shooting group a touch less. At 20 yards groupings were still solid. If you really need to reach out and touch something after 20-25 yards, perhaps you would be better suited switching to a carbine.
For 4 magazines of different types, with different types of ammo (yes I wanted to run different ammo through it), not a hiccup. The Dagger chewed through it all just fine.
Over the next 10 days I’m planning at least two additional trips to the range. I will run standard Glock 17 magazines, extended capacity magazines, and probably some of the 19 magazines with it as well to see how everything performs.
Holsters:
Blackhawk CQC locks in just fine.
I have three different soft holsters with straps up top for retention used with the Glock, and the Dagger fit just fine in those, no changes needed to the strap adjustment. Two are Uncle Mike’s and one is a no-name brand.
Glock Interchange pieces:
The barrel is a straight up swap. Others on the Facebook group have swapped out standard or threaded barrels and run rounds through the Dagger that way. I put the 19 and Dagger barrels side by side and they are about as identical as they can be to the naked eye.
The slides are not quite the same. The rails look just a tad different. The Glock Slide will mount to the Dagger receiver, but it doesn’t fit exactly. I would not attempt to perform a real function check or to fire a round in this manner. The Dagger Slide will mount to the Glock receiver. It appears to all function exactly as it should. I did not fire the pistol in this configuration.
And for those worried, it had two PSA stickers in the box, and a PSA Dagger Sticker.
