I recently picked up a new Tisas Carry 9 DS Comp to add to my budget 2011 clone collection. These new updated versions of the Tisas DS pistols look really good in my opinion, and I've been pretty happy with my MAC 9 DS Comp from a value standpoint. The MAC DS pistols are made by Tisas in the same factory using the same parts, but are distributed in the US by a different company.
My impressions of the MAC 9 DS Comp was that the gun looks great and performs well, but it seems to have a lower quality feel to it compared to a lot of my other 2011 style guns. I didn't expect the Tisas DS Comp to be any different in terms of quality, but there are some notable improvements of the new Tisas DS pistols over the current MAC DS pistols. Unfortunately, the Tisas has it's own quality issues.
I love the aesthetics of the new Tisas DS pistols. They now have full length dust cover frames that are as wide as the slide, which gives them a more modern look and potentially increases their long term durability. However, I had to do a lot of filing on the frame rails to get the gun to cycle smoothly, as it was getting stuck in the rear position due to binding. This was not disconnector hang-up, as it would get stuck even with all the internals removed from the slide and frame. The muzzle end of the slide rails was binding on the taper of the front frame rails, so I had to file that taper down until it cleared and wouldn't bind.
With my MAC DS and the MAC hammer that was installed on my Prodigy Carry Comp, I had to trim the top edge of the hammers down to reduce friction on the bottom of the slide during cycling, and I had to do the same thing on this Tisas DS. Trimming the top edge of the hammer makes a huge difference for how smooth the gun feels when cycling the slide by hand, and almost completely eliminates that "clunky" feel that these guns have compared to other 2011 style guns. I trim this top edge of the hammer on a lot of different 2011s that I tune to make them cycle smoother, but the MAC/Tisas hammers need substantially more material removed.
The new optics mounting system on the Tisas DS appears to be more robust than the AOS mounting system on the MAC DS and the Prodigy 1911DS, which has a known issue of the optic plate screws coming loose and/or breaking. This new Tisas system has small o-rings positioned between the plate and the slide for vibration dampening (similar to the Staccato DPO system) and a locating pin to keep the optic plate securely in place on the slide. However, the supplied hex key screws that secure the optic plate to the slide strip out easily with the included hex key. The screws are the same size as the MAC DS and Prodigy 1911DS optic plate screws, so I was able to use some quality aftermarket replacements that have a T10 torx head instead of hex key to be able to torque them properly. The factory optic cover plate also had a small hex key screw (hidden behind the firing pin stop plate) that easily stripped out when I tried to remove it, so I had to tap a T9 torx head bit into it with a hammer to break it loose.
Tuning the trigger down to between 2.5 and 3 pounds was fairly straight forward, but as I did with the MAC DS, I installed a 19 pound hammer spring to lighten things up. Both the MAC DS and Tisas DS pistols are way over-sprung from the factory for compensated guns, so I installed 13 pound recoil springs in both of them, which makes a substantial difference in their recoil impulse and return to zero consistency.
One thing I really like about the MAC DS and Tisas DS pistols is that the size and shape of their thumb safeties work fine with my large hands and high grip, so I didn't feel the need to thin down, dehorn, and refinish them like I do with most of my other 2011 style guns. Both pistols are nicely dehorned on the edges and corners of the slides and frames and their black nitride finish looks great. With my RFV Tactical grip texture, trigger/action tuning, and lighter recoil springs, these guns shoot really well for their budget price point.
