Military Veterans and Patriots

Tag: Pistol Review

  • Long Term Pistol Review: Glock 43X MOS

    Long Term Pistol Review: Glock 43X MOS

    The Glock 43X MOS is a slimline, meaning single stack, striker-fired 9mm. The slide is factory cut for optics mounting. It has a polymer frame and a steel slide. The 3.4″ barrel is of the “marksman” type, meaning it has traditional rifling vice the standard Glock polygonal rifling.

    The MAP (minimum advertised price) of the 43X is $485. For that money you get a hard case, two 10 round mags, a mag loader, cleaning rod and bore brush. You may be able to find it a bit cheaper than that, but not at a Glock stocking dealer. I bought mine from a friend and paid $350 plus some handloads.

    The overall length is 6.5″ and it’s a hair over 5″ tall. The slide is .87″ wide and the overall width of the pistol is 1.1″ Weight is a svelte 18.55 oz unloaded. The Sig Romeo Zero Elite I have mounted adds about 3/4″ to the height and a half ounce of weight. More on that optic later.

    The stock trigger is the typical Glock trigger, a bit mushy, and breaks at right around 5 lbs. A trigger upgrade is in the works, a CMC drop-in is on order. The stock sights are the white outlined polymer version. They are getting an upgrade to suppressor height Ameri-glows, as the stock sights do not co-witness with the red dot I’m running.

    Stock Glock sights

    The optics cut is the Shield RMSc pattern. Any other pattern red dot requires the use of adapter plates. When I got the pistol, it was wearing a Leopold DeltaPoint Pro that required a mounting plate. The width of that sight and the associated mounting plate created a sharp spot that dug into my skin while carrying it. If y’all want to know more about the different patterns of red dots, let me know in the comments, and I’ll get something together. As I mentioned above, there is a Sig Sauer Electro-optics Romeo Zero Elite mounted now that does not require a plate.

    Being a Glock, I have experienced zero mechanical faults. That isn’t to say this gun is perfect, it isn’t. The texturing on the side panels of the frame could be a bit more aggressive, the trigger is, well, not what I’m used to and I’ll never fully get over the fact you have to pull the trigger to disassemble the firearm. That said, there’s a lot to like about it and my complaints are more nitpick-y than anything else.

    As of this writing, I have about 900 rounds through this gun and any malfunctions, there have been damned few of them, were all ammo related. Do not take that as me saying this pistol likes one brand over another. It eats everything, including shitty old steel and aluminum cased stuff, without a hiccup. The malfunctions were due to faulty ammo that just didn’t fire.

    To be totally honest, until I shot this gun, I never shot Glocks all that well. I’m not sure if it is this particular platform or the red dot optic that improved my accuracy. This gun is never going to shoot as well as a match grade 1911 like my Les Baer Monolith, but it groups well for a stock defensive pistol. At 10m I’m averaging 3″ groups when running drills. That’s more than accurate enough for this pistol. Taking my time, I can shrink that to a bit over 2″. My best group with this gun was 1.5″, but that was from the bench. For reference, I can get those group sizes or better at 25m with my Baer.

    L-R, Sig Romeo Zero Elite, Sig reticle options, Leopold DeltaPoint Pro

    The red dot that is currently on this pistol is the Sig Romeo Zero Elite. It features a 2moa center dot and a 32moa circle. I like this reticle because of the quick pickup and target acquisition. According to Sig it has a 20,000 hour battery life. This is no doubt aided by the motion sensor on/off.

    Now on to my experiences with the 43X as an EDC gun. For background, I carried a Colt’s Commander chambered in .38 Super Auto as my EDC for a very long time. As I aged, I found carrying that amount of weight around all day got tiring. My Commander tips the scales at 29 ounces unloaded, that’s 10 oz more than the 43X.

    For most carry situations, I usually carry the 43X appendix or cross draw. It depends on what I’m doing that day. After trying several brands and styles of appendix holsters, I settled on the Alien Gear Photon. The Photon is a convertible IWB/OWB holster. It has an integrated ‘claw’ to help keep you from printing while carrying appendix. Ride height and cant are adjustable as is retention. A ‘sidecar’ mag holder is available, but I’m used to the snag-mag that I’ve been using for a long time. The only complaint I have about this holster is the lack of a backing pad.

    So far, this pistol has been a joy to carry. It’s light, slim and just the right size. I rarely have to worry about it printing or hanging up on my clothes.

    But how does it stack up to the other big name pistols in this class the Sig P365x and the Springfield Hellcat? I am not a fan of the Hellcat, and I explained why here, so I won’t belabor the point. I do however like the Sig quite a bit. If I were not in a capacity restricted state, I might go with the Sig over the Glock, just for the extra magazine capacity. That said, as far as I’m concerned, there isn’t a whole lot of difference between the two besides the capacity.

  • Pistol Review: Rock Island Armory M206

    Pistol Review: Rock Island Armory M206

    The edition of the Pistol review will take a look at a very inexpensive revolver from Rock Island Armory. Made in the Phillipines by Armscor International, the Rock Island Armory M206 is part of a line of revolvers that copy the Colt design.

    In addition to the 2″ M206 DA/SA I tested, there is the 4″ barrelled M200 and two versions of the M206 with spurless hammers. One of those is satin nickel finished.

    Chambered in .38 special, the M206 has a six shot cylinder. The front sight is fixed and there is a frame channel rear. It weighs in at 1.59 lbs unloaded with the wood grips. There are a set of polymer grips included in the hard case the pistol is shipped in, but more about that later. MSRP is $283, the owner of the gun that I shot paid $220 for it and you should be able to find it at your local for around $240-$250.

    Before we get into my impressions of this revolver, first a bit of history on Rock Island and Armscor. As I said above, the company is based in the Phillipines with a US subsidiary located in Pahrumph Nevada. They are known for their 1911 style pistols. (Full disclosure, when I was still competing in IPSC and IDPA my “race gun” was built on a RIA frame.) The privately held company is owned by the Tuason family, with several members of the family holding senior positions. They manufacture around 200,000 firearms and more than 250,000,000 rounds of ammunition a year.

    Now on to my impressions. I had handled several of these revolvers in the past, my employer carries RIA firearms, and this one wasn’t any different. The finish is about what you would expect from a sub $300 revolver. The parkerizing was evenly applied, but there were some machining marks still evident, especially when the cylinder was open. The wood grips that were factory installed didn’t quite fit, they stood proud in some spots and were too low in others. That said, a set of Hogue style polymer grips are included. They seemed to fit much better, though they added a bit of length to the grip.

    All the moving parts were well fitted. There wasn’t any grittiness in the ejector star or rod, the cylinder crane release was smooth and the trigger was clean feeling. The ejector rod moved cleanly with little effort. I suspect that is a result of the hand assembly and fitting on these revolvers.

    That trigger averaged 12lbs on my scale in double action, with little stacking or creep. The weight seemed consistent from beginning to end, and broke fairly cleanly. In single action I got 5.5lbs on average. There was just a bit of takeup before the break, and very little overtravel.

    I shot the pistol with both grips installed, and frankly, I liked the polymer grips much better. Being a 1911 guy, I have developed a very hand high shooting technique, and with the wood grips installed the hammer bit me several times. The polymer grips seemed to help with that.

    I ran a bunch of different brands, types and weights of ammo through the M206. I experienced zero malfunctions, and the gun ran just fine for the 200 rounds I put through it.

    Accuracy is about what I’d expect from a 2″ barrelled revolver, with my best group at 10 yards offhand coming in at 3.5″. Shooting from the bench tightened up those groups considerably, with a best group of 2.2″ at the same distance.

    I am not a “revolver guy” generally. However for less than $250, the RIA M206 may just make its way into my collection. It is a reliable, handy little revolver that would make a good kit or truck gun. And it won’t break the bank.

  • Pistol Review: Canik TP9sf

    Pistol Review: Canik TP9sf

    As most of you know, your Editor works in retail firearms sales. The position affords me the opportunity to see, play with and occasionally shoot different firearms. I recently had the opportunity to shoot a couple of new to me firearms. Today we’ll be talking about one of them, the Canik TP9sf.

    So, what exactly is the TP9sf? It’s a polymer framed, striker fired 9mm pistol that is manufactured in Turkey. The pistol comes in a variety of configurations, with barrels ranging from 3.6 to 5.2 inches in length. It also comes in a couple of finishes, nitrided black, FDE and tungsten cerakote. The pistol I tested was the standard TP9sf with the black nitrided finish and a 4.4 inch barrel.

    The overall dimensions go like this: the overall length is 7.55”, its 5.70” tall and 1.30” wide. It weighs 1.78 lbs. Those measurements put the TP9sf square in the middle of the pack for duty sized, polymer framed pistols. As you can see in the image below, the pistol comes in a fitted hard case with a bunch of accessories. Included are a kydex holster, two mags, a mag loader, a backstrap insert, and cleaning equipment. The retail for that gun at the store I work at is $389.99.

    When these guns started showing up at my place of employ, my first impressions were that it was a decently made value priced import pistol. They fit my hand pretty well, seemed smooth and had a very nice trigger for a striker fired pistol.

    There’s a reason for that nice trigger pull. The Canik employs a full cock striker. Most striker fired pistols have what’s called a three quarter cock striker. That means when you press the trigger you are bringing the striker to full cock before the sear releases. That is the reason why most striker fired pistols have a “mushy” trigger press. You can see that in the animation below.

    3/4 cock striker action

    The TP9sf and its full cock striker does not require the trigger stroke to fully cock the striker, making the trigger press smoother and crisper than what you’ll find on other striker fired pistols. The only issue I had with the Canik was the tail of the striker protrudes out of the back of the slide where it acts as a cocking indicator. My thoughts before shooting it were that it might be a distraction while shooting. That turned out not to be an issue.

    At the range I loaded up some mags and got to shooting. I was using what 9mm ammo I had laying around. It was a mixture of 115 and 124 grain round nose FMJ from several manufacturers, 115 and 124 grain truncated cone from federal and 124 grain JHP from Hornady and Speer. There were a couple of feeding issues, but oddly it was with the round nose FMJ. I am putting that down to the pistol being new still.

    As I noted above, the trigger is very good for a striker fired gun, It broke cleanly and consistently at around 4.5 pounds. That trigger made longer shots easy, and I reached out to about 100 meters and had first shot hits on a 6″ plate almost every time. The trigger reset is decent, with a tactile click. Recoil was a bit softer than I expected. That may be due to the low bore axis, as the closer you can get you hand to the barrel, the less felt recoil.

    Speaking of accuracy, I managed to wring out 3-4″ groups at 25 meters fairly consistently. At 10 I was seeing 1-1.5″ groups. My best group at 25 was a neat little cloverleaf, and at 10 it was a single ragged hole. Keep in mind, these groups were with mixed ammo, flyers were inevitable.

    I had a few minor complaints. The Warren Tactical sights are good, but were this my pistol, I’d swap them out for some sort of night sight. The red dot on the front blade just doesn’t stand out enough. And that striker/cocked indicator. It wasn’t as big a distraction as I had suspected. That said, it is the same color as the dot on the front sight, and I found myself looking at the striker instead of the front sight a couple of times during some movement drills. That, however, is a very quick fix. A bit of black marker will cover the red dot on the striker nicely.

    Would I buy one? Maybe. The price is right, overall it’s a great value. It’s a well made pistol that shoots above its price point. It handles well, points naturally and has decent accuracy. There is a lot to like about the Canik TP9sf. I would recommend that if you happen to see one in your local shop, take a good hard look. It might surprise you.

  • Pistol Review: Springfield Hellcat

    Pistol Review: Springfield Hellcat

    This is your Editor’s first attempt at writing a gun review. Today I’m going to give you my impressions of the Springfield Hellcat.

    For those who are unaware, the Hellcat is Springfield’s answer to the Sig Sauer P365, Glock 43 and other micro 9mm pistols. Here are the specs on the Hellcat.

    • TYPE: Striker-fired semiauto.
    • CARTRIDGE/CALIBER: 9mm Luger.
    • CAPACITY: 11 + 1, 13 + 1 (extended mag)
    • BARREL: 3 inches.
    • LENGTH: 6 inches.
    • HEIGHT: 4.12 inches.
    • WIDTH: 0.88 inches.
    • WEIGHT (standard): 18.3 ounces w/ flush mag., 18.6 ounces w/ extended mag.

    So, how does that compare to the other major players in the micro 9mm market? Well, the Hellcat is a hair longer than the P365 and a quarter inch shorter than the 43. It’s also a bit shorter than the P365 and the 43 with the flush magazine in place.

    Now that the facts are on the table, lets get to what I thought of the pistol at the range.

    Let me start off by saying the pistol I shot was both brand new and not mine. A friend of mine bought one and wanted some help in breaking the gun in. When I got my hands on it, the pistol had a grand total of 50 rounds through it. By the time I was finished, it had seen 350 rounds. This wasn’t a long term test by any means, but I did put the pistol through it’s paces and developed some pretty strong impressions.

    Before we go any further, I need to say that the Hellcat is a very well sorted pistol. I experienced a single malfunction during the range session. That malfunction was due to faulty ammo and not anthing to do with the gun. (On a slight tangent, I have noticed a decline in the quality of ammo coming from the major manufacturers of late.) Despite being brand new, I could not induce a malfunction no matter what I tried. I limp wristed it, gangsta gripped it and even fired it upside down.

    As far as the sights go, I found the night site front and U notch rear easy to see and precise enough for the purpose. At 25 yards I was getting 3-3 1/2 inch groups. Not spectacular, but more than acceptable for a pistol I was unfamiliar and uncomfortable with.(More on that later). I should have noted this with the specs, but the Hellcat comes in two flavors, standard and OSP. OSP stands for Optical Sighted Pistol, and the Hellcat OSP has an optics cut on the slide. The pistol I tested was the standard version.

    Now for my complaints, and theyre all related. And they all have to do with the grip, specifically the backstrap. This is truly subjective, and your mileage may, and probably will, vary.

    In my hands, there is not enough curve or palmswell on the backstrap of the Hellcat. Additionally, the transition from the sidepanels of the grip to the backstrap is too abrupt, with little radius on the backstrap. What does that mean? Well, to put it simply, the pistol moved around in my hand under recoil. I found myself rolling my offhand thumb up onto the top of the slide between shots and regripping the pistol. Not ideal for a combat pistol. In the photos below you can see the Hellcat compared to it’s biggest competitors. Notice that there is more palmswell on both the P365 and the 43.

    Final Impressions.

    I really wanted to like the Hellcat. As I said above, it is a particularly well sorted pistol. I really like the sights, really, really like the sights. But compared to It’s major competitors, for me, it falls short. I have a fair bit of experience with the Sig (about 1000 rounds), and a bit, (about 300 rounds) with the Glock, and as of right now I’d chose either of them over the Hellcat. The Sig has a better trigger, the grip on the Glock fits my hand better. And being in NY, the extra capacity is a wash, we only get 10 round mags. (Although, if I’m being totally honest, I’d rather have a Sig P938 or Springfield 911 in 9mm over all of them.)

    All that said, if the Hellcat fits your hand, it’s an excellent choice. It runs well, it has good sights, has the highest standard capacity of the three top competitors. If the pistol came with interchangable backstraps, or I could find some sort of grip sleeve that improved my grip, I might change my mind about it, until then. . .