Category Archives: ccw

You’ve heard of the 1911 X Carry, yeah?

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SIG Sauer isn’t well-known for its 1911 line, but the company has invested enough time to create an excellent entry to the genre in the XCarry series.

SIG has been in the 1911 game for over 20 years, entering the market around 2004. They hit the ground running and were one of the first M1913 “railgun” pistol makers available then continued to enhance the century-old design and produced models with characteristic styling including the Granite, Super Target, and Spartan.

The SIG 1911 Fastback Nightmare– one of the best gun names ever– was always a favorite of ours. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Today, SIG catalogs five distinctive 1911 variants in .45 ACP, a more or less classic stainless 5-inch barreled government model for California markets, and four 1911-X models which balance classic engineering with modern features– namely a direct cut for Shield RMSc optics footprints, an excellent flat-faced trigger, and an accessory rail. Two of these 1911-X models are Emperor Scorpions and as such sports a Coyote PVD finish over a steel slide and frame, offered in both government and commander (SIG calls it Carry) sizes.

Then there is the all-black 1911-XFull (5-inch) and 1911-XCarry (4.25-inch), the latter of which we feature in this review. Like the rest of SIG’s 1911s, they use stainless steel frames and slides but carry the company’s traditional black Nitron finish just like the well-loved P226s, P229s, etc.

The SIG Sauer 1911-XCarry. This model was sent to us with an optional SIG Romeo-X Compact 3 MOA fully enclosed mailbox-style red dot optic installed, a package that is available to consumers.

The commander-length 1911-XCarry runs a 4.25-inch barrel which gives it an overall length of 8 inches.

I’ve been kicking one around since last November and have the full report in my column over at Guns.com.

 

The GX what now?

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Taurus has been breaking ground in the tiny double-stack 9mm neighborhood since 2013 when the 12+1 shot capacity G2C hit the market– a pistol that is still one of the best firearms deals for consumers. Then came the updated 13+1 shot G3C in 2020 and the gently smaller 11+1 shot GX4 in 2021.

I liked the GX4 so much that I carried it as my EDC for more than 18 months in extended evaluation. About the only thing I didn’t like about the GX4 was the fact the takedown lever required a tool, such as a flat-head screwdriver or a spent case, to turn and release the slide to field strip.

Well, Taurus has fixed that with the GX2 by adding a takedown lever while upping it to a flush-fit 13+1 capacity and only growing the size incrementally. The end goal seems to be to replace the decade-old G2 series with the new and improved GX2.

And you can expect the price to likely be in the $250 range.

That could be a big win for folks looking to get into a nice entry-level handgun with decent features and reliability. After all, not everyone needs a customized $4K 2011.

More in my column at Guns.com.

The best new Snub Gun on the market

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Snub-nosed carry revolvers have arguably been around since 1849 when Colt hit the market with the “Wells Fargo” Pocket model. Now pushing into their 175th year, there is a reason they are still popular: a blend of simplicity, reliability, and concealability.

This year saw Diamondback Firearms introduce their sleeper Self Defense Revolver, a six-shot .357 Magnum all-stainless snubby that takes K-frame speedloaders, fits in J-frame holsters, and accepts common S&W grip panels from the latter as well.

The SDR is a good-looking gun. All the edges are melted, leaving virtually no sharp points and few snag points other than the exposed hammer spur.

We’ve been kicking an SDR around for several months and found it easily supportable, dependable in use and operation, and innovative with an easily removable cylinder assembly. Further, while not meant for long-range benchrest target shooting, it is accurate to fill the needs of your typical EDC snub gun.

And it works, these from the 15-yard mark, standing and unsupported

Did Diamondback knock it out of the park their first time at bat when it came to a centerfire revolver? Looks like it.

The full review is in my column at Guns.com.

Don’t Worry About the Gluger, the Gluger Can’t Hurt You (But the Gluger is Real)

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The new Ruger RMX. (Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Ruger and Magpul have teamed up to produce a new 9mm handgun complete with a modular stainless-steel chassis system, which could be a universal adapter.

Dubbed the RXM, the new pistol is striker-fired and familiar, having the same general dimensions as many popular carry guns of the past few decades.

Compared to popular carry guns such as the Glock 19, S&W M&P9 Compact M2.0, and CZ P09 Nocturne, the Ruger RXM seems very familiar.

Diving deeper, it has a serialized Fire Control Insert that is independent of its grip frame, which gives it the flexibility to be easily swapped into different grips – which are developed and produced by Magpul. Optics-ready with a Tritium front sight, it runs popular 15-round G19-pattern mags.

Can you say, “chassis system?”

American-made, the RXM has an MSRP of $499. For that, you get a G19 Gen 3 feeling pistol, made in the U.S. (not in Brazil or Turkey), with probably the most popular double-stack 9mm magazine pattern, complete with steel night sights and an optics cut. Plus, the removable chassis system, backed up with grip modules from Magpul, gives it some serious modularity.

Ruger has long had problems bringing a 9mm pistol to market that people really, really liked. RXM could see that change.

I’ve been shooting one for the past few months, and the full review is after the jump.

The Gun Glock Should Have Made

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For the neat 30-year span between 1988, when the Glock 19 was introduced, and 2018 when the SIG P365 appeared, the 7.36-inch long, 4-inch barreled, 15+1 shot, 24-ounce unloaded G19 was the magic box of dimensions that every pistol maker chased.

Today, we have the new Springfield Armory Echelon 4.0C, which is 7.25 inches long with a 4-inch barrel, uses 15+1/18+1 magazines, and is 24 ounces, unloaded.

Unlike Glock, the Echelon has a chassis system that can be swapped around multiple grip modules of varying size and color and has a far better and more adaptable optics mounting system than Glock’s MOS plates.

Plus, it’s reliable, has ambi controls, a decent trigger, and much better sights.

The Echelon 4.0C could offer a good multi-purpose pistol for either home defense, especially with a good weapon-mounted light, or carry.

Full review in my column over at Guns.com.

So Kimber just went Full Staccato

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Kimber originally started as a rifle brand and pivoted to making M1911-style pistols in 1994, debuting at SHOT ’95. Basic math shows that to be at least a 30-year run in the field. Along the way, they learned a thing or two.

With a new state-of-the-art facility in Troy, Alabama at their fingertips, and a couple of generations of hard-earned tribal knowledge in how to make a 1911, the company is now ready to run in the double-stack/wide-body 1911 game – after a warm-up with the slightly downsized KDS9c – and this week introduced the new 2K11.

Using an aluminum alloy grip module over an SST steel sub-frame, the slide is made of stainless steel, featuring an external extractor, front and rear slide serrations, and a factory optics cut in the RMR footprint. Running TAG Precision FiberLok 2 front sights with a suppressor-height serrated rear sight, under the hood is a beast of a deep crowned, fluted bull barrel.

You’ve also got a great GT aluminum trigger, ambi safety levers, an innovative tool-less guide rod/spring assembly, and common (2011 pattern) magazine compatibility.

I went to Kimber’s facility in Alabama over the summer to try out some early production guns and they ran, and ran, and ran.

My target at the sneak peek event this summer. That’s about 400 rounds just dumped methodically from 15 yards, standing, firing offhand, alternating left and right, often in rapid-fire mag dumps. I promise that Delta isn’t mine.

I’ve also been working on a test gun for evaluation for the past two months and it has done much the same.

My T&E gun, even with fixed sights, continued the trend, delivering boring hits on 3/4 reduced USPSA steel at 15 offhand. Full-sized targets were no problem at 25. Pushing to the 50 and working from a sitting barricade and bag position while applying some concentration in slow fire brought the above. Adding a red dot on this gun is something of a cheat code.

Full review in my column at Guns.com.

Review of the Roscoe

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Much like the long-discontinued Taurus Model 80 and Rossi Model 68, guns now some 30 years out of production, the Heritage Roscoe is a simple and rugged .38 revolver that looks good and doesn’t break the bank.

It has the look and feel of a vintage S&W J-frame but without the cost – and, unlike a classic Smith or Colt Dick, you can take it to the range and beat on it without losing any collector value. Plus, it has some modern features you didn’t find in those guns such as the transfer bar and heavy barrel profile.

The 3-inch variant runs an inch or so longer than a snub gun, giving a longer (4.97-inch) sight radius while wringing more velocity from the ammo used – all while being very concealable.

You can always get one and turn it into a budget Fitz Special, which seems like a great choice if looking for that.

Is it the best .38 for concealed carry or personal defense compared to more modern designs with shrouded hammers, better triggers, options for adding optics, and weight savings via the inclusion of aluminum and polymer? Not even close, but it can still clock in when needed.

It is no slouch in terms of practical accuracy and is rated to run .38 +P on occasion.

It’s nice to see the Heritage time travel with the Roscoe, which is a bit of fresh air, albeit with a twinge of cigar smoke to it.

Talk about an instant classic.

More in my column at Guns.com.

HK Has Entered the Micro 9 Game (7 Years Late?)

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Germany’s Heckler & Koch finally dropped a commercially available micro compact 9mm pistol this week, debuting the thoroughly tested HK CC9 onto the market.

The polymer-framed striker-fired “one and a half stack” 9mm offers flush 10+1 and extended 12+1 capacity magazines, is optics-ready (RMSc/407k footprint) with a tritium front sight and a blacked out, serrated rear sight; and is somewhat modular through the use of interchangeable backstraps.

It is almost the exact same size as the SIG P365 (introduced in Jan. 2018), Springfield Armory Hellcat (Aug. 2019), and March 2021’s Ruger MAX-9 and S&W M&P Shield Plus. Then of course there are the more recent Canik Mete MC9, Taurus GX4, Stoeger STR-9MC, et. al, ad nauseum.

However, HK has a big up by saying they held to the same standards as their full-size duty pistols and tested the micro compact to the NATO AC/225 standards across 750,000 rounds. This meant running it in extreme temperatures, dust, sand, and mud, and “being dropped to simulate real-world conditions,” with the latter part seeming like the company was throwing a little shade at some other pistol makers.

So they may have just taken the time to get it right…

More in my column at Guns.com.

Meet Kimber’s New CDS9

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Alabama-based Kimber has doubled the capacity of its well-liked Micro 1911 platform with a new CDS9 line – and I got a sneak peek.

The 9mm Micro 1911 began to appear in 2016, taking a page from the company’s earlier Micro Covert in .380 ACP. Well-liked, hammer-fired, slim, and with a profile that made easy friends with those looking to EDC without printing, these Micro 9s have been well-reviewed.

However, as single-stacks, they were limited in capacity to six or seven rounds.

That’s where the new CDS9 series enters the game, and changes it.

Rebuilt from the frame up with a more modern design that retains what people liked about the old Micro 9s – slim and compact profile, all-metal, hammer-fired – but with more capacity and better ergonomics, the CDS9 looks very familiar.

Stacking a legacy single-stack Micro 9 against a new CDS9. Still slim and trim but with a seriously upgraded capacity. (All photos: Chris Ege)

Kimber’s new CDS9 will initially be offered in two optics-ready models with fully ambidextrous controls, differing from each other by way of a TFS package – an extended threaded barrel. Both have an aluminum alloy frame, stainless-steel slide with a direct-mount RMSc optic footprint, an accessory rail for lights or lasers, and options for double-stack magazines with 10, 13, or 15-round capacities.

Now that’s a handful

More in my column at Guns.com.

Kicking around the R7CC

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Kimber, best known to many for its assorted 1911 series pistols, introduced the original R7 Mako in August 2021. A striker-fired 11/13+1 shot micro 9 carry pistol with a polymer frame, it was pitched as an alternative to such handguns as the Taurus GX4, Ruger MAX, SIG P365, S&W Shield Plus, and Springfield Armory Hellcat.

Loaded with a lot of features that some of those competitors lacked, the Mako was optics-ready and had Kimber’s Performance Carry trigger, fully ambidextrous controls, a full wrap-around stippled texturing, and TruGlo Tritium Pro night sights.

I put well over 500 rounds through the original Mako, and it proved so accurate, comfortable, and dependable that I carried it for several months as an EDC.

I logged several hundred hours in the original Kimber R7 in 2021 in a ​​​​​DeSantis Slim-Tuk (#137) Kydex IWB holster that is cut on the top to allow the use of the MRD. Carrying in about a 3-o’clock position, my personal preference, the combo was comfortable and readily accessible, able to get off a just under 2-second par time to first shot on target from concealment. I’m sure I could work that lower with steady practice, even being an old wheezy guy.

Last month, Kimber introduced a more muscular version of the Mako, the new Carbon Compact line. Standard features of the new pistols are a pair of 15-shot magazines, an installed flared magwell, fully ambi surface controls, and three-dot TruGlo Tritium Pro night sights with an orange front ring and white rear rings.

The old Kimber R7 Mako, with its short slide and grip, was snappy but accurate and dependable, leading it to become something of an under-loved micro-9 option. The ergonomics of the new R7 Carbon Compact make it probably the best-feeling grip on a polymer-framed handgun on the market. Kimber knocked it out of the park, especially compared to the inaugural Mako variants.

Plus, while some polymer-framed handguns feel spongy – as if you could squeeze it flat if you tried hard enough – the carbon fiber-infused frame on the Carbon Compact feels rock-solid. This leads to the pistol being easy to control and get back on target.

More in my column at Guns.com.

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