I hate doing quickie range sessions for product reviews, but I had a little bit of time and there isn’t much out there yet on this gun besides 25 minute YouTube narrations of manufacturer talking points, so here goes.
Chronograph results, using LabRadar chronograph, 40 degrees, 6000 feet, windy as frick:
Remington green box 95 grain FMJ: 11 shots, Average 913, High 948, Low 888, ES 60, SD 22.1 (175 fpe)
Winchester white box 95 grain flat point: 10 shots, Average 863, High 898, Low 829, ES 69, SD 23.7 (157 fpe) (Contrast: Sig P238, 2.7 inch barrel: Avg. 824, ES 74, SD 24 (143 fpe) (5/3/12 using Oehler 35))
Federal 90 grain Low Recoil Hydra Shoks: 8 shots, Average 974, High 995, Low 962, ES 32, SD 10.8 (189 fpe)
I only shot 70 rounds total. The first shot was with the Remington FMJ. I locked the slide back and put the magazine in. I released the slide using the slide stop. I had a hang up. I was wearing gloves because the wind was bad, so that could have been my fault. I took the strong hand glove off and there were no other feed problems from slide lock. I did have one instance where the magazine apparently was not locked in place or become unlocked and the slide closed and did not feed the second round. Again, that could have been my fault. (I did the same thing with my Glock 43 when it was new.) I will have to watch for that. Magazines do lock with a distinctive feel and click. The magazine release can be activated from a firing grip, but not with a thumb forward grip. This should not be an issue for someone with smaller hands. I went inside to shoot after the chrono work and had no other non-induced issues.
Feeding was excellent except for intentional limp-wristing. I did manage to induce malfunctions with my extreme one-handed limp-wristing technique (patent pending), but it did feed fine with even a so-so grip. The grip safety does not have to be depressed very far in order to work. It works when depressed only about a third of the way. Anybody who cannot manage that probably is not going to be able to fire a revolver, and, probably, not more than once anyway.
I was not used to the trigger type. I am so used to a Glock trigger reset that I wondered a few times whether it had gone back into battery, but it did. It breaks at a different point but that won’t matter to the targeted consumer. I shot some at 7 yards and it worked fine. It shot a little left for me but made a ragged hole. It was no problem tracking the slide through recoil. I liked the Hyra Shoks the best because the gun snapped back on target quicker. It also was the most accurate load for me. I shot a few Hydra Shoks at 10 yards and 50 feet, and it certainly will put a revolver to shame for the occasional shooter. It also should be quicker to follow-up shots than with a revolver or a mini-9. It should not be hard for an occasional shooter to shoot boxes of ammo before tiring. For those who may be wondering, no, recoil is not as light as with a .22 LR pistol.
The fixed three dot sights are nice. I did notice a very slight amount of wiggle with the front sight when I tried to make it move. I don’t know if this was like this before firing. The sight is attached to the slide in a manner I have not seen, but it does not appear to be going anywhere. It should not make a difference in accuracy.
One picky point. It is more comfortable to load magazines using the traditional method. The little protrusions on the magazine do not make it easier to load magazines. Also, the protrusions stick out more on the left side than the right side. This seems to be just a gimmick and could cause problems when attempting to use magazine pouches not designed for these magazines. (Ask me how I know that.)
For those who don’t read product instructions, don’t depress the grip safety when trying to put the slide back on the frame.
I like the concept, and I think it brings something new to the table. With just a little practice, someone ought to be able to do magazine dumps at 7 yards with pie plate accuracy, and they should be able to reach out much better than with a revolver with minimal practice.
I can’t wait to wring it out. Subject to further evaluation, I think this can be a gun to recommend to the occasional shooter for personal defense. I am not just talking about granny. I am talking about someone who tends to wait for all the stars and planets to line up before shooting follow-up shots, which really gets slow when shooting revolvers and more powerful calibers. This gun lets you line up the stars and planets quicker and has a magazine capacity of 8 rounds.
