Category: 9mm

Categories
1911 2011 9mm

Fusion Firearms XP Pro Chrome is on the Way!

Yeah, I changed my plans, although this was an alternative plan.

The plan was to obtain a 5″ 1911 in 9mm. I’d chosen to purchase the Prodigy DS 5″, but since I’m (sort of) not satisfied with the Prodigy DS Compact that I received last week (heavy trigger, pinching thumb safety), I was sort of not wanting to commit to another Prodigy.

Another alternative plan was to obtain a 5″ Emissary AOS 9mm, but then started thinking that I’d want a double-stack 1911 if I this gun’s purpose was for training.

So, I decided to check pricing on what I’d been looking at a few weeks ago – the Fusion Firearms XP Pro Chrome 4″. Normally, it’s $1200+ for the chrome gun (and $100 less for the black version). I found a (new) chrome version for less than $1000 at KYGUNCO, so I bit on it.

I’m awaiting for KYGUNCO and my gun store/range to chat with one another, which they’ll probably do tomorrow or the day after.

I can’t remember if I’ve spoken about why I had the XP Pro on my list, but the reasons why I wanted it are:

  • There are no 2011-patterned guns under $2500 that have metal grips (although the grips don’t have the best texturing).
  • The gun has gotten great reviews.
  • The gun uses Glock 17 mags, which are far cheaper than 2011-pattern mags.
  • The gun includes several optic plate adapters (the Prodigy guns only come with an obsolete formatted plate and to switch plates, you’ve to pay $120).
  • Fusion Firearms have updates/upgrades in the works (grips, 5″ versions, comp barrels, etc).

This might also bump up my Youtube viewership count, too, as I’ve looked at what folks are searching on on both Youtube and my blog and there’s a LOT of folks looking for information on the XP Pro.

I’m not sure if the great characteristics of my Bul Armory Ultralight made my experience with the Prodigy DS a bit sour. Granted, I’ve the grip safety issue with my Ultralight, but the gun is outstanding to shoot. It has a great trigger, good finish and great fitment, and great performance in general. The things about the Prodigy that pissed me off were the trigger being heavy, the pinching safety, and the optics plate offering. The MSRP between my version of the Ultralight and the Prodigy DS Compact are almost the same, but the Prodigy Compact lacks when comparing the two.

Some folks might say, “Well, what did you expect?” I’m the type of guy that wants to experience things for myself. As well, there are many folks who shit on a gun they’ve never owned and parrot what they’ve heard other folks say. There have been plenty of times where I bought what folks think are shitty guns and those guns turned out to work as intended. I’m not a trusting person when it comes to information that resides on the internet. I’d rather find out on my own.

Folks say the Prodigy DS has reliability issues. I’ve not seen that yet with my example. It’s been dependable thus far. My issues are that I think Springfield Armory could’ve done better. The trigger is sloppy. The choice on optic plate is crappy. The safety lever pinching folks is something they should’ve caught — I’m not sure why this isn’t occurring with the larger Prodigy DS variants. So, all my issues have nothing to do with reliability/dependability.

I’m not sure when the XP Pro will be ready for me to pick up. If I’m lucky, it’ll be Friday or Saturday. If not, it’ll probably be early next week.

Once I know it’s coming, I’ll order some KCI G17 mags.

UPDATE (4/2/2025): The two gun stores have chatted to one another. The gun is in final processing now and I think it may ship tomorrow (4/3). If it does, I might have it by 4/5.

UPDATE (4/5/2025): So, it appears that it will arrive on 4/7. I guess that means that I’ll have to go pick it up after work Monday evening. That’s not optimal but I’ll see about scheduling a range visit at 7:30 PM. If I can get that locked in, I’ll go pick up the gun at 6 PM. I’ll be able to shoot the gun almost immediately after picking it up. Stay tuned for updates.

Categories
1911 2011 9mm double-stack Springfield Armory

Will Be Picking Up Prodigy DS Compact This Evening

This gun came to my FFL in record time.

I ordered it from Gunprime LATE Thursday night. Gunprime processed it Friday around noon-ish and UPS picked it up that afteroon. UPS usually processes gun on a 2-day timeline, so, Monday and Tuesday were the transport days and they delivered it today (Tuesday around noon).

I was ready to wait for XCal to take a day or two to process it, but they sent me a text a few minutes ago saying it was ready for pickup. Wow! That’s exceptional, time-wise.

So, I’ll be heading out to XCal after work (maybe 6 or 6:30 PM) to do the background check, which shouldn’t take all that long to do.

As I’ve never used XCal as an FFL, I’m not sure what to expect. One thing that annoys me about FFLs is that I’ve been to more than a few that want you to process the background check without even looking at the gun. The problem with that is that the gun could have flaws (gun won’t cycle, or gun has massive scratches, for example) or might not have what was purchased (a mag, for example)…if they won’t let you see it and you do the paperwork first, it’s your gun, literally sight unseen. The gun isn’t yours until you perform the transfer (from FFL to you). Prior to that, the gun is being transferred from FFL (store) to FFL (store).

So, yeah, I’m excited. I also ordered three more mags from LockedLoaded.com, as they had them on sale for $37, vs the MSRP cost of $60 each.

I also scheduled a range visit for Wednesday evening…I’ll perform an initial assessment of the Prodigy DS then.

Categories
1911 2011 9mm Springfield Armory

I’ve a Prodigy DS Compact on the way to me!

So, I just completed the order of the next gun.

I had a seriously bad time trying to determine what guns I wanted this year.

I’ll be buying two within the next 30 days.

I just bought a Springfield Armory Prodigy DS Compact 3.5″, from Gunprime. I’d initially planned on buying the 4.25″ Compact but I do a lot of bending and squatting and when carrying AIWB, tasks such as tying shoes is sometimes difficult. I’ve carried Commander 1911s AIWB in the past, but it’s been a while. I was about to order the 4.25″ when I decided to keep it short, since I plan to replace my Bul Armory SAS II Ultralight with the Prodigy Compact.

I’m 100% sure the next gun that I’m buying is another Springfield Armory – I just don’t know which one I’m buying. It’s either the Prodigy 5″ (maybe Comp) or the 5″ Emissary AOS in 9mm. As I don’t have a full-size 1911/2011 in 9mm, I’d initially wanted a full sized prodigy, but the 5″ Emissary is BEAUTIFUL! I was locked onto a 5″ Prodigy Comp until I remembered the Emissary. There’s a very high chance I’ll end up getting the Emissary.

So, the wait is on. I’ve never ordered from Gunprime before, but I’ve been aware of them and have looked at their stock of guns in the past. I’m not sure how prompt they are in processing and shipping guns. There are several popular gun stores that I avoided because they insist on a 5-10 day processing regimen…that’s BS…yeah, I know they’re busy but waiting 10 days to have a gun processed is quite lame. What the hell – that’s like two business weeks!

Knowing my luck, this gun will come when I’m away. I’ve business in CA and will be gone week after next. I ordered this gun late Thursday night (3/20). It might not even be looked at until mid-week next week, and I fly out 3/29 and will be away a full week. That’s how my Ultralight came in – I got a call when I was fishing 300+ miles away. We’ll see how this plays out.

I’m excited but not excited. I know the Prodigy will be good, but it’s probably going to be similar to the Ultralight (not a bad thing exactly). Really, I just need it to be dependable and for ALL the controls to work – the Ultralight’s grip saftey doesn’t function properly (trigger can be dropped without touching the grip safety, although I’ve to hulk up a bit on the trigger). Bul Armory has had the UL twice but can’t (or won’t) fix the grip safety. I think they fucked up the gun when hand-fitting the grip safety – I think they may’ve removed too much material. When metal is removed, it can’t be returned (unless you weld more metal onto the part), which is probably why they’ve had a hard time fixing the issue, although I asked them to replace the part before I returned it the 2nd time, which they did not. I’m not even sure what they did to “repair” it, as the grip safety looked the same as before I sent it back to them, and the saftey was functioning for maye a month before it stopped working again. This is why I won’t buy another Bul Armory – they won’t stand by their own workmanship. I’ve never heard of Springfield Armory doing such a thing, and I’ve never owned a higher end Springfield Armory gun (I’ve two XD9 Mod 2 guns, though).

Of course, I’ll post here with initial thoughts and pics/videos once I’ve received the Prodigy Compact.

UPDATE (3/21/2025): It’s already shipped…Gunprime FTW! It’s supposed to be delivered early morning on Tuesday, via UPS. This is good. I do not know the receiving FFL’s policy on transfers (not sure how long I’ll have to wait for them to process it). They receive it on 3/25. I fly out on 3/29. That’ll leave 3/25 – 3/28 for them to process it. The earlier the better, so that I can have a day or 3 with the gun before I fly out. I’ve not used my range for a transfer since I’ve been a member (2+ years). I’ve been using a different store for that, but my range’s transfer fees are cheap, and I get a discount as a member. I’m curious how this will go, and excited, as well.

Categories
1911 9mm Commander firearms Rock Island Armory Rock Ultra Tac Ultra

The Rock Island Armory Tac Ultra MS 9mm Is Now Dialed In!

I went to the range maybe two weeks ago and my main goal was to dial in the sights on a particular 1911. Instead of spending a significant amount of range time zero’ing the gun, what I’d been doing was shooting 1-2 mags every range visit, bringing the targets home, and making sight adjustments at home. I’d then bring the gun when next visiting the range and testing the sights to determine if further adjustments were necessary. I did this maybe 3 times before I was satisfied.

Why not just spend a whole range session to do this? I’ve other guns that I want to shoot (to work out similar issues in adjustment)…timesharing guns can sometimes be problematic and I don’t have my own range or know of anyone that does.

The below video highlights the culmination of properly adjusting the sights on this gun.

The gun is a Rock Island Armory Tac Ultra MS with the 9mm barrel (it came with two). I’ve never shot this gun well, accuracy-wise, and I’d thought it was due to it being bushing-barreled. I’ve another RIA MS 9mm gun and it is bull-barreled – that gun is a low-effort gun as far as accuracy is concerned. I’ve always been accurate with that gun and I always thought it was mainly due to the bull barrel.

Both of those guns lack front strap checkering, and I sometimes struggle with maintaining a proper grip on those two guns. I added a strip of Talon Grips tape on each on their front straps. I think that is why I had such a great session with the Tac Ultra.

Note that I’m shooting at 15 yards, at 2″ sticky bullseyes. I could barely see those sticky targets at that range, but tried to just aim as best I could and tried to maintain proper grip and trigger discipline. I think it worked out well!

Categories
9mm range ammo

One Thousand Rounds of 115-gr 9mm

I’d been lacking 9mm ammunition a while now and had been buying it from either Cabelas or the range when I needed it.

I just received a batch of 1000 rounds from Bereli Inc. I’ve never bought from them before but saw a posting at r/InStockAmmo for 1000 rounds of ammo for $239, SHIPPED. Bereli adds the shipping to the cost of the ammo. I ordered it on a Monday and received it by Friday (it was during the holiday season, so shipping companies were probably overwhelmed).

Now, what’s cool is not only that shipping costs weren’t all that bad, but that you’re given a choice of 5 different ammo manufacturers to choose from – Remington, Magtech, Winchester, Browning, and Blazer. I chose Magtech this go around.

They even included a free metal ammo can.

This is the URL to the online deal: https://www.bereli.com/ammo-mdp-m19a1-1/. Note that this is 115-gr ammo.

The only negative I experienced was that I never got an invoice from Bereli…no emails whatsoever, so I couldn’t check on the order. I’d created an account too, but the website never registered me as having an account after creating it. Odd.

I will order my bulk range ammo from them from now on.

Categories
2011 9mm Optic

The Time is Upon Us – Annual Gun Buy Planning Stages

I’ve been trying to determine what gun I’ll be buying for 2025.

My rule is that I buy at least one gun a year, as I get an annual bonus that’s rather significant, amount-wise.

I’ll walk it back the past 10 years to share my track record of gun purchases.

Last year, I bought the Tisas Carry DS9.

For 2023, I bought the Bul Armory SAS II Ultralight and the Alpha Foxtrot S15.

In 2022, I bought the Tisas Duty BR45.

For 2021, I bought a Rock Island Armory Rock Ultra HC 10mm in 5″ variety. I also bought a Canik TP9 Elite SC that was outside of the annual bonus purchase (it was a good price at a local gun store).

I’m not even sure what I bought for 2020 – as the COVID-19 pandemic was occurring at the time, I may not have bought a gun that year.

For 2019, I bought two PSA AK pistols: The AK-V with Magpul furniture and the AK-P with red wood furniture.

For 2018, I bought my first AK – a AK-63DS from Classic Firearms. I also ended up buying an Arsenal SAM-7UF (I had extra cash unrelated to my annual bonus). I bought a Springfield Armory XD45 Mod.2, as well — it was cheap and I didn’t want to pass on the deal – this as also outside of my annual bonus purchase.

In 2017, I bought a Beretta PX4 Storm 9mm Compact. Prior to 2018, I wasn’t getting an annual bonus, so I had to be mindful of what I was buying and there were no multiple guns being bought in the course of a year.

For 2016, I bought several guns: A Ruger AR-556 Davidson’s Collector’s Edition, and a Bersa Thunder Plus. At this time I was employed with Verizon and was receiving a large annual bonus. I also bought a Tristar T-100 (found it at a cheap price and I didn’t want to pass on the deal – this was outside of the annual bonus purchase).

In 2015, I’d just started buying guns – my firearms journey was just beginning. As the wife and I had planned to move to CA, I was trying to buy as many guns as I could that weren’t on the CA DOJ Approved Handgun Roster (I bought a shitload of guns). I ended up getting my concealed hangun permit and due to the ease of getting that license, I decided that I wasn’t going to CA.

Note that, to some of you, it may appear that I’m posting what I own and I’m aware that it might not sit well with folks. Keep in mind that no one knows if I sold or gifted away any of those guns…I’m just listing what I purchased, not what I currently own.

Now, what am I planning for the 2025 annual bonus purchase? I want to buy two handguns. One of them has to be a 5″ 1911/2011 9mm, as I don’t have a 5″ 1911-format gun in 9mm.

Nothing is concrete yet, but one of them will be a mid-tier 2011. I’m eyeing the Springfield Amory Prodigy DS 5″. I’m not yet sure if it’ll be coyote or black. Current street prices are around $1200. As well, there are comp models too, although the comp model is black-only and there are no comp models that come with the Hex optic.

The other gun may be the Fusion Firearms XP Pro, maybe in chrome. Those are around $1000.

Initially, I was considering the BUL Armory 5″ EDC, but after my issues with the UL grip safety, I don’t think I’m ever going to buy another BUL Armory. I also had several single stacked 9mm 1911s as consideration on the list: Sig 1911X 5″; Springfield Armory Emissary 5″; GP Arms Patriot; S&W 9mm 1911 (I forget which but there are only two 5″ 9mm 1911s they offer).

The Prodigy DS 5″ covers my requirement for a 5″ 9mm 1911-format gun. I was initially leaning toward the Alpha Foxtrot Romulus in 5″, but two things about that gun stopped me from considering it: AF doesn’t offer a lifetime warranty – it’s a one-year warranty; also, the Romulus is cut for RMSc, which I don’t want. I want optics options. and there are more than a few folks that are having issues getting an RMR optic onto a Romulus…I think the best option is to have the slide recut and it’s ridiculous to have to do that. The FF XP Pro comes with an RMR plate (they also have a lifetime warranty) and is cheaper than the Romulus. The Prodigy DS comes with with none but you can purchase a variety of them for $129 and they have an RMR adapter plate (as well, there are Prodigy packages that come with the Hex Dragonfly optic – those packages can be found for around $1200, street price).

The Prodigy DS will probably stay stock (unmodified). I’m aware that it has MIM internals…that doesn’t bother me. I may use it for training courses. It will not be carried (it’s too big).

The XP Pro might be modded. All XP Pro internals are bar stock (ie, no MIM in that gun). I might carry it (it’s a bit shorter than Commander-sized 1911s). It’ll be my toy.

As well, one or both of them will be using optics. I plan to put an RMR optic on the Prodigy DS, which means I’ll have to buy their RMR adapter. I also don’t have an RMR-footprinted optic, so I’ll have to buy one. I will be buying the Viridian RFX45 (currently at $319 MSRP – note that this is a closed emitter optic). I’m seeing several places online that are selling it with an RMR plate for $233, which is great because most places are marking up this optic – the common pricing is $399! The RFX45 will be for the Prodigy since it’s a big optic that might not conceal carry well. For the XP Pro, I’ll probably just use a Cyelee RMSc optic, especially if I might carry it.

Now, there’s one thing that might blow up all these plans: I really want the Kimber 2K11 base model 9mm, but I don’t want to spend $2000 on an as-of-yet unproven gun. Now, the gun is priced well for what it is; note that folks have been complaining, stating the price is too high, but keep in mind that the gun has a crapload of options: DLC slide and frame, crowned barrel, metal grip (!!), 3 mags, fluted barrel, unique slide cuts, great fitment and finish…I can go on and on, and that’s just for the base model (the other higher priced models come with more goodies than the base model). As well, the gun can be had in 45ACP! I believe the gun is priced accurately, MSRP-wise, but, again, the gun hasn’t been on the market long, so I think I should wait a bit, unless the street price drops significantly, and if it does, buying it is a no-brainer.

Battlehawk Armory has a placeholder for the 2K11 – for $1514!! I’d sure as hell buy the 2K11 for that price (and probably buy one of the other two aforementioned 2011s). My bonus will be issued to me in the March/April timeframe, so we’ll see if the pricing drops to $1500 around that time. Right now, lowest pricing for the 2K11 on gun.deals is $1723, which is over $200 lower than MSRP (MSRP is $1995)…not bad, but not enough for me. If the price hasn’t dropped significantly by March/April, I won’t be buying a 2K11…we’ll see how things play out.

For now, the plan is to buy the Prodigy DS 5″ and buy the AOS RMR plate adapter, along with the Viridian RFX45 RMR optic and also buy the XP Pro in Chrome. Hell, I can always get the Kimber 2k11 next year.

UPDATE (2/24/2025): I still haven’t locked in my decision on what guns to buy this spring. While I was leaning toward getting the Prodigy DS 5″ (probably the comp model) and the XP Pro, I’m now thinking that instead of the XP Pro, I can retire my Ultralight and get the Prodigy DS Compact 4.25″ to use in it’s place. So, I’m definitely getting the Prodigy 5″ but not sure on either the XP Pro or the Prodigy Compact.

Categories
1911 9mm Rock Island Armory Rock Ultra Tac Ultra

My Rock Island Armory Rock Ultra MS 9mm is Fixed!

For some reason, I decided to take a look at my RIA Rock Ultra MS today, as it’s been sitting in a drawer the past 2 years since the front sight came off.

A while back, I ordered another (OEM) front sight but had been shying away from installing it myself. The new front sight was bought from Armscor (was maybe $20). The only reasons I’ve held off on installing it is because I’ve never done it in the past and because I’ve been busy with other guns.

I decided to try my hand at installing the sight. I’ve files but they’re cheap – I was hoping I wouldn’t need a file. I had sandpaper on hand. I’d slowly sand off the bottom of the front sight for maybe 10-15 strokes, and then test fitment on the slide. I don’t think I even needed to file the bottom down, because I think the slide has too much cut from the front (gun maker’s error). This is probably why I found so much red thread-locker under the front sight. I also have a hammer/punch kit that came with two heavy nylon rods (specifically provided for fitting parts). I was able to tap the front sight in. I used no thread-locker since I tend to get my guns hot at the range. I don’t want to depend upon thread-locker, but I honestly don’t think I need it, the sight is so snug on the dovetail.

The sight did not come with a fiber optic element but I have some on-hand. I installed a Tru-Glo rod.

This gun is now ready for the range again.

I thought I’d shot a lot through it but, per my records, I’m currently at 590 rounds through the gun. I’ll take it to the range soon so that I can test the sight…it shouldn’t come off — I used a decent amount of effort to get the sight onto the slide.

Last I remember (and per my notes, again), this was one of my favorite guns to shoot before I bought the SAS II Ultralight and S15. I shoot it extremely well, even at distance. The trigger is heavy, though…feels like maybe 5 lb, but I’ll test that again soon and update the post with the results. The gun has a thick bull barrel and is heavy, so it’s going to feel more planted that the Ultralight. I’ve a RIA Tac Ultra MS that is bushing-barreled and the Rock Ultra MS feels more solid/tight.

As I’m out of 9mm ammo, I’ll be visiting Cabelas tomorrow to grab maybe 250 rounds of WWB for the SAS II UL, since I’m close to 2000 rounds out of that gun.

Update – Trigger pulls of Rock Ultra

1 – 4 lb 8 oz
2 – 3 lb 13 oz
3 – 4 lb 2 oz
4 – 4 lb 6 oz
5 – 4 lb 14 oz
Average of 5 for Rock Ultra – 4 lb 5 oz
Average of 5 for Tac Ultra – 2 lb 14 oz

Categories
22TCM9R 9mm AF1911-S15 Alpha Foxtrot range visit RIA Rock Island Armory Rock Ultra

Range Day with the RIA 1911 and AF1911-S15

Yesterday, I visited the range for the first time in maybe a month.

Since I’m now carrying the AF1911-S15, I wanted to shoot a good bit from it. As well, I wanted to shoot the my RIA 22TCM 1911, as it has minimal recoil and wanted to check to see how fast I could shoot it.

I also tried to use the SIG Connect OHD phone app to get some practice shooting in, but the app appears to require wifi or cellular band connectivity when being used – it would not let me use the app without logging in, and I couldn’t log in while on the range because they’ve no wifi/cell connectivity when in the shooting booth. Because of this, I decided to cancel my subscription. Last range visit, I tried to use the app but couldn’t because I couldn’t properly aim the phone’s camera using the desk tripod I had, so I bought a new tripod that had lots of adjustability. Now there’s this problem with wireless connectivity with the app. The app appears to be too high maintenance for me.

I shot 120 rounds of WWB 115 gr FMJ from the S15. There were two fails to feed, but I know this was almost certainly due to the ammo being not-so-good, as I could feel the slide sometimes moving slower than normal after a round detonated. As well, I neglected to oil the gun (which is a huge no-no, since I’ve been carrying the gun a bit now and the lube has probably dried or moved). As well, there were a few times where the slide wasn’t locking back on the last round, but again, this is probably due to the cheap WWB ammo.

With the S15, I was attempting to shoot quickly from low ready and was fairly successful at hitting where I was aiming at 7 yards – I was actually stacking many of the rounds on top of one another. I think the light on the gun (this is a first time of me shooting a gun with a WML) makes the gun shoot flatter (not that it wasn’t shooting somewhat flat before then).

I also shot 50 rounds of 22TCM9R from the 22TCM 1911. There was at least one instance of the primer blowing out, but I didn’t notice, as the brass ejected without issue. Even so, the slide didn’t lock back and the hammer didn’t cock, but there was a round in the chamber — odd.

I shot both guns somewhat fast. I shot between 5 and 10 yards and attempted to group my shots (was shooting groups of 5). I was also attempting to quickly use the iron sights, as well as conduct quick follow-on shots.

I may have to adjust the rear sight on the 22TCM 1911, as I’ve never zero’d it at 10 yards and at 10 yards, I’m always pulling shots left.

It also may be time for me to start thinking about getting the slide of the S15 cut for an optic (will be using the Holosun optic footprint).

I’m now at 1187 rounds through the S15 and 1097 rounds through the RIA Commander with the 22TCM barrel.

I think I’m going to start shooting the RIA Commander using the 9mm barrel from now on, just to get some rounds through that barrel. I do love 22TCM9R, though.

This was a fun range visit.

Categories
9mm AF1911-S15 Alpha Foxtrot Canik Canik TP9SA range visit

Tomorrow is Canik Day

I plan to go to the range tomorrow. I will post the particulars after the range visit.

I’ll be taking my Canik TP9 Elite Subcompact, as I haven’t shot it in ages. I want to see if I have issues shooting it. One of the things I disliked about it is that it felt too small — I had a difficult time controlling it.

I’ll also be taking the original Canik TP9 SA. I shot it at my last range visit. I shot it well.

As well, I plan to take the Alpha Foxtrot S15 tomorrow, as I’m now carrying it since I’ve to send the SAS II UL back to Bul Armory this week.

The S15 will be getting the majority of the attention since I’m now carrying it, but since I removed my Holoson 507K from the SAS II UL, I installed it on the TP9 Elite. The optic will almost certainly need to be zeroed, though.

Categories
1911 2011 9mm double-stack double-stacked Tisas

Carry DS9 – A Good Gun But Not In Love With It

The last time I posted about the Tisas Carry DS9, I’d only recently bought the gun.

That was back in February 2024. It is now June 2024. I’ve owned the gun right at four months and I’ve right at 1200 rounds through the gun! Yeah, it’s that much fun to shoot/own! And, of those 1200 rounds, it has only misfed one time. I was also able to shoot that same round from the gun after loading it back into the mag. It’s eaten steel cased ammo, lots of JHP, and lots of JHP that is considered good SD ammo. This may well make for a good gun for training courses. It can withstand gunk/carbon/dirt, too — I went maybe 400 rounds before I cleaned it, at one point.

I’ve a running thread at 1911forum.com that has somewhat detailed updates. I’ve also been posting video updates on YouTube.

Initially, I ran into an issue with the gun that I couldn’t ignore or adapt to. The gun had a trigger that was not only somewhat heavy, but it was difficult to work around. The trigger wall itself was super thick, to the point that I was pulling the gun out of target alignment when actuating it. The goal was to not modify the gun before I hit 1000 rounds. I made it to maybe 450 rounds before I decided that I had to either pay a gunsmith to make the trigger better or do it myself.

I ended up buying a 19 lb mainspring and a sear spring from EGW. The sear spring is what I thought would solve the issue. I actually pulled the OEM sear spring and looked at it. The OEM spring was bent oddly and didn’t have a lot of spring/give. It was also difficult to remove and re-install. I believe the main issue was the sear spring and I was correct – when I received the EGW sear spring, it immediately solved the issue. The new spring didn’t require any tuning, either. The trigger was a bit over 5 lb when I got the gun. By 450 rounds, it was at 4 lb 8 oz. The new sear spring didn’t change the trigger weight but did change the trigger wall. The wall was much more crisp after that upgrade.

I installed the 19 lb mainspring just to determine if I’d like the change. Initially, I didn’t like it. It made the trigger feel sloppy (added some slack). I put the OEM mainspring back into the gun. Oh – that’s also the first time I did something like that. I didn’t think I could do it without a workbench or clamp but I was able to replace it without issue. I ended up re-installing the EGW mainspring and the gun ended up wearing in – the gun’s trigger feels fantastic now.

I also did several detailed strips of the gun, just to look at the individual parts. I can verify that the gun has NO MIM parts. Not a single part is MIM. None of the parts, apart from the weird sear spring, has fitment issues. No, none are polished, but they’re standard parts and fit well enough.

After I crossed 1000 rounds, I decided to have a bit of fun with the gun. I ordered 14 lb and 12 lb flat recoil springs (from EGW). I thought they’d fit but they wouldn’t fit around the short guide rod. I ended up having to buy a full length guide rod (the requirement was I required a 1/4″ diameter rod), which came with a plug designed for use with a FLGR.

I installed the parts and was shocked again…the gun felt even better, just racking the slide. When I took it to the range, I was shooting quite a bit faster, while still being accurate. The lighter recoil spring makes the gun feel more manageable, control-wise. It seems to shoot flatter. The Prodigy comes stock with a 12-lb recoil spring and those guns shoot really well. There are more than a few videos that state the Tisas guns are over-sprung…I believe it’s true.

Another great thing about the gun is that iron sights will co-witness (1/3rd) with the optic. I’ve a Cyelee CAT that works well with this gun. This optic has been 100% dependable.

There are a few bad things about this gun, though.

The optics cut is crappy. Tisas CS is insisting that the issue isn’t that they’ve milled the optics cut wrong, but that the optics makers have milled their optics wrong. I don’t think that’s the case, as I tried two different brands (Holosun and Cyelee) and neither would fit well. I could see daylight between both optics and the slide. As well, both optics were factory zero’d to have the dot rendering generally within the center of the glass, but when I installed both, both dots were rendering super-high. I wasn’t the only person with this issue, either, and many of those folks complained that they couldn’t zero their optics because they ran out of elevation adjustment when trying to bring the dot down. I fixed my issue by using an optic ship (bought from Amazon). The shim allowed a better fit on the gun (no daylight between the optic and slide) and also allowed a lower shifting of the rendered dot. The shim doesn’t help everyone, though. Some folks stated they had to use two shims to get their optic to properly zero.

What’s funny is that Tisas keeps trying to dodge blame. Not only that, but folks keep insisting that Holosun is a cheap optic and that makes Holosun at fault. WTF. These aren’t EOTechs but they aren’t exactly cheap, either.

Tisas has a problem with milling in general. Initially, their single stacked 1911s had (and still do have) issues fitting standard 1911 sights. Part of this is because they’re avoiding licensing Novak specifications. Later on, folks started complaining that they couldn’t mount their standard-sized lights on the M1918 rail mount. Tisas stated that the rails will only mount small lights. This mainly affected their Carry line – they installed smaller rails for some reason. This issue migrated to their new line of Carry DS9s. Now there’s mounting issues with the optics and I know for a fact that it is indeed the slide milling that is the issue.

Those issues and the fact that Tisas didn’t jump to help folks means that I won’t be buying any other Tisas guns. There’s also another reason. I bought the Carry DS9 after already owning a couple of double stacked 1911s that cost over twice as much as the Tisas. Those two guns feel better and shoot better. They feel expensive. That’s not saying that someone with a DS9 won’t be able to outshoot someone with a SAS II UL. What I’m saying is that, no matter how much they make the DS9s cheaper, it’s still a cheap (as in cheaply made) gun. There are immediate and significant differences when comparing a DS9 to a SAS II UL, whether a person is just handling both or shooting both. No, most folks won’t cross-shop those two guns but I’m not the only person that has bought a DS9 after owning a Prodigy or SAS II UL or even a Staccato.

In summary, I didn’t need the DS9 and the SAS II UL almost certainly spoiled me. The DS9’s trigger will never feel like the UL’s trigger. The DS9 rattles. It has side to side play in the slide. The trigger is a bit sloppy. The DS9 right-side safety isn’t blended (it cuts my hand – my Tisas single stacked Duty 45 does the same thing and I ended up swapping in a single sided safety to save my hand). The DS9 isn’t bull-barreled. There’s the optics milling issue. That sear spring on the DS9 was shoddy. All of those 7-8 sentences I just typed is justification to stay away, in my humble opinion.

For those who don’t already own a 2011 or nicely crafted double stacked 1911, this gun is probably for you, as long as you remember that a cheaper gun is going to be built cheaper. There’s a reason why 2011s, up until recently, were priced at mid $1000. If you already own something twice the cost of a DS9 (or other variant), you’re going to be disappointed, unless you love to tinker.

I love it but I’m not in love with it.