I wanted a place to discuss my handguns and firearms in general. Everyone seemingly has lots to say about guns, so I promise you this won't be a rant blog.
I visited the range yesterday with several goals in mind.
I wanted to test other self defense (SD) ammo from the Prodigy DS Compact so that I can know of other JHP options.
I also wanted to zero the Holosun 507K that is now attached to the gun (removed it from the Ultralight since I’ve stopped carrying it).
I also wanted to shoot the gun with the Streamlight TLR-7X attached.
As well, I wanted to see if I could finaly use the SIG Connect OHD training app at the range.
For ammo, I brought
25 rounds of Barnes Vor-TX 115-gr JHP
25 rounds of Federal Premium HST 124-gr JHP
50 rounds of Speer Gold Dot 124-gr JHP (I only shot 15 rounds of this)
I also shot 50 rounds of Blazer 124-gr FMJ.
I ended up shooting more SD ammo than I did range ammo.
There were no failures to feed or extract.
I can’t remember the last time I’ve cleaned the gun (I usually run a bore snake through the barrel, though). I’ll maybe clean the gun tomorrow.
I’m currently at 771 rounds.
I spent half the range session zeroing the 507K optic to the Prodigy DS Compact. I think I like the Cyelee optic better – I’ve grown used to the green dot. If I end up not adjusting well to the 507K, I can always switch to something else…I’ve been eyeing the Cyelee Wolf EDG. I’ve also been thinking of the Viridian RFX-44 (which is an RMSc-footprinted and closed emitter optic). We’ll see.
I finally got the OHD training app to work. I’ve been trying to get it to work the past 6 or so months. It’s been requiring a network connection to work, but the firing line at the range doesn’t have Wifi or network connectivity. After testing a week ago, I decided to let the app developers know of the issue. At first, they insisted that there was an issue on my end, but after showing them that I could reproduce the issue and that it was an app issue, they backtracked and said it was a bug within the app. They said they’re fixing the bug.
They gave me free 30 days of premium access to the app. I’m not sure I’m going to continue to use it, as it has limitations. One limitation is that it won’t register impacts when the impact lands on a prior impact point. As well, the targets I printed are 8.5 x 11 and at 15+ yards, those are difficult to use if firing quickly – I’m used to shooting at man-sized targets when shooting afar. I suppose I can try to shoot printer paper up close, but even then, that’s rather small when shooting quickly, no matter the distance.
My next goal is to research how to easily carry an extra magazine. I’d recently bought the QVO Tactical Flex Connector, which is a side car for use with their More Discreet holster. The side car contains a mag holder. I tried to carry using that holster and didn’t like the side car at all…it’s extra bulky, which I don’t like. It makes me feel pregnant, as the attachment portion of the side car pushes out further than the actual holster itself. So, for now, I’m back to carrying an extra mag in my cargo pocket.
I’ll need to order more range ammo soon, as I’m quickly burning through the 1000 rounds I recently bought. One thing: I’m not sure if I like the Blazer 124-gr ammo that I recently purchased – it doesn’t seem to be as accurate as the Magtech 115-gr ammo I’d used prior to the last purchase. Yes, I know that the point of impact will change between the two weights of ammo, but I think I prefer the Magtech better, as it generally hits where I’m aiming (which isn’t always the case with this batch of Blazer).
I believe I’m ready to switch over to carrying the Prodigy DS Compact. Right now, I’ve begun to use the Tenicor Certum to carry the gun, but will eventually remove the Streamlight from the Ultralight so that I can install it onto the Prodigy DS – I’ll need to do that to use the More Discreet holster.
I might remove the HS507K from the Ultralight, as well, and install it onto the Prodigy DS, but that would mean that I’d have to re-zero the optic for use on the Prodigy.
I also tested more Hornady Custom XTP 124-gr ammo with the gun. The gun has shot 49 rounds of that ammo. One round of that ammo didn’t feed. I unsuccessfully tried 3 times to get it to feed. When I looked at the round (I still have it), it appears that the projectile has a defect that is making the round out of spec. There are also barbs on the case lip. This is not an issue with the gun. This is also not an issue with that particular box of ammo. Sometimes things aren’t perfect, manufacturing-wise – shit happens. As long as the whole box of ammo wasn’t flawed, it’s OK.
I also bought another box of Speer Gold Dot 124-gr (we now have 2 boxes of that) and a box of Federal HST 124-gr – we’d been using Federal Hydra-Shok but my ammo store was out of that model of ammo. I have not yet tested the Speer GD and the Federal (Hydra-Shok OR HST) through the Prodigy DS, but at least we know that the Hornady Custom XTP works.
I now have 656 rounds thorugh the gun. There have been no feed or extraction issues. The gun is accurate. The trigger has lightened but I also slightly tuned the sear spring (although I did that after the trigger felt that it lightented a bit). Still, the trigger is nowhere as good as the trigger on the Ultralight. The springs are heavier in the Prodigy than the Ultralight, too. I’ll address that after I’ve reached 1000 rounds (will probably add lighter springs, although this is probably a mainspring issue).
Once I’ve begun to carry the Prodigy, I’ll begin the process of finding a gunsmith that can fix the grip safety issue on my Ultralight. I think I might have to send it somewhere reputable, though…there aren’t all that many 1911 gunsmiths around here, and I’m not willing to muck with the gun since I don’t know where to begin.
One thing I folks keep saying when I’m reading discussions about the Fusion Firearms XP Pro is that it’s a copy of (or is similar to) the Platypus 1911.
It is not a copy nor is it similar.
Firstly, the XP Pro is actually 2011-patterned. The Platypus is not – it is Para-patterned and is actually a 1911.
Stacatto trademarking only applies to companies that manufacture guns, but I can call it a 2011 because I’m not a gun maker and it IS essentially a 2011 (just as a Ruger AR-556 is considered an AR although it isn’t branded by Armalite). Some folks also use the argument that 2011s that use Glock mags aren’t really 2011s, although they may follow the 2011 pattern (the gun being 3 parts – slide, frame, and grip module being major and separate portions). The mags do not define the pattern.
As well, the Platypus isn’t the first 1911/2011 to use Glock mags. The Alpha Foxtrot S15 holds that trophy. No, the S15 isn’t a 2011, but neither is the Platypus, right? 🙂 The Platypus is the first to use Glock 17 mags…not Glock mags outright, though.
The Platypus and XP Pro are nothing alike. The only thing they have in common is that they use G17 mags and are chambered in 9mm. Using Glock mags is besides the point. Anyone hanging onto that gimmicky “It takes Glock mags!” mantra doesn’t know WTF they’re talking about. You’ll see a shitload of folks on YouTube titling their videos with “It takes Glock mags!”, and many of those folks are competent, but they’re also purposely titling their videos that way so that they can gain views.
Yes, there’s a purpuse to using Glock mags – they’re super cheap while also being durable. As well, most folks own Glocks and many folks have lots of Glock mags, so they can repurpose those mags with this gun instead of having to buy 2011 mags, which usually are priced in the $60+ range.
The XP Pro is more attainable than the Platypus, as there’s a LONG wait list for them at Stealth Arms. As well, the XP Pro is arguably the better gun. Yeah, the Platypus has many custom options and a fancy customization page, but again, it’s not actually 2011-patterned and Fusion Firearms is also ramping up lots of custom options (they only just started making the XP Pros).
I’ve seen videos of folks attempting to compare the Platypus with the XP Pro and they NEVER have a base Platypus. IMO, the best thing to do (if forced to compare them – again, they’re not on equal footing, so I think the comparision is unrealistic) is to compare a BASE Platypus with an XP Pro. I’ve yet to see anyone do that, but they’ll sure as hell compare the XP to a built Platypus.
I’m not trying to take away anything from folks who may desire a Platypus, but I’m not interested in that gun and know enough of things to realize that by the time you customize the gun with the desireable parts, it is no longer an equal comparison with the XP Pro.
To secure the plate adapter to the slide, use the short screws that came with the gun. I’ve used blue thread locker here, but some folks use red. Note that, to remove the screws, the red will require heat to be applied to the screws – the heat will dissolve the thread locker.These screws were pefect. Anything longer than this will not screw onto the adapter plate. Max torque is 15 in-lb. Don’t red thread locker for these screws…use only blue!
I’ll let you all know when the optic has been zero’d and how it performs. This optic was highly recommended by competition shooters. I’m certain it will carry well, too.
Note that the optic was LONG in length…it’s the longest of all the Cyelee optics but also has the biggest view port. I thought it wouldn’t fit well, but it fit as if it were made for the gun.
The dot is 8 MOA, which some folks think is too big. It’s designed to lessen brightness of the dot, to lessen the effects of astigmatism. I’ve heard that it shoots fine at distance (and I’ve also heard that some folks have issues shooting this dot at distance due to the large size of the dot).
The battery is housed on top of the optic’s deck, between the glass and the screws.
The irons offer co-witness, as well. IMO, though, my RFX45 would offer excellent co-witness with this gun’s adapter plate, as the optic sits low already…it’s a pity this will not fit onto the adapter plate.
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.
There was a quiet release of the Kimber CDS9, which appears to be a smaller Kimber KDS9C.
This is not a 2011, though. As with the KDS9C, it is a double-stacked handgun that is very similar to a 1911. The biggest differences are that the barrel link is more similar to a CZ handgun, and the trigger is entirely different than a typical 1911, as it is hinged. This gun is more like a Kimber Micro 9 or S&W CSX.
There is no grip safety, either, which the KDS9C also doesn’t have.
The gun is optics-ready and the barrel length is 3.19″. The gun comes with 13- and 15-round mags. There’s also a version that has a threaded barrel, which also has a reverse two-tone color scheme.
The CDS9 has an MSRP of $1075, although I’ve seen street prices of $917.
As well, the KDS9C has no MIM. I believe the CDS9 will also be MIM-less, although I’ve seen nothing supporting that claim. It would be stupid of Kimber to have no MIM in the CDS9 when the KDS9C is MIM-less.
The Humble Marksman has a great review of this handgun. It shoots well and appears to be just as reliable as the KDS9C, of which I’ve never seen a video that shows unreliability. Most folks hang onto older opinions that Kimbers are not dependable. Again, I’ve seen no videos showing bad reliability with either the KDS9C or R7 Mako variants.
I will add this to my list of To-Get guns for 2025 and will watch as others review this gun.
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.
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.
So, I haven’t yet committed to yet another gun purchase, but I was bored last week and was perusing the EAA website and saw that they’re finally listing their Girsan Witness 2311 3.4″ (subcompact) on their product page. It’s sort of hidden, as you specifically have to manipulate their product menu to display it.
So, it’s using the same grip as their larger 2311s, which is interesting. It has that mullet look, which is similar to the Bul Armory SAS II UL. The MSRP of $999 is quite high, though, but all of the Girsan 2311s are at that price.
I’m interested, yeah. I was interested last year when they had it listed, but they pulled it off of their website for some reason and it’s only now showing up again.
Now, it has to get good reviews, too. The larger Girsan 2311s aren’t doing so hot since they were released, as they were either rushed to the market or they are just built like shit…the reviews of those aren’t really good.
LFA is supposedly releasing an Officer-sized 2011 too (as an Apollo). Now, those have been getting good reviews, although they have MIM (they’re working to make those guns MIM-free). I also remember TheHumbleMarksman showing, in a review, the failure of a slide release that was supposedly MIM-free, which is NOT good. I’d eventually like to see how well their 3.5″ gun does.
I asked the Tisas representative on the 1911Forum.com website if Tisas was planning to release ANY Officer-sized guns and they said, “No”. Later on, when folks were discussing it, someone said that they spoke to another Tisas rep and he/she said that it was being worked on! Now, if they can do one as a 2011, that would be awesome!
I’m sure there will be more news on this and when I see it, I’ll post an update!
I’ve been to the range twice with the Tisas Carry DS9.
I’ll share some information about the first range visit. I also suspected some of the things we discussed in my last post would be apparent during the first range visit.
The trigger had issues. The gun initially had a thick walled trigger. While the trigger itself wasn’t heavy, it wasn’t light either, so that’s a wash. The trigger wall was stiff, but I shot maybe 130 rounds from the gun, so the wall softened a bit. As well, the trigger is now lighter by 1 lb.
Between the trigger’s issues and the sights, I was having issues hitting where I aimed. I shot low (90 degrees low) with every shot — not low left, but directly low. I’m not sure how to use the U-notch sights, but I’m thinking they’re off by a bit, at least.
The gun didn’t hiccup at all during the first range visit. I shot a mix of ammo, some being HP, some being SD HP, and some being FMJ. The gun is flat-shooting, too.
When I got home from the first range visit, I sat while watching TV and kept racking the gun and pulling the trigger to get that thick wall to wear-in as quickly as possible.
When I went to the range next (two days later), I shot 187 rounds. Quite a bit of ammo was shot, some HP, some SD ammo, and a lot of range ammo. I had one fail to feed one one HP (I think it was Winchester range JHP). I put it back in the magazine and it feed and shot successfully.
The gun also shot a lot better, probably due to the trigger breaking in. Also, I man-handled the gun, as the first range visit, I was sloppy with gun control (recoil management and probably trigger control). My grouping were MUCH better this range visit.
I now have 317 rounds through the gun. The gun has yet to be cleaned, which says a lot, because I’ve looked in the gun and it’s pretty filthy. The rails were overly lubricated, which may have helped. I may clean it tomorrow, as I’m not intentionally trying to induce filth-related failures.
I also published a video. I’ll be producing a longer duration video soon. The short duration one below lacks some information (I had to make it fit into a 15 minute timeframe).
For some reason, I had a difficult time obtaining this gun.
First, I should’ve bought it from a different seller. The place I purchased it has a spotty customer service reputation and many folks that have purchase things from them have had bad experiences.
Second, the gun took a day to ship, as the seller created the pickup slip after the mail had been picked up for that day, so the package waited another day before USPS picked it up. USPS picked it up on Tuesday.
It was delivered to the my choice of gun store on Thursday, at 1:30 PM. The gun store sat on it until Friday (WTF). They texted me Friday morning (a bit after 10 AM) saying that the gun was ready and that I could come pick it up.
I went to pick it up at 11:30 AM. It took me 15 minutes to get there and then 15 minutes to complete the background check paperwork (I had to redo one form and redid another form two times). I gave the cashier my state ID and concealed carry license.
Now, normally, there’s maybe a 5-10 minute wait for me and then they tell me that the I passed the background check. I ended up waiting 40 minutes. I wanted to leave and thought that they’d call me when it was approved, but I didn’t want to do the paperwork over again (if I couldn’t come back until the next day) and didn’t want to be on the way home just for them to call me back in (or call me after I’ve arrived back at home). They called me just before I walked out.
WTF. It was a little bit busy, but I know damned well that I don’t have any dirt in my background. I’ve used this location two other times, and didn’t have to wait that long during those times. It was busy but it wasn’t 40 min delay busy. Either NICS had issues with their systems or maybe NICS itself was having a super busy day.
It was fucking odd waiting that long. I was running out of things to look at in the store. I almost asked what took so long, but I was so flustered, I knew I was going to pop off, so I just shut the hell up so that I could leave as quickly as possible. Also, their damned FFL transfer fee went up (it’s now $45…that’s kinda high around here). I was unaware until it was time to pay. Again, I just wanted to leave, so I didn’t say anything.
This place is an odd gun store. I’ve never liked using them for firearms transfers but they were close to home and my choices were limited (or so I thought). I asked some folks on Reddit about this place and apparently, they’re the d-bags of the local gun stores (I’m not sure what defines d-bag here). I’ve never had issues or conflicts with the staff there, but I swear, there’s something “off” about the place.
So, I will never visit that store again. There are other stores I can use to buy things. For firearms transfers, I found out from a Reddit user that my range (I’m a member) charges $15 for transfers, for members. I could’ve used them the past 3 firearms I purchased!! What’s cool is that I could have a gun transferred there (or buy one there) and then immediately go shoot it!
So, after I got in my car, I THEN checked the firearm. Yeah, they didn’t let me check it before I did the FFL paperwork, which is bad – the reason most GOOD places let you check the gun before you do the paperwork is because the paperwork seals the deal and if the gun is broken or is missing parts (like a magazine), you can decline the transfer because there’s something wrong with the product you bought. Of the three guns I had transferred there, they only let me check one of those three and that one check was after the paperwork was completed and after I’d paid for the transfer.
I checked to see if the gun was present and that I had the two mags that came with the gun. Then I closed the box and drove home.
I got home and looked at the gun. This gun is nicer than folks will expect. A lot of guys keep insisting that, since the gun is a budget (very budget priced) 2011-patterned 1911, there has to be something wrong with it, like shoddy workmanship of the gun, tolerance issues, etc.
The gun is a $900 gun (MSRP) that I bought for $700 (street price). It feels like (at very least) a $900 gun.
Fitment is good, not great, but again, it’s a $900 1911/2011. It’s also not bull-barreled, so fitment isn’t going to be as tight as a bull-barreled gun would (generally, bull barrel guns have better slide to frame fitment).
Finish is good – the slide is QPQ and the frame is Cerakoted.
It came with two mags. Most of the latest budget 2011s have been coming with one mag. Two mags are certainly better than one. The mags are Checkmate mags, which are Staccato-patterned. They are good mags (at least $65-70 each).
The sights are good and are dovetailed. I believe the front is Novak-styled (not actual Novak patterned, though). Tisas has been pinning the front sight up until recently. The rear is Glock-patterned, which is great and means there are MANY replacement options. As well, if you decide to use an optic, you don’t lose the rear sight when the optics cut plate is removed. The rears will cowitness 1/3rd! As they are, the sights offer a great sight picture. The rear offers a semi-wide rounded U-notch and the front sight is a contrast white dot.
The optics cut is patterned for RMSc, which means I can continue to run a Holosun. The optic mounts directly to the cut (no adapter plate is needed).
The gun has a titanium firing pin, which is great.
The grip is nice. It is easily nicer than the grip on my SAS II UL. What’s nicer? It has front strap checkering, even on the polymer grip module. The side texturing feels like it will be sufficient for shooting, while also not being overly aggressive in texture. I saw someone say they thought it felt cheap. That same guy owns a SAS II UL – THAT gun’s grip feels cheap and it’s a $1600 2011!
The trigger’s shoe is alloy, and folks keep thinking it’s polymer. I took a knife to it and couldn’t mark it, while I could mark the polymer grip with that same knife. The trigger is also not all that light (but not heavy either). I assessed the trigger twice – an average of 5 trigger pulls netted a first average of 4 lb 13 oz. The second group of pulls averaged out to 5 lb 1 oz. 5 lbs isn’t heavy but it isn’t light, either. The perfect weight for me would be high 3s and low 4s. The trigger wall is pretty firm, though.
I field stripped it (I also removed the firing pin), and checked each part. There are some tool marks, but it doesn’t have super ugly marks like the LFA Apollo 11 or the EAA Girsan Witness 2311 guns. This gun is MIM-less. There is not a single MIM part in this gun. My Tisas Duty single stacked 1911 that I bought 2 years ago has some MIM – you can clearly see the cast lines and stamps on those parts.
The plan is to take it to the range tomorrow (or more like, today, as it is 2:30 AM right now).
I may even carry this gun, as it doesn’t feel big to me and fits in all of my 1911 holsers (those that accept railed 1911s, at least). I can conceal the grip well, too.
So far, there isn’t much to not like about the gun. In fact, I currently have no dislikes.
If Tisas does an Officer sized 2011, I’m going to buy it…there’s no question. If they follow the same recipe that they used with the Carry, a smaller 2011 is going to be an instant hit.
I’m currently working on capturing video footage for the gun that I will eventually share on YouTube.
