So I picked up my Steel P01 from my FFL today and headed directly to the range. The gun is heavy in the hand. When you compare it to the alum framed P01 you know it is an all steel gun. It felt a little thicker in the hand then my P01 but that might just have been my mind playing tricks on me.
I did a Pro Package, extended left side safety, Trijicon night sights, 10x bushing and a set of slim grips. The gun simply feels great in the hand. It it has the same natural point of aim for me as the P01. I loved the night sights. I have moved to a lot of 2 dot setups but with the heavy white outline of the Trijicon front sight it gave me a great sight picture in the daylight. It should still serve me well as a night sight setup.
I shot 250 rounds of my HP-38 RMR 124gr FMJ reloads. I load them up with 4.4gr and OAL of 1.140" For me this is an accurate load that functions across my 9mm pistol lineup. It is not too hot but is not a mouse fart load either. With these the gun functioned 100%. No issues. No bobbles of any kind. The gun simply does not move. It ate up the recoil like a mini Shadow 2. Sights stayed visible and follow ups were easy with the short reset of the Pro Package. I would say the reset is 2-3mm. The tag on the gun stated that the trigger left CGW at 7.7lb DA and 4.2lb SA. It measured that on my scale with a little variance but that is to be expected. I never get the exact same pull on my scale I assume because of IO errors.
So I shot at 7, 10 and 15 yards. Sights were dead on to point of aim at these distances. You can really see the difference in the 10X bushing when you start to shoot 15 yards and beyond. I have the 10X bushing in a 75B and I can shoot IDPA steel plates at 50 yards all day long. I believe that this Steel P01 should be able to do the same. I shot mainly for function. Most of the time when I take a new gun for a spin I don't shoot for small groups. To be honest I don't shoot for small groups to often. I always shoot off hand, almost never from a rest and my goal is to keep everything in the A zone on an IDPA target. I like to leave the range with a grapefruit sized hole in my cardboard backer. The Steel P01 did not disappoint.
I did put the gun under the timer for a few rounds of "The Test." This is a drill created by Larry Vickers where you shoot 10 rounds in under 10 seconds at 10 yards into a B-8 bullseye target. All the shots have to be in the black to pass if you are using LAVs scoring system. If you are using Ken Hackathorn's you have to score 90 or higher by scoring the shots. X & 10 ring = 0. 9=1 down. 8=2 down 7=3 down and off the target you fail automatically. I was able to shoot clean passing targets with Vickers scoring system in 9.2, 8.9 and 8.7. I can shoot it in the 8.3 range with my Shadow 2 but this is about the same as I shoot The Test with a DW Commander Valkyrie. So I was pleased with the results. If I sped up a bit I could shooting it in sub 8 but would drop a shot and not pass with LAVs scoring but would pass with KH's point system.
I really like it so far. I think the trigger will settle in in the 7.4lb range DA and 3.8lb range SA which will be perfect. I am going to be using this as a carry gun once my Milt Sparks VMII arrives and I do a little more shooting and testing with it. I like the idea of an all steel cocked and locked 14+1 9mm carry in a compact package. I don't mind the weight I carry BHPs. The trigger even at 4.2lbs has enough take up so it is not an on off switch like sometimes 1911s become when they get near the 3 lbs range. I can feel just enough trigger resistance that I can still take out the slack before it fires. This is exactly what I was asking for from CGW and they delivered.
Here are some quick pics. Will post better ones over the weekend.
I did a Pro Package, extended left side safety, Trijicon night sights, 10x bushing and a set of slim grips. The gun simply feels great in the hand. It it has the same natural point of aim for me as the P01. I loved the night sights. I have moved to a lot of 2 dot setups but with the heavy white outline of the Trijicon front sight it gave me a great sight picture in the daylight. It should still serve me well as a night sight setup.
I shot 250 rounds of my HP-38 RMR 124gr FMJ reloads. I load them up with 4.4gr and OAL of 1.140" For me this is an accurate load that functions across my 9mm pistol lineup. It is not too hot but is not a mouse fart load either. With these the gun functioned 100%. No issues. No bobbles of any kind. The gun simply does not move. It ate up the recoil like a mini Shadow 2. Sights stayed visible and follow ups were easy with the short reset of the Pro Package. I would say the reset is 2-3mm. The tag on the gun stated that the trigger left CGW at 7.7lb DA and 4.2lb SA. It measured that on my scale with a little variance but that is to be expected. I never get the exact same pull on my scale I assume because of IO errors.
So I shot at 7, 10 and 15 yards. Sights were dead on to point of aim at these distances. You can really see the difference in the 10X bushing when you start to shoot 15 yards and beyond. I have the 10X bushing in a 75B and I can shoot IDPA steel plates at 50 yards all day long. I believe that this Steel P01 should be able to do the same. I shot mainly for function. Most of the time when I take a new gun for a spin I don't shoot for small groups. To be honest I don't shoot for small groups to often. I always shoot off hand, almost never from a rest and my goal is to keep everything in the A zone on an IDPA target. I like to leave the range with a grapefruit sized hole in my cardboard backer. The Steel P01 did not disappoint.
I did put the gun under the timer for a few rounds of "The Test." This is a drill created by Larry Vickers where you shoot 10 rounds in under 10 seconds at 10 yards into a B-8 bullseye target. All the shots have to be in the black to pass if you are using LAVs scoring system. If you are using Ken Hackathorn's you have to score 90 or higher by scoring the shots. X & 10 ring = 0. 9=1 down. 8=2 down 7=3 down and off the target you fail automatically. I was able to shoot clean passing targets with Vickers scoring system in 9.2, 8.9 and 8.7. I can shoot it in the 8.3 range with my Shadow 2 but this is about the same as I shoot The Test with a DW Commander Valkyrie. So I was pleased with the results. If I sped up a bit I could shooting it in sub 8 but would drop a shot and not pass with LAVs scoring but would pass with KH's point system.
I really like it so far. I think the trigger will settle in in the 7.4lb range DA and 3.8lb range SA which will be perfect. I am going to be using this as a carry gun once my Milt Sparks VMII arrives and I do a little more shooting and testing with it. I like the idea of an all steel cocked and locked 14+1 9mm carry in a compact package. I don't mind the weight I carry BHPs. The trigger even at 4.2lbs has enough take up so it is not an on off switch like sometimes 1911s become when they get near the 3 lbs range. I can feel just enough trigger resistance that I can still take out the slack before it fires. This is exactly what I was asking for from CGW and they delivered.
Here are some quick pics. Will post better ones over the weekend.
