Reviews and Range Report (Sig Sauer X-Five L1 & Comp, Les Baer Premier II, Glock 34)

[extassy]

What's up guys!!!

First, I'd like to thank our member Rich at American Sport Shooting (Brodheadsville) for all his advise/suggestions, his excellent customer service.
This is only 1 place I would go to spend my $$$$$ on my firearms, knives, ammos and other sport shooting accessories.

Also, special thanks to member pvandunk for all his recommendations and going out to the range and help me tune and zeroing all my rifles and pistols.

Anyways... spring is here and I finally had a chance to go to the range and shoot a few hundred rounds on my pistols...

I have put together a few pics and my impressions on each of the gun I took to the range.

A quick disclaimer... I am not a "professional" shooter, although I can get a little fancy in shooting my pistols using my camera ... so here we go


Pistol: Sig Sauer P226 S X-FIVE Competition
Caliber: .40 S&W
Distance: 21 Feet/7 Yards (Free Hand/Standing)
Ammunition: Federal Premium
Bullet Type: HST Hollow Point
Grains: 155 GR





Review: This pistol is almost like love at first sight. I walked in to my local gun shop American Sport Shooting, and the owner, Rich came up to me and said "I have a pistol that you won't say no to..." He was right. This SAO beauty has a full stainless still frame and slide weighing at 46.7 ounces. It is also a "big boy" with length: 8.8" height: 5.9" and width: 1.7 in... not an ideal pistol for conceal carry... after all it is a race gun out-of-the-box designed for IPSC Limited competition. Included in the box is a test-fired target with sub 2" grouping (5 shots) at 25 Meter... It is indeed, a very accurate and consistent pistol. Features on this pistol includes: 5" cold hammer forged competition barrel Black textured polymer grip, Beavertail frame, Ambidextrous thumb safety, extended mag release, magwell and Low-Profile Adjustable Target. It comes with 2 beautiful hi-cap magazines (14 rounds).

Accuracy: It definitely shoots as advertised... a race gun out-of-the-box. As you can see on my pictures, I was able to group all 14 shots within 2" bulls-eye shooting free-hand from 21 ft (7 yards)... and I'm a "rookie" shooter. This .40 S&W pistol shoots like a 9mm. The minimum recoil, virtually no muzzle bounce and a crisp 4.5 lbs trigger with short-reset, allows me to come back to my target almost immediately... This gun does make me look as if I am a professional shooter. Due to the weight of the pistol, I tend to shoot more consistently and accurately by "semi" rapid firing. After all this is a race gun... right?
Also the extended, oversized mag release is so smooth, the empty mag will easily and quickly drop out... and the oversize magwell allows you to reload very quickly. I have shot around 500 rds on this pistol, using cheap FMJ factory ammunition and not a single failure with most of shots are rapid-firing. I've also used Premium HP ammo, which is flatter and more accurate and had no problem chambering the rounds.
This is a great example of German engineering... an "ultimate shooting machine" Powerful, smooth, luxurious and reliable.
Conclusively, this is 1 of my favorite pistol I own, definitely a keeper and the best .40 S&W pistol I've ever shot. No shortcomings nor it needs any improvement needed for this pistol... everything is perfect out-of-the-box.


Pistol: Sig Sauer P226 S X-FIVE Level 1
Caliber: 9mm Para
Distance: 30 Feet/10 Yards (Free Hand/Standing)
Ammunition: Winchester White Box
Bullet Type: Full Metal Jacket
Grains: 115 GR




Review: After shooting the .40 S&W competition model I reviewed previously, I thought that can any other pistol shoot better than this???
I can't help to ask myself this question... How would the Level 1 model (a better upgraded version) chambered in 9mm Para would shoot?
The Level 1 model has all the same features as the competition model, except for these following "sick" features:

- Under 2” groups at 50 yards
- Adjustable trigger pull weight (2 to 4 lbs)
- Adjustable trigger stop/reset (min. 2/10mm)
- Adjustable trigger length (max. 10mm)
- Test-fire target with sub 1" grouping (5 shots) at 25 Meter
- Ergonomic wood Nill grips

Accuracy: I will let the picture do the talking... I shot all 19 rounds from 30 feet (10 yards) free-hand in rapid succession (further than the 7 yds on other test targets)... It shoots like a .22 and muzzle bounce is almost non existent. The accuracy is unbelievable. People at the range were impressed on how I was hitting the target very accurately, consistently and at a very fast rate. The adjustable trigger system allows me to "personalize" the pistol. I shot 400 rounds in 1 week (2 range sessions) with cheap factory ammo... and "zero" problem.
This is by far my number 1 favorite pistol I ever own.


Pistol: Les Baer Custom 1911 Premier II
Caliber: .45 ACP
Distance: 21 Feet/7 Yards (Free Hand/Standing)
Ammunition: Magtech Sport
Bullet Type: Full Metal Jacket
Grains: 230 GR




Review: I've never shot a 1911 before and the only .45 ACP pistol that I have besides this is the HK 45 Compact. My first impression is the "craftmanship" of this custom pistol.
Here are the features of this pistol (taken from Les Baer website):
Baer NM steel frame, NM slide and NM barrel with stainless bushing • Slide fitted to frame • Double serrated slide • Low mount LCB adjustable sight with hidden rear leaf • Baer dovetail front sight • Lowered and flared ejection port • Tuned and polished extractor • Baer extended ejector • Baer checkered slide stop • Baer speed trigger with crisp 4 lb pull • Baer deluxe Commander hammer and sear • Baer beavertail grip safety with pad • Flat serrated mainspring housing • Beveled mag well • Polished feed ramp and throated barrel • Baer extended ambi safety • High checkered front strap @ 30 lpi • Pistol tuned for total reliability • Baer Premium Checkered Cocobola grips • Blued finish • (1) 8-round premium magazine

The blued steel finish is beautiful, all components such as slides, extractor, bushing, barrel, slide & mag release etc are very tight and you know right away that these are hand-made pistol by one of the best gunsmith around. Since everything is so tight and custom fitted, I do have problem cocking the pistol for the first few times, you really need to pull on it hard to get it cocked, pulling the hammer before you cock the pistol will make it easier. Just like most custom 1911, it is suggested that you fire at least 500 rounds before it perform properly. I did have 1 FTE and 4 FTF (all 4 somehow happens on the 8th and final round of the mag) in the first 250 rds. I have not shot more on this pistol yet. Many reviews I have read does confirm that many custom 1911 are prone to jamming before 500 rds.

Accuracy: The accuracy of this pistol is as advertised. Supposedly it can shoot sub 3" grouping at 25 yds. I have not shot from 25 yards yet, however you can see from the pic I posted, I can get a pretty good grouping from 7 yards (21 feet). I did miss the bulls eye by +1" on the first shot, but I was able to zero in the target on the next 7 shots. I shot this particular target with a cheap factory magtech ammo with 230 GR. The recoil is suprisingly soft and very managable especially considering that this is .45 ACP pistol. It is definitely smooth as butter and what I love the most about the 1911 is the feel of the handle and that you can almost immediately "zero-in" on your target as soon as you pull it out of the holster. Also, the 4 lbs custom tuned trigger and the trigger reset, are second to none. No wonder a lot of enthusiasts love the 1911 despite the reliability issue and high maintenance aspect of the custom pistol itself. IMO, I will not use this gun for self-defense nor competition (except maybe the STI 2011 models), however, this custom 1911 shoots like no other pistols in the market. I maybe exageratting but I would compare this pistol to classic Ferrari such as the 250... High maintenance but exhilirating to drive.



Pistol: Glock 34
Caliber: 9mm Para
Distance: 21 Feet/7 Yards (Free Hand/Standing)
Ammunition: Winchester White Box
Bullet Type: Full Metal Jacket
Grains: 115 GR



Review: This pistol surprises me in every way it performs. This gun have the most mileage than any other pistols I owned. I have put 1000+ rounds on it including cheap remanufactured ammos, factory ammos and premium ammos... and as I expected, not a single failure on this pistol. I have shot this pistol in the rain, snow and hot sandy conditions and as advertised... this pistol will always shoot no matter what conditions it is subjected to. The only modification I made the pistol is Lasermax internal laser, which has its own replacement guide rod and recoil spring, which is IMO a better quality than the stock Glock 34. I have also +2 Mag Extension that allows me to add 2 more bullets in addition to the stock 17 Rds Mag. I have also purchased the 33 Rds Hi-Cap magazine that also performs flawlessly.
Accuracy: I've shot a Glock 17 before, this Glock 34 is pretty much a Glock 17 with extended barrel. Stock Glock 17 has 4.49" barrel and Glock 34 has 5.32" barrel. Glock 34 also has front slide cut out, which if you'd like, you can replace the stock barrel with a ported barrel. Glock 34 also has extended slide release and magazine release. Glock 34 is IDPA legal and you can even enter in the SSP division out-of-the-box.
How accurate is this Glock 34? Very accurate, as you can see on the posted pic, I can pretty much cut-out the paper target at 21 feet... Since Im not a professional shooter, My grouping gets larger and larger as distance increases
This is a relatively light pistol with the polymer frame, however the recoil on this 9mm pistol is relatively light. The muzzle bounce is very managable, that you can come back to your target pretty quickly on your following shots. The trigger is a 3.5 lbs trigger, trigger work is not necessary IMO, although I can use a shorter reset. Trigger work is to what I heard, is easy to do. The only down-side on this pistol is the factory adjustable sight. I've replaced mine with Tru-glo fixed sight with night sight (tritium). The stock adjustable sight tends to shift easily after a numerous shots fired. I would recommend getting an after-market sight for this pistol.
Other than that, Glock 34 is and accurate and fast pistol and with reliability second to none.

[PocketProtector]

The BG's will lose at 21 feet.

[andrewjs18]

great photos man...nice shooting..on my good days, I can shoot tight groups.

[kpw]

Great pics and a nice job on the reviews.

[extassy]

Thanks guys... Please feel free to chime in with any comments... or for those who have the same pistols, please share your impressions on these pistols.

[Pvandunk]

Personaly after shooting all of these with the exception of the 9mm X-Five i could not ask for more out of a production gun, the ergonomics or the X-Five Are amazing and scary acc for a out of the box gun but i would expect nothing less from Sig/Glock and Les Bear . As a friend of Extassy i have spent a lot of time with him at the range and must say i am verry impressed with the accuracy of these weapons. Owning some 1911s myself and spending lots of time shooting them i can say the Les baer is a Great purchase just what you would expect out of a custom 1911. the Glock 34 is just Great for a multi purpose weapon, Right down to the sheer control one can maintain while shooting under any condition.

Great Reports Extassy

You forgot to name the Knives also lol some Reel nice steel there

[aaronsdb]

+1 on the X-5. Here is mine:

[NineseveN]

That X5 is the sexiest gun Sig's ever made. Nice gun, thanks for sharing man.

[mjd932]

Thanks for the review! I'm particularly interested in the Les Baer. I've been lusting after a Wadcutter model to use for Bullseye shooting. Gorgeous...

[1blindref]

Great job on the review and your pictures - very well done.

I've been kicking around an X5 since when they first came out. I was leary of dropping the $$$ for a new model Sig as I haven't been very impressed with their QC on the new stuff.

I haven't heard a bad thing about one yet so it looks like it's time to bite the bullet.
Thanks for helping spend my fun money!