New to me Grand Power X-calibur.

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LoonWulf

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Just picked this up from my FFL buddy today.
The gun originally belonged to a friend of his, and I fired it a few times about a month ago and fell in love....or perhaps lust.

Anyway, got it home took it apart, cleaned it, and familiarized myself with the operation and take down. Its different, and perhaps a smidge harder than a tilting barrel gun, but its still not difficult.
The components fit together with almost no play at lock up. Slide has no wobble, and I mean that literally. barrels got the very slightest play, you can feel it and hear it if you wiggle the tip of the barrel, but cant actually see it move.
All in all this thing is tighter than almost any of my other handguns.
Something a lot of the reviews I watched (all that i can remember, but im sure some else noticed) didnt mention, was how robust the steel internal frame is. The rails are longer and thicker than most, if not all of the guns I own, this thing is way over built.
The barrel also has a flat breech face with a significant sidewall. Its about as fully supported as you can get.
The slide is simple compared to many other guns. Firing pin and spring are retained by a pin, no firing pin safety, the extractor looks to be either held on by a screw, or just slides onto a post.
The slide is also pretty wide..you can kinda see that compared to my Canik....its not squat like a glock slide tho.

I played with the back straps, and much to my surprise, it comes with one that has a beaver tail, and is large enough for my fat hands to get decent trigger position without having to roll my hand or bend my index fingers back in on themselves. Even my Canik with a freedom smith dosent give me as much reach as id like. It also gives me enough space to actually get my support hand ON the grip, rather than grabbing the tips of my shooting hand fingers.
To be fair, I could well be doing everything wrong and normal size guns are fine, i just dont hold them right lol.

Triggers very, very nice.
Double actions smooth, and as far as i can tell stack free @ about 8Lbs (my trigger pull gauge is a fish scale).
Single actions very smooth, if a little creepy @ 3lbs.
My Canik, and RIA 2011 both have good trigger. Both are crisper and shorter, but neither is as light, or as smooth.

Sights are really nice, but not much to say about them lol.

I havent shot much more than maybe 50-75 rounds thru the gun last time we were out, but I couldnt tell much difference in recoil impulse from the rotating barrel. Hitting the popper on the hostage target was as easy as putting the red dot on it and pulling the trigger tho....think were only shooting at 15-20yds tho. Im hoping to spend more time at the range after this weekend, which is the last for muzzy.

Im looking forward to spending more time with this thing, and and seeing how well it does against my other similar guns.....Honestly all of my guns are pretty similar, I dont own any small handguns besides my p32.
I took a few pictures of the gun compared to my others, and I just realized my P32 is also my only US made auto pistol.

PXL_20200926_025800956.MP.jpg PXL_20200926_030245173.jpg PXL_20200926_030445389.jpg PXL_20200926_030721346.jpg PXL_20200926_030758499.jpg PXL_20200926_030849389.jpg PXL_20200926_030049755.jpg

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...the extractor looks to be either held on by a screw, or just slides onto a post.
The extractors in these guns are super-simple to remove.

Put a small screwdriver behind the extractor hook, push down with some kind of punch on the silver plunger in the hole where the extractor pivots and pull the extractor forward with the screwdriver. It will come out very easily--just be careful not to let the plunger and spring go flying when the extractor slides past it.

It's really nice to be able to clean behind the extractor so easily as that's one place that really does need cleaning and that can acquire carbon buildup pretty fast.
 
Nice, your stating to get a collection going lol.
Yeah, I wasnt really into handguns till fairly recently. But now Ive bought (and kept) more of them, than rifles over the last couple years. This is actually about all of them besides one more Witness 40, my P32, and my revolvers tho....and the Hi-powers my dads, I just spend more time fondling it.....

The extractors in these guns are super-simple to remove.

Put a small screwdriver behind the extractor hook, push down with some kind of punch on the silver plunger in the hole where the extractor pivots and pull the extractor forward with the screwdriver. It will come out very easily--just be careful not to let the plunger and spring go flying when the extractor slides past it.

It's really nice to be able to clean behind the extractor so easily as that's one place that really does need cleaning and that can acquire carbon buildup pretty fast.
Thanks!
I actually scurried outside and did just that after reading your post. your right couldnt be easier.


I also took about 1/2 of the left side safety paddle off with my dremel and sanding disk. Still polishing it up but its alot easier for me to engage the safety from a shooting grip now.
 
I think you need to find a bolt action pistol, either a Remington or savage.for the hunting you do it may be nice for that. I know my dad has an eye out for one, that savage striker in 7wsm was awesome but so we're the remingtons to.
 
I think you need to find a bolt action pistol, either a Remington or savage.for the hunting you do it may be nice for that. I know my dad has an eye out for one, that savage striker in 7wsm was awesome but so we're the remingtons to.
There are some on gunbroker. Ive been looking, but just havent caved and bought one. I had a contender in 7-30 waters i carried a few times, but never shot anything with. I eventually stopped using it because i never came up with an easy way to carry it.
 
There are some on gunbroker. Ive been looking, but just havent caved and bought one. I had a contender in 7-30 waters i carried a few times, but never shot anything with. I eventually stopped using it because i never came up with an easy way to carry it.
My dad made up kinda a one point sling, guess before they were a thing lol. It worked well and the gun was sitting at a slight angle left or right depending what side was over the shoulder. It was actually easy to shoot standing the sling kinda locked in and felt supported.

next time I go up I'll dig through the pictures from the hunt when he used it, I think there's some with the gun and sling when he shot the bison.

I like the sights on that gun, hope you like it I'm sure it will be a popular range for lol.
 
My dad made up kinda a one point sling, guess before they were a thing lol. It worked well and the gun was sitting at a slight angle left or right depending what side was over the shoulder. It was actually easy to shoot standing the sling kinda locked in and felt supported.

next time I go up I'll dig through the pictures from the hunt when he used it, I think there's some with the gun and sling when he shot the bison.

I like the sights on that gun, hope you like it I'm sure it will be a popular range for lol.
Yeah, thats probably what i should have done with my contender. A onepoint would have been helpful, only shot...actually Im pretty sure i did shoot a couple goats, and MAYBE a deer....I do distinctly remember, was missing a small buck with it, shooting unsupported at about 200-250yds.

I ended up carrying it in the big thigh holster i had for my paintball pistol. It worked but i REALLY dont like stuff strapped to my legs.


The sights are really nice. I wanted an iron sight 9mm so i wouldnt have to take the dot off my canik to practice with one. I was originally looking for an SFL, but this came up and after shooting it, I stopped looking for the SFL.
The hi-powers sights are basically unusable for me. They are just a shiny blue blur, on a blurry target, so not really an option.
 
Congratulations for your new pistol and for your nice collection.
The Grand Power X-Calibur is a serious pistol made by a serious manufacturer.
I have myself a Grand Power Q100 purchased in December 24th 2019 and it is probably the pistol I enjoy more to shoot in my collection. 1200 rounds since I have it (low round count because of covid). No other pistol in my collection has seen range time since I have the Q100.
I made a review here with many many pics and informations: https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/my-grand-power-q100-a-lot-of-pics.868513/
 
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That is a good review of the Q100, I looked at the striker fired GPs on their site a few times, but ive never seen on in person. Ive seen a couple more X-cals here but thats actually it.
 
The rotating barrel is very interesting. I was driving to work one day and thinking about how it might be possible to have a rotating barrel without the locking block underneath like the Beretta PX4 has. The locking block is an extra part that adds weight to the gun. It also sits underneath the barrel which means that it's harder to keep the line of the bore low. I couldn't come up with anything better though.

It couldn't have been more than a week or two later that I first read about the Grand Power. Such a simple solution. Just a helical surface on the barrel and a sturdy steel pin through the frame to drive the surface. I would really like to talk to the person who came up with the idea.
 
The rotating barrel is very interesting. I was driving to work one day and thinking about how it might be possible to have a rotating barrel without the locking block underneath like the Beretta PX4. The locking block is an extra part that adds weight to the gun. It also sits underneath the barrel which means that it's harder to keep the line of the bore low. I couldn't come up with anything better though.

It couldn't have been more than a week or two later that I first read about the Grand Power. Such a simple solution. Just a helical surface on the barrel and a sturdy steel pin through the frame to drive the surface. I would really like to talk to the person who came up with the idea.
yeah, I really like the "unusual" especially when its as simply executed as the GPs system is.
 
The rotating barrel is very interesting. I was driving to work one day and thinking about how it might be possible to have a rotating barrel without the locking block underneath like the Beretta PX4 has. The locking block is an extra part that adds weight to the gun. It also sits underneath the barrel which means that it's harder to keep the line of the bore low. I couldn't come up with anything better though.

It couldn't have been more than a week or two later that I first read about the Grand Power. Such a simple solution. Just a helical surface on the barrel and a sturdy steel pin through the frame to drive the surface. I would really like to talk to the person who came up with the idea.
From what I know, the designer of this gun is Mr. Yaroslav Kuracina who presented this project as his thesis in mechanical engineering. This was many years before he was able to put the gun into production. During those years I imagine that he has refined the project even more and the evolution continues today, just look at the differences between the first K100s produced and the current ones. The solution adopted by Kuracina forced the designer to think of a completely different disassembly method compared to the other guns of the locked breech type. In the examples of the first series the disassembly was easier (like the Walther PPK) but the polymer frame was less solid than the current solution one. Grand Power is a young and very dynamic manufacturer. Their offer of models is getting wider and they never stop making design and production improvements to their products. This is why I not only like their products but also their philosophy.
 
LoonWulf

Got a nice collection going on there! I have always been fascinated with a rotating barrel design ever since I bought a MAB PA15. An incredibly robust pistol I could run any assortment of super light target loads to +P ammo though it (in the same magazine), and it never missed a beat!
 
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large enough for my fat hands to get decent trigger position

I also took about 1/2 of the left side safety paddle off with my dremel and sanding disk. Still polishing it up but its alot easier for me to engage the safety from a shooting grip now.

Interesting, I saw one of the first into the country some years ago.
The grip was skimpy and I do not have large hands.
The safety was so small as to be unusable for cocked and locked.
Ah HA!
Went to their WWW.
What I saw was what they now sell as the K100.
Your X Calibur has corrected those faults.
 
Interesting, I saw one of the first into the country some years ago.
The grip was skimpy and I do not have large hands.
The safety was so small as to be unusable for cocked and locked.
Ah HA!
Went to their WWW.
What I saw was what they now sell as the K100.
Your X Calibur has corrected those faults.
As @5-SHOTS said they have made some improvements.
From what I've read and watched the K100s now use the same frame (Mk12) as the X-cal. They list the same options for backstraps that my gun has, and I'd guess you could probably add the same larger paddles that come with the X-cal. The right side paddle on mine is from the small set, the left the large.
The older k100s I can find pictures of look like they have comfortable grips, but as you said fairly small, with a short trigger reach.
 
LoonWulf

Got a nice collection going on there! I have always been fascinated with a rotating barrel design ever since I bought a MAB PA15 An incredibly robust pistol I could run any assortment of super light target loads to +P ammo though it and it never missed a beat!
I like the odd, I plan on getting an R51, and a few others just because of the operating system....problems and all lol.
Well see how the GP handles changes in loads, as I shoot what I can get right now, so there won't be any picking the best ammo for my guns.
 
I think you need to find a bolt action pistol, either a Remington or savage.for the hunting you do it may be nice for that. I know my dad has an eye out for one, that savage striker in 7wsm was awesome but so we're the remingtons to.

Im not huge on automatic pistols, but that is a nice collection. I tend to favor pistols with wheels!

I have two Savage bolt action pistols. One a stryker in 22-250 and one not called a stryker in 22mag. Follow up shots are fast with the left handed, right hand eject bolt. My stryker is stainless in a synthetic stock, with a 14" barrel with no brake and holds 3+1. The 22mag is a detachable mag. Shooting offhand is nearly impossible at any range due to the weight. But resting it in the crook of a tree works real well. It has quite a kick, and i can't imagine one in 7mag. But for say a tough backpacking hunt, a stryker is a fantastic option. Its half the weight and size of a traditional rifle. Its short enough to be easily drawn from a pack mounted scabbard too.
 
I've liked the grandpowers since they were the sti gp6. However, I have never liked the cheap feeling safety.

I like your collection. Mine would resemble it if I wasn't chronically underfunded.
 
stryker in 22-250
I keep looking at the bigger chamberings....but that right there might be where it's at for most of the hunting I'd use a bolt pistol for.


I've liked the grandpowers since they were the sti gp6. However, I have never liked the cheap feeling safety.
I'm hoping there are eventually some other options for parts, including the safety. I don't mind them, but I'd like something a little different.

I spoke to freedomsmith about triggers, and they arnt currently looking at manufacturing anything but that would be another part I'd swap..... actually those two pieces (not how the work, just the parts themselves) are all I'm not a fan of on this gun.

I'm also trying to figgure out a good way to add some weight to the frame, as it's a little top heavy when empty.
 
I keep looking at the bigger chamberings....but that right there might be where it's at for most of the hunting I'd use a bolt pistol for.

Me too, now that its legal for deer.

I was rummaging around in the safes today and held the contender with 8" 44 mag barrel and then the Stryker 22-250. The contender feels svelte and normal sized. The stryker dwarfs it at like 22" long. Its a legitimate full sized rifle action set in a pistol grip stock. I imagine the 7mag would be even bigger. Mine is a model 516.
 
Yeah I could comfortably fire my contender standing unsupported, even with it's 14" barrels. The only bolt pistol I remember trying that with was an xp100 mid grip, and while it's got a shorter action than the Savage, it's still a 2.8" action.

I wonder how hard it would be to make a bolt pistol on a mini action. Maybe a 224 Valk, or 6 arc, or .22 noslers.
 
The XP100 is very similar. I cant imagine it being very hard to make one. The hardest part is the stock. Otherwise its just a rifle receiver with a short barrel and left side bolt handle. I wouldnt mind one in 6.5 Grendel.

Ive toyed with the idea of making a rifle stock for it and SBRing it. But that will likely never happen.
 
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