BigSlick
Member
Went to the range for a few hours today with my new XSE Commander.
I took the following ammo, in various weights from 180-230gr, ball, JHP and semi-wadcutter :
S&B
Fiocchi
IMI
Winchester white box
UMC
PMC
Hornady
Winchester Supreme T
Winchester Silvertip
Aguila
My own handloads
I cleaned and lubed the Commander last night and took two factory mags (replaced original follower with Tripp followers) two 47B Wilsons and two unknown mfr with flat dimpled followers.
No FTF, no FTE, five fail to load. The gun was running glass smooth for about 300 rounds then I shot the S&B out of it. The batch this box came from has got to be the absolute filthiest ammo I have ever fired.
Even the 185gr SWC fed great, loaded ahead of 5.3 grains Titegroup.
I field stripped the gun, wiped the caked on residue from the S&B off the ramp and and continued another 40 rounds or so.
Impression :
Trigger has a slight amount of slack, almost imperceptable creep, but snaps at break 4.4 lbs (measured). Sights are typical three dot Novak style - excellent. I replaced the wood grips with a pair of Hogue finger grooves and the improvement was fantastic.
The lighter weight frame allowed for slightly snappier recoil than a steel frame gun. About like a P226 stamped frame with 147 grainers in it. The SWC handload is somehwhat a powder puff, but still cycled without a problem.
The silvertips produced the most recoil and flash.
The mags all dropped free except one of the no-names, but it finally started to fall free after about 15 rounds thru it (what could I expect for 8 bucks ?).All mags locked the slide upon empty.
The duck-bill wasn't too bad, but it is MUCH better than nothing.
I am going to do a little shopping for a new IWB and clean it up good.
For a stock pistol, it's better than many I have by a long shot. Pleasant to shoot (moreso with the Hogues).
Probable improvements will be to polish the trigger just a little, and take out the slack, go to a set of tritium sites and think a little more about the duck-bill.
Barrel lockup is tight, accuracy at 25 yds (sandbags) averaged around 2½". I could see some ammo grouped MUCH better than others. The IMI and 200gr Hornady XTP are both hella good. The Aguila was all over the place with inconsistent recoil too. S&B grouped OK, but the wax-like residue was nasty and stunk to high heaven.
Brass was ejected in a relatively small area about 10 feet away. Firing pin strike was uniform on everything, no brass shavings anywhere in the gun.
Overall, I am happy as a clam with it. I will work a few more reloads thru it to see if I can find a sweet spot and carry the XTP until/unless I can find something else that groups so well and burns clean.
The only downside is I have to go and reload all the brass now
BigSlick
I took the following ammo, in various weights from 180-230gr, ball, JHP and semi-wadcutter :
S&B
Fiocchi
IMI
Winchester white box
UMC
PMC
Hornady
Winchester Supreme T
Winchester Silvertip
Aguila
My own handloads
I cleaned and lubed the Commander last night and took two factory mags (replaced original follower with Tripp followers) two 47B Wilsons and two unknown mfr with flat dimpled followers.
No FTF, no FTE, five fail to load. The gun was running glass smooth for about 300 rounds then I shot the S&B out of it. The batch this box came from has got to be the absolute filthiest ammo I have ever fired.
Even the 185gr SWC fed great, loaded ahead of 5.3 grains Titegroup.
I field stripped the gun, wiped the caked on residue from the S&B off the ramp and and continued another 40 rounds or so.
Impression :
Trigger has a slight amount of slack, almost imperceptable creep, but snaps at break 4.4 lbs (measured). Sights are typical three dot Novak style - excellent. I replaced the wood grips with a pair of Hogue finger grooves and the improvement was fantastic.
The lighter weight frame allowed for slightly snappier recoil than a steel frame gun. About like a P226 stamped frame with 147 grainers in it. The SWC handload is somehwhat a powder puff, but still cycled without a problem.
The silvertips produced the most recoil and flash.
The mags all dropped free except one of the no-names, but it finally started to fall free after about 15 rounds thru it (what could I expect for 8 bucks ?).All mags locked the slide upon empty.
The duck-bill wasn't too bad, but it is MUCH better than nothing.
I am going to do a little shopping for a new IWB and clean it up good.
For a stock pistol, it's better than many I have by a long shot. Pleasant to shoot (moreso with the Hogues).
Probable improvements will be to polish the trigger just a little, and take out the slack, go to a set of tritium sites and think a little more about the duck-bill.
Barrel lockup is tight, accuracy at 25 yds (sandbags) averaged around 2½". I could see some ammo grouped MUCH better than others. The IMI and 200gr Hornady XTP are both hella good. The Aguila was all over the place with inconsistent recoil too. S&B grouped OK, but the wax-like residue was nasty and stunk to high heaven.
Brass was ejected in a relatively small area about 10 feet away. Firing pin strike was uniform on everything, no brass shavings anywhere in the gun.
Overall, I am happy as a clam with it. I will work a few more reloads thru it to see if I can find a sweet spot and carry the XTP until/unless I can find something else that groups so well and burns clean.
The only downside is I have to go and reload all the brass now
BigSlick
