Range Review Wilson Combat SFX9
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Finding the absolute perfect carry pistol sometimes seems like an impossible quest. My safe has filled up while I’ve been on the journey, I’ve tried all sorts of different options, but over the past seven years I haven’t found the right answer for me. Coming from a competitive shooting background, I knew I would never find a pistol that would be a “miniature” version of one of my competition guns. 2011’s, 1911’s, and tuned up CZ’s and Beretta’s are both incredibly easy and fun to shoot but are not carry options. That said, with so much time and money invested in competition, I realize in hindsight that I spent relatively little time with any of my conceal and carry guns. I incorrectly felt that all the competition work would translate, and I would have at a bare minimum, competent skill with my conceal and carry pistol. I put thousands and thousands of rounds down range practicing for USPSA matches, but in a year I might put a couple of hundred rounds down range with my carry gun. Part of the reason was that I felt like I had a minimum of “combat” accuracy, as defined by the ability to put two rounds into the Alpha (or center mass) zone of an IPSC target from my draw in 2 seconds from 7 yards. That’s slow, and it’s where I started my competition journey, my expectation at a match would be draw to target at 1 second, with a split below .14. Like I said, it’s minimum competency level that I set for myself, but it gives me a place to start, and a place to work towards.
My typical work attire allows me to carry a compact, or sub-compact size gun with ease, although I struggle with anything that has a 4” barrel or longer. Fortunately, I’ve never been in a situation where I needed a carry gun or have even seriously considered that the need for one was real. That said I’ve been in several situations where having one made me feel comfortable, and I have been in my hotel room while traveling for work a couple of times where someone had made an attempt to break into the room. So capacity isn’t a primary driving factor for me, if I can carry two guns that are equal in every way, I’ll never say “no” to having the extra rounds.
Over the years I’ve run a Walther PPS M1 and M2 w/RMSc, Walther P99c, Beretta PX4 Sub-Compact, Sphinx SDP Compact, CZ 75 P-01, Beretta Tomcat, Kahr CW380 and Springfield Hellcat Custom by Langdon Tactical with a Sig Romeo Zero dot on it. All of them worked, and I felt competent with them, but ultimately none of them are truly a joy to shoot, probably a big reason that I never devoted enough time or rounds to go beyond competent and become truly proficient.
The perfect carry gun is always on my mind, and like I said, I’d love to find a miniature of one of my competition guns, but every time I pick something up, for one reason or another, it’s just not quite right. However, after taking a long and hard look at what I wanted, and why, I’d put together a list of what I really needed. Super lightweight guns just aren’t fun to shoot, my accuracy is just okay. So, I felt that my ideal weight was somewhere over 23-24 oz. little pocket guns have their place, but they aren’t going to make up the bedrock of what I carry. I started out running a Walther PPQ, so I don’t dislike striker fired triggers, but over the years I must admit that my CZ Shadow has the best DA/SA trigger that I have ever had, and I shoot it with more “easy accuracy” that any striker fired gun that I have owned. In addition, the grip angle just feels right. The best triggers though, and best feel in my hand are typically 1911’s and some custom 2011’s that I have, and other than the CZ Shadow I’ve never felt anything that is close.
When the Wilson Combat SFX9 came to my attention, I took a long hard look at it, and I admit, I had a hard time looking past the price at first. What’s funny, is that I’ve spent $6,000-$7000 on a competition pistol, but the MSRP of just under $3,000 for the SFX9 was not something I would have considered. I think that mentality is that no matter the cost of the gun, I spent far more on ammo, match fee, travel and so on in competition, whereas for a conceal carry gun I was only shooting a few hundred rounds a year, and the pistol was a far larger slice of the cost of ownership pie. The specs though got me curious. 25.2 oz unloaded, 10 rounds in a flush fitting magazine, with the ability to use a 15 round extended magazine, narrow at 1.25” and a 3.25” barrel all mounted on an aluminum frame. I started my shooting in IDPA, which was founded by Bill Wilson among others, and the running joke was that he founded it so he would have a place to sell his guns, but this was my first experience with one of his guns. That said I knew his guns have carried a reputation for quality and accuracy.
First picking up the SFX9, I noticed the heft, the heft that would eat up recoil, and make this a fairly soft shooting pistol. In the hand that textured grip was grippy, but not extreme, and my hand fit perfectly on it. It pointed naturally, and I felt that I could just about index the gun from target to target without sights. That’s something I’ve only experienced with some of my nicer competition guns, but this was the right combination of weight, and size. The trigger though was an absolute highlight for me. The trigger breaks at 3.5 lbs with a short, and clean break and arguably shorter reset. I’m glad I have the medium length trigger pad, as the short would have been too short for me, but the medium was just about right for my hand. It may be better than my Dan Wesson PM9, or any of the custom guns that I’ve owned. If it’s not better, it’s in that ballpark. The 10 round, flush fit magazine was small for my hand and my pinky hung off. The 15 round magazine was great, but Wilson does sell a 10 round magazine with a pinky extension, and that allowed me a complete grip on the gun, while also being of use for carry, whereas the 15 round magazine printed in a fairly evident fashion on me.
With reliability being of paramount importance in a carry gun, I was very pleased that Wilson developed the gun for use with MecGar magazines. In fact these appear to be PPQ M2 magazines, with just the magazine release in a slightly different spot. I’ve run those magazines in the past, and have always found them reliable, in fact I’m pretty sure that with a little dremmel work, I could modify the pile of PPQ M2 magazines that I have for use in the SFX9. Controls are smooth, rounded, and no sharp edges for carry. The magazine release is perfectly placed, and I was able to actuate it with no real grip movement, making reloads very quick.
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Field stripping the gun you can immediately see where Wilson Combat has earned their reputation for fit, finish, and quality. The slide to frame fit is tight as can be, and I had it apart, cleaned, oiled, and put back together in a few minutes, and instantly it felt smooth as butter, and it was time to go to the range. Taking some 115 and 124 grain Armscor FMJ ammo, and well as some 124 grain JHP, and two boxes of my Hornady 115 grain Critical Defense ammo, it was time to see how it did on the range.
From the very first magazine I was able to tear a single ragged hole in the middle of the 7 yard target. I found that at first my groups were a little bigger than I would have liked, but surprisingly the faster I drove my splits the tighter the groups got. In fact the more rounds that I put down range, the quicker I was able to follow up, and at my peak, I was running splits around .16, which is right around where I was able to run my CZ Shadow when I was at my peak. Two hits, center mass, with 1” group with that kind of split, was not something that I had encountered in a carry gun, it’s something that was worthy of a competition gun. Between multiple, reasonably close targets my transitions were in the neighborhood of .23 seconds, which is more than just competent for a carry gun. Pushing the distance to 10 and 15 yards expanded the spread a little bit, but I had no problem putting every round in the Alpha (center mass) part of the target, and when I slowed things down, again tearing a ragged hole in the target was almost a foregone conclusion.
My SFX9 came with tritium night sights, and the Wilson tactical battle rear sights. Truth is, I’m actually not a huge fan of either, but on a carry gun I’m much more open to using tritium front sights. The rear sight, with its unique U-shaped aperture took some time for me to get used to, and I still don’t really like it. I think that I’d be apt to order a traditional square notch rear sight. That’s a minor complaint and if I was building from scratch a change that I would have made, but buying from dealer inventory, I’m probably going to make a change.
If I had a front fiber optic sight, I’d feel like the SFX9 was capable of precision accuracy, and in fact it does have a 1.5” at 25 yard guarantee. I have no doubt that from a bench it is capable of doing that, but I don’t shoot from a bench, either while carrying or in competition, so while I want accuracy, I’ll never match what this gun is capable of doing. The beautiful part is that I ran out of ammo before I wanted to, and I had to make a couple more trips to the range and put thru just about 1,000 rounds downrange in that time. The best part of that is that the gun ran flawlessly. No failure to fire, no failure to feed, no ejection issues, it ran like a sewing machine from the first round to the last round.
The truth is that the Wilson Combat SFX9 was an absolute joy to shoot. I took as much pleasure punching holes in paper with it as I have from any competition gun that I have ever run. The reason that this matters to me, is that I can’t see the SFX9 only getting a few boxes a year, it’s a gun that is a shooter, and I’m going to enjoy making sure that it will get a workout. In my mind, the gap from competent to proficient is bridged when you spend enough time on the range, putting the work in. For me, that’s a change in my attitude, and a welcome one.
Spending almost $3,000 on a carry gun isn’t going to be for everyone, and I’m not saying that it needs to be for everyone. People can get it done spending far less, and I readily admit that. For me though, I shoot this gun nearly as well as I do my competition guns, I can conceal it with ease, and more than anything, I look forward to taking it to the range, and getting some practice with it. A carry gun shouldn’t be something that you carry daily, but practice with a couple of times a year. This gun goes beyond just carry for me, into something that is truly a joy to work with. The Wilson Combat SFX9 is like a mythical beast, one that I didn’t really know could exist, but now that I’ve found it, I’m not about to let it go.
Finding the absolute perfect carry pistol sometimes seems like an impossible quest. My safe has filled up while I’ve been on the journey, I’ve tried all sorts of different options, but over the past seven years I haven’t found the right answer for me. Coming from a competitive shooting background, I knew I would never find a pistol that would be a “miniature” version of one of my competition guns. 2011’s, 1911’s, and tuned up CZ’s and Beretta’s are both incredibly easy and fun to shoot but are not carry options. That said, with so much time and money invested in competition, I realize in hindsight that I spent relatively little time with any of my conceal and carry guns. I incorrectly felt that all the competition work would translate, and I would have at a bare minimum, competent skill with my conceal and carry pistol. I put thousands and thousands of rounds down range practicing for USPSA matches, but in a year I might put a couple of hundred rounds down range with my carry gun. Part of the reason was that I felt like I had a minimum of “combat” accuracy, as defined by the ability to put two rounds into the Alpha (or center mass) zone of an IPSC target from my draw in 2 seconds from 7 yards. That’s slow, and it’s where I started my competition journey, my expectation at a match would be draw to target at 1 second, with a split below .14. Like I said, it’s minimum competency level that I set for myself, but it gives me a place to start, and a place to work towards.
My typical work attire allows me to carry a compact, or sub-compact size gun with ease, although I struggle with anything that has a 4” barrel or longer. Fortunately, I’ve never been in a situation where I needed a carry gun or have even seriously considered that the need for one was real. That said I’ve been in several situations where having one made me feel comfortable, and I have been in my hotel room while traveling for work a couple of times where someone had made an attempt to break into the room. So capacity isn’t a primary driving factor for me, if I can carry two guns that are equal in every way, I’ll never say “no” to having the extra rounds.
Over the years I’ve run a Walther PPS M1 and M2 w/RMSc, Walther P99c, Beretta PX4 Sub-Compact, Sphinx SDP Compact, CZ 75 P-01, Beretta Tomcat, Kahr CW380 and Springfield Hellcat Custom by Langdon Tactical with a Sig Romeo Zero dot on it. All of them worked, and I felt competent with them, but ultimately none of them are truly a joy to shoot, probably a big reason that I never devoted enough time or rounds to go beyond competent and become truly proficient.
The perfect carry gun is always on my mind, and like I said, I’d love to find a miniature of one of my competition guns, but every time I pick something up, for one reason or another, it’s just not quite right. However, after taking a long and hard look at what I wanted, and why, I’d put together a list of what I really needed. Super lightweight guns just aren’t fun to shoot, my accuracy is just okay. So, I felt that my ideal weight was somewhere over 23-24 oz. little pocket guns have their place, but they aren’t going to make up the bedrock of what I carry. I started out running a Walther PPQ, so I don’t dislike striker fired triggers, but over the years I must admit that my CZ Shadow has the best DA/SA trigger that I have ever had, and I shoot it with more “easy accuracy” that any striker fired gun that I have owned. In addition, the grip angle just feels right. The best triggers though, and best feel in my hand are typically 1911’s and some custom 2011’s that I have, and other than the CZ Shadow I’ve never felt anything that is close.
When the Wilson Combat SFX9 came to my attention, I took a long hard look at it, and I admit, I had a hard time looking past the price at first. What’s funny, is that I’ve spent $6,000-$7000 on a competition pistol, but the MSRP of just under $3,000 for the SFX9 was not something I would have considered. I think that mentality is that no matter the cost of the gun, I spent far more on ammo, match fee, travel and so on in competition, whereas for a conceal carry gun I was only shooting a few hundred rounds a year, and the pistol was a far larger slice of the cost of ownership pie. The specs though got me curious. 25.2 oz unloaded, 10 rounds in a flush fitting magazine, with the ability to use a 15 round extended magazine, narrow at 1.25” and a 3.25” barrel all mounted on an aluminum frame. I started my shooting in IDPA, which was founded by Bill Wilson among others, and the running joke was that he founded it so he would have a place to sell his guns, but this was my first experience with one of his guns. That said I knew his guns have carried a reputation for quality and accuracy.
First picking up the SFX9, I noticed the heft, the heft that would eat up recoil, and make this a fairly soft shooting pistol. In the hand that textured grip was grippy, but not extreme, and my hand fit perfectly on it. It pointed naturally, and I felt that I could just about index the gun from target to target without sights. That’s something I’ve only experienced with some of my nicer competition guns, but this was the right combination of weight, and size. The trigger though was an absolute highlight for me. The trigger breaks at 3.5 lbs with a short, and clean break and arguably shorter reset. I’m glad I have the medium length trigger pad, as the short would have been too short for me, but the medium was just about right for my hand. It may be better than my Dan Wesson PM9, or any of the custom guns that I’ve owned. If it’s not better, it’s in that ballpark. The 10 round, flush fit magazine was small for my hand and my pinky hung off. The 15 round magazine was great, but Wilson does sell a 10 round magazine with a pinky extension, and that allowed me a complete grip on the gun, while also being of use for carry, whereas the 15 round magazine printed in a fairly evident fashion on me.
With reliability being of paramount importance in a carry gun, I was very pleased that Wilson developed the gun for use with MecGar magazines. In fact these appear to be PPQ M2 magazines, with just the magazine release in a slightly different spot. I’ve run those magazines in the past, and have always found them reliable, in fact I’m pretty sure that with a little dremmel work, I could modify the pile of PPQ M2 magazines that I have for use in the SFX9. Controls are smooth, rounded, and no sharp edges for carry. The magazine release is perfectly placed, and I was able to actuate it with no real grip movement, making reloads very quick.
Field stripping the gun you can immediately see where Wilson Combat has earned their reputation for fit, finish, and quality. The slide to frame fit is tight as can be, and I had it apart, cleaned, oiled, and put back together in a few minutes, and instantly it felt smooth as butter, and it was time to go to the range. Taking some 115 and 124 grain Armscor FMJ ammo, and well as some 124 grain JHP, and two boxes of my Hornady 115 grain Critical Defense ammo, it was time to see how it did on the range.
From the very first magazine I was able to tear a single ragged hole in the middle of the 7 yard target. I found that at first my groups were a little bigger than I would have liked, but surprisingly the faster I drove my splits the tighter the groups got. In fact the more rounds that I put down range, the quicker I was able to follow up, and at my peak, I was running splits around .16, which is right around where I was able to run my CZ Shadow when I was at my peak. Two hits, center mass, with 1” group with that kind of split, was not something that I had encountered in a carry gun, it’s something that was worthy of a competition gun. Between multiple, reasonably close targets my transitions were in the neighborhood of .23 seconds, which is more than just competent for a carry gun. Pushing the distance to 10 and 15 yards expanded the spread a little bit, but I had no problem putting every round in the Alpha (center mass) part of the target, and when I slowed things down, again tearing a ragged hole in the target was almost a foregone conclusion.
My SFX9 came with tritium night sights, and the Wilson tactical battle rear sights. Truth is, I’m actually not a huge fan of either, but on a carry gun I’m much more open to using tritium front sights. The rear sight, with its unique U-shaped aperture took some time for me to get used to, and I still don’t really like it. I think that I’d be apt to order a traditional square notch rear sight. That’s a minor complaint and if I was building from scratch a change that I would have made, but buying from dealer inventory, I’m probably going to make a change.
If I had a front fiber optic sight, I’d feel like the SFX9 was capable of precision accuracy, and in fact it does have a 1.5” at 25 yard guarantee. I have no doubt that from a bench it is capable of doing that, but I don’t shoot from a bench, either while carrying or in competition, so while I want accuracy, I’ll never match what this gun is capable of doing. The beautiful part is that I ran out of ammo before I wanted to, and I had to make a couple more trips to the range and put thru just about 1,000 rounds downrange in that time. The best part of that is that the gun ran flawlessly. No failure to fire, no failure to feed, no ejection issues, it ran like a sewing machine from the first round to the last round.
The truth is that the Wilson Combat SFX9 was an absolute joy to shoot. I took as much pleasure punching holes in paper with it as I have from any competition gun that I have ever run. The reason that this matters to me, is that I can’t see the SFX9 only getting a few boxes a year, it’s a gun that is a shooter, and I’m going to enjoy making sure that it will get a workout. In my mind, the gap from competent to proficient is bridged when you spend enough time on the range, putting the work in. For me, that’s a change in my attitude, and a welcome one.
Spending almost $3,000 on a carry gun isn’t going to be for everyone, and I’m not saying that it needs to be for everyone. People can get it done spending far less, and I readily admit that. For me though, I shoot this gun nearly as well as I do my competition guns, I can conceal it with ease, and more than anything, I look forward to taking it to the range, and getting some practice with it. A carry gun shouldn’t be something that you carry daily, but practice with a couple of times a year. This gun goes beyond just carry for me, into something that is truly a joy to work with. The Wilson Combat SFX9 is like a mythical beast, one that I didn’t really know could exist, but now that I’ve found it, I’m not about to let it go.
