Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) is known for building quality, reliable firearms at attractive prices. The IWI Jericho Enhanced is no different. Built on the proven Jericho 941, the Jericho Enhanced is a solid double- and single-action pistol with a few modern upgrades to the older designs. Its ancestor, the Jericho 941, was modeled after the awesome CZ-75. The original Jericho was sometimes imported under the name “Baby Eagle” to cash in on IMI/IWI’s famed Desert Eagle. The Jericho shared a few styling characteristics with the Desert Eagle and the Jericho II Enhanced retains those. Styling is where those similarities end.
I’ve had the IWI Jericho Enhanced for a few months now. It’s had numerous range trips and launched several hundred rounds downrange. So, I’ve got a good handle on what I like and don’t like about this gun. Full disclosure: IWI sent me this gun for testing and evaluation purposes. I get to keep it. That fact doesn’t bear on the following review, but it’s important to note. So, let’s get on with it.
IWI Jericho Enhanced Specifications
We’ll begin with the Jericho II’s specs. This review deals with the full-size Jericho II Enhanced. IWI also offers the shorter-barreled Jericho II-M.
- Caliber: 9x19mm
- Capacity: 17 rounds (10-round magazines are also available)
- Double/Single Action
- Barrel Length: 4.42 inches
- Overall Length: 10.25 inches
- Width: 1.46 inches
- Height (without magazine): 5.56 inches
- Weight (without magazine): 26.8 ounces
- Button Rifled and Nitrided Barrel
The Jericho’s Features
The original Jericho 941 was based on the CZ-75 and featured John Browning’s iconic Browning Hi-Power short recoil, locked breech system. The Jericho Enhanced is no different. The gun also keeps the CZ-75’s internal slide rails, giving the slide a low-profile appearance. That feature reportedly lowers the gun’s bore axis, mitigating muzzle flip. Some dispute that and say it’s merely an optical illusion. But I compared it with my most analogous pistol, the Beretta 92FS, and the Jericho’s bore axis is noticeably lower than the Beretta’s. I know it’s not exactly a scientific test, but there it is. I will say the low-profile slide required me to alter how I grasped it for manual operation. Not a huge deal, but worth mentioning.
The pistol’s upgrades are mainly ergonomic. The Jericho II’s frame is polymer, as opposed to the steel-framed Jericho 941 (although some intermittent models also had polymer frames). The grip features textured side panels with the same pattern on the front and back straps. The texture seems identical to my IWI Masada pistols. That’s a good thing. The back straps are interchangeable with small, medium, and large options. The grip is comfortable, and I like it a lot. I prefer some palm swell, and the Jericho II is better than the original there. The large beavertail protects from hammer bite, but, honestly, the hammer doesn’t really threaten the shooter’s hand.
The controls are a mix of old and new. The large slide release and textured, positive mag release are the same. They work just as well as the original Jericho controls. The frame-mounted thumb safety has changed a bit with a larger contact surface for easier operation. The gun also has a firing pin block mechanism so the gun can only fire when the trigger is pulled. Finally, the hammer safety hook prevents the hammer from hitting the firing pin if the cocked weapon is dropped.
Speaking of the hammer, the new profile provides a firm purchase on the serrated top for positive operation. The half cock function allows cocked and locked carry if that’s what you like. I can’t say it’s superior to the old hammer profile, but it seems to have more surface area for my thumb. I like it.
The 3-dot Novak sights are good but nothing special. They are windage adjustable only. The sights are factory zeroed at 25 meters, so make sure you understand your holds for that. The rear sight has a sharp right-angled front, so you can rack the slide one-handed if necessary. Meprolight offers Tru-Dot Tritium replacement sights for the Jericho Enhanced if you want to upgrade. I probably will at some point.
IWI gave the Jericho Enhanced a new trigger profile and trigger guard. The latter is large enough for gloved hands and textured up front if you shoot like Nut’n Fancy. We’ll discuss the trigger later when we talk about performance. Finally, the generous Picatinny rail is large enough to handle just about anything you want. I mounted a 1,000-lumen Streamlight TLR-9 just because I could.
Operating the IWI Jericho II
I admit to being excited about the Jericho Enhanced. I like IWI firearms and always thought the Jericho was cool, especially after learning its provenance. But there are a couple things about the Jericho Enhanced that I don’t exactly love. I don’t actually dislike these things. I just wish they were different or a little better. Let’s start there.
The Not-So-Great
The controls are hit-and-miss for me. As I said, I don’t particularly dislike any of them. I just choose not to use them for one reason or another. First, the slide release is located too far forward for me to use without significantly shifting my grip. I could maybe reach it if the safety lever wasn’t in the way, but it is. So, I just don’t use it. I release the slide manually. For me, the slide release is only the take-down pin.
Next is the safety lever. It’s fine for what it is. It’s large, tactile, and easily manipulated. It provides a natural shelf for the firing hand’s thumb (assuming you’re right-handed) and is easily disengaged as you present the gun. But I prefer a decocker on a double-action pistol. I’d love to see that option here. I do like that the safety lever is frame-mounted. looking at you, Beretta.
The safety allows me to carry the Jericho Enhanced at “Condition 1,” or “cocked and locked.” Personally, I prefer straight double action, so I don’t have to worry about whether the safety is on. The double-action trigger pull isn’t all that different from the halfcocked pull anyway. Your results may vary. In the end, aside from administrative handling, the safety is just a place to rest my thumb.
Let’s talk about the trigger. The double-action trigger isn’t great if I’m being honest. It weighs about 11 pounds with a long take-up. The break isn’t what I’d call clean, but it’s consistent and predictable. The half-cock pull is about the same. It’s a little lighter with a slightly shorter pull, but not enough for me to see a real advantage to Condition 1 carry. The single-action pull is better, and much shorter, at about 5.5 pounds with a good, if not great, reset. It’s a little mushy, and I’ll never confuse it with my Walther PPQ’s trigger, but it’s serviceable. Keep in mind this system was designed as a military service pistol and makes a difference when judging this stuff.
Finally, the Jericho Enhanced isn’t fully ambidextrous but the mag release button is reversible. To be fair, this is an older design, and I don’t hold it against IWI or the gun itself. My son, and co-tester, shoots left-handed and loves the Jericho II. Take that for what it’s worth.
Now that the not-so-great stuff is out of the way, let’s move on.
What I Like
The Jericho Enhanced is accurate. I’ll admit I had to figure out the holds, which isn’t hard. I may or may not have read the manual before hitting the range, so I may or may not have realized the gun was zeroed at 25 meters. But I soon figured it out. The weight, full-sized frame, low bore axis, and nice grip make the gun’s recoil very manageable and smooth. I easily held it on target after the initial double-action trigger pull. Admittedly, that is still a work in progress but I’m getting better. Dry fire with my Mantis Laser Academy system has helped.
The gun is also extremely reliable. That’s no surprise given the proven design and IWI’s reputation. We all know an unreliable gun, no matter how cool, isn’t any fun. One of the coolest guns I own, a Walther PPK/s, won’t get through one mag without a jam. Very disappointing. That’s not a problem with the Jericho Enhanced. This thing just runs. I expected nothing less as that’s been my experience with IWI products. The Jericho Enhanced lives up to my expectations.
Accuracy and reliability were consistent through several brands of 115 and 124-grain 9mm FMJ rounds and a couple different hollow point loads. The Jericho Enhanced hasn’t given so much as a hiccup. The Mec-Gar magazines cycle perfectly and eject cleanly. I love the rear witness holes and quality finish. The mag release is very positive when kicking out empty mags. The beveled mag well makes reloading very smooth. The Jericho Enhanced ships with two 17-round Mec-Gar mags. In case you didn’t know, Mec-Gar is an OEM magazine manufacturer for many gun companies. I’m always glad to have Mec-Gar mags.
Disassembly is easy. Cock the hammer, line up the marks on the slide and frame, push out the takedown pin (AKA the slide release), and pull off the slide. Some folks may not like pulling the trigger to move the slide forward. I get that, but that’s how some guns are. If you’re practicing proper safety, it’s not an issue. The recoil spring, spring housing, and barrel are removed easily for cleaning and maintenance.
When removing the slide, you’ll notice the full-length slide rails on the slide and frame. Few pistols have that and I’m a fan. Maybe I’m off base, but I think full-length slide rails facilitate reliability, accuracy, and smoothness. You feel that it’s solid without being stiff when you rack the slide. I’m happy that IWI kept that design feature.
Finally, this is just a cool gun. I know some of you couldn’t care less. While I agree function and reliability are king, I like my guns to look good with a cool factor. If I can have it all, why not? The Jericho has that combination even if I don’t love all the controls to include the tapered slide. Earlier, I mentioned I had to alter how I grasped the slide when racking or releasing it. The taper makes it a little harder to get ahold of. The serrations help, and once it starts, it’s smooth. Some of you may not like that but I can overlook it because I love how the tapered slide looks.
Final Thoughts
As excited as I was to get the IWI Jericho Enhanced, I must admit it took a while to grow on me. The controls didn’t thrill me, and the trigger wasn’t the best. Shooting the Jericho Enhanced brought me around.
I initially thought I might carry it, but the heavy double-action trigger changed my mind. I’m not averse to carrying big guns. I carry my Beretta 92FS sometimes, but it has to make sense. That heavy first trigger pull doesn’t make sense for that role. This rationale doesn’t apply to my Beretta since I changed out the decocker/safety for a 92G decocker-only mechanism and installed a lighter hammer spring, bringing the double action trigger pull under 8 pounds. Now, if I can do that with the Jericho Enhanced at some point, we’ll be in business.
I do run the Jericho Enhanced from a battle belt, where it excels. The big frame, 17-round capacity, and general accuracy make it great for that role. Many folks will not like that the Jericho Enhanced is not optics-compatible. Honestly, I’m not sure the tapered slide can even be cut for it. It’s a drawback of an older design. Since I’m a Luddite who has yet to buy into handgun optics, I couldn’t give a rip one way or the other. I’m old. Sue me.
Despite my initial reservations, I can honestly say I now love the IWI Jericho Enhanced. It’s fun, reliable, accurate, and it’s just plain cool. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it worked into my home defense system at some point, though my two IWI Masadas currently fill the handgun part of that system admirably. It’s resided in and on my desk for several weeks now, so maybe it’s my desk gun. I just hadn’t realized it until now. I dig it.
