I like new thinkers and people who come to the gun world with interesting ideas and concepts. Rhett Neumayer of Demonstrated Concepts is someone who isn’t afraid to bring new ideas to the gun world. He isn’t just spouting off. He goes out, tries new things, and then presents them to the world. One of his new concepts is the Cheek Pistol.
What we are about to talk about seems a little crazy, but I want you to have an open mind. At one point, I’m sure the idea of using two hands on a pistol seemed crazy. The cheek pistol is a bit of a niche experiment, and I wanted to see how well it would work. There is only one way to find out if it works, and that is to go out and try it.
What’s a cheek pistol?
The idea Rhett came up with is fairly simple. You need some form of large format pistol that lacks a slide or has the slide hidden. There is no stock or brace required, and it only really works with larger handguns. One of the more common and affordable is the CP-33, which I’ve seen used more than others. Other candidates include the B&T MP9 and maybe even certain models of the Masterpiece Arms MAC-style pistols.
A cheek pistol requires an optic, and that optic should sit nice and high on the gun. I’m talking AR rifle height, and a nice tall mount works well. Your cheek should rest on the pistol, and you should be able to see through the optic fairly easily. Your support hand should wrap around the top of the handguard, (or—well, front of the pistol), in front of the optic. This combination of the optic requirement, cheek, and hand placement really limits the number of firearms that can be cheek pistols.
The idea behind the gun and the cheek pistol concept is pretty simple. It’s a very supported position, and the cheek weld is much like that on a standard rifle. The purpose is simple, and it allows you to extend the effective range of handguns to almost rifle-like ranges. Well, maybe SMG-like ranges. The idea is you can reach out to 100 yards with a handgun.
My Cheek Pistol
I don’t have a CP-33, an MP9, or even a Masterpiece Arms MAC, so I decided to make my own with the Recover Tactical P-IX and a Glock 17. It’s not a normal cheek pistol by any means. Most should be a bit more compact than this, and the P-IX is about as compact as an AR-15 pistol. It’s not the typical option and is too big to see all of the cheek pistol benefits in terms of a compact design.
However, it allowed me to try the concept out, even if it doesn’t have the benefits of a more concealable firearm. I loaded the P-IX and Glock 17 up and hit the range. My optic of choice is the Holosun 509T on a slightly higher mount. I’ve seen a few people use a .22LR as a cheek pistol, but I think 9mm would be a little more realistic in terms of effectiveness.
At the Range
First, I decided to re-zero the optic using a cheek pistol method of shooting. I did so at 25 yards. It didn’t take much adjustment to get it to the X of a B8. Although, the first group I shot impressed me. It was three rather tight rounds and not bad for a first attempt with the cheek pistol. With some refinement, I got the groups right where I needed them to be.
Off the bat, I decided the P-IX was not the optimum pistol platform. My face ate Picatinny rail as I pushed my face into the gun to get behind the optic. The recoil wasn’t super friendly, but after a little practice, I didn’t mind too much. I got my face nice and tight behind the optic. After zeroing, I stretched my legs out to 50 yards where I very easily rang steel, specifically an IPSC target torso.
Hitting targets at 50 yards is completely possible with a standard handgun, but not with this level of accuracy. I aimed at the upper chest and put all of the rounds into the upper chest. Well, one went into the head, and I count that as a win.
What about at 100 yards? I’ve never hit anything with a handgun at 100 yards. It’s entirely possible, but currently outside of my skill level. I crouched with my cheek pistol and focused carefully, and at 100 yards, I landed three out of five shots. I aimed at the high chest, and there is a good bit of drop for 9mm at this range. With a little practice, I hit more than I missed, but not by much.
What to Fix?
I think with a proper cheek pistol. I could do better. My contraption isn’t the best choice, but it’s workable. I do need to raise my optic a little higher. I really had to dig in to get on target and to keep those rounds on target. A higher optic would be a lot more comfortable with the cheek pistol.
Still, even with my less-than-optimum cheek pistol, the concept worked. I hit that target at 100 yards. Not every time, but more than I missed, and that’s what mattered. At 50 yards, the performance was downright impressive. I’m itching to get a CP-33 and give it a try on a more cheek pistol-friendly platform.
With a little practice, I think I could be incredibly effective with this platform. So far, everyone has used a red dot with the cheek pistol, but I’m wondering if a micro prism would give the platform even more of an edge.
Final Thoughts
The cheek pistol concept has sincerely impressed me. It works. It’s accurate, supportive, and easy to utilize. Even with a less-than-optimum platform, the cheek pistol works. Having rifle-like capability with a handgun is an interesting option, and KelTec should pay Rhett a commission for selling me a CP-33.
What do you think about the cheek pistol? Let me know below.
