{"id":414687,"date":"2023-12-30T09:00:53","date_gmt":"2023-12-30T15:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/?p=414687"},"modified":"2023-12-01T15:33:12","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T21:33:12","slug":"a-year-with-the-wilson-combat-sft9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/a-year-with-the-wilson-combat-sft9\/","title":{"rendered":"A Year With The Wilson Combat SFT9"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Gun writer reviews of new firearms don\u2019t usually take a year. The reason is simple: the readers want to know the facts about the new product <em>now. <\/em>The article you are presently reading is an exception, as it&#8217;s more of a follow-up.<\/p>\n<p>In early November of 2022, I sat down with Wilson Combat exec Guy Joubert at the WC factory in Berryville, Arkansas where he gave me the lowdown on the company\u2019s SFT9; the latest iteration in their EDC X9 update of the classic 1911 design in 9mm. It was recorded for the Wilson Combat YouTube channel where (total disclosure here) I\u2019m one of the regular content providers. Here\u2019s that interview, if you\u2019re interested:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"text-center article-iframe d-flex flex-wrap justify-content-center\"><iframe title=\"Wilson Combat SFT9 Commander with Massad Ayoob and Guy Joubert - Critical Mas EP 44\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aFzjt2Vwi-o?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>It finished with me saying that I was looking forward to testing it.<\/p>\n<p>That happened quickly. My test sample arrived at my FFL dealer almost as soon as I got home from Arkansas. When your shooting buddies learn that you have an expensive new gun they can try, they tend to accept your invitation to come and shoot it. This gets a lot of rounds through it quickly, from many hands \u2013 big and small, male and female, heavily experienced and sometimes less so \u2014 all of which gives the writer analyzing the product more useful feedback. The pistol came through the test with the proverbial flying colors. The article appeared in <em>On Target<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_414698\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-414698\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-414698 size-full lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-shoot-brass-MFA.jpg\" alt=\"Mas shooting SFT9 with brass in the air\" width=\"800\" height=\"512\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-shoot-brass-MFA.jpg 800w, https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-shoot-brass-MFA-300x192.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-shoot-brass-MFA-768x492.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-shoot-brass-MFA-150x96.jpg 150w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 800px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 800\/512;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-414698\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shootability \u2013 spent casings tell the tale, with muzzle still on target in rapid fire. Photo: Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I had been shooting <a href=\"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/magfinder\/wilson-combat-edc-x9\">Wilson\u2019s EDC X9 pistols<\/a> in their various formats since they came out in the late twenty-teens. They had all been excellent guns, as they bloody well should have, given their heritage and their price. I hadn\u2019t bought one to keep, simply because they didn\u2019t fit my hand as well as the standard-format 1911s I had been shooting since 1960, and because I already had a bunch of 16-shot 9mms including a couple of Wilson\u2019s own customized Beretta 92 Compacts.<\/p>\n<p>But I bought this one to keep. And I\u2019m glad I did.\u00a0 Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n<h2>Objective and Subjective Reasons<\/h2>\n<p>The \u201cT\u201d in SFT9 stands for Trac, the \u201cgrenade grip\u201d-like surfacing of the \u201cSF\u201d part, the one-piece Solid Frame. If you look at the pix, you can see the wide spaces between the raised parts that the flesh of the hand locks into, with those raised parts blunt enough that they <em>secured, <\/em>but they didn\u2019t <em>abrade. <\/em>I discovered that I could carry the SFT9 inside the waistband against bare skin, in the ARG holster I designed for Mitch Rosen, or the classic Milt Sparks Summer Special under a one-size-large un-tucked tee or polo shirt with all-day comfort.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_414696\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-414696\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-414696 size-full lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-holster-MFA.jpg\" alt=\"SFT9 in a holster.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-holster-MFA.jpg 800w, https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-holster-MFA-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-holster-MFA-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-holster-MFA-150x100.jpg 150w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 800px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 800\/533;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-414696\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Everything on the SFT9 is melted\/rounded for comfort, allowing carry against bare skin in Milt Sparks Summer Special IWB under an un-tucked polo shirt. Photo: Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The earlier EDC X9 series had been just enough different from classic 1911 that when I snapped one up to the target it was just a tad off from perfect alignment\u2026but with the SFT9 iteration, it was spot on for \u201cperfect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Additional bonuses: whether with the standard 15-round magazine <a href=\"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/brands\/mecgar\">Mec-Gar<\/a> made for Wilson or the extended 18-rounder, the SFT9\u2019s grip frame circumference was so slim that its trigger reach dimension allowed me to get my index finger onto the trigger face at the distal joint instead of the pad, which I\u2019ve come to prefer for its additional leverage. This makes my SFT9\u2019s trigger, which measures a bit over four pounds on the Lyman digital gauge, <em>feel<\/em> a pound or two lighter.<\/p>\n<p>A few years ago, I noticed that degenerative arthritis was twisting my hand\u2019s digits out of line, and my right thumb could no longer reliably hit a standard 1911 mag release button at speed. With the SFT9, the combination of the amazingly slim grip circumference allowed me to reach that button \u201cthe old-fashioned way\u201d \u2013 a welcome revelation.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_414697\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-414697\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-414697 size-full lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-reload-MFA.jpg\" alt=\"Mas doing an emergency reload\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-reload-MFA.jpg 800w, https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-reload-MFA-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-reload-MFA-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-reload-MFA-150x100.jpg 150w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 800px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 800\/533;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-414697\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The grip shape allowed Mas\u2019 twisted thumb to eject a spent magazine the correct way for maximum reloading speed. Photo: Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Then and Now<\/h2>\n<p>I haven\u2019t shot a match with this gun yet: Austin Proulx and Guy Joubert of the <a href=\"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/brands\/wilson-combat\">Wilson Combat<\/a> shooting team have won national and state championships in IDPA CCP (International Defensive Pistol Association Concealed Carry Pistol) competition, so it has been proven in more skilled hands than my own. I haven\u2019t taught with it because my mantra in live-fire classes is \u201cIt\u2019s not about the gun so much as it\u2019s about the shooter, and it\u2019s not even about the shooter so much as it\u2019s about consistent application of proven technique.\u201d If the instructor demonstrates with a\u00a0 $3,000 gun the students can get the false impression that it\u2019s the gun delivering the hits, not the technique.<\/p>\n<p>The SFT9 comes with two 15-round magazines. You can also get 10-rounders if you are unfortunate enough to be limited to that by the state you are in. They also make an extended 18-rounder, and therein lies my one complaint: it\u2019s hard as hell to get that 18<sup>th<\/sup> round into it, and once it\u2019s full-up, if the slide is forward it is very difficult to insert to the locking point. Accordingly, I\u2019ve come to carry one of the 18-round mags I acquired after the initial test as a spare, but with only 17 cartridges therein.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_414694\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-414694\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-414694 size-full lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-2Mags-MFA.jpg\" alt=\"SFT9 with 15 and 18 round mags\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-2Mags-MFA.jpg 800w, https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-2Mags-MFA-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-2Mags-MFA-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-2Mags-MFA-150x113.jpg 150w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 800px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 800\/600;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-414694\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">SFT9 with 18-round mag in place and 15- and 18-rounders standing by. Mas loads only 17 into the latter for reasons explained in text. Photo: Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>On my own time, though, when I\u2019m not teaching, I\u2019ve found <a href=\"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/magfinder\/wilson-combat-sft9\">the Wilson SFT9<\/a> to be an increasingly frequent personal companion. We\u2019ve grown to shoot well together. In reviewing for this article, I can\u2019t help but notice that on the 300 out of 300 point IPSC target I shot on a comprehensive qualification in November of 2022, the whole 60-shot group measured about 5.5\u201d.\u00a0 In November 2023 I shot the same SFT9 over the same course of fire, but twice as fast, scoring another 300\/300 with the 60 double-speed hits grouping in 6.45\u201d, only about an inch bigger.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_414695\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-414695\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-414695 size-full lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-2targets-MFA.jpg\" alt=\"Mas with two target shot with the SFT9\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-2targets-MFA.jpg 800w, https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-2targets-MFA-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-2targets-MFA-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SFT9-2targets-MFA-150x100.jpg 150w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 800px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 800\/533;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-414695\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Improving with time. Left, double speed Nov. &#8217;23; right, standard speed Nov. &#8217;22, both with SFT9 on 60-shot timed qual courses. Photo: Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>With any gun, the more time you have shooting it the better you and it should perform together. I found that to be particularly true with the Wilson Combat SFT9.<\/p>\n<p>Let me close with this. In the comments on the Wilson Combat video Guy and I did on the SFT9, the only real negatives were \u201cOMG, it costs $3,000!\u201d\u00a0 Look at it this way: if it works better for you, and you\u2019re going to keep it for 30 years, it will cost you 30 cents or less a day to own it and it will still have substantial trade-in value when you\u2019re done with it. In the meantime, you\u2019ll know you\u2019ve protected yourself and your family with the best you can afford.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ve found the Wilson Combat SFT9 to be an increasingly frequent personal companion. We\u2019ve grown to shoot well together. In reviewing for this article, I can\u2019t help but notice that on the 300 out of 300 point IPSC target I shot on a comprehensive qualification in November of 2022, the whole 60-shot group measured about\u00a05.5\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":414693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2333],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-414687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-firearm-reviews"],"small_media_thumbnail":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Feat-SFT9-MFA-300x200.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414687"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":416177,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414687\/revisions\/416177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/414693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}