{"id":80074,"date":"2022-04-15T19:53:39","date_gmt":"2022-04-16T00:53:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=80074"},"modified":"2022-04-15T19:54:43","modified_gmt":"2022-04-16T00:54:43","slug":"80074","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=80074","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I think if you don&#8217;t already have a Pocket Rocket\u2122 this looks like a good one.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/gun-review-smith-wesson-csx-hammer-fired-9mm-micro-compact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gun Review: Smith &amp; Wesson CSX Hammer-Fired 9mm Micro Compact<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-80076\" src=\"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/20220413213100-01-scaled-1-600x401.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"401\" srcset=\"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/20220413213100-01-scaled-1-600x401.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/20220413213100-01-scaled-1-450x301.jpeg 450w, https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/20220413213100-01-scaled-1-768x513.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/20220413213100-01-scaled-1-1536x1027.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/20220413213100-01-scaled-1-2048x1369.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/20220413213100-01-scaled-1-1200x802.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3tLZSJI\">Smith &amp; Wesson\u2019s new CSX<\/a>\u00a0fills a gap in the pocket pistol market, scratching that double-digit round count micro compact itch we all seem to have, but doing it with an external hammer.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.smith-wesson.com\/product\/csx\">The CSX<\/a>\u00a0is a little old school and a lot new school, and TTAG took it to the range to see how it stacks up.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" title=\"Smith &amp;amp; Wesson CSX : TTAG Range Review\" src=\"https:\/\/rumble.com\/embed\/vwbsnb\/?pub=13lc9t#?secret=vFBKIPHPWP\" data-secret=\"vFBKIPHPWP\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019d rather watch than read, you\u2019ll find my video range review embedded above. Otherwise, here we go . . .<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-rec td-a-rec-id-content_inline tdi_2_7bd td_block_template_1\">\n<div id=\"wh_17415148_1\" class=\"ads_container\">\n<div id=\"ld-13777902496068710-703\">To my knowledge, the Smith &amp; Wesson CSX is the first pistol in this micro compact size category (see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/heads-up-p365-vs-hellcat-vs-max-9-vs-mp9-shield-plus\/\">P365 vs Hellcat vs MAX-9 vs Shield Plus<\/a>) to combine a 10+ round capacity and an external hammer. I know there are many dapper gentlemen out there who prefer an external hammer, and I\u2019m fairly sure the vast majority of them also want a metal frame so it was wise of S&amp;W to machine the CSX\u2019s frame from aluminum.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>That said, the frontstrap and backstrap inserts are polymer and that\u2019s most of what you feel when you grip the CSX. I have no real clue how that\u2019ll play with the hammer-fired metal-framed pistol crowd.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, compared to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/gun-review-sw-mp9-shield-plus\/\">the M&amp;P9 Shield Plus<\/a>\u00a0the CSX is effectively identical in length (6.1\u2033), width (1.12\u2033 across the controls), and height (4.6\u2033), and is only 1.6 ounces heavier (19.5 oz). That makes it slightly larger than the SIG P365, for example, but still within the popular micro compact and even perhaps pocket pistol size range.<\/p>\n<p>A sandpaper-esque pebble texture is molded into the polymer grip inserts of the CSX. It has more smooth surface area than the Shield Plus does as the rest of the CSX\u2019s aluminum frame is smooth.<\/p>\n<p>One unique feature with the CSX, something I don\u2019t believe another micro compact pistol offers, is swappable backstraps. With a little tool designed to compress the mainspring, the backstrap is quickly and easily popped off the CSX and can be exchanged for others of varying size and thickness.<\/p>\n<p>I really like Smith\u2019s grip texture a lot. It provides a fantastic grip, but won\u2019t tear up your bare skin too badly (e.g. your love handles or belly).<\/p>\n<p>As a single action only, hammer-fired pistol, the CSX has a manual thumb safety as you\u2019d expect. The ambidextrous control is mirrored on both sides of the pistol and is easily flipped off with a standard thumb stroke.<\/p>\n<p>While the lever is placed fairly far toward the rear of the diminutive gun, if you simply flip your thumb down as you would on a full-size 1911 or similar, you\u2019ll snag the safety behind your thumb knuckle and it\u2019ll snick cleanly downward to the \u201cfire\u201d position. Popping the safety back up off of its \u201cfire\u201d detent and onto its \u201csafe\u201d detent takes a little more intent and pressure, which is exactly what you want.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike many pistols with a manual thumb safety, the CSX\u2019s slide can be manipulated with the safety engaged. This means the user can insert a loaded\u00a0<a title=\"This is an affiliate ad link.\" href=\"https:\/\/www.avantlink.com\/click.php?tt=ale&amp;ti=11297&amp;pri=15694&amp;pw=275597&amp;mi=14459&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fgunmagwarehouse.com%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener ugc,nofollow\">magazine<\/a>\u00a0and rack the slide to chamber a round with the safety on \u201csafe\u201d the entire time.<\/p>\n<p>In a modern departure from the norm for hammer-fired\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.avantlink.com\/click.php?tt=ale&amp;ti=11093&amp;pri=21153&amp;pw=275597&amp;mi=16393&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.guns.com%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener ugc\">guns<\/a>, the Smith &amp; Wesson CSX also incorporates a trigger blade dingus safety lever flipper doohickey. Frankly, with how incredibly light, short, and crisp striker-fired triggers have become (S&amp;W\u2019s own Shield Plus is a great example of that) I can\u2019t think of any particularly strong argument for not carrying the CSX with its manual safety off. There\u2019s really no material difference between it and many of the striker-fired competition that lack any sort of manual safety.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps that\u2019s the reason S&amp;W added a trigger blade safety to the CSX.<\/p>\n<p>With its flush-fitting magazine, the CSX holds 10+1 rounds of 9mm. With the only very slightly extended magazine\u00a0inserted, capacity bumps up to 12+1 rounds and my pinky just barely has a home on the frontstrap.<\/p>\n<p>On the range I was a little worried about slide bite. Obviously I like to hold a pistol nice and high on the grip, and my men\u2019s size L mitts are just meaty enough to come up onto the rear of the little beavertail.<\/p>\n<p>After a bunch of shooting on multiple range sessions, though, I never got more than a couple of light grease marks on the web of my hand. So it was close! Darn close. But never a problem. As \u201clow bore axis\u201d and such goes, I\u2019d say S&amp;W just about nailed the dimensions here. YMMV.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, not surprisingly, the CSX shot for me a lot like the Shield Plus. I prefer what I feel is the flatter and sharper (flatter sides with a tighter frontstrap and backstrap radius) grip frame on the Shield Plus along with its additional grip texture surface area, but I know Dan would feel the opposite way. The shape of the Shield Plus just happens to index into my grip particularly well and it gives me a great ability to \u201cdrive\u201d that gun\u00a0hard.<\/p>\n<p>My impression is that the CSX has slightly more felt recoil than the Shield Plus, too, despite weighing nearly 10 percent more. I think this is because polymer frames tend to absorb or mute recoil to some degree whereas metal frames transmit more of the sharpness into your hands.<\/p>\n<p>That said, the little CSX didn\u2019t rotate in my grip at all during shooting, which deserves bonus points for any tiny, lightweight 9mm.<\/p>\n<p>As you\u2019d hope and expect, the S&amp;W CSX also ate every type of ammo I threw at it, including a handful of different self-defense rounds with pretty darn large hollow point mouths. From weak range ammo to +P ammo, from 90 grains to 147, the CSX fed, fired, and ejected all of it without a hitch.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of testing, my only gripe about the CSX is its trigger. What should be a (or\u00a0<em>the<\/em>) major selling point for a single action, hammer-fired pistol \u2014 a fantastic, crisp trigger \u2014 just doesn\u2019t deliver.<\/p>\n<p>The trigger pull and break, actually, is good. But I don\u2019t think it\u2019s superior to the Shield Plus (which for a striker-fired gun\u00a0has an absolutely\u00a0<em>fantastic<\/em>\u00a0trigger), and the issue is that it should be. Once the trigger safety blade is taken up there\u2019s extremely minimal further movement or creep, but for some reason the break itself doesn\u2019t feel glass rod clean. I get a little grit or click on and after the break, like it breaks but doesn\u2019t drop down to zero resistance and has some friction during its minimal overtravel.<\/p>\n<p>With a perfectly good (though it ought to be stellar) trigger pull and break, it\u2019s the CSX\u2019s trigger reset, then, that triggers my complaint reflex. Three specific gripes on reset:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 I think it needs a stronger trigger spring. I like to feel as though the trigger\u00a0<em>wants<\/em>\u00a0to travel forward and there\u2019s no way I can release it faster than it\u2019ll keep up with my finger. I want to feel some forward pressure on my finger. The CSX\u2019s trigger comes forward with less gusto than I\u2019d prefer, though not so light that it makes me nervous it\u2019ll forget to reset (which is something I\u2019ve experienced on a few other\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.avantlink.com\/click.php?tt=ale&amp;ti=11093&amp;pri=21153&amp;pw=275597&amp;mi=16393&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.guns.com%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener ugc\">guns<\/a>).<br \/>\n\u2022 There\u2019s a \u201cfalse reset\u201d click as the trigger approaches about halfway forward. As a guy who likes to ride the reset, I was fooled a couple of times by this and pulled the trigger rearward again only to find that I hadn\u2019t actually allowed it forward enough to reset.<br \/>\n\u2022 The true trigger reset is fairly gentle. Without much tactile or audible feedback this isn\u2019t a gun\u00a0that I can ride the reset on. If I want to shoot it rapidly I have to be completely sure that I\u2019m fully releasing the trigger all the way forward. This combined with the light trigger spring means I\u2019m coming all the way off the trigger at least enough to let out the safety blade and sometimes slapping it a little. Not my preference.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately my complaints about the CSX\u2019s trigger reset are relatively minor. I\u2019m picking nits here as there isn\u2019t much about the gun\u00a0to dislike, and I\u2019m admittedly a bit of a trigger snob. I\u2019m also going to be more critical of the trigger on a single action, external hammer pistol, because expectations here are as high as they get in the semi-auto pistol world.<\/p>\n<p>Overall my opinion on the Smith &amp; Wesson CSX is that if you\u2019re in the market for an extremely compact, easy-to-conceal pistol with 10+ rounds of capacity and you prefer an external hammer for any reason, the CSX is your huckleberry. It\u2019s a great shooter that\u2019s reliable and oh-so-easy to carry\u2026and it\u2019s the only gun\u00a0in this size and capacity category with an external hammer.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Specifications:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.avantlink.com\/click.php?tt=cl&amp;merchant_id=855e0b56-67a2-40d0-aa2b-a0764ca94489&amp;website_id=4e8a62e5-c9f2-4169-947d-06856fc118da&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brownells.com%2Ffirearms%2Fhandguns%2Fsemi-auto%2Fcsx-9mm-pistol-prod145045.aspx%3Favad%3D227177_a2805ad2d%26aid%3D178353%26utm_medium%3Daffiliate%26utm_source%3DAvantlink%26utm_content%3DNA%26utm_campaign%3D178353\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Smith &amp; Wesson CSX 9mm Pistol<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Caliber:<\/strong>\u00a09mm<br \/>\n<strong>Capacity:<\/strong>\u00a010+1 rounds flush fit, 12+1 extended<br \/>\n<strong>Barrel Length:<\/strong>\u00a03.1 inches<br \/>\n<strong>Overall Length:<\/strong>\u00a06.1 inches<br \/>\n<strong>Width Across Controls:<\/strong>\u00a01.12 inches<br \/>\n<strong>Width Exclusive of Controls:<\/strong>\u00a01.01 inches<br \/>\n<strong>Height:<\/strong>\u00a04.6 inches<br \/>\n<strong>Weight:<\/strong>\u00a019.5 ounces<br \/>\n<strong>Sights:<\/strong>\u00a0white 3-dot<br \/>\n<strong>MSRP:<\/strong>\u00a0$609 (in stock as of this review\u2019s publication for $579.99\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.avantlink.com\/click.php?tt=cl&amp;merchant_id=855e0b56-67a2-40d0-aa2b-a0764ca94489&amp;website_id=4e8a62e5-c9f2-4169-947d-06856fc118da&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brownells.com%2Ffirearms%2Fhandguns%2Fsemi-auto%2Fcsx-9mm-pistol-prod145045.aspx%3Favad%3D227177_a2805ad2d%26aid%3D178353%26utm_medium%3Daffiliate%26utm_source%3DAvantlink%26utm_content%3DNA%26utm_campaign%3D178353\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">at Brownells HERE<\/a>)<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Ratings (out of five stars):<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Style and Appearance\u00a0 * * * *<\/strong><br \/>\nI like the looks of the CSX. The slide is nicely sculpted with clean machining and I like the look of a pistol with an external hammer. The CSX is somehow modern and classy at the same time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Reliability\u00a0 * * * * *<br \/>\n<\/strong>Right out of the box the S&amp;W CSX fed, fired, and ejected every type of ammo I shot through it without a hiccup. No lube added, plenty dirty, indoors and in the Texas sun for about 500 rounds including firing single-handed, etc.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ergonomics\u00a0 * * * *\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>\nFor me the CSX doesn\u2019t fit in my hand quite as well as the Shield Plus does, though its very comfortable and secure for such a tiny gun. While the controls are all fairly low-profile and geared toward concealed carry use, they\u2019re easy to operate.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Customize This\u00a0 * * *\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>\nSights are swappable and night sights and other upgrades are available. Multiple backstraps is a unique feature for a micro compact firearm, and that\u2019s a nice touch so the CSX can be customized to better fit your hand size. Unlike the Shield Plus, the CSX\u2019s slide is not cut for an optic. No idea yet if the CSX will see much aftermarket support for sights, holsters, triggers, etc.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Overall\u00a0 * * * *<br \/>\n<\/strong>For me personally I\u2019d probably call the CSX a three-star gun, however that\u2019s because I give no weight or extra points to the fact that it has an external hammer. For those who prefer an exposed hammer, though, the CSX is unique in the market and is a truly fantastic concealed carry option.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I think if you don&#8217;t already have a Pocket Rocket\u2122 this looks like a good one. Gun Review: Smith &amp; Wesson CSX Hammer-Fired 9mm Micro Compact Smith &amp; Wesson\u2019s new CSX\u00a0fills a gap in the pocket pistol market, scratching that double-digit round count micro compact itch we all seem to have, but doing it with &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=80074\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gun-schtuff"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80074"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80078,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80074\/revisions\/80078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}