SHOT Show 2019 New Products Part 2

February 13, 2019 By Dave Young (YoungBuckDave)

Last month I talked about three companies who made announcements prior to SHOT Show about the new products they were planning on releasing and showcasing. I was fortunate enough to see every one of those new products in person and to shoot some of them as well. Since I spent last month giving a general background on the new firearms Glock, Mossberg, and ZEV Tech planned on releasing, I figured this month I would write a follow up article about the products those three companies released and give you my personal overall opinions on the firearms; what I liked and did not like about them. The only firearm I was unable to get any trigger time on was the ZEV Tech OZ-9 pistol. I did spend a lot of time talking with the ZEV reps and messing around with the gun so I feel I can still give you valuable feedback on the OZ-9.

Pistol Review - Mossberg MC1sx, Zev OZ-9, Glock G43X and G48

The first company I am going to talk about is everyone's favorite, Glock. Like I have said before in various articles, I am by no means a "Glock Guy". Glock makes reliable, affordable, and accurate firearms, but they are just not my preferred brand. Since Glock made their announcement about their new G43X and G48 I wanted to get my hands on them. I have bigger hands and single stack sub compact pistols have never felt comfortable in my hands because I usually end up having my pinky hanging off the end. I know this problem can be solved by simply adding a magazine extension onto the bottom of the magazine, but since the new G43X and G48 have longer handles I wanted to see how it would fit my hand with that extra added length. I wasn't disappointed in the least. Both the G34X and the G48 fit in my hand perfectly, and I was able to get a full grip without having my pinky hanging off the bottom. The front serrations on both pistols is a nice bonus, and they both shot just as I expected any Glock would. I personally felt that since I was able to get a full grip with both pistols the snappiness some people feel when firing single stack sub compact pistols was barely noticeable. The only feature I did not like about the new G43X and G48 was that they come with a silver slide which isn't really a big deal or a deal breaker. I just personally prefer my guns to be all black for the most part. Besides that, I feel Glock did a very good job listening to feedback from its customers and providing them with a great single stack sub compact pistol that can be easily used by people with bigger hands.

The next company I am going to talk about is ZEV Tech and their new complete ZEV pistol, the OZ-9. At first glance many would think that this is just another custom Glock ZEV has decked out, which couldn't be more wrong. Last month I went into detail talking about all the improvements and designs that went into the OZ-9 which put it in a league of its own. I unfortunately was unable to shoot the new OZ-9 but did spend quite a bit of time at their booth just getting the feel of the OZ-9 in person. Right off the bat the first thing that got my attention was the grip. The steeper angles and forward hand positioning of the ZEV Tech OZ-9 helps to keep the muzzle down while firing. Just by holding it you can tell the design of the grip will accomplish that. I was then shown their patent pending Steel Receiver that runs along the entire length of the pistol. I was told about how the extended rails in the steel receiver provide more than double the surface area of contact to the slide along with channels that clear out debris while also acting as lubricating reservoirs for higher friction areas. Of course, ZEV Tech couldn't make their own pistol without adding some of the parts for which they are most famous. ZEV Tech also includes their Match Grade Barrel, PRO Flat Face Trigger, PRO Plus Magwell, which is all packed up in a custom OZ-9 SKB Case. Even though the OZ-9 is a complete ZEV Tech pistol they designed it to accept Glock magazines, which is a big benefit since those are extremely common. All and all, I was highly impressed by the design of the OZ-9 and just how amazing it felt in my hands. You can instantly tell a lot of time and energy was put into designing the OZ-9, and it kept the same amazing quality ZEV Tech is known for.

The last, but certainly not least, is Mossberg and their new sub compact 9MM pistol, the MC1sc. Everyone knows Mossberg for their shotguns which are used around the world by law enforcement and military personnel, hunters, competition shooters, and other people who just want a good reliable shotgun to use for home defense. So, when I heard they were releasing their own pistol I had high expectations since their shotguns are some of the best. At first, walking up to their booth at range day I was skeptical and maybe thought they should have stuck to just making shotguns and some rifles. Well all of that immediately went away the second I picked up the MC1sc and started dry firing it. I became a believer in this pistol after the first magazine. The feature that first stood out to me was the custom grip on the MC1sc. Mossberg incorporated signature Mossberg aggressive texturing and a palm swell grip to give the shooter an ideal feel whenever they pick up the pistol. It's hard to describe but "it just feels right". The trigger included on the MC1sc was the next feature that caught my attention. The trigger is smooth and offers a nice crisp break to minimize any jerking of the trigger sending shots astray. I was fortunate enough to be able to fire the MC1sc with both the 6rd flush fit mag and the 7rd extended mag. I tend to have more of an issue firing sub compact pistols without a magazine extension due to my larger hands, but even with the flush fit magazine I didn't have a single issue putting the rounds I wanted on target. I was highly impressed with how accurately this pistol performed right out of the box. It became one of the guns I was most impressed with throughout SHOT Show. I can honestly say the MC1sc would be a pistol I would consider buying for myself if I was in the market for a good single stack sub compact 9MM pistol.

Another SHOT Show has come and gone and once again I am very excited to see how this year plays out for the firearms industry and all the new products in store for 2019. Even though I only talked about the four firearms in this article, a bunch of other companies also made major releases at SHOT Show. Some of the other companies that released products this year were Maxim Defense, Sig Sauer, Primary Weapon Systems (PWS), Magpul, FN, CZ USA, Nighthawk Custom, Heckler & Koch, and much more, some of which I talk about in the other article in this issue called the "SHOT Show 2019 Recap". For everyone who was unable to attend the show this year I hope this month's issue of the newsletter helps to answer any questions people may have about some of the new products being released.