Review Iver Johnson Arms Eagle Xl 10mm 6 8rd Gij29

Iver Johnson Arms of Rockledge, Fla., imports a variety of 1911 pistols and shotguns from the Philippines and Turkey. Not long ago, the 1911 Eagle XL collection grew to include a blued vi" barrel long slide chambered in 10 mm, a handgun hunting cartridge that continues to grow in popularity for harvesting medium game such every bit wild hogs and whitetail deer. This year, the company has added a stainless steel version of this potent pistol which caught my middle at the 2017 SHOT Show in Las Vegas.

In nearly cases, long-slide 1911s loaded out with custom features for hunting tend to price a pretty penny or 2, if you can find them at all. Produced for Iver Johnson by Shooters Arms Manufacturing Incorporated (S.A.M. Inc.) in the Philippines, the stainless steel Eagle 40 was exhibited with an MSRP of $ane,020, which is translating into real world prices closer to $950. That's a fairly low price tag for a gun like this. While some gun owners may be hesitant to work with imported 1911s, S.A.K. Inc. has garnered a reputation for shut adherence to original 1911 specifications. It seemed to me that the all-time way to find out if this more budget-friendly ten mm was up to snuff was to test drive it myself.

The Hawkeye XL is a single-action, long-slide 1911 based on the classic John Browning Government model blueprint. This pistol's barrel and slide have been stretched from 5" to 6" in order to clasp a bit more than performance from the 10 mm cartridge and extend the sight radius for a more precise sight picture.

I was impressed by the examination pistol'southward fit and cease correct abroad. The slide was polish and tight right out of the box. There is no GI wiggle between the slide and the frame. I searched the pistol carefully in the grade of bench testing and could not find any of the dings, dents, scratches or car marks that follow some less expensive imports home from the manufacturing plant. Everything was tight, clean and properly fitted from stem to stern including the grip panels.

The round-top slide and traditional frame are both constructed from 416 stainless steel with a bead-blasted matte finish. The slide is fitted with dovetailed LPA metallic TRT 3-dot sights. The white dot forepart sight is paired with a fully adaptable square notch rear sight. It'due south an ideal sighting arrangement for hunting or target shooting. Angled cocking serrations are found at the front and rear of the slide. The ejection port has been lowered and flared for improved ejection.

The linked 6" 4140 steel barrel has been treated to a satin hard chrome cease that matches the slide and frame with a half-dozen-groove rifling cutting at a one:xvi" right-hand twist. The recoil assembly consists of a short recoil rod and a single circular wire leap. At offset glance, this may seem a little besides calorie-free for x mm ammunition but call back that the mass of the extended stainless steel slide works to tiresome the slide down during recoil.

Nearly of the other appointments, including the barrel bushing, plug, recoil rod, slide release, pollex safe, mag release, hammer, grip safe and grip screws, share the same chromed finish as the barrel. Although these components accept a matte finish to match the frame, the rounded pin projections forth the correct side of the frame and the standard grip screws have been polished to a mirror shine. The three-hole trigger and grooved mainspring housing are both aluminum.

The controls are located and operated in typical 1911 fashion with an extended slide release, thumb safety and round push button magazine release located on the left side of the frame. The skeletonized combat hammer is comfortably couched in an extended beavertail condom that has a memory bump. The single-action trigger broke cleanly with 4 lbs. xiv oz. of trigger pull.

The frame has the sleek lines of a traditional 1911 with its rounded dust embrace (no accessory rail), rounded trigger guard and smooth front strap. The dual-texture walnut grips are engraved with the Iver Johnson owl's head logo. The mag well has a slight bevel to help in quicker reloads.

The blued eight-round unmarried stack mag is manufactured by Mec-Gar, an Italian magazine manufacture known for high-quality products. The pistol ships with one magazine, simply I lined up ii more for this review. All three magazines proved to exist easy to load, reliable and dropped free of the grip when the magazine release was pressed.

It's not uncommon for all-steel pistols, including 1911s with tight tolerances similar this ane, to need a suspension in menses in gild to get everything settled in and running smoothly. At the very showtime of the range test, the Eagle Forty exhibited a slow slide. Fifty-fifty though it was chambering, firing and ejecting properly from the get get, the slide would hesitate for half a vanquish before slamming frontward into bombardment again subsequently a shot was fired.

This hesitation merely lasted for nearly the first half of the first box of armament. After that, the pistol cycled properly for the rest of the test. All of the controls worked smoothly and reliably. At that place were no armament issues. Loads, from practice to hunting form, all ran reliably without whatsoever malfunctions. With its longer slide and an unloaded weight of 45 oz. with an empty magazine, the pistol'due south felt recoil was comfortable to work with when firing relatively balmy (by 10 mm standards) practice loads and intermediate defense force loads. However, the full-power hunting loads were stout and will give shooters a proficient conditioning.

Using a 6" butt, instead of the more typical four to five" barrel, is supposed to increase ammunition operation. How much of an increment depends on the armament fired. Ammunition velocity was checked using a Lab Radar chronograph for ten rounds. Accurateness testing consisted of five, five-shot groups fired from the demote at 25 yards.

Armscor U.s.a. 180-gr. full-metal jacket ammunition is a practice-grade load listed at 1150 f.p.south. It turned in a best single group of 2.88" with a five-grouping average of 3.05". The velocity was slower than I would have expected with an average of 1108 f.p.southward. SIG Sauer Elite Performance 180-gr. 5-Crown jacketed hollow signal is listed at 1250 f.p.s. This load gained a slight power heave with an average velocity of 1268 f.p.s., but it did yield the all-time accuracy with the tightest single grouping of 2.69" and an average of 2.82". The load that gained the most from the extra inch of barrel was Federal Premium'due south 180-gr. Trophy Bonded jacketed soft indicate. The velocity increased from the listed speed of 1275 f.p.s. to 1350 f.p.s. with a best unmarried group of 2.74" and an average of 2.95".

The Iver Johnson Eagle Forty long-slide 1911 pistol chamber in 10 mm is a whole lot of pistol for what you pay. The look and design are classic 1911, the stainless steel is durable and corrosion resistant and the controls and sights are top-notch. The pistol was utterly reliable with all of the ammunition tested. And it's hard to argue with the flexibility and authorisation of the 10 mm cartridge. Long slides aren't for everyone. But if you lot are in the marketplace for a semi-automatic hunting handgun, the Eagle Forty has a lot to offer at a fair price.

Specifications
Importer: Iver Johnson Arms
Manufacturer: Shooters Arms Manufacturers (Southward.A.M.), Philippines
Model: Eagle XL
Action: Single-Activity Semi-Automatic
Caliber: 10 mm
Finish: Matte 416 Stainless Steel Frame and Slide
Front end Sight: Dovetailed White Dot
Rear Sight: LPA "TRT" Fully Adjustable White Dot
Slide Serrations: Front end and Rear, Angled
Ejection Port: Lowered & Flared
Barrel: 6" Chromed 4140 Steel, Linked
Recoil Assembly: Brusque Guide Rod with Unmarried Round Spring
Slide End: Extended
Thumb Safety: Left Side, Extended
Trigger: 3-Pigsty Aluminum
Hammer: Skeletonized Combat
Grip Safety: Extended Beavertail with Retention Crash-land
Mainspring Housing: Grooved, Aluminum
Grips: Walnut, Double-Diamond Checkering
Grip Screws: Polished Stainless Steel, Standard
Overall Length: 9.50"
Meridian: 5.25"
Slide Width: 0.92"
Grip Width: 1.30"
Weight: 45 oz. with Empty Mag
Chapters: 8+ane Rounds
Twist: ane:sixteen" RH
Rifle Grooves: half dozen
Accessories: 1 Mec-Gar Magazine, Owner'southward Manual
MSRP: $1,020

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Source: https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/tested-iver-johnson-eagle-xl-long-slide-10-mm-1911-pistol/

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