Each year has its holidays and landmark occasions that divide the time and make things a little more interesting and special for a few days. In our case, one of those times begins around the middle of July each year and lasts a good bit longer than a few days. It’s when I start prepping for our annual Ballistic’s Best edition by sending out requests to companies for the best full-size semi-auto pistols of the year.
Ballistic’s Best 2023: Full-Size Semi-Auto Pistols
In this case, during a flurry of emails and phone calls, we were able to procure nine of the most popular full-size pistols of the past year for the selected evaluators to test, evaluate and then rank them according to specific criteria. On top of that, we also contacted a few companies ahead of time for their assistance with needed ammunition to complete our review. It may seem like a small thing, but we had six evaluators and nine pistols for this review. Ammo remains pretty expensive. Shooting only 100 rounds through each pistol would total 5,400 rounds–and we fired way more than 100 rounds each.
Federal Premium, Hornady and Remington all stepped up in a huge way to support us in our efforts to provide this evaluation to our readers. The ammo cache equated to a healthy balance ranging from Federal’s excellent 9mm and 10mm American Eagle ammo to Hornady’s premium Critical Duty and Critical Defense loads, used for accuracy testing. Remington sent a bit of both types with its line of Range ammunition and its high-end Golden Saber Defense and Bonded rounds. The support we received from these companies was invaluable and allowed us to do a much more thorough job during our evaluation.
Testing Protocol
Our tests began in the middle of August. Of course, our first test day was a humid 95 degrees under a blazing sun. Isn’t that always the way? We were going to go through a lot of water as each of us shot and ranked each pistol according to nine different criteria—aesthetics, ergonomics, sights, trigger control, recoil control, reloading ease, accuracy, reliability, and value/price point.
We scored the pistols in quarter-point increments like “2.25” or “3.75” to try and avoid any ties. That didn’t work entirely since we had a couple of ties in different categories, but that’s for later. Right now, we’re going to take a look at the best-of-2023 full-size pistols that were in contention for this year’s Ballistic’s Best award.
In a different tact from what I’ve taken previously, this year I’ll start out with the high-dollar full-size pistols that command a price of more than $1,000, and that might offer a few extras over the run-of-the-mill carry piece.
CZ A01-SD OR
Ringing in with an MSRP of $2,699 is the new CZ A01-SD OR, which is the most expensive pistol that we tested for the Full-Size category. Yes, the A01-SD OR is a little pricey, but it comprises an evolutionary branch of the CZ Shadow line of pistols, custom built by the CZ Custom Shop. It builds everything from scratch, including the hammer-forged frame with a blued, traditional aesthetic. The “SD” in the name stands for the short dust cover, which shifts the balance more toward the hand versus the A01 LD. The SD version still weighs a hefty 47 ounces but feels nimbler in the hand because of a more neutral balance point.
With its subdued black/blued aesthetic, most of the appealing stuff is hidden under the hood. For example, the pistol sports a 4.7-inch, cold-hammer-forged match bull barrel, a CZC extended firing pin, a CZC competition hammer and it offers the lightest, smoothest, and dare I say silkiest double-action triggers I’ve ever tried. Even with its DA/SA operating system, the user can still carry the A01-SD OR cocked and locked for a single-action pull and break for the first shot.
Styled after the original CZ 75, the A01-SD OR features the same great ergos and design cues that include an undercut trigger guard and a deep relief under the beavertail for a high grip on the pistol. That frame features 25-line-per-inch checkering and an internal mag well to speed up reloads. A fiber-optic front sight and low-mount rear sight adorn the slide in addition to an optics cut that can work with a variety of platforms via different adapter plates.
Ed Brown MP-Metal-F1
Another pricey pistol in our lineup is the Ed Brown MP-Metal-F1, which has a starting price of $2,295. The folks at Ed Brown Products do for the Smith M&P series what Zev did for Glock pistols. Starting with S&W’s base M&P 2.0 Metal pistol, the craftsmen at Ed Brown add their touch by machining and installing a number of custom components including the slide, extractor, accuracy rail block, barrel, backplate, mag well and even the frame pins. This MP-Metal-F1 isn’t just about a new slide and aftermarket trigger; a lot of work goes into getting one out the door.
While the MP-Metal-F1 offers one of the absolute best custom triggers I’ve tried on a striker-fired gun–more than good enough for competition–the setup give you everything needed in a fighting pistol. Lightening cuts in the slide reduce reciprocating mass and lighten the load for all-day carry. High-visibility, suppressor-height sights provide a nice sight picture and co-witness with an RMR mounted directly to the slide. Add into the mix the base features of the M&P 2.0 Metal like the Picatinny rail, outstanding texturing, reversible magazine release and ambi slide stop, and you’ve got one hell of a pistol for the money.
SIG Sauer P320 AXG Legion
At a more feasible price point for most buyers, the Sig Sauer P320 AXG Legion brings a little bit of everything into the mix with an MSRP of $1,529. Sig’s latest offering for its Legionnaires not only includes all the trimmings and accouterments of the vaunted society, but it also includes a mashup of the popular metal AXG frame and the expansion-chamber concept piloted in the P365X Macro Comp.
The P320 AXG Legion is imbued with a distinct, militaristic flair with its Legion Gray grips and metal treatment. Aggressive fore and aft slide serrations further enhance this bearing. A Picatinny accessory rail and the prodigious capacity of the three 21-round magazines add to the appeal. The two-port expansion chamber milled into the slide forward of the 3.9-inch barrel’s muzzle mitigates recoil much in the same way as a compensator on a barrel. The slide also includes an optics cut and Sig’s superb X-Ray3 day/night sights.
The Fire Control Unit on the P320 AXG Legion integrates Sig’s X-Series, flat-faced trigger, which offers an improved trigger break for better accuracy. The AXG frame also includes X-series design cues like the undercut trigger relief and it offers a solid purchase with its G-10 grip panels and 25-line-per-inch checkering on the front strap. Other notable inclusions are the reversible mag release, an aluminum magazine well and the Legion challenge coin.
FN 510 Tactical
However, if you’re seeking more power for your money, the new 10mm FN 510 Tactical might just be the answer as it rounds out our list of pistols that cost more than a grand with a price tag of $1,139. With new big-bore offerings in .45 ACP and 10mm, the folks at FN took the 509 blueprint and not only made it bigger, but they also made it better as well. With a redesigned, high-endurance conical striker, the 510 Tactical offers a much-improved trigger break that yields a crisper and snappier feel than earlier 509 models.
Even so, the 510 Tactical retains a majority of the 509’s DNA with its superb differential grip texturing, a cold-hammer-forged barrel, ambi controls and the company’s outstanding low-profile optics-mounting arrangement. On top of that, all 510 and 545 models are shipped from the factory with a polished feed ramp and polished chamber to ensure ultimate feed reliability. The tactical version includes a threaded barrel and suppressor-height sights that incorporate tritium inserts with white outlines. Additionally, the 510 Tactical ships with a 22-round magazine in addition to a standard 15-round magazine.
Value Leaders
There’s a bit more oxygen for us mere mortals once we get under the $1,000 line, but there are still lots of great options to choose from as we move in the opposite direction from the least expensive entry upward to the great barrier.
IWI Masada Tactical
The IWI Masada Tactical turned a few heads during our evaluation not only for its value-packed setup, but also for its sheer performance. The Masada Tactical offers a boatload of features, with an MSRP of $480. It comes with suppressor-height sights, a 4.7-inch threaded barrel and an optics cut in the slide. The package also includes four adapter plates. The Masada’s glass-reinforced polymer frame includes full-ambi controls for the slide stop and the magazine releases. The modular trigger assembly quickly removes for efficient and thorough maintenance.
Built for use in the harshest of environments, the Masada Tactical offers an oversized triggerguard for use with gloved hands and it includes three interchangeable backstraps to customize the fit for the user. Substantial serrations at the front and rear of the slide facilitate confident manipulation, while the Picatinny rail offers a spot for your favorite weapon light or laser unit. The undercut triggerguard and extra relief under the rear of the slide provide a higher grip for better recoil control, and fairly aggressive grip texturing enhances that control so the driver can deliver their payload on target downrange. Beyond all that, the Masada Tactical integrates a very nice trigger that breaks in the neighborhood of 5 pounds and does so with minimal take-up, a grit-free pull and a sweet release.
Springfield Armory Echelon
Next up the price ladder is Springfield Armory’s Echelon that has a few tricks of its own up its sleeve. The Echelon is Springfield’s latest venture and their version of the ultimate duty/service pistol. One of the signature features of the Echelon is the Variable Interface System which uses a set of movable pins to allow the user to mount more than 30 different optics directly to the slide without the use of an adapter plate. This is quite the coup for Springfield since it gives the users a lot of flexibility while also limiting additional points of failure.
On the surface, the Echelon looks like a lot of other black, polymer-framed service pistols. It has aggressive front and rear slide serrations, a Picatinny rail, and it wears a set of the company’s excellent U-dot sights that includes a high-visibility front sight with a tritium insert. However, the Echelon hides another secret and that’s the modular trigger assembly, known as the Central Operating Group, that can be swapped from one frame to another to create a variety of pistol configurations.
With an MSRP of $679, the Echelon packs quite the punch in the value arena with all of its innovative features and other excellent design choices like the full-ambi controls, oversized trigger guard, interchangeable backstraps, copious Adaptive Grip Texturing and gas pedals to index the support hand. For the price, it’s tough to find a more complete service/duty/carry pistol on the market than the Springfield Echelon.
Girsan MC P34 Ops Optic
But for what it’s worth, not all pistols introduced this year have polymer frames, and there are a couple that are downright nostalgic. One of those is the new Girsan MC P35 Ops Optic, which offers a modern twist on a familiar classic. Essentially a clone of the iconic Hi-Power design, the all-steel MC P35 Ops Optic brings a few enhancements to the table including a Picatinny accessory rail and a flat-faced trigger for better trigger geometry and a cleaner break. It also includes an optics cut that allows a Shield-pattern red-dot to be mounted directly to the slide without an adapter plate. The cut also includes specific modifications for use with popular Holosun optics.
The MC P35 Ops Optic offers lots of amenities like an ambidextrous thumb safety and extremely comfortable and attractive G10 grip slabs for a firm grip and better recoil control. Another improvement to the Hi-Power’s original specs is the absence of the magazine disconnect feature. This change was to allow for a cleaner and lighter trigger pull and to also allow the magazines to drop freely. The MC P35 Ops Optic package is rounded out with a fiber-optic front sight and a black/blue Cerakote finish.
Canik Rival S
However, if you’re not looking to the past and want something a bit more action-packed, the next couple of pistols should fit the bill quite nicely. The new Canik Rival S is an all-steel competition pistol that was designed to reduce felt recoil and muzzle flip in comparison to the company’s polymer-framed Rival. That all-steel construction did the trick, giving the Rival S a heft of close to 43 ounces to soak up all but the most abusive recoil.
The Rival S is styled aggressively and makes no apologies for its appearance, with its gnarly slide machining and texturing to provide a positive grip for easy manipulation. Slide cuts reduce the on-top weight to minimize the reciprocating mass and, thus, muzzle flip. On top of that, the Rival S has everything you could want in a competition pistol from a magazine release that includes customizable height extensions to a flat-faced trigger that’s one of the lightest and crispest you’ll find on a striker-fired pistol.
Other amenities found on the Rival S are aggressive texturing on the face of the trigger guard and on the front and backstraps, an ambi slide stop, a fiber-optic front sight with an adjustable rear sight and even a Picatinny rail if you want to put the Rival S to some other use. Aside from nice touches like the fluted barrel, a lot of the value is found in the complete package ranging from extra aluminum baseplates, an aluminum magazine well and all the adapter plates you could need to mount your favorite red-dot. Throw in extras like a holster, magazine loader, tool kit and punch, and you’d be hard pressed to find a pistol that offers as much value as it does performance.
Smith & Wesson Performance Center M&P 2.0 Competitor
Even so, there’s another player in the striker-fired competition arena, and that’s the Smith & Wesson Performance Center M&P 2.0 Competitor. Building off its M&P 2.0 Metal series, the company took the series to the next level with a full suite of competition-specific features. With an MSRP of $999, the Competitor comes from the factory with a 5-inch barrel and a slide that features snazzy styling along with lots of lightening cuts to shift the recoil balance point in the hand. The slide also features a fiber-optic front sight with a blacked out and serrated rear sight, and it includes an optics cut that can accept a variety of red-dot units on the market with different adapter plates.
The aluminum frame adds a bit of heft in the hand without making the Competitor too unwieldy. The Competitor wears a set of polymer grip panels that offer some of the best texturing going and it includes a flared magazine well for ultra-quick reloads on the line. An oversized magazine release provides easy access for quick changes, and the redesigned trigger provides a fairly light and very crisp release that makes it the best trigger Smith has offered with its M&P pistols.
Naturally, the Competitor offers up a Picatinny rail, adding to the versatility of the overall package, but the real value proposition is the fact that each pistol ships with four 17-round magazines to keep you up and running for quite a while. The Competitor is available in an all-gray Tungsten finish, but if you’re wanting something with a little more pizazz, go with the black and gray two-tone model that adds a nice bit of sex appeal.
Trial by Fire
Despite the onerous heat of the first day, the excitement and enthusiasm of our evaluators couldn’t be dampened. There were six of us in total. Two of the testers run the local gun shop that I frequent. One is a fairly new but avid gun enthusiast. One is in law enforcement and another comes from a competition background, particularly Steel Challenge events. And then there was me, a gun writer of 10 years with several hundred articles under my belt, but what do I know?
This assortment of compadres gave us a good bit of diversity in perspectives, and that cross-section provided a lot of good feedback about the pistols we shot and ranked over two days in total. Not having learned my lesson in the past, I thought I knew the direction the evaluations were going to go, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised.
All of the guys were chomping at the bit, so we started off with a get-to-know-you phase where they picked up the pistols they wanted to try (since they were familiar with some already) and fired as much as they wanted at will. After that, we cycled through each pistol methodically, paying attention to specific features, individual performance characteristics and discussing price points. During each pistol’s time on the block, I took pictures, video and notes on their impressions and feedback.
Not Hard to Handle
The first uptick in the conversational excitement was related to IWI’s Masada Tactical. Several shooters commented on how comfortable it was to grip and shoot, and how well it handled recoil. It got high marks for accuracy in addition to being a fairly soft shooter. The kicker for all the guys, though, was all of the features it had and how well it performed for its very low price point of $480. That’s especially noteworthy since IWI is particularly known for its robust and high-quality firearms that will stand up to just about anything you can throw at them.
Oddly enough and despite our efforts to prevent any ties, the IWI Masada tied with another full-size pistol for the Best Value category, and that was the Canik Rival S. Canik is a usual leader in the value-oriented space, and the Rival S offers up phenomenal performance for the money. It kicks in lots of extra accessories and custom touches you just don’t find in other packages and that more than justifies its grasp on the value crown—especially since it was ranked the second highest pistol overall for all categories.
More Fodder
Over the course of the two days of testing, we hardly had any issues with any sorts of malfunctions. With the excellent ammo provided by Federal, Hornady and Remington, just about all of the pistols fed everything flawlessly. The one pistol that had hiccups was the Girsan MC P35 Ops Optic. While it pointed naturally, was very accurate and extremely comfortable to shoot, there were a few failures to feed and a couple of failures to eject properly. On top of that, there were some comments about the trigger feeling rough and the pistol not living up to its price point. But to be fair, some of that price reflects the inclusion of the EAA Far-Dot RDO.
Aside from that, there was a lot of excitement about a few other full-size offerings, with three or four of them right in the mix for the top slot. The Ed Brown MP-Metal-F1 got rave reviews for how good it felt in the hand, how well it shot and for that phenomenally light trigger. However, built more as a defensive carry gun rather than a competition pistol, a couple of the guys felt the trigger was too light for EDC, and the $2,300 price point gave it a hard ding in the value category.
Triggered
As mentioned, the Canik Rival S scored extremely high across the board for what it had to offer, but the CZ A01-SD OR did almost as well. The concept of a hand-built pistol modeled after the Shadow with the CZ 75 ergonomics got a lot of positive comments as did the exceptionally smooth double-action trigger that measured right at 8 pounds. The single-action pull and break was nothing to sneeze at either, since it had a wickedly crisp break right at 3.1 pounds. The biggest negatives against the A01-SD OR was the sticker price and the pedestrian finish/appearance of such a high-priced pistol when compared to the company’s fantastic—but lower priced—Shadow 2.
The Sig P320 AXG Legion was also getting lots of comments from everyone after it had its turn on the line. The guys complimented the feel of the grip, the extra capacity and the low recoil due to the two-port expansion chamber up front. A couple of the testers mentioned how much they liked the trigger, and three of them said it was the best P320 that Sig has made to date. For a while, because of all the buzz, I thought it was going to be the P320 AXG Legion that was going to take the top prize, but that wasn’t the case.
Add ‘Em Up
When I sat down to tabulate the actual scores, rather than relying on opinions I heard at the range, I got the pleasant surprise I was talking about earlier. It was the Smith & Wesson Performance Center M&P 2.0 Competitor that took the top slot for the full-size category. Over the past year, I’ve shot one a couple of different times, and yeah, I really liked it. It’s nimble in the hand and the two that I shot were incredibly accurate. The grip texturing is the best in class as far as I’m concerned and provides outstanding control during recoil.
So, despite it not being quite as heavy as other competition-style pistols, it’s still very easy to make quick and accurate shots. And while it’s styled as a competition pistol, none of the features are so over the top to prevent it from being used in a defensive capacity. The trigger is fairly light and crisp, but not so light as to be risky for personal-protection use. The real trick the Competitor pulled off was flying in under the radar so smoothly to take the top slot. It had just the right balance of strong scores without taking any significant hits in any particular category like others might have for reliability or value. It turned out to be the Goldilocks gun of the group with everything being just right.
Parting Shots
Putting aside the objective scoring criteria established for Ballistic’s Best, I asked the guys to give me their personal choice, with price not being a factor, for their favorite pistol of the day. Their answers were interesting and not necessarily reflective of the end result. Two of them picked the Competitor and then there was one vote each for the Echelon, MP-Metal-F1, and the P320 AXG Legion. My favorite was the FN 510 followed very closely by the Echelon.
That said, none of these personal favorites take away from the fit, finish and performance of any of these fantastic pistols we had to review for the Full-Size category. Whether you’re a well-heeled buyer that wants to pick up a signature piece or you’re a competition shooter looking for something to level up your game, there are outstanding pistols to choose from this year. Maybe you’re an average Joe looking for a dead-nuts reliable pistol that’ll shoot the eyes off a fly to protect you and yours. Well, there’s several awesome choices for you as well.
Drawing comparisons between big-ticket pistols, competition guns and EDC pieces can sometimes be a tricky proposition. We try to be as objective as we can, and as you can see from the results, in contrast to the personal favorites, I think the evaluators did a great job setting aside personal biases and letting the chips fall where they may. For this year’s Ballistic’s Best of Full-Size pistol, fortune favored the Smith & Wesson Competitor, and it most definitely earned every single point in its final score.
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