So, for those who are thinking about picking one of these Tisas PX-9s up from Bud's, I did just that. All in, including shipping insurance, Bud's lifetime warranty, and my FFL's $25 transfer fee, I'm into this pistol for a whopping $268.xx. I looked at several reviews of this Gen 3 model and the gen 2 as well. As far as I can tell, this might be a "Bud's special", as although it is clearly a Gen 3 pistol, there is no optics cut or fiber optic front sight (which I saw prior to purchasing the gun). I assume these were deleted for Bud's (and maybe other major distributors), so they could sell at a more attractive price point. I have dealt with Bud's a couple of times now, and they have been GREAT!
I got a chance to clean and lube the gun to my liking, and off to the range we went this past Sunday. My intent is not to provide a full range report here, but rather a snapshot of a short shooting session.
The gun comes with an 18-round mag (I could only fit 17) and a 20-round mag with a base extender (all 20 went in). It also comes with a litany of interchangeable grip panels, so making it "yours" should be do-able. I found the factory installed grip panels to my liking, so I am not sure if I will bother to experiment there. Also included is a cheesy IWB holster. Meh on the holster. I will likely trash it.
At 7 and 10 paces, the gun is extremely accurate, shooting right at POA, as long as I did my part. I'll soon be 58 y.o. and don't have the eyesight and rock steady hands I did in my 20's, so hitting bullseyes isn't as easy as it used to be. That said, I put 100 rounds of Magtech 124 gr and 35 rounds of 115 gr Armscor down range. The PX-9 is a 30-ounce pistol, so recoil is quite manageable, although just a bit more pronounced with the 124 gr boolitz. The trigger is a bit "light" for my liking, and I found myself wishing that the gun had a manual safety (and I detest manual safeties).
So now the cautionary part...in my abbreviated range session, I experienced SEVERAL off-center light strikes. At the start, it was 1 every 5 shots, with fewer occurring toward the end of the session. At first, I was ejecting the offending round, reloading it into the mag, and firing again. "BOOM" every time. Somewhere along the line I started to set aside the unfired rounds. I also set aside a case from one of the rounds I reloaded and fired. Pics are below, so you can see what I am talking about. The spent case really tells the story.
From what I have read, this kind of malfunction is often caused by the gun firing before being fully in battery. I didn't notice the gun ever being out of battery after the malfunction, so I doubt that is what is happening.
I cleaned and lubed the gun after my range session again, this time using much less lube (I typically run my guns wet) and will run another 150 rounds through it this coming weekend before I decide what to do. Hopefully the malfunctions cease, and I will chalk it up to break-in. If not, I may need to exercise that lifetime warranty with Bud's.
The thing is, I like the gun enough to try another if necessary.
