Iver Johnson Ported Eagle Xl 10mm Ported Review

Iver Johnson Arms of Rockledge, Fla., imports a multifariousness of 1911 pistols and shotguns from the Philippines and Turkey. Not long agone, the 1911 Eagle Forty collection grew to include a blued 6" butt long slide chambered in ten mm, a handgun hunting cartridge that continues to grow in popularity for harvesting medium game such every bit wild hogs and whitetail deer. This twelvemonth, the visitor has added a stainless steel version of this potent pistol which defenseless my eye at the 2017 SHOT Show in Las Vegas.

In most cases, long-slide 1911s loaded out with custom features for hunting tend to toll a pretty penny or two, if you tin find them at all. Produced for Iver Johnson by Shooters Artillery Manufacturing Incorporated (S.A.M. Inc.) in the Philippines, the stainless steel Eagle Forty was exhibited with an MSRP of $ane,020, which is translating into real globe prices closer to $950. That's a fairly low cost tag for a gun like this. While some gun owners may be hesitant to work with imported 1911s, South.A.Thousand. Inc. has garnered a reputation for close adherence to original 1911 specifications. Information technology seemed to me that the best way to find out if this more budget-friendly x mm was upwards to snuff was to test drive information technology myself.

The Hawkeye Forty is a single-action, long-slide 1911 based on the classic John Browning Government model design. This pistol'southward butt and slide have been stretched from v" to 6" in social club to squeeze a chip more operation from the 10 mm cartridge and extend the sight radius for a more precise sight movie.

I was impressed by the exam pistol'south fit and finish right abroad. The slide was smooth and tight right out of the box. There is no GI wiggle betwixt the slide and the frame. I searched the pistol carefully in the course of bench testing and could not find any of the dings, dents, scratches or automobile marks that follow some less expensive imports abode from the factory. Everything was tight, clean and properly fitted from stem to stern including the grip panels.

The circular-peak slide and traditional frame are both synthetic from 416 stainless steel with a dewdrop-blasted matte finish. The slide is fitted with dovetailed LPA metallic TRT three-dot sights. The white dot front end sight is paired with a fully adjustable foursquare notch rear sight. Information technology'due south an ideal sighting organization for hunting or target shooting. Angled cocking serrations are institute at the front end 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 finish that matches the slide and frame with a six-groove rifling cut at a i:16" correct-hand twist. The recoil assembly consists of a short recoil rod and a single round wire spring. At kickoff glance, this may seem a lilliputian too light for 10 mm ammunition simply remember that the mass of the extended stainless steel slide works to ho-hum the slide down during recoil.

Most of the other appointments, including the butt bushing, plug, recoil rod, slide release, thumb safety, mag release, hammer, grip safety and grip screws, share the same chromed finish as the butt. Although these components accept a matte stop to match the frame, the rounded pivot projections along the right side of the frame and the standard grip screws have been polished to a mirror smoothen. 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 rubber that has a retentiveness bump. The single-action trigger broke cleanly with four lbs. fourteen oz. of trigger pull.

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

The blued 8-round single stack magazine is manufactured by Mec-Gar, an Italian mag manufacture known for high-quality products. The pistol ships with one magazine, simply I lined upwardly two more than for this review. All 3 magazines proved to exist easy to load, reliable and dropped costless of the grip when the mag release was pressed.

It's not uncommon for all-steel pistols, including 1911s with tight tolerances like this one, to need a break in period in order to become everything settled in and running smoothly. At the very showtime of the range test, the Eagle XL exhibited a slow slide. Fifty-fifty though information technology was chambering, firing and ejecting properly from the get go, the slide would hesitate for half a shell before slamming forward into bombardment again later a shot was fired.

This hesitation only lasted for about the first one-half of the first box of ammunition. After that, the pistol cycled properly for the residuum of the exam. All of the controls worked smoothly and reliably. There were no ammunition bug. Loads, from practice to hunting grade, all ran reliably without any malfunctions. With its longer slide and an unloaded weight of 45 oz. with an empty magazine, the pistol's felt recoil was comfortable to work with when firing relatively balmy (past ten mm standards) practise loads and intermediate defense loads. Notwithstanding, the full-power hunting loads were stout and will give shooters a practiced workout.

Using a 6" butt, instead of the more typical 4 to v" barrel, is supposed to increase ammunition functioning. How much of an increase depends on the ammunition fired. Ammunition velocity was checked using a Lab Radar chronograph for x rounds. Accuracy testing consisted of five, five-shot groups fired from the demote at 25 yards.

Armscor Us 180-gr. total-metal jacket ammunition is a exercise-grade load listed at 1150 f.p.south. It turned in a all-time single grouping of ii.88" with a five-group average of 3.05". The velocity was slower than I would have expected with an average of 1108 f.p.s. SIG Sauer Elite Performance 180-gr. V-Crown jacketed hollow point is listed at 1250 f.p.s. This load gained a slight ability boost with an average velocity of 1268 f.p.s., but it did yield the best accuracy with the tightest single grouping of 2.69" and an boilerplate of ii.82". The load that gained the most from the extra inch of butt was Federal Premium'southward 180-gr. Bays Bonded jacketed soft point. The velocity increased from the listed speed of 1275 f.p.s. to 1350 f.p.due south. with a best single group of 2.74" and an boilerplate of ii.95".

The Iver Johnson Eagle Xl long-slide 1911 pistol bedchamber in 10 mm is a whole lot of pistol for what you pay. The wait and design are classic 1911, the stainless steel is durable and corrosion resistant and the controls and sights are height-notch. The pistol was utterly reliable with all of the armament tested. And information technology'south hard to contend with the flexibility and dominance of the 10 mm cartridge. Long slides aren't for everyone. Only if you are in the market for a semi-automatic hunting handgun, the Eagle Xl has a lot to offering at a fair price.

Specifications
Importer: Iver Johnson Arms
Manufacturer: Shooters Arms Manufacturers (S.A.Chiliad.), Philippines
Model: Eagle XL
Action: Single-Activeness Semi-Automated
Caliber: x mm
Finish: Matte 416 Stainless Steel Frame and Slide
Front Sight: Dovetailed White Dot
Rear Sight: LPA "TRT" Fully Adjustable White Dot
Slide Serrations: Front end and Rear, Angled
Ejection Port: Lowered & Flared
Barrel: vi" Chromed 4140 Steel, Linked
Recoil Assembly: Short Guide Rod with Single Round Spring
Slide Stop: Extended
Pollex Safety: Left Side, Extended
Trigger: 3-Hole Aluminum
Hammer: Skeletonized Combat
Grip Safety: Extended Beavertail with Memory Bump
Mainspring Housing: Grooved, Aluminum
Grips: Walnut, Double-Diamond Checkering
Grip Screws: Polished Stainless Steel, Standard
Overall Length: 9.fifty"
Height: 5.25"
Slide Width: 0.92"
Grip Width: 1.30"
Weight: 45 oz. with Empty Mag
Capacity: 8+i Rounds
Twist: 1:16" RH
Rifle Grooves: 6
Accessories: 1 Mec-Gar Magazine, Owner's Manual
MSRP: $one,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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