X-Caliber from Grand Power.

[P.E. Kelley]

My review



http://youtu.be/QKItNcuy0I8

[Wobblie]

Great video, thanks Pat.

[LostDuke]

Nice video, interesting to see another positive review of rotating barrel gun. I have owned for a while a GP6, and earlier -and lesser - version of the Excalibur. I think it's one of the best underrated guns out there, amazing how favorably it compares to mega pimped-up CZ's that cost three times as much. I am also left handed and appreciate the ambi controls. The Excalibur looks really cool, a good evolution.

[pew_pew]

How would you rate the trigger on the x-cal compared to the triggers of the other Grand Powers you have reviewed?

[Pup town]

Nice video, Pat.

I'd be interested in how light that slide is, and what you thought about the felt recoil. (You might have mentioned it in the competition portion of the video. I buzzed through some of that.)

If it's as light as it looks, and is oversprung, I wonder if playing with the springs would bring the felt recoil down more?

[pew_pew]

Nice video, Pat.

I'd be interested in how light that slide is, and what you thought about the felt recoil. (You might have mentioned it in the competition portion of the video. I buzzed through some of that.)

If it's as light as it looks, and is oversprung, I wonder if playing with the springs would bring the felt recoil down more?

They give you 3 different recoil springs for the x-cal depending on your preferences and load.

[P.E. Kelley]

Nice video, Pat.

I'd be interested in how light that slide is, and what you thought about the felt recoil. (You might have mentioned it in the competition portion of the video. I buzzed through some of that.)

If it's as light as it looks, and is oversprung, I wonder if playing with the springs would bring the felt recoil down more?

Recoil feel? I... try to be objective as possible in these videos and in my writings. That is why I shoot the gun in competition and try to show the gun working. I also include a slow motion segment, to
give the viewer a better idea of how the gun performs under recoil. I try to resist "telling" people what...i would rather lead them to draw a conclusion based on what I can proved as data.

However...

The gun came to me with the lightest spring installed and that is how I shot it. I don't change anything, just lube and shoot.

Now during the accuracy phase, I do play with the guns bits and pieces. On the Xcal I went to the the middle rate spring and the gun "felt better."

What made you think it was oversprung? Was that due to the appearance of weak ejection?

As far as light slides go...I can take them or leave them. I have both on several guns and frankly shoot either one well. Just a different "feel". Light=snappy Standard=smooth.

I would be happy to answer more if you got them.

Patrick

OH...pew pew. The triggers on the 3 GP guns are very similar. Makes sense as they are essentially the same mechanically, but sprung differently. AND...the Xcal gets a bit of extra "hand work" before
boxing.

[Pup town]

Thanks for the reply.

My sentence should have read "If the slide is as light as it looks and IF the gun in oversprung". I didn't mean to sound like I was making any judgement based on the video. I'm just going by the old conventional wisdom that most guns are 'oversprung' coming from the factory, especially for minor power factor loads.

(I wrote that before I knew it came with different recoil springs. This may be the first production gun I know of that comes with different springs, and GP would seem to be acknowledging that there's room to tinker. I think that's cool.)

I asked about felt recoil because I assume GP put the slide cuts in there because at least some shooters think a lighter slide makes a difference. I about the only thing else I could ask for on a DA/SA production gun is a Sight Tracker barrel. :)

[P.E. Kelley]

Thanks for the reply.

My sentence should have read "If the slide is as light as it looks and IF the gun in oversprung". I didn't mean to sound like I was making any judgement based on the video. I'm just going by the old conventional wisdom that most guns are 'oversprung' coming from the factory, especially for minor power factor loads.

(I wrote that before I knew it came with different recoil springs. This may be the first production gun I know of that comes with different springs, and GP would seem to be acknowledging that there's room to tinker. I think that's cool.)

I asked about felt recoil because I assume GP put the slide cuts in there because at least some shooters think a lighter slide makes a difference. I about the only thing else I could ask for on a DA/SA production gun is a Sight Tracker barrel. :)

I on occasion come off as terse, that was not my intent, sorry.

You are right, most guns are oversprung for our games. The X-cal really is built for gun games, so we get springs and a second set of thumb safeties to mix and match.

I will get a slide weight difference for you between my K100 and the X-cal this weekend.

Best,
Patrick

[45dotACP]

Awesome review Pat. You sure do make those guns dance...do you do a lot of dry fire beforehand or do you just kinda pick up and go?

Sent from my VS876 using Tapatalk

[P.E. Kelley]

I try to dry fire them a couple of dozen reps the morning of the match. I do half dozen draws if a safe area is handy at the match.

Other than that...field strip the night before or the morning of, wipe, check bore, lube and go!

[guymontag]

Thank you for the review Mr. Kelley. I hope it's not too out of line to ask you, but with your experience shooting the K100 and the X-Calibur on your box-to-match videos, how do you feel the two compare? Is the X-Cal worth the premium? I know some of the X-Cal parts are available to install on the K100. I imagine it may be a similar comparison of a stock G17 to a G34 already modified for Production Division but I thought I would ask. Thanks in advance!

[P.E. Kelley]

Thank you for the review Mr. Kelley. I hope it's not too out of line to ask you, but with your experience shooting the K100 and the X-Calibur on your box-to-match videos, how do you feel the two compare? Is the X-Cal worth the premium? I know some of the X-Cal parts are available to install on the K100. I imagine it may be a similar comparison of a stock G17 to a G34 already modified for Production Division but I thought I would ask. Thanks in advance!

Never out of line to ask intelligent questions!

I think will shoot them side by side this week and let you know. But based on the videos of the two it looks like a shot the K100 a bit better.
As much as I try to be objective in my approach...I tried too hard with the X-cal. In other words I "pulled the trigger" like I had been shooting if for years,
rather than breaking the shot when the sights said so!

[Slavex]

Probably too late to get you to try this but I've played with 6 of these guns and they all had the same issue, during firing, if you made the mistake of bumping the safety up a bit, enough to stop the hammer from falling during SA, when you then moved the safety down, the gun would fire. I'd be very interested to know if the one you had did that. I know I'm supposed to hold the safety down firmly with my thumb, but I hate safeties on my pistols (have flush ones on my Shadows and my Stock II is a safe queen), so when I do shoot guns with them, I'm notorious for either my support hand overriding the thumb and pushing safeties on, or my trigger finger does it if they are large enough that it's rubbing against them during recoil. The one's I've tested had the large safeties and I encountered the issue with both the support hand and trigger finger.
Thanks again for the great videos.

[raks]

I just tried the safety thing with my X-Trim and couldn't replicate the problem unless I was pressing the trigger while taking off the safety - but that's the same for a 1911. The newer models have a bearing detent to click the safety in place, did the models you tried have this? Maybe they've fixed the problem.

There are also replacement plugs to fill in the safety that have been deemed 'production legal' so you could always just plug it and forget about the whole thing.

[Slavex]

Not sure whether the guns had that feature or not. I don't think the plugs are legal for IPSC though.

[BigT]

Not sure whether the guns had that feature or not. I don't think the plugs are legal for IPSC though.They're weren't but as best I can make out on GV they are now

[Slavex]

thanks, must have missed that post. Will pass that on to the Excal shooters I know.

[BigT]

thanks, must have missed that post. Will pass that on to the Excal shooters I know.

I would obviously confirm as its not super clear , but that's how I understand it.

I just used the normal GP safeties off the other models when I was still shooting the XCal.

[P.E. Kelley]

A fun viewer driven addendum to the Xcal.


http://youtu.be/8Tinln0WAyI