So an update on my experience with the EVO3 so far.
In short - I’m really liking this little gun. About 200 rounds down the pipe including a mixture of ball and hollow points. I went a little wild with accessories before the fact (which is something I always tell people NOT to do). Turns out I have no real need for the safety delete as the standard safety does not contact my trigger finger when firing and the extended paddle release (Strike Industries) seems to be more trouble than it is worth - the paddle is too low for how I grip the magazine and it is prone to accidentally releasing the magazine due to sling entanglement so I ended up re-installing the factory mag release. The MagPul pistol grip as well the HB Industries trigger springs were good enhancements. I topped it with a Vortex Crossfire II optic with the low mount that gives me a good co-witness and keeps the low profile of the gun. Finally I found a V-Tac 2-point sling that wasn’t being used and purposed it for the EVO3. A HK style front clip and a quick release sling plugged into the pistol brace works great both in the traditional sling uses and for pushing out under tension when firing without the brace extended.
While I tend to agree that the rifle length PCCs come up short versus rifles in a personal defense application, this EVO pistol is so compact it really is more a semi-automatic sub gun than a PCC. Very tempted to move it into the HD role. With that, what defensive ammo are people running? I have 124+P and 127 +P+ as my standard defensive rounds. It seems that 16inch PCCs tend to favor the 147 grain rounds as the increased velocity causes the lighter bullets to fragment early, but I would think that mid weight bullets should do fine with the modest velocity increase of the 7.7 inch EVO3 barrel. Anyone have any numbers on this?