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Thread: My Folly or the Rex Alpha 9

  1. #1
    Site Supporter farscott's Avatar
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    My Folly or the Rex Alpha 9

    As much as I may like to think of myself as not susceptible to "saving money during sales", I am. Grabagun got me with a sale on the Rex Alpha 9 with https://grabagun.com/rex-alpha-9mm-a...-da-3mags.html. For those who are not familiar with the pistol, it is a SIG P226-inspired/derived/influenced pistol meant for competition. Sort of a competitor to the CZ Shadow 2.

    For me, the interest was piqued for a few reasons: one, the gun is made in Slovenia with Mec-Gar-manufactured magazines; two, the gun has a steel frame; and three, people rave about the SA trigger but the gun is DA/SA and can be carried "cocked and locked". Having more money than sense (there is still available credit is more than no sense at all), I decided to try one for the local IDPA/practical shooting get-togethers. Calling them matches is a disservice to real matches as only safety rules get followed and we tend to try and have more fun than to be competitive.

    So the pistol will be delivered to my FFL late this week, I have a holster on order from ANR that should arrive in a month or so, and I have aluminum grips on order from Slovenia. All because I am so good at "saving money during sales". In all honesty, this is a way for me to blow off some steam and have some fun as I have spent too much time with "polymer people poppers". This is a pistol with limited aftermarket support, somewhat poor distributor support, and unknown in the USA for the most part. In other words, it is likely to be a pure, with all credit to @Tamara, a "hipster gun". It sure looks interesting as it reminds me of the love child of the CZ-75B, the SIG P226, and Salient Arms. How cool is that?

    I will try to keep the thread updated with my impressions and experiences so all can watch me waste more money.
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    Last edited by farscott; 04-04-2019 at 06:27 AM.

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    It's in the USPSA production gun list. Just sayin'...………..

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    Site Supporter OlongJohnson's Avatar
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    I hate it already because of the "E2" style grip cutout. I don't understand how in heck someone is supposed to manage recoil by grabbing a giant handful of air at the top of the grip where the gun wants to come back.
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    Not another dime.

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    Quote Originally Posted by OlongJohnson View Post
    I hate it already because of the "E2" style grip cutout. I don't understand how in heck someone is supposed to manage recoil by grabbing a giant handful of air at the top of the grip where the gun wants to come back.
    Preach!!

    This is most of my issues with grip on a pistol- shapes like that give me tons of grip pressure down at the badge of my hand, but much less up at the thumb/web/palm, where I want it most.
    Per the PF Code of Conduct, I have a commercial interest in the StreakTM product as sold by Ammo, Inc.

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    Quote Originally Posted by OlongJohnson View Post
    I hate it already because of the "E2" style grip cutout. I don't understand how in heck someone is supposed to manage recoil by grabbing a giant handful of air at the top of the grip where the gun wants to come back.
    Uh, you push the web of your hand in there till it hits the backstrap.

    Some of the most successful pistols in IPSC Production are designed that way (CZ75 Shadow, Shadow 2; Tanfoglio Stock II and Stock III).





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    Site Supporter farscott's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bergeron View Post
    Preach!!

    This is most of my issues with grip on a pistol- shapes like that give me tons of grip pressure down at the badge of my hand, but much less up at the thumb/web/palm, where I want it most.
    Interesting. For me, grip shapes like this make the gun shooter flatter for me as the muzzle rise is lessened as my hand is jammed into the "beavertail" area. And all of the reviews stress how "flat" this pistol shoots. As such, I expect it will work well for me. But the proof is in the shooting, so i am just spitballing now.

  7. #7
    Member Hieronymous's Avatar
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    Looks like fun! Could they be executing the quality control that Sig left behind years ago? For those who are interested, Military Arms Channel and polenar tactical have youtube videos of their factory tour.





    Also, here is a link to the FIME Group, who evidently import Rex and Molot.

    https://fimegroup.com/

  8. #8
    Site Supporter OlongJohnson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alpha Sierra View Post
    Uh, you push the web of your hand in there till it hits the backstrap.

    Some of the most successful pistols in IPSC Production are designed that way (CZ75 Shadow, Shadow 2; Tanfoglio Stock II and Stock III).
    I guess I'm just anti-backstrap-bulge. Can't do the E2. Even the difference between this

    https://www.hogueinc.com/sig-sauer-p...ered-g10-black

    and this

    https://www.hogueinc.com/sig-sauer-p...10-solid-black

    while fairly subtle visually, is really significant in the hand for me. To be clear, I prefer the standard model/shape by a large margin.

    Shaving 1-1.5 mm off the bulge of the Hogue NFG https://www.hogueinc.com/ruger-gp100...ve-rubber-grip for the GP100 was a massive improvement in how it locks in to my hand.
    .
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    Not another dime.

  9. #9
    Site Supporter farscott's Avatar
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    Quick update: The pistol made it to my FFL less than thirty-six hours after ordering. That is impressive. I transferred it yesterday evening and did not get a chance to shoot it before dark. I did tear it down, clean it, lube it, assemble, and dry fire while watching the Braves take on the Cubs. I am impressed with the SA trigger; in fact, it may be too good. It is lighter than my RRA Bullseye pistol, and that is with the standard hammer spring (it comes with three with the midweight spring installed). Very crisp break. The DA trigger is very close to my Elite LTT samples. I wonder what the trigger will feel like after a few thousand rounds. I like being able to manipulate the slide with the safety engaged, and the grip and safety do feel very 1911-like.

    I plan to shoot it and get some pictures of the internals this weekend. The machining and metal polishing are pretty darn good.

  10. #10
    Site Supporter farscott's Avatar
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    Another quick update: The pistol is a shooter. I used 115-grain IMI JHP and a 115-grain WWB, so i had both extremes of the 115-grain loads covered. No issues of any sort in 200 rounds downrange. The LPA rear and the fiber optic front work for my eyes. The provided fiber is red, and it looks like my Dawson fiber will fit just fine. For all of the talk about high bore axis in the SIG P22x pistols and this pistol has one much higher than any Glock, this pistol shoots extremely flat. Part of it is the slide lightening and part of it is the weight of the gun with the steel frame. Tracking the sights throughout the recoil impulse is very easy for me, and I am not the best at that skill.

    I shot some of the IMI for groups at twenty-five yards. Ten-shot groups went into three inches. I think the pistol can do better, but the SA trigger is almost too good. It breaks at less than two pounds with very little take-up and has a tactile reset. Overtravel is minimal. I fell apart shooting the gun at speed as more than once I started my squeeze a bit too early. I expect experience will resolve that issue. Initial shots from DA are not a good idea on this pistol as there is no decocking feature with the slide release lever as on the service pistol models. So one has to decock by releasing the trigger and guiding the hammer down. I cannot see that always ending well. This pistol is SA with a second-strike capability, which does not make a lot of sense with today's ammo. i am not sure of the rationale for the keeping the DA option. The plastic grips are "meh". They work, but I am looking forward to the aluminum alloy grip panels. The plastic grips are supposed to be aggressive but I did not find them so. They are a bit slick for my hands. The frame checkering provided most of my traction.

    I can and did ride the safety like a 1911 with no concerns about failing to activate a grip safety as there is none. The slide can be manipulated with the safety ON, and the safety disconnects the trigger. I like that I can load and unload the pistol with the safety engaged.

    One thing that struck me today was the length of the frame rails as they go all the way to the front of the dust cover.

    More to come as I continue to shoot it.
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    Last edited by farscott; 04-05-2019 at 07:59 PM.

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