lksyotas Posted August 27, 2018 Share Posted August 27, 2018 (edited) Hello everyone, I recently purchased a TSO 9mm to use as a steel / three gun pistol and wanted to provide some initial thoughts and feedback to potential buyers who have been on the fence like me due to the cost premium of the platform. A bit of background...The same week I purchased it, we had our basement flood from a storm that hovered over NY for three days and deposited record amounts of precipitation. Insurance wasn't covering the tab on the repairs so I decided to put the pistol up for sale on multiple boards including this one. After no bites, I decided to take it out today during my lunch hour and run it through a few drills to see what all the hype has been about. I've owned a SP-01 Shadow, Shadow 2, and a few different Tanfo's all in 9mm over the past few years and had gone back to shooting Glocks in competitions as of recent. So my initial thoughts on this TSO after shooting it are why didn't I buy one sooner! The grip feels just as good as the Shadow 2 and Tanfo's in that my hand naturally finds the highest point of contact at the beaver tail and locks in nicely for a firm equal grip when drawing. The thumb rest was pleasant and felt fine in its location and the safety that I thought was going to interfere with my support hand thumb wasn't a problem. The entire package is almost perfect for my shooting style... From the very first trigger pull I was immediately impressed with the softness of recoil and love how the front-sight just fell back onto target with no effort. I ran 100 factory rounds of AE 147g FMJ's and also an additional 100 rounds of competition reloads that consist of 135 Blue Bullets, 3.2g Prima V, Fed 100 primers. Accuracy out to 30 yds was amazing with both types of ammo. The AE 147's typically have a much more pronounced recoil impulse in my Glocks than the reloads mentioned. But in this platform, I couldn't believe how soft they shot! The reloads aforementioned were even softer but with a noticeably slower slide velocity. I will play with the recoil springs with the reloads to speed it up a bit more... A few observations that may require tweaking to make this perfect for me are the trigger reset and the non blended magwell. Multiple times, I missed the reloads in that the fresh mags were getting hung up on the mismatched magwell clearance to frame. The trigger reset doesn't feel as short as my Glocks and definitely not as tactile. I'm sure with a bit of training I'll be fine with it. I know I can adjust the over travel screw but I'm thinking that it may be close to optimal already based on how close the sear edge is to the hammer when the trigger is at its rear most position. Finally, I will be picking up a set of LOK bogies to compliment the grip - I have medium to large size hands and I don't necessarily find the grip to small but I might try the palm swells and standard thickness to see if it makes a difference. Also got bored over the weekend and made a double layer kydex holster for it. Put a few glamour shots below of how it turned out...It made running the drills much easier to gain an honest assessment of the gun being able to draw properly. For now, I'm looking forward to hitting the range again. It's been a while since a new handgun put this big of smile on my face:) Edited August 27, 2018 by lksyotas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George16 Posted August 27, 2018 Share Posted August 27, 2018 Nice gun and holster. You want to make one for my TSO also? Holster is beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueorison Posted August 27, 2018 Share Posted August 27, 2018 It's always nice to find a new love... it brightens and invigorates your existence. When that new love is really an old love... I shoot a lot of Glocks and CZs... you can't beat the ergonomics of a CZ; I prefer Glocks because I don't want to spend time case gauging, etc., when I don't really need to with the Glock - so I hear you on the switching between platforms. The P09 is actually my fave across the board for any competition style. I prefer plastic lowers over steel. I prefer practical guns that shoot very well. I think the next step up is finally a 2011... Your holster is gorgeous!!! Rock on; sorry to hear about the damage to your basement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lksyotas Posted August 27, 2018 Author Share Posted August 27, 2018 1 hour ago, blueorison said: I shoot a lot of Glocks and CZs... you can't beat the ergonomics of a CZ; I prefer Glocks because I don't want to spend time case gauging, etc., when I don't really need to with the Glock - so I hear you on the switching between platforms. The P09 is actually my fave across the board for any competition style. I prefer plastic lowers over steel. I prefer practical guns that shoot very well. I think the next step up is finally a 2011... I tried the P09 but I don’t think I gave it enough time. I was surprised at how easy it was to shoot. I had performed all the CGW upgrades to it so the trigger was really good for a polymer gun. I appreciate Glocks and carry one daily but in competition I’ve found at least for me that I don’t have to muscle the CZ and 19/20 11 platforms as much as a Glock. I had an STI Eagle 9mm and wish I had kept that. It was a nice shooter but I never fully appreciated it and sold it young into its life. I’m a lot like you in that I like the simplicity of Glocks and with a busy life I appreciate being able to shoot them then throw them back in the safe with no fuss or cleaning typically. They just run well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lksyotas Posted August 29, 2018 Author Share Posted August 29, 2018 (edited) Just a quick follow up to my second day at the range with this pistol. I ran Dot Torture drills from 5 yds and scored perfect both times. Only other time I’ve been able to do that is with a Shadow 2 I did did notice that the left side safety was digging into my support thumb more and actually created a blood blister. So I installed a set of Shadow 2 thin safeties this evening to see if that helps reduce the interference and allows for my normal high grip. Finally, I installed the lowest weight recoil spring to run my reloads and felt that the gun produced more recoil than yesterday but with a notcible increase in slide velocity. Might try the medium weight one next. Can someone comment on what the three weights are with the 9mm TSOs? I’ve read the .40 versions but don’t know if they are the same between calibers. Edited August 29, 2018 by lksyotas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxj66 Posted August 29, 2018 Share Posted August 29, 2018 19 minutes ago, lksyotas said: Just a quick follow up to my second day at the range with this pistol. I ran Dot Torture drills from 5 yds and scored perfect both times. Only other time I’ve been able to do that is with a Shadow 2 I did did notice that the left side safety was digging into my support thumb more and actually created a blood blister. So I installed a set of Shadow 2 thin safeties this evening to see if that helps reduce the interference and allows for my normal high grip. Finally, I installed the lowest weight recoil spring to run my reloads and felt that the gun produced more recoil than yesterday but with a notcible increase in slide velocity. Might try the medium weight one next. Can someone comment on what the three weights are with the 9mm TSOs? I’ve read the .40 versions but don’t know if they are the same between calibers. Weights are the same between the 40 and 9, the 40 slide is 1 once heavier. If I am thinking right short spring is an 11 and long spring is a 13. Main springs are same deal shorts a 13 longs a 15 (if memory serves me right) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegeneric Posted August 29, 2018 Share Posted August 29, 2018 I love that holster! Any interest in making one for me (if you still have a Shadow 2 for a mold). I really want one with that mounts to the Safariland systems (3 point screws). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George16 Posted August 29, 2018 Share Posted August 29, 2018 Confirmed with CZ-USA that the three recoil springs are 11 lb, 13 lb and 16 lb. The 16 lb spring is tapered at one end and the gun ships with this spring. The other two springs are 11 lb and 13 lb. HOWEVER, the longer spring is the 11 lb. The 11 and 13 have the same number of coils but the 11 lb spring is longer. TSO recoil springs Spares- 11 & 13 # Installed - 16# Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lksyotas Posted August 29, 2018 Author Share Posted August 29, 2018 1 hour ago, George16 said: Confirmed with CZ-USA that the three recoil springs are 11 lb, 13 lb and 16 lb. The 16 lb spring is tapered at one end and the gun ships with this spring. The other two springs are 11 lb and 13 lb. HOWEVER, the longer spring is the 11 lb. The 11 and 13 have the same number of coils but the 11 lb spring is longer. TSO recoil springs Spares- 11 & 13 # Installed - 16# Thanks for the confirmation on spring weights. I’ll hit the range again this week to try the 13# and thin safeties. Should be a winning combo I’m hoping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mveto Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 If you find the LOK palm swell bogies to be to big you should look into the Hennings, they have them available for the TS and they are awesome. I just received my set a few days ago and will be using them this weekend at a 3 gun match. I’ve been trying different grips for a while and I think I finally found the perfect grips for the TS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LtdShooter Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 If you decide on making some holsters, I'll take one as well. Let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClangClang Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 Your kydex work is right up there with any commercial kydex holster maker. Beautiful! Put me down for a SP01 Shadow and a Phantom if you decide to accept commissions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyjumper Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Hi lksyotas You sure did a nice job on that holster. So are the tools you need to make holsters like that? Thanks Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George16 Posted September 2, 2018 Share Posted September 2, 2018 There you go. More and more people are clamoring for your holsters. They really look gorgeous. I want one for my shadow 2 and TSO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lksyotas Posted September 2, 2018 Author Share Posted September 2, 2018 (edited) Thank you everyone for your gracious feedback regarding the holster. I didn’t mean to highjack the positive report on this TSO platform but I do appreciate the comments. I’ve been doing a small side-job holster business for the past six years mainly for local friends, fam, and Police agencies. I’ve learned a lot along the way but am not at a point to take this mainstream as there are so many amazing makers already on the market and my regular career and family time has me pretty busy. If your interested in something specific though I’m happy to take the conversation offline via email as it will show immediately on my phone and I’ll be quick to return your message. Thanks again. Edited September 2, 2018 by lksyotas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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