My new STI-VIP report

[bkjunk]

I was very good this year and Santa brought me a new STI-VIP in 9mm with two extra mags in 126 and 140 mm. I couldn't wait to shoot it and finally hit the Bass Pro shop range for the first time tonight. I only put about 200 rounds through it, 50 rounds being Hornady 115 grain FTX. I am happy to report not a single malfunction. I thought I would get a couple, since it was brand new.

The slide to frame fit is tight with almost no play and the triger is 5.5 lbs, a little heaver than I like, but I will address that at a later date. It was pretty accurate in slow deliberate fire (see attached video). I do have to admit that as soon as tried to speed it up I found myself yanking the second and third shots low and left. In my defense that was the first time I ever shot indoors and it was loud and concussive, especially since my ear protectors wouldn't make a tight seal with those big video camera glasses on.

Anyway this will soon be my new carry gun. I felt bad putting the Kimber in the back of the safe, but that is just the way it is. One final note my experience at Brass Pro Shop was excellent. The front door guy told me no reason to put a lock on the pistol as long as I was a CHL holder. At the range desk all I had to do was show that my ammo was all factory and I was good to go. A little pricey at $10 for 1/2 hour, but I really wanted to shoot the new gun.

I hope Santa is good to all of you as well...





[youtube][/youtube]

[n5wd]

Repeat after me....

COM ... COM ... THEN the head!

COM.... COM.... THEN the head!



Very nice looking gun. I think STI's pretty much at the top of my future list, too.

[Seabear]

SWEET! Good looking pistola. Looking at their site I understand the 120mm magazine holds ten, so I assume the other two you got hold more. How many?

edit: Never mind I found it. LOL http://media.stiguns.com/ProductDocs/Ca ... es2010.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Why do they have to confuse me with metric? LOL

[RECIT]

Looks like a beauty. How much wider does the grip feel over a standard 1911?

[bkjunk]

It's a 9mm, I had no problems getting 16 rounds in the stock magizine and 18 in my 126mm backup mag. I'll use the 140mm mag for some competition shooting, I was able to stuff 21 in there.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

Defining your magazine lengths in mm seems to be a diversion from how most shooters might define them,
such as "10 rounds" or "15 rounds".

Is the metric system your original mathematical language? :-)

By the way, you have no town in your profiles "hometown" field. Which Bass Pro did you go to?
I use the Bass Pro in Grapevine, Texas (near DFW airport) and they charge $12.99 for a full hour.
Plus, if there is no one waiting for a lane, I can stay in there until I run out of ammo.

SIA

[MoJo]

SIA - - - metric lengths are the standard for higher than normal capacity mags for competition. Things like springs, followers and caliber all lend themselves to the actual round count. The MM lengths are for all caliber guns so, a 140mm loaded with 9mm will hold more than a 140mm loaded with .45 ACP.

[bkjunk]

Looks like a beauty. How much wider does the grip feel over a standard 1911?

I measured both the STI and my Kimber just below the grip safety, with their grips on. The Kimber is 1.5" and the STI is 1.75". So while it is definitely larger it just doesn't feel that much different to me.

I switched an existing Milt Sparks order over to this new STI. In a couple of months when the holsters come in, this will be my new regular carry gun.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

MoJo:

Thank you sir for your reply.

SIA

[jpfrog]

Very nice! I have an STI Trojan 5.0 in 45acp and love it...my buddy has one of their double stacks in 9mm and it's smoother than melted butter. You've done well on what you asked Santa for this year!

[axdslngr]

Man you must have been really good this year! Congrats on a real high quality pistol.

[QB]

A long time ago I had two of the STI VIPs in .38 Super. What great guns they were. I regret selling those and my SVIs (also .38 Super). I've been thinking about buying another VIP in 9mm so I was glad to see that yours performed 100%. What a great gift!!!!