We introduced the Phoenix pistols on the Norwegian market in early 2019. Immediately these pistols became popular with dedicated competition shooters. Quite a few of these shooters practice intensively and we see yearly round counts of more than 30.000 shots. Sometimes much more.
Without exception, these pistols have held up extremely well and the only breakage we've seen has been related to slide stops (as advised, these should be replaced every 5-10.000 shots) and the occasional trigger return spring.
Some customers have broken ejectors but, in all cases, this has been due to the customer using unoriginal magazines or base pads; in which case the magazine may sit too high in the frame and therefore contact the ejector. If using non-original mags or base pads; remove the slide, insert the magazine and press upwards to check that it does not touch the ejector. Even better, just use the original magazines to avoid any problems. Each pistol comes with 4 magazines and they are easy to disassemble for cleaning between stages.
Going into the 2024 season; we see pistols that have fired more than 120.000 shots and they are still tight and as accurate as when new. The reason is high quality materials and the fitting of slide to frame and more than anything; fitting of the barrel. In addition to proper hardening process of contact points. (Look inside the slide and you'll be able to see the blue tint from the hardening of where the slide locks onto the barrel).
It is a misconception that the pistol barrel is worn out when a pistol loses accuracy. This is rarely the case unless you shoot steel core or frangible ammunition. Most often, loss of accuracy is due to poor barrel fitting and, often, softer materials that compress after being exposed to lager volumes of shooting. This compression generates play and then we have a self-accelerating problem.
This is easy to check: place the barrel in the locked position in the slide and if it's able to move back and forth (you'll hear the clicking sound) then that is not a good sign. This test is even easier to perform on an Open pistol; just grip the slide and the comp. and pull. If the barrel moves, you have a problem, or at least the beginning of a problem. The pistol may still shoot OK and last a while, which for lower priced pistols may be acceptable. However, if you purchase an expensive pistol, you should expect it to be a lifetime investment. Replacing the barrel will often not fix the problem as the slide itself may have stretched - in which case you'll need to replace the slide and in some cases the barrel as well.
As for maintenance, nothing is more important than lubrication. For every 300 rounds or so, wipe down contact points and the rails – then apply oil on all moving parts and be generous.If you have an optical sight mounted it may be a good idea to keep the sight occluded for the first few rounds after lubrication.If you are shooting handloads it might be appropriate to change to a lighter recoil spring, but do not go too light.The mainspring housing is the same as a 1911 and you’ll have the advantage of using the same main springs that are easily available. Feel free to play around with the main springs, but again, do not take it too far as it is not worth the risk of a light primer strike in a match. As for the DA trigger, it gets much lighter and smoother with a bit of use. Personally, I do not bother to change the mainspring. I have not bought a new competition pistol in 15 years. However, this season I’ll primarily be shooting a Drake Production with an optic mounted. It feels good to be able to get a proper sight picture again – it has been a while….
