I purchased my Wilson Combat EDC X9 after thoroughly testing it almost 10 years ago. Through much of the last decade, it’s been my predominant EDC gun. Even though Wilson Combat has upgraded the platform over the years, I’ve liked my original X9 better than all its descendants—until now. With its new eXperior Elite pistol, the company has taken nearly a decade of refinement to the X9 platform, including what the company developed for the Division 77 P1 pistol, and has introduced a pistol that I just realized I like even more.
The eXperior Elite looks very much like a cross between the Wilson Combat EDC and P1 pistols that essentially fathered it. It is a true Commander-size handgun with a 4.25-inch barrel that is housed in a Tri-Top slide with anti-glare 30 lpi serrations along its length. The slide also has an optics cut, and, when the plate with the fixed rear sight is removed, you have access to the pin-system optics mount Wilson Combat developed for its P1 pistol. This system allows for any reflex sight with an RMR, RMSc or DeltaPoint footprint to be directly mounted. The slide also has extra-deep cocking serrations and is fitted with a fiber-optic front sight.
The aluminum grip frame features an integral wide-mouth magazine well, an integrated accessory rail on the dustcover and Wilson Combat’s TRAK large-format checkering. G-10 starburst grips adorned with a Wilson Combat-logo medallion round out the grip frame, which, like the stainless-steel slide, has a black Armor Tuff finish. The pin-system optics-mounting platform is very nice and offers a lot of options, but for me the most notable enhancement is the transition to double-locking lugs (the EDC X9 has only one). Consistent shot-to-shot lockup between the barrel, slide and frame are a requisite for precision from a semi-automatic pistol. With the eXperior Elite, I shot the smallest group I have ever fired from a rest at 10 yards with a Commander-sized pistol—it measured a scant .272 inch.
Some other features include a Wilson Combat’s Bullet Proof-branded concealment hammer and Bullet Proof ambidextrous thumb safety and magazine release. It has a countersunk slide stop, a fluted barrel and chamber, heavy chamfering on the bottom of the slide with 40 lpi serrations on the rear and carry cuts on the nose of the slide. Options include various finishes and grip colors, a different thumb safety and a red or green fiber-optic pipe in the front sight. Wilson Combat also offers an optic and will install and zero it at the factory.
From the bench, the eXperior Elite was an absolute tack driver, averaging less than an inch with the five loads tested, and less than a half-inch with one. I fired 25, five-shot groups from the bench (our protocol is for three loads, but five total were tested); the largest measured only 1.22 inches, and the average for all was less than .75 inch. The pistol comes with a 1.5-inch at 25 yards precision guarantee, and the three-shot group on the 15-yard test target shipped with this pistol measured .501 inch. Granted, all the groups I fired were with the Trijicon RMR, and the little dot makes shooting small groups easier. However, I also tested the best shooting load with the factory fixed sights, and it still averaged less than an inch. If you miss what you’re shooting at with this pistol, it’s your fault.
Of course, a pistol like this is designed to be carried in a holster and shot off hand. I put 300 rounds through the eXperior Elite, running a variety of defensive handgun drills, shooting a plate rack, and messing around at 50 yards and beyond. About two-thirds of the shooting was done with the reflex sight the rest of the shooting was with the fixed sights. There were no failures to feed, extract or eject, but I did have three rounds—all from one box of Federal’s 124-grain Hydra-Shok load—that required a second strike on the primer before detonating.
With eXperior Elite outfitted with a reflex sight, I recorded one of my fastest times ever on the Step Back Drill. This drill is conducted from the holster on an eight-inch target, firing two shots at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 yards, timing each two-shot string separately. My total time with the reflex-sighted eXperior Elite was 13.51 seconds, and with the open sights it was about 10 percent slower at 15.14 seconds. In- terestingly, at 5, 10 and 15 yards, my engagement times were faster with the open sights than with the reflex sight. This brings up the only non-perfect aspect of the eXperior Elite.
Out of the box, there’s no provision for co-witnessing iron sights. You’ll either have to choose a reflex sight with an integral rear notch or go with something like the Stealth Series Sights for an RMR from Night Fision. I’m not a die-hard pistol optics guy but you might be, and if you are, this is something to consider. Regardless, you should expect dime-splitting precision and unfailing reliability with the eXperior Elite. Wilson Combat will have to work hard to top this pistol. It broke my heart to send it back—if it were mine, I’d run the fixed sights and never look back—but with the cost of groceries and gas, it’s beyond my budget.
