It has been a busy first week here at pistol-training.com and we really appreciate you guys who have taken the time to let us know what you think. It is nice to see some old faces again, as well as some newer ones. We have more good stuff coming in remembrance of Todd, but as we are now starting to transition to our weekly posting schedule, we thought a little gun we have been playing with might be of some interest.
We at pistol-training.com generally prefer larger guns, but as you can see, we are shooting the new Smith & Wesson CSX. This little gun is small, light, easy to shoot fast and accurately, and carries a pretty good amount of ammo on board. It has a single-action trigger and my personal favorite, a safety. What’s not to like?
Well, the thumb safety is a little narrow. Easy to take off on the draw or on a press out, but not as easy to put back on with the same thumb. I use my offhand thumb, just like decocking a Sig or Beretta, but I imagine the aftermarket will solve this issue sooner or later.
As mentioned, bigger guns are preferred, mostly because they are simply easier to shoot well. When shooting smaller guns, it is easy to overgrip the gun and pull your shot to the left (for a right-handed shooter). To avoid this it is helpful to use less finger on the trigger or to refrain from gripping the gun as fully as you might be able to. That is, just because the fingers of your strong hand are able to wrap further around the grip than usual, doesn’t mean that you should simply apply pressure wherever they may end up. Rather, emphasize grip pressure straight to the rear. Your strong hand should be applying pressure front to back on a normal-sized gun, while your support hand supplies pressure left and right. No different with these little guns, just harder to do sometimes.
This grip “change” was never necessary for me with small revolvers or even guns like the Kahr9, but when the G43/43X came on the scene, it quickly became obvious that people were trying to use their standard grip and not getting their standard results. If you have a tendency to hit to the left side (righties again) give this a try and see if it helps.
As a modern-day belly gun, the little CSX is very appealing. It will be interesting to see how it does over time and with more ammo through it. Also, check out Julie Golob’s youtube channel for a top to bottom explanation of the features of the gun.
Looking forward to shooting this in warmer weather too.
Welcome back! Always benefit from your contributions over the years. You’ve been one of the few sane voices over the years. Thank you.
Thank you very much!
Do you run it with your thumb riding the safety?
I do. I’m of the old(ish) school that says SA guns should be shot that way. Not all hand sizes will work on such a small gun though so some experimentation might be in order.