(Left) The front of the frame has a patch of machine-cut checkering, big enough to produce a nonslip grip. (Right) The X-Five has a dual-spring buffer system. The single-coil spring buffers the final impact of the slide against the frame while the braided spring does the rest of the work.

What did it like? The better question is, What didn't it like? The two "losers" in accuracy that day were Speer Gold Dot 165-grain JHP and Armscor 180-grain fmj. And in any other handgun, the groups fired by those loads would have been cause for celebration. I've seen custom 1911s used in competition that couldn't shoot groups as good as the "bad" ones this X-Five shot.

(Left) Until the supply is used up (or stamping dies get replaced as they wear), we'll be seeing markings like these on magazines. (Right) If you can miss a mag funnel this big, perhaps you need more practice. Only the most attentive and particular competition shooter would find it necessary to go filing, stoning or polishing to improve it.

So, what do we use such a gun for? Considering its size, it sure isn't a concealed carry gun, not unless your idea of a cover garment is a woolen mackinaw. Paul Erhardt mentioned there had been some interest in it as a tactical gun. And why not? You could either have a gunsmith bolt on a light rail or get a good machinist/gunsmith to simply machine a rail right out of the dustcover. It's stainless, after all, so it can take it. Then a coat of flat-black bake-on epoxy finish, and you've got your "übertactical-ninja" sidearm. But I don't expect to see many X-Fives in law enforcement holsters.

No, the raison d'etre of the X-Five is USPSA competition. You can use it in Limited 10, but the better choice would be Limited. There, the high-cap magazines offer you a competitive amount of ammo. While 14 rounds is a good start, it isn't up to what competition guns can deliver. Many guns in matches hold 18 rounds in a magazine.

Ah, but the X-Five magazines are short. USPSA regs allow a Limited magazine to be 140mm long. The X-Five baseplate stops a quarter-inch, or 6mm, from that. I'm sure there is a gunsmith out there right now machining hollow baseplates that go right up to the allowed 140mm. And with a little follower trickery and spring tuning, I can see an X-Five magazine holding 17 rounds.

With commercial reloads, in this case Black Hills, the X-Five performed better than a lot of custom guns the author has tested.

The .40 gets you to Major in scoring, and the accuracy--oh, the accuracy. With a gun that can deliver groups under an inch and an "A" zone on the target that measures six by 11 inches, you need not worry about having enough accuracy.

For those who live in a state that still has restrictions on "assault weapons" and magazine capacity, the X-Five would make a sterling out-of-the-box Limited 10 gun. As an IDPA gun, it is too heavy, at 47 ounces, to pass as an ESP gun, even if the other race parts didn't disqualify it. And concealing that magazine funnel would take some work. But as a ready-to-go Limited gun for USPSA competition, it's great.

Now to the matter of cost. The MSRP of the X-Five is a cool $2,499. However, as with all things in a consumer environment, what something really sells for is usually less than what it "should" sell for. Add in the ability to do a lot of the adjusting yourself, and the X-Five looks even better. Many a competition shooter has a love/hate relationship with his gunsmith. Yes, the guns are great, but every little thing requires another trip back to the 'smith. With the X-Five you don't need a trip to adjust trigger pull, length, overtravel. You do it yourself.

And if you think just over two grand (the probable price in your local gun shop) is too much, you haven't priced custom Limited guns for USPSA competition lately--or custom high-end single-stack 1911s either. You can easily close in on $3,000 for either.

In that context, and considering its performance right out of the box, the X-Five is a bargain.