Got my hands on the Hudson H9. In case you have been living under a rock, this is the "revolutionary" handgun the world has been waiting for. The Hudson H9 answers the question I know you have been asking - what would a striker fired, 9mm 1911 feel like? Well, here it is:
Yep, it looks like something from RoboCop. Futuristic? You bet. Functional? Well, let's see ...
First, let's talk about weight. This baby is all metal. That said, it isn't an anchor. By way of comparrison:
Glock 17: 22 ounces
H9: 34 ounces
1911: 39-40 ounces
So, you are talking lighter than a "standard" 1911, but more than the plastic Glock. It feels "solid," but not heavy. In fact, it feels good. I mean REALLY good! It is just a solid feeling firearm. Smooth. Solid. There is no rattle in this baby. Everything is as tight and smooth as a custom 1911. It really feels good.
I tried to appendix carry this thing. Ain't gonna happen! Then again, I cannot IWB a 1911, so, I'm not doing it with this either. OWB carry with a good gun belt was a joy. Slightly lighter than my 1911, which is nice. It feels good. Carries well.
Now, let's talk about that trigger. Here is where this baby REALLY shines. As you can see, it is a 1911 style trigger, but with a trigger dingus similar to the trigger safety on the Glock. Hudson says the trigger breaks at 4.5-5 lbs. Mine was pretty consistent at 4.2 lbs. It is like breaking glass! And, the reset is hard to believe. So minimal. So crisp! My only criticism is the looooooooong pull on the trigger dingus. The pull on the dingus is about 3-4 times the pull on the trigger. Once I got used to it, it was not an issue. With a minimal reset, you never need to engage the dingus for a follow up shot. Just keep it engaged.
Let's talk about the grip angle. The H9 has the same basic geometry as the 1911. That means, if you have an issue with the Glock hand grip angle, you will like this. If you like the grip angle of the 1911, you will LOVE this. It is very natural pointing. They got this right.
The thing looks bigger than it is. Here is a comparison with a Glock 17:
Here is the Glock 17 on top of the H9. You can see it covers the entire H9:
Here it is with a Robert Defense 1911:
Here is the H9 on top of the 1911:
So, how did she shoot? I took her to the range and used 12x18 splatter targets at 24 feet:
All the reviews say this gun "shoots flat." Well, that is how it was designed. If you look at the H9 vs the Glock and the 1911, you will see the slide is "lower profile." The recoil spring sits in the frame, not the slide, right behind the large dust cover under the barrel. This lowers the center of gravity and pushes the recoil directly back, reducing muzzle rise.
Did it live up to the hype? Kinda ... It is a heavier gun, so it should have less recoil than, say, the Glock 17 (and certainly the Glock 19). I liked how it stayed on target, but, to be honest, I was not as blown away as most of the reviews. Yes, it fires flat. Is it mind-blowing? Ah, no. But, it is very nice.
Here is where it shined for me - I do "double tap drills," where I put one center of mass and one in the head. Well, follow-up shots were simply incredible. With the low recoil, I was able to get it up to the head and get the second shot off. I fired a total of 45 rounds and nearly every show was in the red on the body and head. I shot well in this drill.
But, where it failed - precision shooting. The H9 has a standard black rear sight and a Trijicon HD front sight. The front site is big and bright and meant to be a defensive sight. So, I could find it quickly and hit center mass. But, it blocked out a lot of the target. So, when I tried to hit those two circles on the top, I fell very short. I just could not see the center at all.
This baby retails for $1,147, IF you can find it. I was told this is the only one in Wisconsin. I cannot confirm that. So, is it "worth" it?
Well, it is as thin as a typical 1911, but has a double-stack 15 round mag. It really is hard to believe this is a double-stack b/c it feel thin:
Here is another knock - the mags are a bitch to load! Seriously, what the hell??? They hold 15 rounds, but getting that 14th round in was impossible until I dumped 200 rounds through her. You are almost required to use a mag loader b/c it is so tight. Also, the top round must be seated perfectly. If not, you will get a failure to feed on the first round. That happened to me 4 times at the range. Once I figured how to make certain the top round was properly seated, I had no further issue. But, dropping the mag and speed loading a second caused it to happen once. Not good if your life depended on it.
I used 50 rounds of good ammo, then 450 rounds of utter garbage. She ate it all. Not a single malfunction (other than mentioned above).
Overall - I really, really like this gun! Do I $1200 like it? Well ... That's pricey. But, it is a damn fun gun. Really a lot of great things going on here. It gets a lot of attention at the range. It is a fun conversation piece.
More than anything - I am excited to see someone finally coming out with innovation. The Hudsons are a young-ish couple who asked why there was nothing like this on the market, then did something about it. I am excited to see what they come up with next.
Link here: https://www.hudsonmfg.com/product/
If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers
Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR
Yep, it looks like something from RoboCop. Futuristic? You bet. Functional? Well, let's see ...
First, let's talk about weight. This baby is all metal. That said, it isn't an anchor. By way of comparrison:
Glock 17: 22 ounces
H9: 34 ounces
1911: 39-40 ounces
So, you are talking lighter than a "standard" 1911, but more than the plastic Glock. It feels "solid," but not heavy. In fact, it feels good. I mean REALLY good! It is just a solid feeling firearm. Smooth. Solid. There is no rattle in this baby. Everything is as tight and smooth as a custom 1911. It really feels good.
I tried to appendix carry this thing. Ain't gonna happen! Then again, I cannot IWB a 1911, so, I'm not doing it with this either. OWB carry with a good gun belt was a joy. Slightly lighter than my 1911, which is nice. It feels good. Carries well.
Now, let's talk about that trigger. Here is where this baby REALLY shines. As you can see, it is a 1911 style trigger, but with a trigger dingus similar to the trigger safety on the Glock. Hudson says the trigger breaks at 4.5-5 lbs. Mine was pretty consistent at 4.2 lbs. It is like breaking glass! And, the reset is hard to believe. So minimal. So crisp! My only criticism is the looooooooong pull on the trigger dingus. The pull on the dingus is about 3-4 times the pull on the trigger. Once I got used to it, it was not an issue. With a minimal reset, you never need to engage the dingus for a follow up shot. Just keep it engaged.
Let's talk about the grip angle. The H9 has the same basic geometry as the 1911. That means, if you have an issue with the Glock hand grip angle, you will like this. If you like the grip angle of the 1911, you will LOVE this. It is very natural pointing. They got this right.
The thing looks bigger than it is. Here is a comparison with a Glock 17:
Here is the Glock 17 on top of the H9. You can see it covers the entire H9:
Here it is with a Robert Defense 1911:
Here is the H9 on top of the 1911:
So, how did she shoot? I took her to the range and used 12x18 splatter targets at 24 feet:
All the reviews say this gun "shoots flat." Well, that is how it was designed. If you look at the H9 vs the Glock and the 1911, you will see the slide is "lower profile." The recoil spring sits in the frame, not the slide, right behind the large dust cover under the barrel. This lowers the center of gravity and pushes the recoil directly back, reducing muzzle rise.
Did it live up to the hype? Kinda ... It is a heavier gun, so it should have less recoil than, say, the Glock 17 (and certainly the Glock 19). I liked how it stayed on target, but, to be honest, I was not as blown away as most of the reviews. Yes, it fires flat. Is it mind-blowing? Ah, no. But, it is very nice.
Here is where it shined for me - I do "double tap drills," where I put one center of mass and one in the head. Well, follow-up shots were simply incredible. With the low recoil, I was able to get it up to the head and get the second shot off. I fired a total of 45 rounds and nearly every show was in the red on the body and head. I shot well in this drill.
But, where it failed - precision shooting. The H9 has a standard black rear sight and a Trijicon HD front sight. The front site is big and bright and meant to be a defensive sight. So, I could find it quickly and hit center mass. But, it blocked out a lot of the target. So, when I tried to hit those two circles on the top, I fell very short. I just could not see the center at all.
This baby retails for $1,147, IF you can find it. I was told this is the only one in Wisconsin. I cannot confirm that. So, is it "worth" it?
Well, it is as thin as a typical 1911, but has a double-stack 15 round mag. It really is hard to believe this is a double-stack b/c it feel thin:
Here is another knock - the mags are a bitch to load! Seriously, what the hell??? They hold 15 rounds, but getting that 14th round in was impossible until I dumped 200 rounds through her. You are almost required to use a mag loader b/c it is so tight. Also, the top round must be seated perfectly. If not, you will get a failure to feed on the first round. That happened to me 4 times at the range. Once I figured how to make certain the top round was properly seated, I had no further issue. But, dropping the mag and speed loading a second caused it to happen once. Not good if your life depended on it.
I used 50 rounds of good ammo, then 450 rounds of utter garbage. She ate it all. Not a single malfunction (other than mentioned above).
Overall - I really, really like this gun! Do I $1200 like it? Well ... That's pricey. But, it is a damn fun gun. Really a lot of great things going on here. It gets a lot of attention at the range. It is a fun conversation piece.
More than anything - I am excited to see someone finally coming out with innovation. The Hudsons are a young-ish couple who asked why there was nothing like this on the market, then did something about it. I am excited to see what they come up with next.
Link here: https://www.hudsonmfg.com/product/
If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers
Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR
