Hands on: Sphinx Pistols

We spent a lot of time at the Kriss booth talking to their guys and depleting their ammunition supply.  They were pushing their pistol line pretty hard and after getting our hands on them we understood why.

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Historically the Sphinx line of pistols was quite expensive.  In the several thousand dollar range, to be exact.  Not undeservedly as they are Swiss made and very high precision.  However by improving their production they have brought the prices down to a more reasonable place for the average competition / hobby shooter.

We had a chance to shoot the whole line and I must say, I really enjoyed them.  Their subcompact Alpha was where we started.  Comparatively it was very similar in size to the new Glock 42.  About a half inch larger in both height and length.  The big difference is that the Alpha is actually in a caliber that I believe people want, 9mm.  Oh, let’s not forget that the Alpha also has a 13+1 capacity while only sacrificing a half inch in each direction.  The grip is comfortable, the recoil is similar to most other subcompacts in 9mm and the sights were nice out of the box.  This model has the same ambidextrous decocker as the larger models and runs DA/SA.  The trigger pull on double action was smooth with a really long reset.

We moved up into the full size Alpha models and this is where I really started to feel jiggly in the legs.  The ergonomics in these guns is very impressive.  They provide three grip inserts with every gun to allow the shooter to swap out sizes until the gun fits them perfectly.  Made of a soft rubber covering the grip of the Alpha really filled out my hands and was extremely comfortable.  I like this gun and want to spend a lot more time with it.  The entire crew that shot them was impressed with the comfort.  In 9×19 Luger with a 17+1 capacity this is a rocker and a roller.

I’m looking forward to spending more time with the Sphinx line of pistols.  Our audience knows that I am a big fan of the M&P line because of the way they feel and the Sphinx really feels like an M&P draped in velvet.  It’s smooth, beautiful and now, for the first time, priced for the masses.