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REVIEW: Sig Sauer XFive .177 Co2 Pistol

REVIEW: Sig Sauer XFive .177 Co2 Pistol

After two months of ownership and maybe 1200 pellets through it, this is my personal view of this pistol ....

This pistol was bought as an 'impulse buy' ..... Myself I've not owned/shot air weapons since I was maybe 10 yr old, when I had a .22 springer rifle (I think a BSA) with a scope.

This X5 pistol is all metal/alloy apart from the high grade 'plastic' grips and magazine, subsequently it's quite a heft up in the hand, much like a real 9mm. It is blow back, which again, feels quite significant. It is .177 and has an FPS according to the manufacturer of around 430 FPS. As I have no Chronograph, I would have to go with that.

A Co2 bulb is inserted at the rear of the grip, pull down the little toggle switch and the rear of the grip opens, pull down the shank, put the Co2 bulb in... Then grip the grip closing the grip up and you're ready to go ... It is very easy to use the Co2 system, very light to operate imo. However removal is less simple as no matter whether the Co2 bulb is empty or not, it is a significant 'pull down' of the opened grip shank to get the bulb released. On my first attempt I thought I might have broken my wrist as the grip shank came down with such an explosive 'bang & hiss + jolt' and the bulb was 'empty' of CO2 (I have osteoporosis from my prescription medication)

So after one inserts the Co2, pull back the slide to cock the pistol ... The hammer then remains back at all times and only drops back when the Co2 expires. There is no 'locked back' slide when the magazine is empty.

The safety is a very solid, precise, dual sided up/down affair above the trigger, very stiff on mine when new .... The mag release is on the left, by the grip and simple, just press and out it comes. The mag is heavily spring loaded to pop out. So keep a hand under it or it will go flying off ... Replacement/extra mags are I believe around £48 x2. Wow and Ouch. IMO. Myself I am right handed, but if one was a southpaw I am not sure if they would not risk 'popping' the mag whilst shooting.

There is a picatinny rail under the barrel which I have used for a lazer dot on occasion. The rail seems a pretty tight fit compared to my other pistol. Plus the rail finish 'marks up'. The finish on the bottom of the picatinny rail has marked with a sprung steel pressure spring, such as on the Laser which I have (Umarex Tac Laser 1 Laser Sight). Annoying.

The magazine is placed into the butt of the grip, it is a plastic affair with a plastic & alloy chain carrying 20 .177 pellets. It seems best to use flat head pellets as domed do not foul the chain but they seem often reticent to leave the mag when fired. Hence I stick with anything flat headed and they all seem to work fine ... From H&N Econ, to Umarex Mosquito and Game Keeper Rat Dispatcher ( N.B. I do not dispatch rats nor anything else). When I tried BSA Storm, a domed pellet, it often had 3 or 4 refusing to leave the magazine each fill.

The trigger is ... Extremely heavy as there is no two stage action, so one is pulling around the notchy the chain magazine to index the pellet.

The rear sight is adjustable for windage and height. The sights themselves are pure black, no white dots.

We are all different of course but for me:

Pros:

* Excellent basic construction imo.
* Feels and looks much like a Sig Sauer P320 X5 9mm imo. If that matters.
* Very fast and easy Co2 installation
* Solid ambidextrous safety
* Noticeable blow back


Cons

* The trigger is just awful. Not adjustable and not 2 stage. The pull is too long, it starts off feeling 'empty', then becomes heavy + notchy as you are moving the chain fed mag. One must then fully release the trigger to index the next pellet.
* As the heavy full sized pistol it is, adding a scope or red dot seems almost prohibitive. Weighing my X5, fresh Co2, full mag, red dot sight plus the weight of an alloy adaptor to bring a top picatinny rail ... Means the pistol all in would weigh 1595 gram/ 3.51 lb
* The blow back is quite significant imo ..... So between the blow back and trigger it makes precise shooting very difficult indeed, as you have to fully set up after each shot.
* No easy way to remove a Co2, spent or otherwise. As I am disabled I often do not shoot an entire Co2 bulb and then I maybe ill for a week or two or more .. So I basically remove the bulb after any shooting to ensure no seal damage.
* The chain fed mag does not seem to jam in action. But jams a great deal when being loaded. Which is irritating.
* No 'lock back' slide at empty.. Which is irritating.
* Not able to be field stripped .... Which is irritating
* No white dots or other aids in sights. Which is irritating
* Paint finish is not great. Looks OK until you start to really look.
* No attempt made to differentiate what would be the ejection port. They could have at least added black paint or a decent sticker! .... But they didn't .... Which is irritating
* Hammer stays back when gun is with Co2. No un-cocking possible, you only have the safety - Which is irritating.

My Conclusion

Obviously it is just my opinion but personally I think that as a pistol which is advertised for anywhere between £170-£200 The Sig Sauer X5 ... is quite disappointing ... It should be much better than this.

The #1 major issue is imo, the trigger, it has a pull weight apparently of c.7 lb ... Whatever it is, it is too heavy, too uneven in the pull, slack then hard, too notchy and just generally horrible to use.... Then for me the X5 has all these other issues on top as well.

Would I buy it again now? Yes and no.

No because I don't like it much overall..... No because it is way over priced imo .... No because I could have bought some other pistols which I already know are better .. But then yes, because this is my first modern air gun and you have to start somewhere. Ultimately no matter how helpful people are.. It is your own money, your own likes and dislikes that count. Indeed I took a chance, I do not like the X5 ..... But with the next pistol I've purchased sight (sic) unseen, I absolutely adore it and cannot really find any faults.

The reality of life is that other people will have this Sig Sauer X5 and they will genuinely love it ... IMO you have to try these things in the flesh or like me, take a chance.

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Author
Liberalgun
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1,453
First release
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Rating
5.00 star(s) 2 ratings

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Nice review. Thanks for sharing. Trigger sounds beastful.
Nice review and opinions.
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