The X-Tac Elite Compact
This pistol has a 4.0″ coned barrel, Match Grade and stainless, perfectly crowned. I didn’t have a chance to bench it but several hundred rounds through the gun indicated it would live up to the manufacturer’s promise of 1.5″ groups at 25 yards. The dished muzzle crown helps. Wilson’s trademark Bulletproof parts are evident throughout: hammer and beavertail grip safety, low profile magazine chute (which did aid in speedloads), mag release, and the company’s BattleSights with a big U-notch in back and red fiber optic up front. Another WC trademark, the Starburst G10 grips, effectively complemented the wide, deep-but-not-sharp cross-cuts on the front and back grip straps. No matter how fast the shooting became, the X-Tac never shifted in my grasp. The usually-protruding right-side stud of the slide stop is flush with the frame and countersunk, to prevent it being pushed out of position by a clutching hand tightly holding the gun with the trigger finger over it, straight on the frame. Some serious thinking went into the X-Tac Elite’s design.
Grip safety and thumb safety were perfectly adjusted — not too hard, not too light, and positive all the way through in handling. Sweet triggers are a hallmark of the WC brand. The X-Tac Elite is spec’d for a 3.5 to 4.5 lb. pull and this gun was definitely on the light side.
Built with a short butt for better concealment (think Colt CCO .45 for overall footprint, but a quarter-inch shorter) the 9mm X-Tac Elite Compact comes with an eight-round flush bottom magazine, logically backed up with Wilson’s 10-rounder with a stop to prevent overtravel in a short-butt single stack gun. The latter mags were what I used.
Reliability is the non-negotiable baseline with any defensive firearm and it’s one of the things you’re paying for at Wilson Combat prices. This one perked 100 percent through several hundred rounds, everything from 115 to 147 grains. Remember, this was Bill Wilson’s personal gun and the guy owns an ammo company besides his gun company. He shoots a lot. He told me he figures he’s got about 20,000 rounds through this gun, cleaned every few hundred rounds and doesn’t remember it malfunctioning ever.
For a carry gun, you want comfort. The X-Tac Elite is beveled to eliminate sharp corners which might dig into the body. During the days at Bill’s WC Ranch in Texas this was my all-waking-hours carry gun, in Wilson brand leather of course. (In elephant, no less. Bill, veteran of many African safaris, has style.) The gun’s overall profile wasn’t much bigger than the S&W J-Frame snub revolver I carried for backup in a pants pocket throughout the week. Thumbs up for the X-Tac Elite’s “comfortable carry” element.