![]() I later shot the gun bare-handed with the smaller backstrap in place because I was curious to see how less traction on the sides of the grip would affect control. The small backstrap doesn’t cover as much surface area on the sides of the frame as the large one that comes installed on the gun. And since I would carry this gun cocked-and-locked only, this is good to know. Frankly I expected it to be difficult because it’s small and unobtrusive, but I was able to sweep it off every time. I was surprised by how well the thumb safety operated when drawing from concealment-even while wearing medium-weight wool gloves. Reset is short and not overly noticeable, but it’s perfectly fine for a defensive pistol. I wouldn’t call the break clean, but it’s serviceable. The pull is a fairly consistent four pounds, 14 ounces, with some take-up. It has a tiny safety lever at the base of the shoe. The trigger may look like a 1911’s, but it is in fact hinged and doesn’t travel straight back. A small loaded-chamber visual port is located behind the ejection port. The top of the slide is also serrated along its length for glare reduction. The rear has a serrated face and is secured in place by a 5/64-inch hexhead screw. Sights are steel three-dot set in dovetails. At the very back of the slide you’ll find what S&W calls EZ tabs, essentially cocking ears like what the company did with the Shield EZ. Slide serrations are found on the front and back, and they’re nicely designed for a sure grip. The slide is stainless steel that’s finished in Armornite. The flat-face trigger has a safety lever, and cocking ears on the back of the slide aid in racking. × Controls include an ambidextrous thumb safety, mag releases that can be installed on either side and an ambi slide stop. A small panel of stippled polymer is located in the frontstrap. The design of the smaller backstrap is such that it doesn’t cover as much of the grip frame sides as the larger one does. It wasn’t easy on this new gun, but it’s not like you have to do it often. Installation requires a different small tool-I used a tiny flat-bladed screwdriver-to push down the plunger and allow the new backstrap to snap home. Push in a plunger at the heel of the grip with the supplied tool to remove, although I found I had to press it down on a hard surface to make this work easily. The gun ships with a large backstrap installed and a small one in the box. The gun features an ambidextrous thumb safety that operates regardless of hammer position, and it comes with an additional right-side magazine release that’s easy to install if you’re a lefty. It’s a hammer-fired gun and a single action to boot. It sports a 3.1-inch barrel, and overall length is 6.1 inches. The CSX is a micro-compact 9mm built on an aluminum alloy frame that weighs a wee bit under 20 ounces. With all the current hoopla around metal-frame guns, it’s easy to forget a little number that Smith & Wesson launched before that became the big new thing.
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