utm fk

February 2020 G&A 55
WILSON COMBAT
GIVES US A LONG
SLIDE WITH THE
NEW EDC X9L.
CARRY
LARGE
EVERYDAY
WORDS BY KEITH WOOD | PHOTOS BY MARK FINGAR
WILSON COMBAT has been a leader in the custom gun world since 1977,
and after all those years former competitive shooter Bill Wilson’s company still
drives innovation in many ways. Perhaps the pinnacle creation debuted in 2016:
the EDC X9 9mm pistol. Still available to shooters with discriminating tastes, its
compact hybrid design incorporated many Model 1911A1 elements and added
modern features such as a high-capacity aluminum frame and a tri-top slide for
concealed carry. Reviews of the EDC X9 were positive, even among those who felt
that no handgun could be worth $2,895. Still, many of Wilson’s loyal customers
wanted to see these features applied to a full-size format. Enter the Wilson
Combat EDC X9L. The X9L is a 5-inch-barreled everyday carry
(EDC) gun with a capacity of up to 18 rounds of 9mm.
Few handgun designs can match the single-action
trigger pull, ergonomics and overall shootability of a really
good M1911, and Wilson Combat’s 1911s certainly fit into
that category. There is no doubt though that the M1911’s
limited magazine capacity is a negative, but with the .45
ACP there is only so much that can be done in that regard
without creating an unwieldy handgun. By combining the trigger,
safety, hammer and top end of the 1911 with the high capacity
aluminum 9mm frame, Wilson Combat created a novel handgun in
the EDC X9 series that offers the best of both types.
Compared to the original EDC X9, the EDC X9L has a longer barrel,
longer sight radius and greater overall weight, all of which make it potentially
easier to shoot well compared to a compact. “There was a lot of customer
demand for a full-size EDC and it was always part of the evolution plan for the
platform,” Wilson Combat’s founder Bill Wilson told us.
Since the company’s humble beginnings tuning and building custom M1911s
for International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) competition, Wilson
Combat has become a company possessing an impressive manufacturing
capability. Their seven-building complex now includes three complete machine
shops and 50 gunsmiths who work on nothing but handguns. Wilson Combat
is also capable of making every component of their handguns on-site — including
the X series — and only outsources the G10 grips to VZ Grips (vzgrips.com)
and the magazines. They even produce barrels, which is rare these days.