[Jim w.]

Why would he have to loosen USPSA to sell comp guns and PCCs? Both are established Divisions.

 

[Binkius]

We don't get enough people to separate something like Limited Optics and Open. So if you bring a Staccato XC, you just run that against everyone else. Because turnout is so low, this allows people to just join in with whatever they have on hand. But it also means that we score the guy with a USPSA open gun directly against the guy with a Hellcat and iron sights.

I often see people write something along the lines of "yeah, I tried my friend's Atlas Erebus and it's not much different than my Springfield Prodigy". In single-lane slow-shooting they're about the same. But in hit-factor shooting, the Erebus is basically "pay-to-win" when compared against the Prodigy.

Everyone bought a comped race gun when we figured out they weren't going to score us according to division/gun-type. This scoring model really promotes gun sales. The store owner provided an environment where there's a justification for buying a higher-performance pistol. If you're single-lane slow-shooting, any Glock or M&P is more than enough. But run a gun in hit-factor scoring (especially without divisional separation) and there's suddenly a reason/demand/justification to buy a higher performance pistol because this is where the higher performance is drastically superior to the standard gun.

We're gun guys. It doesn't take much justification to get another pistol. "Honey, I'm 30 years older than the average competitor at the local range, the only way I can keep up with them is if I pay-to-win with an Atlas Erebus" was what I told my wife.

 

[Shark1007]

Excellent review. I just had a real problem with the name since the beginning. “Freeze, drop the gun, I have a platypus aimed right at you!“

 

[PhilaPop]

Wait, aren't you afraid you'll always miss your target (Stormtrooper colors...)

j/k nice write-up

I can't be the only one who was annoyed when I learned how much Staccato mags cost when I bought my Springfield Prodigy and wanted extra mags. I feel like this Platypus is a good contender vs brands like Springfield and Bul Armory, in this price (base) range. When you factor in the Glock mags, it does make it attractive.

The answer to the expensive mags is to simply buy another double stack/2011 and then you get 2 more mags . That's why I have never bought a 1911 or 2011 mag, lots of addictive buys.

Thx for the write-up, I know these take a lot of work to do properly.

 

[Binkius]

Excellent review. I just had a real problem with the name since the beginning. “Freeze, drop the gun, I have a platypus aimed right at you!“

I think the target demographic is a younger enthusiast who's based on the Glock platform. He wants to get into the 2011 platform - his aspirational buy is an SVI Infinity (check out the similarly silly names with those guns). The Platypus is the gateway. He gets "one-off" customization (through an unlimited color pallete) like a 2011/Infinity, but can still use his Glock mags and the base cost of the gun is at the lower end of the 2011 range. He can completely avoid the added costs of 2011 mags - my collection of 2011 mags could buy three new Glocks. They're just prohibitively expensive.

 

[NWBoon]

Thank you for the review, that was an excellent write up.

 

[BlackTea]

Thank you for the honest review. I love the concept. As a purchase they sound better, used.

 

[mikemiller69gs]

I have to admit, I was intrigued with the Platy idea but glad I bought a new P recently.

 

[Jthrelf]

I have to admit, I was intrigued with the Platy idea but glad I bought a new P recently.

Bit of luck of the draw. My platypus cerakote has been great with moderate use. My trigger is also far superior to how my P's was out of the box (had to recut the sear immediately, trigger pull was horribly choppy, I have a thread here somewhere).

The only 'issues' I have are that mine is a 'gen 1' - chain link grip textures over prickle, bushing barrel instead of bull, DPP cut over RMR.

 

[Binkius]

I think you have to get E-Series Cerakote - it has more metal in it and is stronger. My gun is painted with H-Series Cerakote and that stuff is very delicate.

 

[Binkius]

Platypus vs PX4C-compensated vs Glock-45-compensated

I'm still breaking in the Platypus and decided to bring along some fun guns to compare.

• Langdon PX4 Compact with a new "discount" rail-mounted compensator. Loaded Langdon build.
• Glock-45 with Radian compressor, DPM springs and Apex trigger. Cheapest gun in the run.

Next picture shows what the average internet shill puts up. Big ragged hole. Well, that confirms the guns are sighted in properly and the optics are holding zero. But testing mechanical zero tells you nothing about how the guns shoot. Might as well put everything in a ransom rest. It is in this way that the shill doesn't have to actually rate the guns in any meaningful way and he can keep that sweet, sweet sponsorship support coming.

I did some quick and dirty hit-factor scoring. Run each gun multiple times. Hit in the circle is one-point. Anything else is a zero. Add up all the hits. Divide by average time taken. This gives a very simple hit-factor score. These scores can be compared objectively. It's clear which gun is more accurate and faster.

The PX4 and the Platypus are about 3% apart. Both guns base price at about $1800. The "discount" compensator on the PX4 works very poorly. It doesn't have a front or rear baffle. But the PX4 is pretty flat to begin with, so by adding even a small recoil reduction the "discount" comp showed up a really interesting behavior of the Beretta.

The PX4 has a rotating barrel. Not a tilt barrel. Shooting just a little bit faster than I can control a tight group, the PX4 walks left-to-right as some of the recoil energy is turned into rotational energy and my hands are pushed left-to-right. The Platypus with its standard tilt-barrel shoots up and down around a central point. I think this is why you don't ever see the PX4 in competition. It shoots strangely due to recoil forces from the rotating barrel. The PX4 shoot very flat (up down) -- but it pulls right hard. It just traded up/down for left/right (and mostly right).

The PX4 "discount" comp is incredibly dirty as it blows back so much gas. I put on lab-goggles because it was so bad. There's no real expansion chamber because there is no rear or front baffle. It's more like just cut-outs on the top of a slide. It has to be removed for gun cleaning. The mounting screws are tiny and I don't see them lasting very long. Looks cool, so I'll keep using it until the screws strip out.

The Glock-45 with a Radian compensator, DPM recoil spring and Apex trigger is much easier to shoot fast and accurately. This is what a compensator is designed to do. The gun has lost significant slide velocity due to the comp so I can use a softer recoil spring which means faster return-to-zero. The Apex trigger drops the trigger pull to 4 lbs. 8 oz. The PX4 has a single-action pull of 3 lbs. 8 oz. The Platypus has a trigger pull of 2 lbs. 15 oz.

By my simplified hit-factor scoring, percentage of highest score converted to academic grading (grading on a curve instead of against theoretical max score):

Glock: A+
Platypus: C-
PX4: D+

I could write on and on about "feel", features, pros/cons, etc. But what matters most is the objective score. The internet is full of PX4 fanbois. Well, take a PX4, give Langdon $1100+ to throw every imaginable mod on it and add a compensator and it's still worse than a bone-stock Platypus. Stock PX4's (without $1100 of mods) sell poorly not because they're ugly. It's because they don't shoot well. Slow shooting a big ragged hole doesn't show up the weakness of the platform. Run even a little faster and the gun falls apart. Their biggest selling point is low felt recoil due to the rotational locking action but that translates into some really weird recoil behavior in rapid fire.

This is not what any sponsor wants his internet shill to post online. This is my objective result. Same shooter. Same session. Same stage. Comparing three guns back-to-back. Try to hold the variables down and get an objective comparison. If you shoot better than me, you'll run this faster and the spread of scores will be closer. If you shoot worse than me, you'll run this slower and the spread of scores will be wider. But the relative positioning of the guns will most likely remain. The manufacturers do not want to see this.

I'm not a Glock guy. I probably shoot 20-25+ rounds through a 1911/2011 for every round through the one single Glock that I own. That one Glock shoots better than everything I own except my Atlas Erebus and Atlas Artemis. I've never run it back-to-back against my Atlas Athena, but I think it'd be really close. I just bought a Springfield Ronin in .45 but not another Glock. The Radian Glock is a monster of a shooter, but I'd rather shoot my 1911/2011's.

 

[Binkius]

Bit of luck of the draw. My platypus cerakote has been great with moderate use. My trigger is also far superior to how my P's was out of the box (had to recut the sear immediately, trigger pull was horribly choppy, I have a thread here somewhere).

The only 'issues' I have are that mine is a 'gen 1' - chain link grip textures over prickle, bushing barrel instead of bull, DPP cut over RMR.

My trigger was not good when I first got the gun. Lots of gritty creep with an actual "step" like a 2-stage rifle trigger. I think the problem is they Cerakote the trigger bow. Cerakote trigger bow against Cerakote frame/bow-channel. Springfield Prodigies had a similar problem with Cerakote on the frame rails and it'd choke the slide into failure.

As a put more trigger pulls into the Platypus, the Cerakote must be wearing because the creep and grittiness are getting much much better.

The rest of the machining on the gun shows quite a bit of care. I'd think they'd have gotten the trigger group machined properly. I'm going to go search for your thread.

 

[Madyaks]

Have you tried any of the other up and coming 2011 brands? MPA, Vudoo, etc?

MPA makes an amazing gun, I don’t think anything else comes close when you factor in the price

 

[Jthrelf]

My trigger was not good when I first got the gun. Lots of gritty creep with an actual "step" like a 2-stage rifle trigger. I think the problem is they Cerakote the trigger bow. Cerakote trigger bow against Cerakote frame/bow-channel. Springfield Prodigies had a similar problem with Cerakote on the frame rails and it'd choke the slide into failure.

As a put more trigger pulls into the Platypus, the Cerakote must be wearing because the creep and grittiness are getting much much better.

The rest of the machining on the gun shows quite a bit of care. I'd think they'd have gotten the trigger group machined properly. I'm going to go search for your thread.

Thread here:

https://www.1911addicts.com/threads/update-egw-vs-atlas-ignition-kits.229629/?post_id=3313313#post-3313313

To clarify, my P was the pistola with the bad trigger that had to be fixed. My Platty has been fantastic.

 

[thedownzero]

I think you have to get E-Series Cerakote - it has more metal in it and is stronger. My gun is painted with H-Series Cerakote and that stuff is very delicate.

Zero insight to the platypus , but can vouch for E-Series cerakote. Just got an AR receiver set done in it and it is noticeably stronger than standard cerakote.

My litmus test is the brass deflector. Usually it’s riddled with aluminum spots poking through from brass chipping away at cerakote. The E-series while still showing wear in that area, none of the cerakote has been removed. Almost like a light scuff where the brass made contact instead.

 

[RickyBobbys2011]

We're gun guys. It doesn't take much justification to get another pistol. "Honey, I'm 30 years older than the average competitor at the local range, the only way I can keep up with them is if I pay-to-win with an Atlas Erebus" was what I told my wife.

My excuse for getting on TRT for BJJ 😂

 

[RomanyB]

I've heard the platypus grip angle described as both "the exact same as a 1911" and a tweener between a glock and 2011. What say you?

 

[Binkius]

I shoot around 1,000 rounds a week mostly on 1911/2011. But my dry-fire gun is a SIRT-Glock-17, so ~5,000 trigger presses/week on the Glock platform.

Platypus is completely 1911/2011 grip angle. It's not in between. It's 1911/2011. Girth on the grip is individual to Platypus, but the angle is 1911/2011. The index is so different between the platforms because of the grip angle (mostly due to the Glock hump at the bottom of the backstrap). There is no way to mistake them.

But you get idiots like this who says he shoots the Plat so good because it has a Glock grip angle. He's wrong and he shoots like crap. There is no way you can mix up the index between platforms this different unless you don't shoot either gun much. Typical internet shill.

 

[RomanyB]

Thank you for the clarification.

 

[Wake27]

I've heard the platypus grip angle described as both "the exact same as a 1911" and a tweener between a glock and 2011. What say you?

This is a legit FAQ on Stealth Arms’ website, they give the angle measurement.

I shoot around 1,000 rounds a week mostly on 1911/2011. But my dry-fire gun is a SIRT-Glock-17, so ~5,000 trigger presses/week on the Glock platform.

Platypus is completely 1911/2011 grip angle. It's not in between. It's 1911/2011. Girth on the grip is individual to Platypus, but the angle is 1911/2011. The index is so different between the platforms because of the grip angle (mostly due to the Glock hump at the bottom of the backstrap). There is no way to mistake them.

But you get idiots like this who says he shoots the Plat so good because it has a Glock grip angle. He's wrong and he shoots like crap. There is no way you can mix up the index between platforms this different unless you don't shoot either gun much. Typical internet shill.

I can’t see how anyone with both would claim they’re the same.