[Jollyroger1]

I was finally able to pick up my STI Staccato-C today. Thanks to Dan @BBP for a great transaction. I wanted to give y’all some initial impressions of the Staccato-C and some comparisons to the WC XTAC Compact.

Handling the Staccato-C left me pretty impressed. The build quality feels improved compared to other STI’s I’ve owned and handled in the past. Parts quality seems better, fit of the Thumb Safety and the trigger are a huge improvement. There are some areas that this particular Staccato-C could be improved on and I’ll hit on those in the photos below.

Anyhow, I plan on running the Wizard Drill and a 5x5 Drill with each tomorrow. I’m interested in seeing how well (differently) the Staccato-C handles recoil with its 2011 build style, compared to an all steel framed Wilson.

The builds are pretty similar. Both 9mm, STI has a 3.9” bull barrel and the WC is a 4” bull barrel. The Staccato-C has a dual recoil spring system and the Wilson a flatwire recoil system (some may have a standard system).

Magazines: Stock STI mags, Wilson’s Compact 8, 9, and 10 rounders, as well as Tripp Cobramags fit well; however, the Mag Catch/ Release on the STI is poorly fitted. The ledge was left very wide and the Mag tubes are getting hung up when inserted. I have one Wilson 9rd and 1 Tripp’s Cobramag that can’t be fully inserted. Some magazines, the Wilson’s and Tripp’s look like they’re pretty close to touching the bottom of the ejector - so I’m worried about snapping the ejector in the future (we shall see).

Sight set up on the Staccato-C is beautiful. Their rear sight looks pretty mean and I’m digging the sight picture.

The inside of the Staccato-C Frame does not appear to be fully finished. The grip treatment feels very mild. I prefer a grip that bites back and won’t move in the hand, like the XTAC pattern. The Grip Safety feels a little too wide. I’m worried it may dig into my thumb and become uncomfortable with a high thumb riding the safety style grip.

The additional holster is a nice touch, works okay but I already added a wing claw to it. The soft range case is really really nice!!!

I’m pretty happy with the Staccato-C and I’m looking forward to getting them on the range soon. If there’s anything else y’all want to see regarding the Staccato-C, please let me know.

 

[Jollyroger1]

STI Stock Mags

Tripp Cobramags

View attachment 197407

Wilson Compact 10 rounders

View attachment 197411

 

[Raylan Givens]

Excellent report, JR

 

[Sneaky One]

Thanks for sharing that !

 

[donnieo]

shot my Staccato again today and agree with Jollyroger,I had problems loading my mags,they felt like they would get stuck and either removed and reinserted or I tried to slam them.Had 3 failure to feed,maybe due to cheap ammo,talked to STI and said need to shoot and break it in.It will be my EDC here on the coast.the trigger is awesome and is very accurate.

 

[Jollyroger1]

shot my Staccato again today and agree with Jollyroger,I had problems loading my mags,they felt like they would get stuck and either removed and reinserted or I tried to slam them.Had 3 failure to feed,maybe due to cheap ammo,talked to STI and said need to shoot and break it in.It will be my EDC here on the coast.the trigger is awesome and is very accurate.

Hey don, what ammo were you running? If your Mag Catch looks anything like mine, it won’t break in. It’ll probably need some filing and tuning.

 

[MHarvey]

Thanks for the report and the excellent pics. I had trouble with the STI mags going into my Staccato as well, but inserted a 45 acp Wilson mag I had on hand to test fitment and it went in easier. Your post made me realize things I haven’t looked at and should be, namely the mag height in relation to the ejector. That’s something I love about this forum, I can learn something new every day I come here and read. I put another 150 rounds through my Staccato this week (still only 300 total now) but have had no failures of any type. The STI mags are getting easier to insert without slamming them so hard, but I also purchased 2 Wilson ETM 9mm mags with the flat base plate to use, and they go in much easier. I’m not a 1911/2011 gunsmith at all, but do you feel something could be done to make the mag catch smoother aside from just breaking it in more? I need to look closer at mine after seeing your pics.
Thanks again for the detailed report and pics. I’m anxious to see how it shoots for you compared to the XTac compact. I find myself looking at the Bill Wilson Carry 2 constantly, so hopefully one day I’ll be able to swing one of those if the XTac stacks up well against your Staccato.

***Edited to add that you posted about filing and tuning the mag catch while I was typing. Care to share any pics of what you did to smooth yours out?

 

[Jollyroger1]

@MHarvey @don marcum

Sorry I took awhile to reply, took the family out for dinner and just now had time to fix the Mag Catch.

Clear the gun, remove the Mag Catch/ Release (don’t need to fully disassemble). I took a 3M 320grit sponge and polished up the underside of the Mag Catch/ Release. Careful not to break the top edge/ ledge much at all, just polish up the bottom. All mags now insert, fully seat, and smoothly lock in place. Even the Tripp and Wilson that wouldn’t even budge earlier. Good luck and hope this helps.

@don marcum try running 124 or 147 gr. for awhile. After a few hundred rounds the gun should eat up 115 just fine. It does feel very tightly built.

 

[MHarvey]

Thanks for the tip, I actually have some of those sponges as well as finer grits out in my shop. I’m going to get this done tomorrow. That mag catch has been my only real gripe about the gun.
I also agree on the 124 grain or 147 grain. I’ve been running the Winchester white box 124 grain NATO through mine and have had zero issues.

 

[Jollyroger1]

Outlook not soo good for the Wilson 10 rounders.

 

[MHarvey]

That definitely doesn’t look good. I haven’t shot mine yet with the Wilson 8 round ETM’s, so that makes me wonder if the same issues will show up.

**Edit- I just checked my Wilson 8 round mags and they look like they’re going to work fine. Compared to the STI mags, the height of the round in the mag and the angle towards the chamber are about the same.

 

[Jollyroger1]

That definitely doesn’t look good. I haven’t shot mine yet with the Wilson 8 round ETM’s, so that makes me wonder if the same issues will show up.

**Edit- I just checked my Wilson 8 round mags and they look like they’re going to work fine. Compared to the STI mags, the height of the round in the mag and the angle towards the chamber are about the same.

My mags may need some new springs then? Lol

This was the 10 rounder, but the 8, and 9 seat and feed fine. The 10 rounders that I have use a polymer follower. (Just checked Wilson’s website and alll the Compact 10 rounders show a metal follower) I need to upgrade! Lol

 

[Jollyroger1]

Okay let’s see if this works.
First 71 rds thru the Staccato. I forgot my timer - so just wanted to put a few rounds thru her.

Overall: a very soft, flat shooting gun. Which is very impressive because of its light weight. Chewed up a mix of some HST, Critical Duty, and WWB 115. A few FTRB’s but i expected it, the gun is tight and I’ve used these mags for a few years. Hoping to run it some more tomorrow.

Thumb Safety + Grip Safety equals a wide combo that definitely gets uncomfortable with a thumb riding safety grip. The thumb safety is gonna need a dehorn, IMO.

Link below:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/x4gte2kpzu62q9j/STI StAccAto - C .mov?dl=0

 

[Jollyroger1]

@zipper046

Video link in the post above, brother!

 

[Jim Bernthal]

Hi everyone,
I put 55 rounds through mine Friday. Worked 4.0. No failures, mags worked beautifully, trigger is butter, recoil- what recoil? Gun is awesome IMO.

 

[MHarvey]

Thanks again for the tip on the mag catch Jollyroger, I finally got around to cleaning up mine today and it made a huge difference. After seeing your pics, I looked through the bottom of the mag well before I worked on the catch and couldn’t believe how much of an edge there was, and immediately saw a shiny spot that was binding the mags up. I sanded with the 320, then ended up doing 600 to smooth it out real well. It works perfectly now with not only the Wilson mags, but also the STI mags that were hard to insert before.

 

[Jollyroger1]

@MHarvey, glad it worked out for you sir. Sounds like a couple of these came out with that minor issue. I’ll be sending mine off this week for some grip texturing. The stock texture is just not enough for me, and I feel it could be improved.

 

[MHarvey]

Sounds good, be sure to keep us updated on what you do with the grip. I agree, it’s not quite rough enough to stay firmly planted in the hand. I’ll be anxiously awaiting pics on this one to see how it comes out.

 

[donnieo]

Hey don, what ammo were you running? If your Mag Catch looks anything like mine, it won’t break in. It’ll probably need some filing and tuning.

Shot another 3-400 rounds had many failure to feed and eject called STI and sent the gun back tried all types of ammo and grain size they should have it tomorrow

 

[donnieo]

I

@MHarvey @don marcum

Sorry I took awhile to reply, took the family out for dinner and just now had time to fix the Mag Catch.

Clear the gun, remove the Mag Catch/ Release (don’t need to fully disassemble). I took a 3M 320grit sponge and polished up the underside of the Mag Catch/ Release. Careful not to break the top edge/ ledge much at all, just polish up the bottom. All mags now insert, fully seat, and smoothly lock in place. Even the Tripp and Wilson that wouldn’t even budge earlier. Good luck and hope this helps.

@don marcum try running 124 or 147 gr. for awhile. After a few hundred rounds the gun should eat up 115 just fine. It does feel very tightly built.

View attachment 197547 View attachment 197549

i
did and after 3-400 rounds it didn’t help sent it back to have them check it out