STI GP6 Review

[7.62mm]

STI GP6

Thought I would do a little review of this Pistol. I have had it for about 2 weeks now, came from Freedom Ventures......Fantastic Service by the way. The only thing not stock on the Pistol right now, is the Front FO sight, bought it as an extra on the advice of another GP6 owner, and the grip tape, I need to redo it, looks a little sloppy right now, LOL

I have shot 3 matches with so far, 2 Level 2 IPSC and an ODPL Match, have about 550 rounds through it, 300 or so Factory AE 147 grainers, 50 S&B 124 grainers, 50 Blaser 115 grainers (this is the only ammo so far that it doesn't like, shot fine, but had multiple FTE's) and 150 of home rolled 124 grainers, of which I am just working up a load, so there are some FTE's, that will work it self out with more load development, I am sure.

So far, I am really liking this Pistol. Coming from shooting a Glock 17, for my entire IPSC Career, 1 1/2 years, this firearm is a dream to shoot. The single action reset is phenomenal, the long drawn out Double Action pull is going to take some getting used to, and it stacks quite a bit nearing the end of the pull.

The gun is quick to return to the sight picture with the 147 grainers, with barely any muzzle jump, and the recoil is fairly straight back. As a side note, it is more noticeably top heavy than the G17, but the bore axis is a tad bit higher than the G17. All in all, it certainly feels to me like it is quicker back on target, with less muzzle climb, and moderately less felt recoil than the Glock.

You can see the little bit of chamfering on the mag well, aids nicely for those quick mag changes

Aggressive slide serrations, are actually a bit to sharp for my tastes, as a Brick and Stone Mason, my hands are pretty tough, but the serrations still cut into my fingers.

Here you can see the rotational cut on the barrel.

5 shot group at 20 yards, factory AE 147 grainers.

The only thing I have noticed, which seems to be in line with others that own this pistol, is that it really carbons up quickly. After 100 rounds or so, especially during a match, I would take it apart and clean it.

All in all, I am enjoying shooting it. Any specific questions, feel free to ask, and I will answer as best I can.


Here is a link to some other "Professional Reviews" if you are so interested:

http://www.stiguns.com/guns/GP6/GP6.html

 

[Canuck223]

I'm on my second gun by this maker. The STI GP6 is improved from the origional K100. The trigger is excellent on the origional, and improved on the new STI branded model.

With the K100, I noticed that it seemed to get dirty fast. Using ammo loaded with Win 231 caused powder residue to cake and slow operation after a few hundred rounds.

With the GP6, there seems to be an improvement in this regard. As an experiment, I shot this gun from May 23rd until after the EESA Sept 26th match. Using ammo loaded with VV N320, I put something north of 1000 rounds through the gun with absolutely no maintainance at all. I had zero malfunctions of any kind.

While using dirtier ammo may result in less satisfactory results, I'm confident that the suggestion that the GP6 is dirt sensitive is overstated.

My only mechanical issue with the gun is a relatively trivial one. After shooting a few hundred rounds, the slide stop pin will slightly creep out to the left. A quick tap sets it flush.

I upgraded my gun with the fiber optic front, and dynamic rear sight, and highly recommend the upgrade. I've also seen the fiber optic rear sight, and don't personally feel it's worth the extra$$. I chose to upgrade the mag release with the stainless big button. I have not added any grip tape, as I don't feel it is required, but YMMV.

 

[chemo]

anyone knows if this gun will ever be offered in 45acp?

 

[Canuck223]

anyone knows if this gun will ever be offered in 45acp?

The current frame was designed around the 9mm only. While the current frame might have enough room for a longer mag if the internal ribs were deleted, the frame insert would need to be opened and reworked.

I suspect that if GP and STI continue with this relationship, at very least a .40S&W platform will appear. My hunch is they might try for a .45 ACP frame that would also accomodate .40S&W.

 

[Onagoth]

The gun certainly felt nice in my hands, looks fully ambi-dexterous as well

 

[7.62mm]

The gun certainly felt nice in my hands, looks fully ambi-dexterous as well

Yep, this would be a great out of the box gun for a lefty.

I chose to upgrade the mag release with the stainless big button.

I think I am going to have to go for the extended/oversized mag release as well, it is a little bit of a reach to get to the factory one. Is it ambidextrous as well, or right/left side only.

On another note, if someone is brave enough to take this pistol down past field stripping, give yourself a few hours to get it back together, LOL. Thought I would like to see how it ticked inside........it was certainly a head scratcher for me to get it back together

 

[Canuck223]

Yep, this would be a great out of the box gun for a lefty.




I think I am going to have to go for the extended/oversized mag release as well, it is a little bit of a reach to get to the factory one. Is it ambidextrous as well, or right/left side only.

On another note, if someone is brave enough to take this pistol down past field stripping, give yourself a few hours to get it back together, LOL. Thought I would like to see how it ticked inside........it was certainly a head scratcher for me to get it back together

The biggest problem I had with it's older brother was getting the trigger bar spring installed properly, and then getting the safetys back in with the spring loaded detents inside the frame insert.

Just curious, but were those eliminated with the new frame mounted detents of the current model???

 

[7.62mm]

The biggest problem I had with it's older brother was getting the trigger bar spring installed properly, and then getting the safetys back in with the spring loaded detents inside the frame insert.

Just curious, but were those eliminated with the new frame mounted detents of the current model???

There were no springs associated with the safety's, although, at one point I contemplated removing the detents, in order to aid with getting the trigger spring installed. I thought better of it though, figured there had to be some super small springs in the detents, that would end up going sproing.......

To get the trigger spring installed again, I had to make a temporary knock out pin to hold it in place, then got it together and installed the trigger pin, knocking out the temporary pin. I also took the mag release apart, which was a little bit of a pain, not nearly as much as the trigger spring though.

Glad I took it apart though......interesting design on how everything works.

 

[Rivalen]

Very nice. What's that "rotational barrel" thing?

 

[Canuck223]

Very nice. What's that "rotational barrel" thing?

Most traditional auto pistols have a barrel that tilt at the chamber end. Down to unload and reload, and up to lock into battery. That also means that the front end of the barrel has to allow for that movement in the slide.

Rotary locking barrels rotate to lock and unlock. They stay in the same plane and can in theory be tighter fit to the slide and frame. In practice, it likely makes no difference at all.

 

[7.62mm]

Very nice. What's that "rotational barrel" thing?

Here is a short vid of the barrel rotation:

[youtube]NSckd_VT84U[/youtube]