CSX

[UC_Guy 1971]

I got my CSX slide back from Vulcan Machine Werks. Fortunately I got my Sig Romeo Zero delivered before it.

 

[mikep]

How do you like the CSX?

 

[UC_Guy 1971]

How do you like the CSX?

Let's see..... Gonna go off on a quasi-rambling rant/tangent. Let me add that I didn't know about the XD-E at the time and wish I did. I would not have purchased the Smith if I had the XD-E. However...

It is small and feels smaller. I compare it to my 43x and XD-E and it is smaller but not as much as it seems it should be? It is accurate. It is capable of running 12 round mags. But..........

My problems with it are based mostly off of my saying, "Ooooooohh, shiny" and buying it because Smith was offering a rebate while also wanting something hammer fired in a "micro" package. I should have done my homework. If I had looked into it more before buying then I would be more like, "Well, I knew that when I bought it. And I still bought it."

So this is list of negatives for the CSX:

1. Gritty trigger for a SAO pistol. Also has a weird trigger safety? The false reset thing people grouse about is kind of there, but not to the point it is talked about on the interwebs. I have heard it will break-in and be much better.
2. Smith has the Shield+. The Shield+ has hi-cap mags. The aftermarket already addressed mags for the Shield+. So, Smith goes with a proprietary magazine. Makes sense. Maybe they just do it to give Promag fits?
3. Smith has the Shield+. The Shield+ has lots of options regarding sights. If you want CSX sights, they are out there. However, wouldn't it make sense (I'm saying it again) to keep the dovetails the same as, oh, I dunno, the Shield and Shield+ or M&P? What they did was give you a dovetail for the front sight that (I think) is for all new Smith autos, but it might just be M&P. In any event the rear is proprietary to just the CSX.
4. Is it optics ready? No. No it is not. Regardless of the argument that you don't need one on a micro 9 some people, like me, want a dot. Does the vast majority of their competition offer the option of a dot? Yes. Yes they do. Even the Shield+.
5. Does it have the ability to mount a light, duct tape doesn't count? No. No it does not. Regardless of the argument that you don't need one on a micro 9 some people, like me, want a light (I'm still looking and hoping). Does the vast majority of their competition offer the option to mount a light? Yes. Yes they do. Just make it an option. Please. Or reach out to Streamlight and say, "Hey, can you make a TLR-6 for the CSX. There are a lot of whiny little bitc... who want one. Or at least this one guy who is flooding our inbox."
6. Does it have the ability to mount a laser? No. No it does.... Wait. Sorry. There is one company that offers a laser. One. Crimson Traces. Comes in red or green. Not a laser guy. My bad.
7. The grips. The grips are odd. Kind of wishing that they would have done something closer to their old Gen 3 line-up. There are two options and one make it look like there isn't a grip on it. Putting a grip sleeve on it makes it really fat. Looks like a black tennis ball with a stick on it.

Other stuff:
Some people have griped about the way you have to take it down. You need a tool to do so but really a nail, electronics screwdriver, Glock takedown tool if you want to chuckle to yourself while using it, or similar will work.

Also, I have sent mine back to the factory twice. Realistically it should have been once but Smith customer service and warranty work seems to be a roll of the dice.

What happened? My locked up at the range. The slide was fully forward. The hammer was fully cocked and the safety was off. The trigger however was frozen. Stuck. No mueva. It was mid mag so I had no idea what it was. To fix it I racked the slide, which moved freely, and everything went back to normal. I wouldn't have thought anything of it but when I took it home I was using snap caps to try and break in the trigger and it did it again.

So off to MA it went. I got it back in record time. Apparently reading the note I was required to send with the pistol, detailing the problem is optional. They test fired it and sent it back saying, "...well it shoots."

I sent in an email asking if they knew what the issue was or had been? Did they fix anything? Their response was to have me send it back to them again. Way to go Smith (again). So this second time it was gone a little longer. I got a message saying a supervisor was going to check it out. I didn't hear anything for a month after they got it so I dropped them a line.

The frazzled woman (or so she sounded) told me that she had no way of telling me when I would be able to get it back, I expected this. No worries. I asked if it would be possible to get a call from the armorer. I said this because I sent in a 5906TSW with a loose rail shortly before this and they called me out of the blue to tell me that this wasn't something they could fix. Courteous. Nice. I was hoping for the same thing again. She said she would send my request to the armorer working on my gun.

Two days later (or thereabouts) I received an email with a tracking number. It was coming home. When I got it there was a receipt saying it was worked on. They couldn't duplicate the random malfunction or find the cause of it so they called it good after it was test fired. Not sure how I feel about that answer.

I probably should have saved the money on the dot and the milling service but I spent so much on it. I don't want another striker fired micro (I do love my two 43x's) and do prefer hammer fired anything and dots, for me, are a game changer when engaging targets beyond 20 yards with a 4" sight radius. So it was worth it.

As a slight bonus. One of my best friends, a Colorado Investigator for a DA's Office, loves all things Smith. He is the one that said I should look at the CSX as an off-duty. He says that is what he carries off duty when he is not hauling around a an M&P9 2.0 Metal with all of the options.... He is also against modding anything unless it is an option from the factory other than adding a light or night sights. Dots are okay.

He also always has a reason why my CSX was locking up. Dirty. Dirty ammo. I had the safety on just enough. Blah, blah, blah... Couldn't be a problem from Smith. He also says, "You don't need a red dot. That's a close quarters pistol! If it wasn't, Smith would have made it optional"

He also doesn't like anything extravagant. Now that I have had the slide cut and the dot mounted he is being whiny about it. I may have to have it cerakoted in Gold, Rose Gold or Silver just to see what his response. Unless I can get a flame job on it.... hmmm?

So to actually answer the question. I want to like it. I like the idea of it. It seems like it should have potential. But only time will tell.

 

[mikep]

Let's see..... Gonna go off on a quasi-rambling rant/tangent. Let me add that I didn't know about the XD-E at the time and wish I did. I would not have purchased the Smith if I had the XD-E. However...

It is small and feels smaller. I compare it to my 43x and XD-E and it is smaller but not as much as it seems it should be? It is accurate. It is capable of running 12 round mags. But..........

My problems with it are based mostly off of my saying, "Ooooooohh, shiny" and buying it because Smith was offering a rebate while also wanting something hammer fired in a "micro" package. I should have done my homework. If I had looked into it more before buying then I would be more like, "Well, I knew that when I bought it. And I still bought it."

So this is list of negatives for the CSX:

1. Gritty trigger for a SAO pistol. Also has a weird trigger safety? The false reset thing people grouse about is kind of there, but not to the point it is talked about on the interwebs. I have heard it will break-in and be much better.
2. Smith has the Shield+. The Shield+ has hi-cap mags. The aftermarket already addressed mags for the Shield+. So, Smith goes with a proprietary magazine. Makes sense. Maybe they just do it to give Promag fits?
3. Smith has the Shield+. The Shield+ has lots of options regarding sights. If you want CSX sights, they are out there. However, wouldn't it make sense (I'm saying it again) to keep the dovetails the same as, oh, I dunno, the Shield and Shield+ or M&P? What they did was give you a dovetail for the front sight that (I think) is for all new Smith autos, but it might just be M&P. In any event the rear is proprietary to just the CSX.
4. Is it optics ready? No. No it is not. Regardless of the argument that you don't need one on a micro 9 some people, like me, want a dot. Does the vast majority of their competition offer the option of a dot? Yes. Yes they do. Even the Shield+.
5. Does it have the ability to mount a light, duct tape doesn't count? No. No it does not. Regardless of the argument that you don't need one on a micro 9 some people, like me, want a light (I'm still looking and hoping). Does the vast majority of their competition offer the option to mount a light? Yes. Yes they do. Just make it an option. Please. Or reach out to Streamlight and say, "Hey, can you make a TLR-6 for the CSX. There are a lot of whiny little bitc... who want one. Or at least this one guy who is flooding our inbox."
6. Does it have the ability to mount a laser? No. No it does.... Wait. Sorry. There is one company that offers a laser. One. Crimson Traces. Comes in red or green. Not a laser guy. My bad.
7. The grips. The grips are odd. Kind of wishing that they would have done something closer to their old Gen 3 line-up. There are two options and one make it look like there isn't a grip on it. Putting a grip sleeve on it makes it really fat. Looks like a black tennis ball with a stick on it.

Other stuff:
Some people have griped about the way you have to take it down. You need a tool to do so but really a nail, electronics screwdriver, Glock takedown tool if you want to chuckle to yourself while using it, or similar will work.

Also, I have sent mine back to the factory twice. Realistically it should have been once but Smith customer service and warranty work seems to be a roll of the dice.

What happened? My locked up at the range. The slide was fully forward. The hammer was fully cocked and the safety was off. The trigger however was frozen. Stuck. No mueva. It was mid mag so I had no idea what it was. To fix it I racked the slide, which moved freely, and everything went back to normal. I wouldn't have thought anything of it but when I took it home I was using snap caps to try and break in the trigger and it did it again.

So off to MA it went. I got it back in record time. Apparently reading the note I was required to send with the pistol, detailing the problem is optional. They test fired it and sent it back saying, "...well it shoots."

I sent in an email asking if they knew what the issue was or had been? Did they fix anything? Their response was to have me send it back to them again. Way to go Smith (again). So this second time it was gone a little longer. I got a message saying a supervisor was going to check it out. I didn't hear anything for a month after they got it so I dropped them a line.

The frazzled woman (or so she sounded) told me that she had no way of telling me when I would be able to get it back, I expected this. No worries. I asked if it would be possible to get a call from the armorer. I said this because I sent in a 5906TSW with a loose rail shortly before this and they called me out of the blue to tell me that this wasn't something they could fix. Courteous. Nice. I was hoping for the same thing again. She said she would send my request to the armorer working on my gun.

Two days later (or thereabouts) I received an email with a tracking number. It was coming home. When I got it there was a receipt saying it was worked on. They couldn't duplicate the random malfunction or find the cause of it so they called it good after it was test fired. Not sure how I feel about that answer.

I probably should have saved the money on the dot and the milling service but I spent so much on it. I don't want another striker fired micro (I do love my two 43x's) and do prefer hammer fired anything and dots, for me, are a game changer when engaging targets beyond 20 yards with a 4" sight radius. So it was worth it.

As a slight bonus. One of my best friends, a Colorado Investigator for a DA's Office, loves all things Smith. He is the one that said I should look at the CSX as an off-duty. He says that is what he carries off duty when he is not hauling around a an M&P9 2.0 Metal with all of the options.... He is also against modding anything unless it is an option from the factory other than adding a light or night sights. Dots are okay.

He also always has a reason why my CSX was locking up. Dirty. Dirty ammo. I had the safety on just enough. Blah, blah, blah... Couldn't be a problem from Smith. He also says, "You don't need a red dot. That's a close quarters pistol! If it wasn't, Smith would have made it optional"

He also doesn't like anything extravagant. Now that I have had the slide cut and the dot mounted he is being whiny about it. I may have to have it cerakoted in Gold, Rose Gold or Silver just to see what his response. Unless I can get a flame job on it.... hmmm?

So to actually answer the question. I want to like it. I like the idea of it. It seems like it should have potential. But only time will tell.

Rose gold with silver flames may be the way to go.
Nice write up. When the CSX came out I was excited to grt my hands on one. When i did i wasn’t too jazzed about it. It didn’t fit right in my hand and i did not like the trigger one bit. I was thinking it would be 1911’ish but i was way off on that notion. Also, the safety was a bit wonky to operate. I did go with the Shield+, which i like, but man it is small.

 

[UC_Guy 1971]

If there was a way to put the Kanagawa Great Wave on the slide..... oh man.

 

[deadduck357]

I wish these were DA/SA.

 

[UC_Guy 1971]

I wish these were DA/SA.

Me too. I used to think my preference was revolvers. I'd been away from DA/SA as a duty gun since 2008(?). Still looking or hoping for a micro 9 DA/SA.

 

[UC_Guy 1971]

Range trip results:
7 yard working it in, as a side note I was too lazy and cheap to take off the target I had used for my AR. So the better shots are 5.56.

After I got it (mostly) squared away I moved it to 10. I would like to use the excuse that the heavy trigger was causing fliers but really it was probably just me and too much coffee & Mountain Dew.

Finally it was draw and fire time.....

Lastly I had to see if I was going to need to buy a new, taller front sight. I was pulling right until I painted the rear sight notch. I can barely see my irons/front sight over the body of the sight (lower 1/10th?)...

This was a "Please don't have a catastrophic malfunction" and red dot sight in day. So I only fired 50 rounds. I might still bring up my dot a quarter turn; there are no clicks on the Sig Romeo Zero.

So the CSX has potential as a carry gun. It is tiny. It is light. Sending it to get milled for a dot was, to me, worth the cost. I am really hoping that I can find a WML and someone will come out with a better trigger. I know I haven't put many rounds through it but it is really heavy. The false reset wasn't there but the trigger itself does suck, and I am no trigger snob.