{"id":94401,"date":"2018-07-18T21:26:14","date_gmt":"2018-07-19T01:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/?p=94401"},"modified":"2018-07-18T21:26:14","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T01:57:04","slug":"hudson-h9-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/hudson-h9-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Hudson H9: A Case for Practical Accuracy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before I talk about the features of the gun, let me say that this gun and my time behind it has led me to rethink my immediate negative reaction when some gun writer pens the phrase, \u201cPractical Accuracy.\u201d When seen within context of most articles I have always winced, viewing it as a dog whistle indicating poor<\/i> accuracy. However, my off-the-shelf Hudson H9 that I purchased from a retailer has me re-defining practical accuracy more generously, i.e., being able to hit targets of a size commensurate with the defensive use of a handgun, effectively at practical distances and speed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hudson<\/a>

5″ Llama Max-1 38 Super Hudson H9<\/p><\/div>\n

I love accurate guns and I adore really accurate handguns! They are great for range-time fun, and I do<\/i> like to hit things! Accurate guns enable one to hit small things, far things, small and far things with less effort than lesser guns. It\u2019s a lot of fun! Unfortunately, the H9 I bought is not one of those accuracy satisfying handguns. It is however a very fast gun to shoot, and thus, in gun games that place a premium on speed rather than pin-point accuracy, one can still have a good time!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\"Hudson<\/a>\n

As many of you know, I am the originator of the \u201cOut of the Box to the Match\u201d review format, usually in a Steel Challenge-like competition. That is how I found out that my H9 was fast and fun and plenty accurate enough\u2026even practically accurate.\u00a0 <\/span>A beautiful Idaho morning had me in the \u201cshooter\u2019s box\u201d loading the Hudson for the very first time at the range officer’s command. The 5 steel targets in front of me were begging to be whacked in a hail of 115 Federal Syntec 9\u2019s, and\u2026Beep!\u00a0 <\/span>Stage one down, then another and another. At the end I had managed to take both 2nd and 3rd over all using the H9 in both LIMITED and OPEN divisions.\u00a0 <\/span>Given that this speed steel match was attended by three Master class shooters (me being one of them) I was pretty happy about my placement with this cool new blaster.\u00a0 <\/span>Heck, I even won a stage!<\/p>\n

So the Hudson is awesome, right?\u00a0 <\/span>Well, it is damn easy to shoot well right from the box!\u00a0 <\/span>At the match I, had no idea that it would only produce 5\u201d groups at 25 yards from a sandbag rest! And that fact did not matter on match day as the gun was accurate enough to hit 4\u201dx10\u201d rectangles and 10\u201d and 12\u201d disks out to 18 yards in a hurry!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\"Hudson<\/a>\n

And that, Dear Readers, illustrates my new, kinder, gentler understanding of \u201cPractical Accuracy.\u201d It refers to a gun design that allows one to extract whatever accuracy level that the tool contains on demand and at speed.<\/p>\n

Out of the Box to the Match means that I won\u2019t know what any of the guns I review will or will not do, until after the buzzer sounds.\u00a0 <\/span>POA\/POI could be left, right, high, or low; or I could end up with a gun laden with malfunctions. That all happens in real time on the clock while you watch. At my H9\u2019s debut event I found out while competing that the gun shot WAY low!\u00a0 <\/span>Inches lower than a \u201cCombat Sight Picture\u201d (i.e. behind the front sight) would impact. I had to hold on the target hanger hooks to hit anywhere near the center of the target! \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\"Hudson<\/a>\n

 <\/p>\n

So though I placed well at the match, I was not happy to find that the sights are poorly regulated. And then later, during accuracy testing, I discovered that the gun does not shoot worth a crap from sandbags at 25 yards. What next? Get ahold of Hudson\u2019s Customer Service and send it back to get it squared away!<\/p>\n

But before we get to the results of that<\/i> interaction, let me tell you a bit about the company and about the gun itself. Cy and Lauren Hudson, from what I can tell, just up and decided to build a cool new all-American handgun from the ground up.\u00a0 <\/span>That is one hell of an undertaking and one I heartily applaud and support.\u00a0 <\/span>Most of you know the story at least as well as I do, as the gun was very well-marketed and promoted to all of us.<\/p>\n

\"Hudson<\/a>

Llama Grip<\/p><\/div>\n

Take a few minutes to look over some of the photos and I\u2019ll fill in the details as I can. The machine work looks very good.\u00a0 <\/span>The gun to my eye is brutishly handsome. It sports a good, if somewhat gritty trigger. The H9 is smaller in size than a 5\u201d 1911, but holds more ammo – even though the grip is smaller in circumference! That is a pretty cool trick. Again, I like how the gun looks (ya maybe I am weird) and love how it feels in my hands.<\/p>\n

\"Hudson<\/a>

Hudson Grip<\/p><\/div>\n

The mag release is reversible, but the ambidextrous slide lock flexes a lot before releasing the slide if the right side lever is used.\u00a0 <\/span>The sights and sight picture are excellent with a deep \u201cU\u201d notch rear and big beautiful Trijicon front. The magwell has a light bevel and the three mags hold 15 rounds.<\/p>\n

\"Hudson<\/a>

Magazine well<\/p><\/div>\n

The gun is all steel except for the lower backstrap (a 1911-esque mainspring housing), yet it weighs 5 ounces less than the Llama 38 super 1911 I compared it with. The fine checkering pattern on the front and rear of the grip does its job pretty well.<\/p>\n

\"Hudson<\/a>

Front Strap Checkering<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Hudson<\/a>

Back Strap Checkering<\/p><\/div>\n

SPECS From Hudson Mfg.<\/h2>\n