The Hudson H9 was the talk of this year’s Media Day at the Range. For those of you who aren’t in the know, the H9 is the first production weapon from Texas-based Hudson Manufacturing. It’s an all-steel 9mm pistol that features a striker-fire action and takes plenty of inspiration from the 1911 platform.
Hudson went over multiple iterations of the H9 over a period of 3 years before finalizing on the current design, which includes a machined full-steel frame and slide, low bore axis, and G10 VZ Grips.
Our range time with the H9 was unfortunately short; 5 rounds short. Even so, our initial impression was (mostly) a positive one. The trigger is very good with short travel and a smooth reset. Muzzle flip is a bit less pronounced thanks to the low bore axis, with the weight (34 oz. unloaded) further contributing to the reduction in recoil. Throw in the clear, defined irons and you have a very accurate sidearm.
The ‘mostly’ in the above paragraph stems from two failures-to-feed that occurred when another of our staffers fired the gun earlier in the day. The attendant pointed out that the magazines are still prototypes, so the issue could have been because of that.
Finally, there is the elephant in the room to address, the MSRP, which is about $1200. The H9 is definitely a well-designed and great-shooting pistol, but 12 bills can be considered a pretty high price for what can accurately be described as a double-stack striker-fired 9mm. Ultimately, it’s up to the market to decide when the H9 releases later this year.
hudsonmfg.com
