IWI Masada 9mm Striker-fired Polymer Frame Pistol Out Now
Dickson 07.24.19
As you have seen from our online exclusive preview of the IWI Masada little over a year ago, the long anticipated IWI Masada has finally been released in both United States and Canada.
Over this 12 month time period, IWI had been busy tweaking the pistol, mainly on the trigger as well as on the frame to accommodate all models of lights & lasers. The trigger pull weight is approximately 6 pounds but it actually feels closer to 5.5 pounds or less with consistent travel (not spongy) and a clean break. Trigger reset does have an audible click (like Glock) but the reset travel is longer than average.
It’s a fully ambidextrous pistol which means it has a slide lock/release and magazine release on both left and right sides. The slide release is fairly large and protrudes out of the frame by a fair amount. Magazine releases are a bit recessed and are not easy to engage especially if you have small hands. While we understand the idea that the magazine release being pressed too easily and accidentally when the pistol is being dropped on a hard surface, we do wish IWI will come out with extended magazine release in the future.
The barrel is cold-hammer forged, 4.1″ in length with polygonal rifling, made in-house at the IWI factory in Ramat-Hasharon, Israel. The slide features front & rear serrations which provide positive grip yet not overly aggressive or snag-prone. Both the barrel and slide are finished in a heavy wear-resistant coating.
The Masada features a modular steel frame (similar to Sig P320) which is designed for the user to switch out the outer polymer frame easily. Once the slide and take-down lever are removed, the inner frame (which has the serial number) pops out in a matter of seconds. Disassembly does require pulling the trigger, despite the original specification of the pistol from more than a year ago.
The polymer frame has been modified from the earlier prototype, with a reduced angle on the trigger housing to accommodate various lights and lasers including the popular Surefire X300 Ultra LED weaponlight.
It includes 4 polymer optic plates for RMR, Romeo, Venom and Delta Point red dot sights. Meprolight is releasing the MicroRDS red dot sight with an optic plate featuring their patent-pending quick detach rail for the Masada.
It comes with standard white 3-dot combat front & rear iron sights dovetailed into the slide. We were told Meprolight will release Tritium night sights for it very soon.
The Masada comes with 3 different size backstraps (S, M & L) which can be easily switched out by driving out a pin at the bottom of the frame. You might notice there is an empty space between the frame and backstrap. It is rumored to house a electronic round counter that will be released in the future.
The factory steel magazines are manufactured in Italy. Each mag features indented channels on both sides of the magazine body for quickly removing sand, water, and dirt. The magazine drops free out of the gun without any snag. If there happens to be any difficulty, the Masada incorporates 2 tabs on the magazine base plate for your fingers to grab onto.
In the USA, the pistol is only available in the Optic Ready variant with a MSRP of $480.00. Canada (and the rest of the world) gets both Optic Ready and non-Optic Ready variants with MSRPs starting at $699 CAD. They are available in black only for now, with Urban Grey, FDE, and OD Green to be available later.
We were told that the Masada will be a family of pistols, which, if we have to guess, means they’ll follow-up with a compact/sub-compact variant as well as a long slide competition variant sometime in the future.
Press Release from IWI US is attached below:
IWI US Announces Launch of MASADA Pistol
Middletown, Pa. (July 24, 2019) – IWI US, Inc., a subsidiary of Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) Ltd., is excited to announce it has begun shipping the ALL NEW MASADA Optics-Ready Pistol today.
The IWI US MASADA 9mm polymer framed striker-fired pistol was developed in order to provide an advanced solution to the modern battlefield requirements. This pistol takes user preferences to a new level, with each feature carefully selected based on input from military personnel, law enforcement officials, and gun enthusiasts alike. The MASADA is ergonomically designed with fully ambidextrous controls and three interchangeable back-straps, enabling the MASADA pistol to fit a wide variety of hand sizes. The MASADA was designed with a low bore axis for reduced perceived felt recoil. Overall, The MASADA was engineered to endure all elements while maintaining IWI legendary attention to detail and reliability.
The frame is made of high strength, impact resistant fiberglass reinforced polymers. Like all IWI firearms, it is built to withstand and endure all types of military use and abuse in extremely harsh environmental conditions.
MASADA utilizes a modular, serialized, high-grade steel trigger mechanism housing that can be easily removed, allowing simple and easy disassembly and maintenance.
The trigger was designed to enhance the shooter’s accuracy and safety. The MASADA trigger has an average pull of 6 pounds with a clean, crisp break and a positive reset. Featuring a built-in trigger safety, the pistol will not fire unless the trigger is pulled.
The MASADA is out-of-the-box OPTICS READY and includes interchangeable mounting plates for the Trijicon RMR, Leupold Delta Point, Sig Sauer Romeo 01, and Vortex Venom.
“This is our first entry into the striker fired pistol market and we are very pleased with the results. The MASADA incorporates a milled-slide which provides a secure and convenient place to mount an electronic sight for quick and easy target acquisition. This, combined with an extremely competitive retail price, makes the MASADA a serious contender for civilian and government customers,” Jeremy Gresham, Director of Sales and Marketing of IWI US stated.Additional information can be found at the IWI US website, here https://iwi.us/product/m9orp17
