In retrospect, 2023 may have been the year of the 2011. Manufacturers big and small brought out models both cheap and expensive. Relative newcomer Jacob Grey Firearms was part of that trend with the TWC 9. When they offered to send one to TFB for review, I jumped at the opportunity to take it for a spin.
2011 @ TFB:
Disclosures: The manufacturer lent the gun for review. I bought the ammo. I don’t have a relationship with the company and had not dealt with, or even heard of them, before this review.
Background
Jacob Grey got its start in aerospace manufacturing. Eventually, they turned to making guns. The TWC 9 is their take on the 2011-style pistol. It is a 1911 at heart but with a double stack magazine chambered in 9mm.
James Reeves did a review of the TWC 9 for the TFBtv channel a few months back. He had a lot of positive things to say about it. When the company offered me a chance to borrow one, I was very open to the idea. I am not really a 1911 or 2011 guy and my tastes tend toward Glocks for most things, but when a company wants to give me free rein to run a nice gun hard, I will always make time for it. It showed up in a nice zip case and I got to work.
Design
The TWC 9 is a fairly traditional layout 2011. The frame is aluminum and the slide is stainless steel. It feeds from a double stack 17-round magazine, supplied by Check-Mate. The trigger pull was hitting right above four pounds on my Lyman analog gauge. The pull is crips and short, with a good, quick reset. Though I am not really a fan of flat triggers, the flat trigger of the TWC 9 is easy to use and works well. I almost forgot that it was even a flat trigger.
Optics mounting is more or less a standard feature on handguns these days, and the TWC 9 is no exception. It includes adapter plates for both the RMR and RMSc footprint. If no red dot is being used, the cover plate includes a rear sight.
My (rather weary and possibly bent) Holosun 507k didn’t fit on the RMSc plate. However, a new EPS MRS fit the RMSc plate, and fit the RMR plate with Holosun’s RMR adapter. I also used the ZeroTech Thrive HD reflex sight on the RMSc plate and it mounted perfectly. I would chalk up the fitment issues on the 507k to that particular optic having issues rather than that pattern of optics. Both red dots lined up well with the irons and provided a solid co-witness.
The gun, optics plates, and spare magazine all fit nicely in the (rather nice) included soft case. Jacob Grey also includes an Allen key for taking apart the guide rod. The fitment between the slide and frame is excellent. It is tight with essentially no slop. And while the fit is tight, the slide moves very smoothly. On the topic of the slide, it has some very unique triangular serrations that provide good purchase for manipulations.
On The Range
Shooting the TWC 9 is a ton of fun. It absolutely hums through the ammo. Sometimes it feels like work to rack up the round count on a test gun, but not so with this one. Make sure you budget for more magazines if you get one of these because the two included 17-rounders only last a few seconds of shooting.
The TWC 9 shoots like a sports car, but doesn’t demand premium gas. It runs well with all ammo, including steel cased. I put just over 800 rounds through the TWC 9 in total, including Magtech brass cased and steel cased, Norma, Fiocchi, Blazer, and Federal, with bullet weights ranging from 115 grains to 150 grains. Quite a bit of that was Magtech steel cased, which has a nickel coating on the case. That ammo spits out a ton of sparks but it ran 100%.
However, it does not like 115-grain Blazer Brass. I had two separate failures to feed out of two different boxes of ammo. There was no obvious reason for those malfunctions and it ran fine with the 124-grain Blazer load. Chalk this up to some guns liking certain kinds of ammo more than others.
Accuracy was very good with all types of ammo. With ammo it really likes it will hold the X-ring on a B8 target at 25 yards. The very tight fit between the bull barrel and the slide, and between the slide and frame, help contribute to the accuracy.
My only real complaint is the sharp edges on the back of the beavertail and safety. It hurt to shoot with an aggressive, high grip. I wore gloves for almost all of the shooting because it was uncomfortable. A few of my friends who tried the TWC 9 did not have that issue, but most who shot it did. Perhaps it works better with some hand shapes and sizes than others. However, at the Swiss watch price point of this gun, it is a real downer. I discussed this with Jay Duncan from Jacob Grey at SHOT Show 2024. He was aware of the issue and said that there had been revisions to that part and that it was (or would be) resolved on current-production guns.
Conclusion
All in all, I loved my time with this gun. My only real gripe is the safety, which has now been revised. The TWC 9 is not an inexpensive gun, with an MSRP of $2,499. That is not out of line for this kind of gun and it lines up well with its competition. It is precisely made and exhibits great accuracy. In my opinion, it feels more precisely put together than other 2011s I have used. This is a gun that deserves to be in the conversation if you are looking for a stylish and flat-shooting double stack.
