This is the second 5K round update post I’ve ever written and it’s surprisingly not about the gun that I thought it would be. I honestly expected the Cajunized CZ Shadow 2 to be the second gun I shot more than 5K rounds with. It came close, but it wasn’t. The second gun to get a 5K review from me is the Staccato P and it’s been one wild ride.

The last time I wrote about the Staccato P was about six months ago during it’s 2000 round update and my take on it was extremely positive. I had been thoroughly impressed by its reliable operation and performance. Perhaps we were still in the honeymoon period where everything was new and exciting at that time. It’s hard to say really, but I can tell you that I’m not as excited by it now as I was then. There have been a few issues since then. The best way I can describe it is that it has developed an attitude that is sometimes uncooperative. Admittedly, I have to share the blame here. Now I’m not ready to call it quits, but changes are going to be needed for this relationship to work long term.

Let’s get into it.

The Good

While I’ve had some issues with the Staccato P, I can count those issues on one hand. And, as I have admitted already, I’ve played a role in those developments. We’ll get to those issues in detail soon enough. For now, let’s focus on what has continued to be good about the pistol (and the optic).

The good can be summed up as it still works and it works well. I’m still competing with it in the Limited Optics division of USPSA matches and have continued to practice with it. Even though it is a duty gun with a heavy trigger compared to the gamer 2011s that are everywhere in the division, I’ve continued to grow as a shooter and become more competitive with it. That says quite a lot given that while the Staccato P does have a premium price tag it is still half to a quarter of the price of the high end competition 2011s.

And even though it’s been giving me a little attitude, it’s sent 3,000 rounds down range with virtually no trouble even though I’ve only used the “it’ll keep running just add some more oil” maintenance plan. No, I don’t recommend that maintenance plan and I will be discontinuing it going forward with the hope to smooth out the recent relationship problems.

Another thing worth noting that is that the finish on the Staccato P is still showing very little wear. While it has developed some shiny spots in a few places like rails inside the slide, on the barrel locking lugs, and a tiny handful of other small spots, it’s not showing its milage like the VP9 did when it reached its 5,000 round milestone.

All is well with regards to the Trijicon SRO. It’s still holding zero. Battery life has been great. It’s been working as expected and I have no reason to believe that will change any time in the foreseeable future.

The Bad

Those of you who have been watching the match footage I’ve regularly posted on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube can attest to the fact that I haven’t put the Staccato down at all this year so far. However, the P didn’t work out exactly as I had envisioned when I ordered it. The initial purchase was heavily influenced by what I remembered from my first time shooting a Staccato pistol while attending a class from the late Sean Hoffman. My intention was to get to know the 2011 platform and use it in a defensive context. At the moment of purchase, I caught a wild hair and opted to configure it with a threaded barrel so I could put a silencer on it because… well… cans are “tacticool”. However, a 9mm can is still something that is missing in my safe and the threaded barrel made finding a quality concealed carry holster challenging.

Even though I eventually solved the concealed carry holster problem. Its size presented concealment challenges for me. Additionally, opting for the steel frame made the Staccato P heavy enough to make carrying it concealed annoying. Those factors combined with how much I’ve enjoyed the pistol led to the acquisition of the Staccato C2. However, that purchase had a few configuration options that I wish I would have opted for would have been available when I ordered the P. Those options are the X-series serrations and the lightened 3.5# trigger.

If I had to do it all over again knowing what I know now, then I wouldn’t order a P. Instead, I would order the Staccato XL with the X-series serrations, because it is a better competition option with an even lighter trigger than the P and I can’t see myself using the P for anything other than competition at this point except maybe setting up as a nightstand home defense pistol. And a nightstand home defense pistol is most likely what it will become if I end up retiring it from competition use and it’s not too beat up. I don’t regret acquiring the P. It just didn’t pan out like I originally thought it would.

The only thing that I’ve found to be “bad” about the Trijicon SRO is its price. As of today, I think the Holosun 507COMP is as good as, if not better than, the Trijicon SRO at a lower price point. Going forward, I don’t see myself buying another SRO if I’m ever in the market for another big-windowed competition optic. I’ll keep running the SRO on the P until it either dies or something else compels me to swap it out. It’s a good dot. It’s just overpriced now.

The Ugly

As I’ve eluded to, there have been recent woes between the Staccato P and me.

The first one has to do with the screws that secure the optic mounting system to the slide which just will not stay put even when torqued to spec and I use a thread locking compound.

I first noticed this shortly after publishing the 2,000 review where I thought the optic had come loose. However, the witness marks on the optic screws were good. Upon closer inspection I noticed that the optic mounting system was what was actually loose. Everything got dismounted. All the screws and holes were cleaned and degreased. Fresh blue Loctite was applied. Everything was torqued to spect and a thousand rounds later the problem reemerged.

So I dismounted everything again. Cleaned and degreased the holes and screws again. Applied Vibra-Tite VC-3 this time around. Torqued everything to spec once again. And guess what I noticed a couple of weeks ago which happens to be about a thousand rounds since everything was remounted? If you guessed the optic system is loose again, then you are correct.

The other issue is far more recent and has to do with rounds not feeding properly into the P which I initially chalked up to the dirty and worn MBX 23-round competition magazines I’ve been using with the P. While I performed the remedial actions I described in the magazine management post, the issue returned at the most recent match twice. Once with the suspected failing magazine and then again with the other. Now I haven’t ruled out the magazines as the culprit entirely and will be taking additional corrective actions with them. However, I am now wondering if the subpar “just add more oil” maintenance plan is a contributing factor. I’m not quite sure. All I know is that I have to get this issue sorted.

In fact, I have to get both issues sorted before I become frustrated enough to bench the Staccato P. What I’m going to do is return to the recommended “field strip, clean, and lube” maintenance every 500 rounds or so. Replace the springs and followers in the magazines. Order some replacement mounting screws for the optic mounting system and remount it once again. My hope is that with these changes the woes will disappear and the fun with the P will continue.

It’s hard to say what I will do if I end up benching it. I could see myself switching to the Carry Optics division and get back to running the CZ Shadow 2. At least until, I can manage to pick up a 2011 optimized for competition. I’m not really sure. There are lots of options, but I’ll explore them if I have to cross that bridge.

Closing Thoughts

The 5K round milestone has been an interesting one. While I don’t think it’s ideal for what I’m using it for, I’m fairly confident I will be able to sort out the recent issues and it will keep on trucking along. I still like the Staccato P a good bit. Even though I’ve had a few problems with it, it’s chugged along and worked well for me as my USPSA Limited Optics gun. Furthermore, I still think it is a solid option for home defense and duty applications.

As far as the SRO is concerned, it’s been a good dot, but I think its time has passed since there are at least as good options at lower price points available on the market today. I don’t see any reason to discard it or to rush to replace it, but I don’t see a compelling reason to buy one today.