Just put about 250rds through it. 12 were Winchester Ranger 165gr I had laying around and 12 were my current carry, Fed SRT 165. Didn't have any malfunctions, but I did have a few strange things happen:
- Once in a while the spent casing would eject FORWARD instead of to the side- almost as if it were being spit up and forward out of the pistol. I am shooting reloads and they are not charged to max, but about 3/4 between min and max. That may have something to do with it, I'm not sure
-A few casings have a strange mark on the mouth- almost like someone took a knife and smacked the blade across the case mouth. It's not typical case splitting like you would see in excessively hardened/thinned cases. It looks very much like a strange impact mark.
And some nice things I noticed:
- All of my P229 mags fit and functioned; I have two 10rd mags from 2003 ("post ban") and six 12 round mags (post-post ban). All functioned perfectly through slow fire, rapid fire and rapid controlled pairs. HOWEVER, the 10rd P229 mags were a tight fit; I did not expect this. But, I rarely use those mags anyway and when I do it is range use only- why carry a 10rd mag when you can carry a 12rd that is the exact same length?
-Very controllable- not as much as the P229 (which I have two of), but still surprisingly easy to handle.
-The P229 mags, although they look horrible in the P224, they actually feel pretty good to shoot with. I had expected a considerable lack of comfort which did not materialize.
Conclusions thus far:
-The difference in OAL between the 224 and 229 is relatively minor.
-The new grip style is certainly thinner and brings your hand closer to the trigger vs the older 229 grip; I am assuming the new 229 grip does the same thing.
-The difference in height is considerable and most likely the biggest advantage to this pistol as a concealed carry piece. However, once you put in a 12rd P229 mag, I see no distinct advantage of this pistol over the P229. I've never understood people who buy a subcompact than carry it with extended mags... Just get the compact. This pistol that is especially true since the OAL isn't that much shorter than the P229.
-There is a difference in the height of the slide itself between the 229 and 224; the 224 has a shorter slide height; this can be seen in one of the above pictures. That leads me to believe this pistol took a lot more design work that what advertisements have lead us to believe (the photo of the chopped muzzle and frame gives the impression it is just a shortened 229). There are also various other differences- all of the controls are physically smaller though positioned in nearly the same locations.
-Despite being very similar to the P229, it is certainly more difficult to shoot accurately. I started out shooting my 229 and printing about 2-2.5" groups at 10 yards. By the time I shot for groups in the last two magazines, the 224 was printing closer to 4-4.5" with some fliers. There is a good chance that is my fault and not an indication of an inherent inaccuracy. I haven't been shooting my pistols much lately... coupled with severe carpel tunnel, my wrists were getting weak toward the end.
Over-all... After I get another 750rds or so through it, and find a good holster/have one made... I will start carrying this. I'm pretty happy with it.
