Is the MPA DS9-TC Hybrid the REAL Staccato Killer?
Welcome back to Jim's Armory. This time Jim takes the MasterPiece Arms DS9-TC Hybrid out for a range review, putting it through plate racks and an accuracy test to answer the question he keeps getting asked: is this the real Staccato killer? After roughly 500 rounds through the gun, he's got a lot to say about how it shoots, how it's built, and where he thinks it still needs some work.
First Impressions Right out of the gate, Jim likes this gun quite a lot. He notes it shoots really well with hardly any muzzle rise at all. In his telling, the limiting factor isn't the gun's stability at all - it's how fast he can physically transition between targets.
Shooting the Plate Rack Running the DS9-TC across a plate rack is where Jim gets most enthusiastic. He describes feeling like he's transitioning straight across the plates without any bounce, still seeing the dot the entire time instead of timing his shots to the gun's return-to-zero like he normally does. That's when he delivers the verdict that gives the video its title: he says it shoots better than his Staccato XC, better than the SIG P211, and better than the Kimber 2K11.
Optic and Sight Setup Jim's test gun is running an SRO, and he flags a fit issue he's seen before: the optic hangs out over the ejection port, which lets soot and fouling cloud up the lens - something he's also experienced on his Atlas for the same reason. His take is that the gun may run cleaner with a 507 Comp instead, since it doesn't have as much of the optic body sticking out in front of the lens.
He also digs into the co-witness sight option. The DS9-TC Hybrid can be ordered with an RMR-cut plate either with or without co-witness sights, and Jim went with co-witness out of curiosity. In practice, he found the SRO sits so high that the irons only co-witness the lower portion of the dot - barely at all, in his words - and he concludes it isn't worth it. Pro-Tip: if you're ordering this gun, Jim recommends skipping the co-witness option and going with the regular sights instead.
Separately, Jim also ran into a fit problem with his holster: the front sight is a bit too long and scratched up the end of his Range Kinetics holster (he mentions it may be the "Carnivore" model, though he wasn't certain of the name on camera). He plans to swap the front sight to fix the interference.
Handling and Controls Jim reports the safeties on his sample are quite tight, enough to wear on his thumb during the session, and he's hoping they'll loosen up with break-in. The trigger, on the other hand, gets high marks - he describes it as feeling really good, and recalls the pull weight being around 2.4 pounds.
He also had a mag hiccup mid-session, describing what sounded like a bullet loose on the wrong side of the follower - a moment he found funny rather than concerning once he sorted it out.
Accuracy Test Backing up to roughly 30-35 yards, Jim shoots at small 8-inch plates to check practical accuracy after the gun already had about 500 rounds through it. He comes away satisfied with the results, calling it pretty good performance for a gun with that much use already on it.
Magazines and Magwell Jim gets into the accessories next. The DS9-TC Hybrid ships with a couple of MBX magazines, but he's not particularly sold on them, noting they run about $150 compared to roughly $95 for the Atlas mags he prefers - and Atlas prices used to be even lower. He also notices a rattle on the gun, tracing it to a set screw with a nylon tip; tightening that screw down should quiet it up.
On the magwell, Jim opted to upgrade from the stock carry magwell to the wider competition magwell (grabbing a T-shirt from the manufacturer in the process). He calls it a very wide, huge magwell, echoing another reviewer's point that even a poorly-angled magazine going in sideways will still find its way home - useful if you're moving fast and don't line up the mag perfectly.
Build Quality and Price Jim summarizes build quality as excellent and very smooth overall. He notes the gun runs an 8-pound recoil spring from the factory and does not have a toolless guide rod, which he plans to examine further in an upcoming teardown. On pricing, he puts the DS9-TC Hybrid at around $3,899 versus $4,300 for the Staccato he compared it to, and based on this range session, he believes it's the better gun of the two.
Final Thoughts Jim closes out happy with the MasterPiece Arms DS9-TC Hybrid - strong on the plate rack, accurate at distance, and well-built, with a few fixable gripes around optic fouling, co-witness height, and mag preferences. He's holding off on a final verdict until he gets it on the bench for a full teardown. Stay tuned for that video, and subscribe so you don't miss it.
