Follow-up shots required a trigger reset of only 1/8”. For a gun not geared for competition, it came off as a very nice trigger for general range use. The grip was still pretty big for my mitt (I wear a men’s “large” glove to give you an idea), but between the rubber and the finger groves I was able to make it work. I also noticed that a traditional “thumbs forward,” semi-auto-style grip wouldn’t work, as the slide is situated very low on this gun, which would cause the shooter to ride the slide and induce jamming. A crossed-thumbs, revolver style grip worked very well and connected my hands to assist with the large grip.
For accuracy testing we used Hornady Custom 158-gr. XTP, Hornady Critical Duty 135-gr. FlexLock and Wolf Gold Line 158-gr. SJHP. All rounds were fired at 20 yards from a sandbag rest. Everything provided reasonable accuracy, but the Hornady Critical Duty gave us the tightest group at just 0.68” center to center. The Hornady Custom 158-gr. XTP printed groups that were all under two inches. Also noteworthy, the Wolf Gold Line cycled well and gave excellent accuracy, with only one group barely creeping over the two-inch mark. With as much fun as the L5 is to shoot, it’s nice to know that there’s an inexpensive ammo option out there for budget minded shooters.
Getting it back on the bench, disassembly proved to be a snap. With a flick of the takedown lever, the barrel literally flies off the gun (be careful). Then just slip the slide off of the front of the frame and it’s field stripped for cleaning and lubrication. Putting it back together and admiring its ingenuity I thought it certainly stands out as a great hunting pistol. The Picatinny top rail is stationary, so precision with a scope or red dot is repeatable. The optic also won’t be taking the abuse of the slide slamming into battery, so this opens up even more options. The L5 would also be right at home as a backwoods backup gun. Should you encounter a feral hog or a disturbed bear, 10 rounds (9+1) of .357 Magnum certainly brings enough firepower to the table for these situations. See the L5 at your gun shop, or contact Magnum Research, Dept. OT; Tel.: (218) 746-3097; Web: www.magnumresearch.com
