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Cole Sonday
19 October 2021

Israel Weapon Industries Masada 9mm: Product Review

By: Cole Sonday
Many 9mm handguns are different in sizes, grip texture, appearance, and style. The IWI 9mm
handgun, the Masada, is the product that I will be reviewing today.

How easy is it to use?

When I first look at the product, it has the basic design that all firearms have. However,
before handling the firearm, there must be a certain level of expertise the user has. The
user must at least have expertise in proper handgun safety and know how to treat a
firearm in any situation. Nobody who isn’t knowledgeable in handling a handgun safely,
shouldn’t attempt to use one in the first place.

With that being said, a firearm is pretty simple to use as long as one understands the
basic concepts of safety and handling, as mentioned before. When first looking at the
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handgun it is important for the user to identify where the safety is, in order to engage
and disengage the firing pin. Every handgun has at least one safety, but sometimes they
can have two. This model of handgun has only one safety, called a trigger safety, which
of course, is located on the trigger. (Figure 1) For beginning gun owners, it is always a
good idea to look through the manual that comes in the box with the handgun. Explore
(Figure 1: IWI Masada Handgun, finger on trigger safety)

the manual and look at the diagrams of how the gun works. When dealing with
experienced gun owners, the gun is simple enough to use and understand. The gun is a
basic striker-fire pistol that is easy enough to understand once the manual is read and
studied.

I believe that this handgun is exceptional for a standard 9mm, and I believe that IWI is a
good company. Their handguns are made with quality, and they do the best they can to
make the handgun light without sacrificing too much of the guns slide. They also have
maximized the guns capacity by allowing it to have up to 17 rounds in the magazine.

Compared to other handgun brands, such as the 9mm Glock series, this gun is simple to
use and has a lot of quality to it. I am giving this product 5 stars for the ease of use.

What is the quality of the product?

The quality of this product is exceptional. As I explained before, the brand of the
company is very notable in how reliable their firearms are. Their company has been a
comparison brand to that of the Glock 9mm series, for those who want a different style
of handgun. It allows the individual to easily handle the gun while still maintaining
safety, by making sure the trigger must be pulled completely before being engaged.

However, over the years there has been some scrutiny over trigger safeties because
they aren’t really a second action, compared to original safety buttons on handguns.
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With other handgun models some have a grip safety, on the handle, to prevent the
individual from firing and chambering a round without a proper grip on the gun. They
also have button safeties on the side, which makes the user must perform a second
action just to enable the gun into the firing state. Trigger safeties, still maintain some
amount of firearm safety within the user, by requiring them to fully engage the trigger
before the gun fires.

The feel and weight of the gun is a lot lighter than other models, but also doesn’t
sacrifice too much weight in the slide of the handgun. The magazine is heavier than
other types
since it contains
more steel,
from the
appearance,
and it can hold
up to 17 rounds
(Figure 2). The
gun is also built
to be
ambidextrous
for the rare
handgun users
who may be
left-handed.
Some handgun
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models are made specifically for one type of user, either right-handed or left-handed
(Figure 3).

(Figure 2: IWI Masada 17 round magazine)

When looking at the iron sights on the handgun, they seem to be made with quality and
they have a three-dot optic sight to them, whereas some brands may only have a center
one. This allows the user to be able to understand their shooting style and know if they
are pulling left or right, when firing during target practice.

For quality of the product, I give it a 4-star rating.

Is it worth buying and using?

Personally, I believe that the overall quality and ease-of-use with this product does
make it worth purchasing. Now the style and type of handgun is always dependent upon
the user, and you want to make sure you get the type of handgun that you feel is best
for you. The price of this handgun can retail for about $500-$700 depending on the
seller. Other users might not prefer it, and that is fine because ultimately you want to
the weapon that best suits your shooting style, grip, and use of it.
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Overall, I highly recommend that users purchase this gun if they are looking for a future
handgun. I give this product a sum rating of 4 stars.

Pros and Cons

Pros:
 Ease-of-use for beginners or experienced gun owners
 Quality design
 Able to carry more bullets for its size
 Ambidextrous for varying users
 Fair price for starting out

Cons:
 Lacks second-action safety, or secondary safety
 Grip could be textured more
 Manual loading of a bullet in the chamber (must chamber manual round)