Check out the new guns at Honor Defense: https://www.honordefense.com/
Buy one on GunsAmerica: https://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.aspx?T=honor%20defense
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The Honor Guard from Honor Defense. A new gun from a new company. Made in Gainesville, Georgia.
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Most of the time, when we review new guns, a manufacturer will send us one that has only been function tested once, if that. occasionally, we’ll get guns that have been through the testing and evaluation pipeline. These will have higher round counts, but we’re talking 1,000–2,000 rounds. This Honor Guard pistol is one that’s been rung out pretty well already. It showed up with 6,500 + rounds through it. Over the last week, I’ve run it out to the range and hammered away at it, and here’s what we’ve found.
Specifications
There were five models of the Honor Guard on display at the NASGW convention last October. They’re pictured below. The main difference between the models has to do with length and the presence or absence of a manual safety. The one we have is the sub-compact without a safety. It is reasonably short, at 6.2″ overall. The barrel itself is 3.2″.
The guns are all single-stacks. The short mags hold 7 rounds. The extension adds a modest amount of length for an additional round. With one in the pipe, the 9 round capacity is decent for those looking for single-stack thinness. But like most of the other single-stacks on the market, thin is relative. This one comes in under an inch–so the description seems apt.
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All five of the models. This photo was taken at NASGW, back in October. The guns are in distribution now.
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The features of the Honor Guard
The frame of the Honor Guard is unique. The FIST feature is likely to be the first thing you’ll hear about. We haven’t had the chance to try out the FIST model yet. The FIST is a protrusion that functions somewhat like a cattle-pusher on the front of a locomotive.
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The FIST allows the gun to stay in battery, even when pressed into someone or something.
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The FIST should make it easy to shoot from contact distances and from inside cover.
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The second feature of the frame is the excellent texture. The thin frame has a stippled feel, but the texturing wraps all the way around the grip and up the frame (out past the trigger guard). This allows you to find extra grip for a shooting finger that is off the trigger, and for the support hand.
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The texture wraps the frame and extends above the trigger guard.
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The shape of the grip is really well executed.
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The ergonomics are exceptional, and the gun has a much more aggressive texture than many of the others in this class. In fact, after putting 500+ rounds down range today, my hand is hurting. It is not sore from recoil, but just sensitive to touch from holding onto that wire mesh texture. My skin feels chapped–which means that pattern is effective, and I’m getting soft sitting in front of the computer.
I had a harder time dropping the slide with my thumb than I’d remembered. The slide drop is steel, and has a low profile. There’s no texture there, either, so you really have to hit it. It is far from impossible, but I found myself relying on the other hand hitting the slide, or the mag itself (popping the 7 round mag in dropped the slide–but the 8 round didn’t).
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The smooth strip both adds a bit of contrast and points the way to the over-sized mag release. And note the slight finger groove on the grip, and the indention on the base-plate of the magazine (useful for ripping out a stuck mag).
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The controls are low profile, but still easily accessed.
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The front sight on the Honor Guard is a big fat orange dot. As this is a pistol built for concealed carry, fast sights are a must. There’s nothing subtle about the dot, and it is easy to pick up–even in the driving rain. The rear sight has two features that I like. The first is the shelf that allows for one-handed manipulation. The second is the wing that wraps around the back of the sight. It offers a bit of protection for the dots themselves. They’re aluminum, too–not plastic.
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That big orange front sight is visible on almost everything that isn’t orange.
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Easy to see between the white dots.
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The rear dots are protected by the sight’s inset design, which is cut with the slant in the correct direction to prevent draw snags. Why is this so hard for other sight makers to grasp? The ramp should be on the back, not the front.
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And the front edge has a nice flat ledge for one-handed manipulation.
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One of the nicest features is the generous texture provided by the slide serrations. They wrap over the top. The slide itself has been milled to remove some of the bulk. The combination provides generous grip surfaces and weight reduction. But they haven’t cut the slide down to a skeleton.
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Front slide serrations wrap all the way over the top.
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There’s still a small gap in the back-strap.
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While I’m focusing on the end-user, I’ll sing the praises of the Honor Guard’s take-down procedure. You don’t have to pull the trigger to take the gun down.The benefits of this are obvious. Pulling the trigger when you don’t intend to fire the gun can lead to issues. I know. I had a hard time counting to 7 once when reviewing a 1911, and I assumed the hammer was cocked because the gun had failed to lock back after that 7th round. So I just pulled the trigger to drop the old hammer. It is a miracle I still have all of my toes.
Once you get it apart, you will find dual recoil springs. The serialized portion is a frame insert, like on the Sig P320s, that would allow you to switch frames and barrels if needed or desired. The back-straps are interchangeable, and the texture pattern is matched well so it still looks like a solid grip.
The guide rod is 416 SS with a FNC (ferritic nitrocarburizing) finish. The barrel is 410 SS with heat-bath PX-5 finish. The slide is 416 SS also with FNC. After taking this gun down, I’m more convinced of the strength of the design. There’s no discernible issues in a gun that’s been fired more than 7,000 times.
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The interchangeable back straps are executed flawlessly, and look good.
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The slim strap and the curved strap.
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The pin that holds the extractor on is not drilled through, so there’s no way it can shoot loose and fall into the action.
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And the claw is huge.
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This is the serialized part.
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It is easy to remove and clean.
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Shooting
We’ve shot it now. I mean more than just a handful of rounds. It has lived up to my expectations completely. I’m going to run some photos below of what it can do. These are, of course, more about what I can do with it. Still. I’m pleased.
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A full mag form 15 yards.
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I ran my typical battery of concealed carry tests. I shot from contact distances. I pulled back to 10 feet, and then to 7 yards. After getting the feel for the sights at that distance, I moved back to 15 and 25 yards. The gun shoots well. I think I would be even more accurate with it if I could shave off a couple of pounds from the trigger. This one is breaking at just over 7 pounds. While that’s not heavy, it isn’t light.
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Shooting dots is a great way to dial in the sights. 3 shots from 7 yards.
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3 more shots, drifting high.
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The trigger has a short reset. I was able to get ahead of it a couple of times. I’d run two rounds fast, and ride the trigger out after the second and have to move farther out to pick up the third. I think this would disappear with more training. The gun is fast, and the reset is short. As such, I’m inclined to push it. I want it to go even faster, which is a bit absurd, and I screw it up. Still, we’re talking about fractions of a second.
I didn’t have a holster for the gun, so I had to improvise. Rather than go with an elastic nylon one-size-fits-most model, I tried it in my regular Kydex rigs. I found that it fit well enough in the Multi Holsters GLOCK 19 holster (one made for a light). While it was by no means perfect, it was snug and safe and allowed for decent testing.
And what about the speeds? I ran a few rounds through the chronograph, just for averages. The Hornady Critical Duty was popping out at about 1050 FPS. The Critical Defense was about 1125 FPS. Typical 115 brass averaged 1150.
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Seven single shots from the holster.
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Leaning left, as usual when I run fast. I was dumping here practicing mag changes.
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There are holsters available, now. This list is from the Honor Defense website.
The gun handled very well. I’m a huge fan of the texture. The ergonomics are also spot on. There’s no place on the gun that I wanted to alter, the way there is on many of the other polymer pistols.
And, in the end, I only had two malfunctions with the gun. I fired three rounds with no mag in the gun. The first two extracted, but did not clear the chamber. The third fell through the bottom of the mag well. As this is a last ditch method for firing the gun, and there were no available rounds to follow up with, it isn’t a show stopper.
Conclusions?
I’m still of the considered opinion that the Honor Guard is the single best out-of-the-box single-stack 9mm available. I’ve never found one with all of these features, and certainly not at this price. The sights alone would be enough for me. And then there’s the texture. The accuracy is spot on, and the performance is exceptional. This is the gun you’d end up with if you bought some of the others and dropped another $500 getting it upgraded. And the price for this American made pistol? It is still hanging in around $450, but should be a bit lower once supply catches up with demand.
Check out the new guns at Honor Defense: https://www.honordefense.com/
Buy one on GunsAmerica: https://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.aspx?T=honor%20defense
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The 7 and 8 round mags both functioned well.
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Easy to service and clean.
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The frame is simply a shell, but it is anything but simple. The feel is very similar to that of custom mods.
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The box. Though simple, it is well branded and keeps costs down.
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The barrel.
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One captured spring inside the more traditional recoil spring.
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The Hornady Critical Duty rounds performed well in the gun.
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What’s in the box?
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Striker fired.
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The rounds are easy to see in the steel mags.
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9mm over-pressure test round. Do not reload.
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The right side. Ambidextrous controls.
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That odd cut-out is where a safety lever would go. That is a plug of sorts.
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Nice crown on the barrel, and note the flared sides, which make holstering easier.
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Trigger pull was very consistent. I’d like to see it closer to 6 pounds, than 7, but this one, even with the high round count, is consistent.
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The guts come out of the polymer frame.
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