Honor Guard: Unappreciated And Underestimated

The Honor Guard pistols from Honor Defense are one of the most underestimated pistols out there. The pistol is commonly put down as being cheap and just a copy of the S&W Shield. I get that it has similarities, but it functions so much differently and has far more capabilities. Once you shoot the Honor Guard pistol, you will probably understand why I find it to be one of the best single stack pistols, even above the Shield.

Let us first talk about the grip. For me, the grip on the Shield was the biggest problem I had with that pistol. It is slick and it does not work well with my sweaty hands when I am trying to hold onto it in the summer time. The Honor guard has a nice grip that incorporates nice texturing into the grip in order to give you a solid hold on the pistol. This is invaluable to me as a shooter, especially when I am shooting hotter loads.

The next thing I wanna talk about is the sights on the pistol. The sights are compatible with the Glock 42 sights, meaning you have tons of aftermarket option available. But I am just fine with the stock sights. I like the orange paint that the front sight uses. Also, the forward swept rear sight helps prevent snagging when coming out of the holster while the front of the rear sight has a ledge that facilitates one handed manipulations. The sights from the factory seem to hit right on. I noticed that this pistol is very precise and you need to be very diligent about how you are aiming. If you are a little off, you can toss your shot dramatically, I have noticed.

The last thing that I think sets this pistol above other single stack firearms on the market is the incorporation of a chassis system. This chassis system allows you to easily change out your slide and barrel or frame without needing to be an armorer. The frames are pretty inexpensive and come in a variety of colors that you can order off the Honor Defense website for about $45. The slide conversions cost about $200. This is actually very cool that you can just easily convert your pistol without needing to buy a whole new pistol and by just putting on a different slide. The kicker is that the long and short slide both use the same recoil spring, so all you need is the slide and barrel in order to complete the conversion.

The last thing I want to talk about is the fact that this pistol has one of the nicest recoil impulses of all the single stack pistols I own. I find it easy to hang onto and control with hotter loads like +P and such. The springs of this pistol are nice and tight, but not so much that it impedes the proper function of the pistol. Between the trigger characteristics, the recoil, and the grip, this pistol seems to work hand in hand with my needs incredibly well. Thought it has a relatively low capacity, I feel like this is one of the finest pistols you can have on your person for when the need arises.

I am personally glad to see that a company like Honor Defense is willing to take the time and design a different pistol that will hopefully set a new standard for single stack pistols on the market today. There are a few good reasons to invest in Honor Defense's products, but I think that every individual should decide for themselves if these features and characteristics are the kind of thing they could benefit from. I personally wish I would have found this pistol a while ago. But that is just because I have used this pistol and found it to be incredibly easy to use with great precision.