This post was originally published here.
IWI might be famous for some of its more exotic weapons, like the classic Jericho pistol or the Tavor and Galil rifles. But this prominent Israeli firearms company also has a solid catalog of modern firearms. It’s not just their modern IWI Zion 15/Zion 25 AR-pattern rifles and carbines either. IWI also offers a full range of striker-fired polymer-framed 9 mm pistols under the IWI Masada product line, like the Masada Slim Elite.
The IWI Masada Slim Elite
The 9 mm IWI Masada Slim Elite is one of IWI’s more carry-friendly contemporary pistol models. It’s built around a thinner, easier-to-grip [and carry] polymer frame while offering the user a 13+1 or 17+1 magazine capacity. More importantly, the Masada Slim Elite’s slide easily allows mounting an optic with a Holosun-K or Shield RMSc footprint.
Size-wise, Masada Slim Elite models share a similar form-factor to handguns such as the SIG-Sauer P365 X-Macro/FUSE and the Taurus GX4 Carry. Except for its overall length, the Masada Slim Elite’s size is even similar to the Glock 48, footprint-wise. Dustcovers on Masada Slim Elite frames even make room for compact tactical lights, like Streamlight’s TLR-7 series.
Like most of its peers, the IWI Masada Slim Elite operates under the Browning delayed blowback action. It relies on the barrel tilting upwards to unlock the slide and allow it to reciprocate.
Calling the Browning delayed blowback action “tried-and-true” would be an understatement. This mechanism has been around for over a century. In fact, John Moses Browning’s classic 1911 and Hi-Power designs operate under this very concept.
IWI Masada Slim Elite Slide and Barrel
This pistol counts on a 3.4-inch button-rifled 1:10 right-hand twist barrel. As the “Elite” version, its feed ramp is slightly extended to improve reliability during feeding. As a rule of thumb, 1:10 twist 9mm barrels tend to favor heavier 147-grain projectiles, especially those with advertised muzzle velocities in the 1000 fps range.
Masada Slim Elite slides include front and rear serrations along with front and rear dovetails for iron sights. All Masada Slim Elite pistols ship with a pair of defensive-style iron sights. The rear sight is plain, black, and serrated with a deep U-notch sight. Correspondingly, the front is a bold 0.160-inch wide post with a white dot.
The Masada Slim Elite pistol featured in this review shipped with a Holosun EPS Carry enclosed-emitter red-dot pre-installed. The Holosun EPS Carry is one of the best in-class enclosed-emitter carry dots due to its lower-than-typical deck height. As such, the Masada Slim Elite’s standard iron sights co-witness perfectly with the EPS Carry.
The Sub-Compact Frame
Masada Slim Elite frames are interesting to me for two reasons.
First, they’re surprisingly roomy for a large adult hand, given their sub-compact size. There’s a reason why I deliberately mention the SIG-Sauer P365 X-Macro and FUSE models.
Second, most handguns in this category feed from stack-and-a-half magazines. However, the Masada Slim Elite uses a standard double-stack 9mm IWI Jericho magazine.
Jericho magazines are virtually identical to CZ-75 mags and thus have a very proven and reliable design. I even used actual CZ-75 magazines during my review with no issues. I find this remarkable because the Masada Slim’s designers managed to cram a regular double-stack magazine into the grip without making it too thick.
These pistols ship with two mags, a 13-rounder and a 17-rounder. The CZ-75 pattern magazine is one of the most common double-stack 9 mm magazines around the world. Who doesn’t appreciate a firearm that uses a proven and easily available magazine?
Masada Slim Elite Grip
Like many modern polymer-framed pistols, the Masada Slim Elite’s grip can take different interchangeable backstraps. On any pistol, the fronstrap and the contouring around the bottom of the trigger guard are the places I mind more.
The Masada Slim Elite’s trigger guard is decently undercut to the extent that it allows the three remaining fingers of my average adult-size hand to fit comfortably. (This area is so vital because frontstrap real estate translates to leverage and control of the gun during recoil.)
In short, the middle, ring, and pinky fingers of my strong hand do not feel crowded around the Masada Slim Elite when making a full grip.
Typical Striker-Fire Trigger
The Masada Slim Elite comes with the typical striker-trigger that’s equipped with a bladed safety. The specific pistol in this review arrived in brand-new, unfired condition. And while the pistol has been 100% reliable from the start, I found it wise to allow the trigger to wear in properly. Even in as few as 150 rounds, its character changed for the better.
After traveling nearly ½ inch of take-up, it breaks at 6-lbs, 2.3-oz in a fairly crisp manner. Honestly, I was shocked that my electronic scale measured at that weight, because it doesn’t feel that heavy. This trigger also resets fairly quickly at a little less than approximately ¼ inch.
All in, I found the trigger quite suitable and easy to manage for defensive and carry work, which is the Masada Slim Elite’s primary role.
The IWI Masada Slim Elite on the Firing Line
I tested the Masada Slim Elite with three different types of factory-loaded 9mm cartridges. Tested ammunition included Nosler’s 115-grain ASP JHP, Remington’s 124-grain Range FMJ, and Federal American Eagle’s 147-grain AE9FP flat-point load.
For my review’s accuracy report, I shot the Masada Slim Elite supported from a bag at targets 10 yards away. I printed four 5-shot groups with each load and averaged out their extreme spread (group sizes). Refer to the table below for reference.
Distance-wise, 10 yards isn’t considerably far, and all rounds printed extremely decent groups. Especially for a defensive carry gun with a defense-oriented “street trigger.”
I don’t always have 147-grain JHP ammo on hand, so I’ll often use that Federal American Eagle flat-point load. It’s a standard velocity 147-grain cartridge that I’ve had excellent luck with across the board. In my experience, guns that like 147-grain ammo always seem to print very satisfactory groups with this American Eagle flat-point load.
It didn’t take long to notice that the Masada Slim Elite’s 1:10 twist barrel was rather fond of AE9FP. This round easily printed the tightest overall groups. Were I to seriously consider carrying the IWI Masada Slim Elite, Federal’s 9mm 147-grain HST would be the logical choice.
Shooting The Masada Spiritedly
In my time reviewing handguns, I’ve come to realize that their true character is revealed during controlled rapid fire. After zeroing and shooting the Masada Slim Elite for groups, I spent the rest of my time shooting it vigorously.
I managed to get its slide nice and hot and stay that way until I depleted my ammo—primarily the aforementioned Remington Range FMJ ammo along with my last box of Nosler ASP JHP.
First and foremost, the IWI Masada Slim Elite shoots incredibly for a “slim” carry gun. It prints accurate groups and, in rapid fire, its slide tracks immaculately and easily returns to zero.
The Masada Slim actually handles like a full-size performance pistol in this regard. Something that helps it is the fact that it has a relatively short and small slide. This helps the slide to rebound faster while also flopping around less during recoil.
Adding a red-dot sight only boosts its capabilities. I spent an afternoon doing some informal Bill Drills (low ready, Steel Challenge style) and clocked 6-round times from between 1.5 and 1.8 seconds. Some of my recorded splits were as low as .16 or .17 seconds, too.
I burned up the rest of my ammo at my gun club’s plate-rack, where I was also pushing for speed under time pressure while taking advantage of its fast-tracking slide. From a performance standpoint, the Masada Slim Elite ended up impressing more than I expected.
I sincerely wouldn’t hesitate to load it with 23-round CZ-75 competition magazines and take it to a USPSA match and shoot it in the Carry Optics division.
Parting Shots
I came into this review expecting another garden-variety “slim” striker-carry gun. All the major gun manufacturers sell them nowadays. Even HK saw the need to bring one to market, if that says anything. However, reviewing the IWI Masada Slim Elite kept impressing me every step of the way.
It started with the fact that it functions with CZ-75/Jericho magazines. It continued with the accuracy potential it displayed when shot from rest, especially with full-velocity 147-grain ammunition. The fact that it performed the way it did under rapid-fire was the cherry on top.
This pistol feels massively underrated. I do wish there were more holster options for it, and perhaps that will improve in the future.
IWI Masada Slim Elite Specs
| Action Type | Striker-Fired Semi-Auto |
| Caliber | 9mm Luger |
| Capacity | 13+1, 17+1 |
| Frame | Polymer |
| Slide | Steel |
| Barrel Length | 3.4 inches |
| Twist | 1:10 RH |
| Sights | Optics-Ready, Rear U-notch, front post with white circle |
| Trigger Pull Weight | 6-lb, 2.3-oz |
| Overall Length | 6.00 inches |
| Width | 0.90 inches |
| Height | 4.75 inches |
| Weight | 23 ounces |
| Accessories | 1 13-round magazine, 1 17-round magazine, cable lock, instruction manual |
| Country Of Origin | Israel/United States |
| MSRP | $499 base price |
Performance – 10 Yards
| Federal American Eagle AE9FP 147-grain FP | |
| Muzzle Velocity, Std Dev, ES | MV: 990.0 FPS Std Dev: 5.3 ES: 18.9 |
| Min Group (inches) | 0.75 |
| Avg Group | 0.90 |
| Max Group | 1.25 |
| Remington Range 124-grain FMJ | |
| Muzzle Velocity, Std Dev, ES | MV: 1040.1 FPS Std Dev: 8.3 ES: 35.5 |
| Min Group (inches) | 1.25 |
| Avg Group | 1.63 |
| Max Group | 2.00 |
| Nosler ASP 115-grain JHP | |
| Muzzle Velocity, Std Dev, ES | MV: 1075.9 FPS Std Dev: 10.2 ES: 41.7 |
| Min Group (inches) | 0.86 |
| Avg Group | 1.28 |
| Max Group | 1.75 |
Chronograph: Garmin Xero C1, at the muzzle. Temp 88°F, Four 5-round groups averaged.
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