Concealed Carry & Home Defense

Gun Test: IWI Jericho 941

Guns and Gear Contributor
Font Size:

By Dr. Martin D. Topper, Personal Defense World

Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) has reintroduced the Jericho 941 pistol to the American market. Based on the well-respected CZ 75, the Jericho is a good value for the person seeking a mid-sized semi-auto for carry or home defense. The new Jerichos will be available in nine different models. Four of them have lightweight polymer frames and have a $559 MSRP. The five all-steel models will go for $649. The mid-sized, polymer-framed Jericho 941 PL/RPL was chosen here because it’s very similar in size and weight to other popular mid-sized, polymer-framed, full-capacity pistols.

The Jericho is a well-built and rugged pistol that has the original CZ 75 double-action (DA) operating system. Jeff Cooper was a fan of the CZ because its frame-mounted safety allows it to be carried with the hammer down in DA mode or “cocked and locked” like a 1911. Therefore it’s relatively easy to transition between a single-action (SA) semi-auto and the Jericho 941.

The Jericho conceals well under a light jacket or in a medium-sized handbag. Even so, it can be loaded with 17 rounds of powerful 9mm +P ammunition, making it a formidable handgun for street carry or home defense. Its light weight makes it comfortable to carry, and all exterior surfaces are nicely rounded to prevent damage to clothing or small cuts on the user’s hands. In addition to having a frame-mounted manual safety, the Jericho 941 also has an automatic firing pin safety and a disconnector. Unlike many other DA semi-autos, the Jericho does not have a decocker, so decocking must be done with the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.

High-Performance 9

IWI Jericho 941, jericho 941, iwi, iwi jericho, jericho 941 safety

The Jericho 941 PL/RPL has a number of desirable features. These include tactical three-dot sights (night sights will be a future option), a lowered and flared ejection port, a Picatinny rail on the dust cover for mounting lights and/or lasers and a squared and undercut triggerguard. In addition, it has a beveled magazine well, a raised magazine release and a smooth, rounded trigger face.

The sturdy polymer frame is designed to facilitate a firm grip. Finger grooves and striations on the front of the frame enhance the shooter’s grip, and the arched, grooved and partially checkered mainspring housing gives the gun a very solid feel in the hand. The Jericho points naturally on target and the sights come up right in front of the dominant eye. When the pistol is grasped, the dished surface of the frame-mounted safety is right under the shooter’s thumb, where it can be quickly disengaged. The slide release also has a dished surface that makes it easy to operate. But that’s not all! When the shooter uses a thumbs-forward, two-handed grip, the dished surfaces of the safety and slide release put your thumbs in exactly the right place for a solid hold.

IWI Jericho 941, jericho 941, iwi, iwi jericho, jericho 941 trigger

Unlike a lot of semi-autos, field-striping the Jericho is quick and efficient. Unload the gun completely, then line up two dots on the right-rear of the slide and frame and push the takedown pin out to the left. The takedown pin protrudes about 0.125 inches from the right side of the frame. It’s a bit high, but it makes the slide release very easy to remove. It also provides good tactile feedback when your trigger finger is in the right position. Once the slide lock is removed from the pistol, the slide slips off the front of the frame and the recoil system and barrel can be removed. Be careful to notice how the short recoil spring fits within the long one. They must be properly placed on the recoil spring guide when reassembling the pistol.

Once the pistol was apart, I was able to thoroughly inspect the gun for internal and external signs of poor workmanship. There were none. Fit and finish were excellent. The matte black slide matched the color of the polymer frame. There were no scratches or tool marks. Conformation of the locking lugs on the 4.4-inch barrel was excellent and the feed ramp and throated chamber were nicely formed and polished. The parabolic rifling of the barrel was evenly recessed at the muzzle to help prevent damage to the bore.

Slide-to-frame fit was tight and the hammer could not be pushed off the full- or half-cock positions. Extractor tension was good. The SA trigger pull was a very consistent 6.75 pounds and the DA pull was an equally consistent 10.5 pounds. The SA pull did not stack at all. There was about 0.375 inches of take-up and then a very smooth release after the trigger traveled about another 0.125 inches. The DA pull stacked as it moved toward the release point. Total travel to the release point was about 0.625 inches in the DA mode. Overall, the Jericho 941 PL is very well made.

Range Workout

IWI Jericho 941, jericho 941, iwi, iwi jericho, jericho 941 gun test

The Jericho was tested for velocity and accuracy from the bench, while its handling qualities were tested at a Bullseye match and by running tactical drills. I happened to have a broad variety of 9mm ammo to test, so nine different loads were included in the testing. The test ammo cartridges had bullets that ranged from 84 grains to 147 grains in weight, and included both standard-pressure and +P loads. The most important finding from the live-fire testing was that the Jericho was totally reliable with everything fired through it.

Given that the loads had so many different weights of bullets, the range of velocities was very broad. Readings ran between 906 and 1,265 fps. Therefore it’s not very meaningful to compare loads by looking at their velocities. In this situation measuring both velocity and bullet energy probably gives a better idea of relative performance of the various loads.

The most powerful load tested was Winchester’s 124-grain +P PDX1. It produced an average muzzle velocity of 1,241 fps and 424 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. Remington’s 115-grain jacketed hollow point (JHP) also performed quite well, leaving the muzzle at 1,250 fps and generating 399 foot-pounds of energy. None of the defense loads produced less than 298 foot-pounds of muzzle energy, which is clearly a step above .38 Special +P performance.

Accuracy was measured by firing three 5-shot groups from a benchrest at a distance of 15 yards. The most accurate single group was fired using Hornady’s Critical Duty 135-grain +P load. All five shots were in a tight 1.36-inch cluster. Three other loads shot at least one group that was under 2 inches. ICC’s Duty & Defense load, with a sintered metal hollow-point bullet, grouped at 1.44 inches. PolyCase’s 84-grain Inceptor, with its polymer/copper bullet, shot a 1.66-inch group and CorBon’s 115-grain, all-copper DPX +P ammo shot a 1.8-inch best group. Average accuracy for all three targets shot with each load measured between 2.34 and 3.35 inches. This is excellent consistency. It’s also important to note that all loads shot to point of aim, regardless of bullet weight or velocity.

Bullseye Testing

IWI Jericho 941, jericho 941, iwi, iwi jericho, jericho 941 target

Results from the informal Bullseye match at the Flagler club were very good for a duty gun with fixed sights. The Jericho’s best score was on the rapid-fire segment of the club’s “Army L” portion of the match. I used an Isosceles stance and scored 98-4X at 15 yards. That’s plenty fast and accurate for a gun that is not designed to shoot in competition.

Action drills performed at an earlier range session also produced good results. The drills involved drawing the Jericho 941 PL/RPL from the holster and shooting five-shot strings at three silhouette targets during each string of fire. The first target got two shots to the body, the second two to the head and the third got one to the head. Two strings were fired at 3 yards and two at 10 yards. The first shot from the holster was fired in the DA mode. The drill began on a random beep from a Competition Electronics timer and ended after the fifth shot. Average time for the two runs at 3 yards was 8.38 seconds at 3 yards, and the average was 12.63 seconds at 10 yards. My score was 90 percent at 3 yards and 70 percent at 10 yards. There were no misses to report.

The Jericho 941 PL/RPL is a well-made and reliable pistol that’s easy to handle. Its trigger is quite good and the gun points naturally. Priced at $559, it offers good value for someone who wants a lightweight, mid-sized, high-capacity, semi-auto pistol for personal defense or recreation.

For more information, visit http://www.iwi.us/jericho.

Thanks to Personal Defense World for this post. Take a moment to visit PersonalDefenseWorld.com by clicking on this link.

Better yet – Click here to check out subscription options to some of the best magazines for shooters.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel