Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) quietly makes some of the best and coolest firearms available. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) rely on IWI and have done so since before the Israeli government spun the company off to the private sector. The IDF demands quality and reliability, and those features carry over to the civilian side. The IWI Masada Tactical pistol is a perfect example.

IWI Masada Tactical

I bought my first Masada pistol as a home defense gun in 2020. It had the features I wanted at a very attractive price. The IDF connection didn’t hurt. I now own two full-size Masadas, as well as a subcompact Masada Slim, and being familiar with the platform, I jumped at the chance to test and review the Masada Tactical.

Full disclosure: IWI provided the gun for testing and review, as well as for use in other projects. But the gun still has to measure up, and we ran it hard for two months. Here’s how it performed.

Masada Tactical Features

As with many modern handguns, the Masada is built around a serialized fire control unit (FCU). That offers a couple of advantages. The FCU is the firearm from a legal standpoint, meaning it can be attached to different slides and frames, offering maximum modularity. IWI doesn’t yet offer those options, apart from colors, and I don’t know whether they ever will. But the capability remains. The primary advantage to me is that I can remove the FCU for detailed cleaning and maintenance. Let’s face it, guns get dirty, and not just in the barrel and chamber. I like being able to easily clean out the accumulated lint and debris that seem to flock to my handguns’ innards.

Sending rounds downrange with the IWI Masada Tactical.

The steel slide features generous front and rear cocking serrations and is optic ready. The Masada Tactical ships with optic plates for the Trijicon RMR, Vortex Venom, Leupold Delta Point Pro, and Sig Romeo1 footprints. Mounting screws are included for each. I went with a Meprolight MPO-F red dot with the RMR. The plate fits perfectly and the optic attached tightly with no play.

The Masada Tactical comes with suppressor-height front and rear sights to go with the threaded 4.6-inch barrel. Mine are blacked-out rear sights with a front white dot. A Meprolight Hyper-Bright night sight-equipped version is also available.

The rugged polymer frame fills the hand nicely, aided by three interchangeable backstraps. The palm swell helps provide a high grip under the large beavertail, ensuring a fairly low bore axis relative to my hand placement. IWI offers the Masada Tactical frame in black, desert flat dark earth, or OD green, like mine. The squared-off trigger guard is large enough to easily accommodate gloves, and the front is indexed. Grip texture is always subjective, but I think the Masada’s is perfect. It gives me a firm purchase on all four sides without being sandpapery. I dislike sandpapery grips. Your mileage may vary, of course.

The butt features an angled cut to aid gripping the mag should it need a little extra help. I’ve never needed to do that, but it’s a nice touch and shows that the gun is well-thought out. The four-slot Picatinny rail enables a wide variety of lights or lasers. I didn’t put one on this gun, but my home defense Masada has evolved through several accessories over the years. I like that long rail.

Disassembly is simple, as you’d expect from a modern striker-fired handgun. You do have to pull the trigger, but only after the slide is locked to the rear. Always check the chamber before and during the disassembly process.

The Masada Tactical has a two-tone appearance.

Tactical Controls

The Masada Tactical’s ambidexterity is among its great strengths. The gun features an ambidextrous magazine release and slide stop, making it equally friendly whether you’re right-handed, left-handed, or both, as is my co-tester.

The trigger has a little creep before breaking at 6 pounds, and the reset is longer than most concealed carry pistols I own. But the Masada and Masada Tactical are duty guns, and slightly longer triggers are expected. Honestly, that’s the kind of trigger I want on a home defense gun or something I might run on a battle belt.

The indexed slide stops are robust and easily engaged. They have just the right amount of stiffness so you won’t accidentally drop the slide by brushing them. That’s not an issue with most guns, but I’ve had a few for which it was. None of my Masadas’ slides have ever dropped when I insert a new mag. Some people don’t seem to mind when that happens, but I’m not a fan. I like that my Masadas have never done it.

My one complaint is the Masada’s magazine release. It robustly ejects empty mags like we all want. But the buttons are not as responsive as I’d like. I can easily reach them with my thumb, or even my trigger finger, but the button push is sometimes inconsistent, forcing me to hit it twice.

The optic-ready platform serves contemporary shooters.

Running the Masada Tactical

I’ve put thousands of rounds through my Masada pistols, including 650 through the Tactical model. I can’t remember a single failure in any of those three guns. The Masada Tactical has certainly performed at 100 percent throughout its testing. I purposely didn’t clean the gun during the test period, though I expect a quality handgun to handle 650 rounds without being cleaned, so I wasn’t surprised when it did just that. We fired suppressed for part of the test period, running it with a SilencerCo Spectre 9 can. We used the following ammo, generously provided by our friends at Global Ordnance:

115-grain Fiocchi FMJ
124-grain Igman FMJ
124-grain Sellier & Bellot FMJ
147-grain Sterling Subsonic FMJ

I don’t fire handguns from the bench, but the gun was accurate with slow, measured fire, as well as the transition drills that we ran. It pains me to admit that I’m more accurate with an optic than without, but there it is. Sucks getting old. The Masada Tactical is comfortable to shoot, and our hands never felt fatigued.

The grip feels good in my hand, and I like that I can get high on the frame, thus reducing muzzle rise. Operation is smooth, other than the occasionally mushy mag release. I’ve adjusted my technique to minimize it, but it’s a thing.

I was excited to run the gun suppressed since my other Masadas don’t have threaded barrels. The Tactical model was just as reliable suppressed as it was without the can, and even more pleasant to shoot. We ran it with both supersonic and subsonic ammo with great results. We got a little gas in the face, but that’s the nature of the beast. I can see myself perhaps going to the suppressed Masada Tactical for home defense at some point.

The suppressor-ready IWI Masada Tactical.

Final Thoughts

The Masada is among my favorite handguns. It shoots well, is comfortable, has good mag capacity, and is absolutely reliable. And it works equally well right or left-handed. I’m a hardcore righty, but I practice left-handed shooting too, and the Masada has me covered. The Tactical model gives me all that, plus a threaded barrel and suppressor-height sights.

I also appreciate that the Tactical costs the same as the regular Masada, which brings me to value. The Masada Tactical is an absolute steal at an MSRP of $480. It retails for less than that. IWI handguns are all that way. Fantastic quality from a proven manufacturer at a better price than comparable guns. There’s literally no downside.

I think IWI is one of the gun world’s best-kept secrets, and that’s kind of a shame. I have extended trigger time with five different IWI firearm models, and every one has performed extremely well. The quality is obvious. So, maybe do yourself a favor and check out the Masada Tactical. It’s a cool, reliable handgun that will serve you well. I mean, if it’s good enough for the IDF…

For more info on the IWI Masada Tactical, visit iwi.us.