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We've been following Lionheart Industries for a few years. I remember seeing a Military Arms Channel video on the LH9 years ago and wanting to experience the pistol. That started it all. The LH9 was actually an imported Daweoo DP-51. Eventually, importer Lionheart Industries made the decision to refine and update the design, and make the pistols entirely in the United States. That created the Regulus.
If you want to take a deep-dive into this family of pistols, we have a series of videos that can be found here.
Of course one does not simply go from importer to manufacturer overnight. Making the pistols in the United States required multiple contracted sources, each with their own pile of conditions, potential issues, etc. As a result the original Regulus pistols were hard to get ahold of and rather costly. On top of that, Lionheart Industries created a beautiful website where one could "build" their own selecting one of two frame models, one of two slide lengths, various barrel and gun finishes, grips, etc. This custom process of course meant more man hours to build and the company could not reduce cost with prebuilt options. They were also fighting Washington State's efforts to restrict civil liberties and ever-increasing taxes. In short, there was affordable to few including Lionheart Industries. It was a boutique-level gun.
Years later the company now has a factory in pro-American Georgia (the state) where they can make just about every part in house; keeping quality, production, and cost under control. They have relaunched the pistols as a group of pre-built models which further reduces their cost to make. The end result for us consumers is that the MSRP is now a more tolerable $999-1,149. For an American-made, all-metal, hammer-fired pistol that's quite fair, especially from a smaller company that doesn't have inexpensive products to keep the financial machine moving.
So What Makes It Different? The Lionheart Industries pistols have a unique feature called, "double action plus". This feature allows the user to manually push the hammer forward on a cocked pistol. Doing this returns the trigger to a double-action position, but the pull weight remains similar to single action. There is also a slight bump when pulling as the trigger re-engages the single action. The pistols have an ambidextrous safety, but no decocker. The system is somewhat similar to the Walther P99AS and it's many derivatives. The "bump" when pulling gives a clear indication that the gun is about to fire and a chance to either commit to the shot or release. Tactically it makes sense for some applications, but requires more skill and training than some shooters are willing to commit to.
What are the new guns like? The tabletop video can be seen below. Aside from less fanciful finishes, everything looks and feels as good as the older models which sold for much more. The pistols still come in a nicely-made pistol bag along with everything you need to get started.
Pricing and Specs as per the product webpage
We hit the range with our standard battery of tests, of course including the crowd-favorite What's For Dinnerâ„¢ test. This pistol was one of the few times when I published the tabletop prior to having shot the gun as I was sure it would perform well.
Ammunition seen in our Shooting Impressions video was made possible by our Patrons and supporters of our ammunition savings account through Ammo Squared. Additional, on-demand ammunition through True Shot Gun Club.
Teya and I each had our own things we'd change about the gun, but both were matters of personal preference. For Teya, it would be more texture on the grip panels, and for me a finer front sight. Both easily changed, and my front sight preference was likely only because we were under a bright sun that day which made the fiber optic too bright for my preferred method of shooting tight groups, but was perfect for rapid sight acquisition.
Overall the Lionheart Industries Regulus Alpha Blackout brings a little bit of everything to the table. It's got enough pizazz to be a prized possession, shoots pleasantly enough to be something to enjoy long range days or training courses with, and the single action trigger isn't too short or light to hesitate use as a carry gun. There may be other guns that do any one of those things "better", but the Regulus can do all of them.
For more information visit the Lionheart Industries Website