(Was reading @SIGthusiast post on the M9A4 and the TLX, decided not to drift that)

I'm hoping to take my newly acquired TLX 9 to the range this weekend with my Beretta, and.. other things, eager to see if I can get it to run boosterless. It will be wearing the EZ-LOK direct mount interface to start, but I will be bringing the ECCO Alpha booster assembly with an EZ-LOK piston, if I need it.

First, the weigh-in...

TLX 9 with Griffin EZ-LOK Mount:


TLX 9 with ECCO Alpha booster + Griffin EZ-LOK piston:


Both the can and the ECCO booster (sold separately) are things of beauty- they twist together like silk, and mate up soo nice:


The two hosts I really hope work boosterless:

92X Compact w/PA 21mm Classic micro reflex



HK VP9 Match w/Rim Country Mfg barrel/Holosun SCS


Other hosts I will be trying:

straight 92FS (no RDS)
CZ 75 SP01 Tactical/CZ Custom threaded barrel (no RDS)

If there's interest:
Glock 17/Griffin barrel (no RDS)
P30L/HK threaded barrel (no RDS)

I'll be running Syntech 150gr, S&B 150gr (very dirty) and Speer Lawman 147gr. I might put my standard range ammo (S&B 124) through it as well.

Both the 92X Compact and the 92FS have the Sprinco Recoil Management Systems in them, so that'll be a non-standard wrinkle- I don't really want to swap those out.

The CZ75 has a devil's brew of the MCARBO trigger kit and the CZ Custom dumbbell rod with an 18(!) lb Wolff spring at the moment. I expect that to be the problem child, so I'm bringing the Wolff 14,15,16 pak.

Even if I have to use the booster for everything, the whole ECCO package is only 7 1/4 oz. My Griffin Optimus is 13..

I’d be interested to know how the P30L goes.

Nice!

I need to get a booster for mine.

I took my standard VP9 out with mine and unfortunately it was a single shot without a booster.

Eagerly awaiting your results.

Why would you bother testing a Glock? Nobody has one of those






/s

So I ended taking all six hosts to the range:

- Beretta 92X Compact
- Beretta 92FS
- HK VP9 Match
- HK P30L
- CZ 75 SP01 Tactical
- Glock 17

The ammunition:

- SPEER Lawman 147gr (middle of the road subsonic)
- Federal Syntech 150gr (clean, but has a reputation for being light on recoil)
- Sellier and Bellot 150 gr (heavy, and leaves a lot of residue behind)

All had Griffin EZ-LOK adapters- Direct thread was not tested. The targets were at 6.5 meters, in an indoor public range. Unfortunately, there was no real way to meter for
sound, so this was a "how does it work unboosted and boosted" functional test only.

I had an idea how the test might go, so I decided to start with the
Griffin EZ-LOK direct mount first, then swap in the ECCO Alpha booster with the Griffin EZ-LOK piston.

I started with the 92X Compact. This went quite well- all three ammo choices cycled without a hiccup, unboosted,
with very little POI shift.



As you can see, the VP9 Match didn't do so well unboosted. The SPEER 147 was the only ammo that
semi-successfully cycled (1-2 problems every 10 rounds), and the POI went low and/or wild.

The 92FS cycled with the SPEER 147 and S&B 150, but had several stovepipe failures with the Syntech.
The POI also shifted low and right, but did group. The action was not as sure as the 92X Compact.




The CZ 75 worked with the SPEER and the S&B like the 92FS, but had problems with the Syntech. the POI went
right.  It also felt like it was on the hairy edge of reliable operation.



Not pictured:

The HKP30L choked about every other round on all three brands unboosted- I didn't even finish the 10 rds in the magazines.
The Glock 17 did only slightly better, but malfed about every third round unboosted. I didn't save these targets.


Sooo.. Time to put in the booster assembly.

What a difference!

All hosts operated flawlessly, with all three brands. Not a single failure in 300+ rounds. Groups tightened up- POI shift was minimal, maybe slightly down.

The Glock made a nice group, even with the Syntech:



The VP9 Match also came in strong:




Conclusion

It's definitely possible to use the TLX9 boosterless on certain hammer-fired hosts- the 92X Compact was really sweet.
It's possible that going even lighter with the 1/2-28 direct thread interface might widen the reliability, but... I'm really not interested, with centerfire hosts. EZ-LOK makes for a standard attachment without having to swap pistons or booster assemblies at the line, and checking for back-off is greatly reduced (I had none with EZ-LOK, either direct interface or piston). If I could get the EZ-LOK direct mount interface in titanium, this also might have turned out differently.

All that said, it's a no-brainer to trade an extra 2.25 oz for the booster assembly to get 100% reliability (it's still just 7.25 oz total- I love this thing).

Finally, I can't say enough about how enjoyable the buying experience was with ECCO. Jerrica had the Form 3 submitted immediately, it cleared three days from my order, and was at my LGS a week later.
I bought the Alpha booster (not included) while in transit, and it was in my hands in 4 days- right as my individual Form 4 cleared.
Do not hesitate to buy one of these! (well, when they go back in stock.) I'm on the "email when back in stock" for the 45...

My M9A4 is begging for an unboosted Canine. But if the TLX comes back in stock first...




@Green0 this please

Airman thanks for the follow up. Not much info on these cans.

Your experience with Ecco shipping/quickness mirrors mine

Counting down the days for my tlx45

I've over here just jelly your pistols actually group with 150 Syntech. I like Syntech and I own/shoot a lot of it but its not anywhere in the realm of accurate for my pistols. Usable, but groups are poor.

I really, really wanted the Syntech to do well. My usual 9 suppressed ammo before trying the Syntech was the S&B 150. That stuff really spits back at you (esp on striker fired), and leaves soot everywhere.  The Syntech seems to be twice as clean, with less stuff flying back in your face.  

The VP9 Match, CZ 75, and 92X Compact all group the Syntech well. I hadn't taken the Glock 17 out for a while- that was a surprise. But all of those except the 92X have aftermarket threaded barrels (VP9- Rim Country, CZ75- CZ Custom match, Glock- Griffin).

Fantastic!  Thanks for taking the time to give us real world results.  Its gonna be sooo nice when I finally get mine.

Thanks for sharing!

Were the unboosted VP9 rounds keyholing/tumbling?

I'll add a couple I tried this weekend with my TLX45 also with EZLok.  I didn't test for POI shift.  I was only testing function.

SIG P220 45 Auto 230gr 4.7 WST.  Flawless performance.  Approximately 300 rounds fired, no malfunctions.  Hit where I aimed.  Sound was comparable to my Osprey with far less back spit.

SIG P226 9mm with various loads 147gr loads of my own making, no success.  Turned into a single shot.  Accuracy seemed fine but gave up without firing much.

Taking the 1911s next time.

I was going to ask the same thing. Sure looks like it.

Those were the first few Speer 147s out of the VP9 Match. It was "whoa.. whoa.. whoa! Oh sh%^"... I stopped, and reeled it back in.  I checked the can for tightness (it was), cleared it and reinserted the mag, and then got the low POI in the second pic, without any more sideways impacts.

I really didn't want any baffle strikes. Everything looks perfect, though- all the clips line up, and the insides are a nice shade of grey-

How is the sound performance with the 150gr Syntech (vs 147gr Lawman or the S&B 150gr)? Just generally, on any host/can.

I thought the S&B 150 were the quietest (low tone), followed by the Syntech and the Speer. They're all pretty close to me. Hard to really tell, though, because I'm always inside, with plugs and Sordins (dialed up) on.