Phoenix Drake Production: a premium 9mm pistol for dynamic sport shooting with numerous options in terms of design, features and choice of sights

The high-end pistols from PHX Phoenix AG are manufactured entirely in Switzerland. Using the example of a pistol from the Phoenix Drake Production model series, we would like to take a closer look at what makes these pistols, which are manufactured with Swiss precision and are particularly interesting for IPSC shooters, special. But before we turn our attention to the "Drake", let us say a few words about its manufacturer:

The winding road to PHX Phoenix AG and its current centerfire sport pistol model series

If we look back historically at the lines of development of today's Phoenix pistols, the first traces can be found as early as the late 1980s. At that time, Solothurn-based Industrial Technology & Machines AG, ITM for short, manufactured the AT-84 and AT-88 models, replicas of the CZ 75 licensed by Česká Zbrojovka. In the early 1990s, the Swiss manufacturer Sphinx System AG from Matten near Interlaken followed in ITM's footsteps with its AT 2000 series. Sphinx eventually developed the pistols based on the CZ 75 into the Sphinx 3000 model series. In 2012, the US-Swiss KRISS Group acquired the company, which then went bankrupt in 2015. PHX Phoenix AG, founded around the successful Swiss IPSC shooter Armin Landolt, then took over part of the machinery from the bankruptcy estate and presented the first Phoenix pistol, the Redback model, at the IWA 2018 . In addition to the 2nd generation of the Redback, the Phoenix range now also includes the Fusion and Predator model families and the flagship Drake series.

Construction, appearance and equipment variants of the Phoenix Drake Production IPSC pistol

The manufacturer has opted exclusively for steel for the frame and slide. You won't find any plastic parts here, even the pistol's grips are made of an aluminum alloy, which has a black anodised coating in the basic version. Phoenix also offers the colors silver, red, blue and orange as optional accessories. When it comes to sights, Phoenix has dispensed with open sights on the Production Optic version of the Drake with factory-mounted red dot sight and ships the pistol without a rear or front sight. Where the front sight would normally be, there is an eye-pleasing steel insert that sits flush with the slide. And where the rear sight of a pistol should originally be located, there's a cut in the slide that accommodates a steel plate with the footprint for the respective Mini Red Dot Sight (MRDS). The aforementioned grips of the Phoenix pistol come with a non-slip texture reminiscent of the repeating series of letters "IJJ". A pyramid-shaped checkering on the front strap and also on the front of the trigger guard provides the necessary grip. The dust cover of the pistol comes with an accessory Picatinny rail milled integrally into the steel frame.

The main spring housing cover on the backstrap has a classic checkering and is also made of anodised aluminum. Here too, and for other aluminum components, replacement parts in silver, red, blue and orange can be found in the accessories range instead of the standard black anodised finish. This also applies, for example, to the plates embedded above the trigger guard on both sides of the slide, which also provide more grip with small square pyramids. Last but not least, the orange-colored C-shaped trigger blade on our photo sample also stands out against the otherwise matte black pistol. As befits a match gun, the trigger blade has an adjustable trigger stop. Those who prefer to shoot with a straight trigger blade instead of the C-shaped one will also find what they are looking for in the Phoenix accessories. Phoenix has made the ambidextrous thumb safety on the left-hand side of the slide larger than its right-hand counterpart.

The polygonal barrel of the Phoenix Drake with precision barrel bushing

The Phoenix Drake has a 127-mm long barrel with polygonal rifling, which is held in position with absolutely no play when the gun is locked. But even when unlocked, the barrel is guided extremely "tightly" in a special bushing. At first glance, the barrel bushing of the Phoenix pistol looks like a standard 1911 bushing. On closer inspection, however, it is reminiscent of the so-called spherical bushing that the US manufacturer and accessories specialist Briley has had in its catalog for tuning 1911 pistols for several decades. A "donut" ring integrated into the guide bushing (cylindrical on the inside of the barrel, curved on the outside and freely rotatable in a circumferential groove in the bushing) ensures that the barrel can be guided with reduced friction and more precisely, despite extremely tight manufacturing tolerances, in order to increase the gun's precision. The extractor is also a loaded chamber indicator that provides the shooter with a visual and tactile indication when a cartridge is in the chamber.

In terms of locking, the Drake uses a modified Browning system in which the locking and unlocking process and tilting of the barrel is controlled by an enclosed control cam track instead of a link underneath the rectangular  chamber. The block locks à la Petter-SIG in the area of the ejection port. The slide is guided in two guide grooves – also virtually free of play in the grip frame – which further emphasises the extremely high standards of precision demanded by the Swiss for this match gun.

In addition, the manufacturer naturally also attaches great importance to the build quality of the Drake pistols and equips them with a comprehensive accessory pack. In addition to a total of 3 spare magazines, a cleaning kit and a sturdy metal bushing wrench, this also includes a pistol case made of Codura and a very well-made and complete operating manual in paper form. 

In terms of price, we believe that PHX Phoenix AG can position its pistols in the premium class with a clear conscience. The Drake pistols cost between €5,000 and €7,000, depending on the version and features (actual prices may vary in different countries).

Phoenix Drake Production variants, available with various sights

When it comes to sights, the Phoenix Drake offers the shooter a number of options. For the front sight, there are fiber optic versions in red or green as well as a classic target front sight. If you opt for a red dot sight, you can simply insert a dummy plate into the slide instead of the front sight base. The Trijicon SRO, the Shield RMS and the Sightmark Mini Shot M-Spec are available as red dot sights, while those who also want to use the pistol on ring targets, for example, can choose between a simple target rear sight or an LPA micrometer sight.

Phoenix Drake Production IPSC technical specifications and price 

Further information is available on the PHX Phoenix AG company website.