For almost 30 years, the Italian company Fratelli Tanfoglio has been developing pistols designed specifically for sporting use. The team of marksmen also includes the French IPSC shooter Eric Grauffel, who already holds five world championship titles. Eric Grauffel contributed to the development of the Tanfoglio Xtreme pistol line, which was unveiled at the end of 2013. This series claims to offer a specific gun for each IPSC competition disciplines and target shooting, that can be used “out of the box” without any custom work or tune ups.
The series includes five models:
- Gold Custom Xtreme chambered in 9 mm Luger or .38 Super Auto, designed for the IPSC Open,
- Limited Custom Xtreme chambered in .40 S&W, designed for the IPSC Standard,
- Stock II Xtreme chambered in 9 mm Luger, designed for IPSC Production,
- Stock III Xtreme chambered in 9 mm Luger, also meant for IPSC Production,
- Gold Match Xtreme chambered in 9 mm Luger, conceived for precision disciplines
Like most of the Tanfoglio pistol range, this quintet bears a resemblance to the CZ-75, i.e. a Browning-Koucky system with two locking cams on the barrel and slide and a closed cam track. This system is also found in the Tanfoglio Stock III Xtreme being presented here.
This pistol immediately catches your attention. That’s because its steel frame not only has a long dust cover including a mounting rail, but also a ceramic coating in a flashy reddish metallic hue. Due to its steel lower receiver, the Tanfoglio Stock III Xtreme has a lot of heft, and its weight exceeds the 1,300 gram limit. The firearm offers a number of elements that were developed specifically for the Xtreme series. This includes the aluminum rear straps, the hammer, the spring guide rod, the striker and the front sight.
Review of Tanfoglio Stock III Xtreme
The Tanfoglio Stock III Xtreme came with a large, generously equipped case, including three reserve magazines that only had a burnished finish – this had an impact on the points for workmanship. Furthermore, the reviewers also noticed minor markings caused during production, such as on the cam track or in the magazine well, and a barrel that rattled slightly at the front (–2 points). Additioanlly, the barrel had a conventional lands and grooves rifling, and not the polygonal rifling indicated on the company website. Otherwise, the fit was solid, the slide moved noiselessly, adhering to the inner rail of the frame via suction.
The control elements, sights and trigger-frame design are entirely deserving of praise (–0 points for each): The wide safety could be operated both from the left and the right, and the hammer was easy to reach. The magazine button could be repositioned, and all elements moved cleanly and had a clearly defined click point (–0 points).
Also without reproach were the fully adjustable sights with the grooved rear sight dial (by LPA) and the front post sight with the red light collection rod. The frame with the extremely sharply defined designs on the aluminum rear straps and the checkering were designed entirely for IPSC, where such anti-slip grip components are desirable.
Trigger characteristics: In single action mode, the Tanfoglio Stock III Xtreme fired after 6 mm of slack, after slight creep and at approx. 1,850 g. This is a rather heavy trigger pull for a sports firearm (–2 points). In double-action, there was an immediate creep-free let-off: perfect. In the review category repeating cycle/safety, the Tanfoglio Stock III Xtreme kept up the good impression by managing extremely well with all ammunition tested (–0 points). Its precision was 47 mm (–7 points).
Verdict on Tanfoglio Stock III Xtreme
The Tanfoglio Stock III Extreme is a first-class pistol that has been customized precisely for its purpose, and will please more than just the fans of the older Tanfoglio Stock III. The firearm costs almost 1,500 euros, but it is a reasonable price. Our verdict: “Very good” with 89 out of 100 points.
Evaluation of Tanfoglio Stock III Xtreme in 9 mm Luger:
| Category | Points |
| Precision (max. 50 points) | 43 points |
| Repeating cycle/safety (max. 10 points) | 10 points |
| Trigger characteristics (max. 10 points) | 8 points |
| Trigger-frame design (max. 5 points) | 5 points |
| Control elements (max. 10 points) | 10 points |
| Sights (max. 5 points) | 5 points |
| Workmanship (max. 10 points) | 8 points |
| Total points (max. 100 points) | 89 points |
| Review verdict | Very good |
| Rating | 5 out of 6 |
Models, caliber and prices of the sports pistol line Tanfoglio XTREME can be found here.
For further information, please visit the manufacturer's website.
