Chad Wallace

December 29, 2023

Review

GForce Arms Rapture

Chad Wallace

December 29, 2023

Review

I recently ran across the GForce Arms GF9 Rapture handgun. I was intrigued by this new micro-compact handgun as it has a bunch of Glock parts compatibility. So much so that I contacted GForce Arms about getting one for review. As you can figure out, GForce sent out a Rapture to do a full review on. The Rapture surprised me with all its features, especially that it can be found for around $350.

G43 on top of Rapture for size comparison. Rapture grip frame is about 1/2” longer with no magazines inserted. Picture is not a perfect representation

The Rapture is a small 9mm handgun aimed at the carry market. For comparison, it is roughly the same size as a Sig P365X. So it technically fits into the “Micro Compact” size description. The Rapture’s grip frame is larger front to rear, so it feels good in the hand, at least mine. The Rapture is still very narrow, coming in at 1.12” total. It runs a 3.25” barrel for a total length of 6.6”. The main difference in the GForce Rapture is that it has a bunch of parts compatibility with the G26. Including working in G26 holsters.

GForce Arms put a lot of work into designing the Rapture. For the polymer frame, they gave it a great usable sandpaper type texture. This texture is on the front, sides, and rear backstrap. It is also toward the front of the frame where you would rest your trigger finger or thumb. Speaking of the backstrap, the Rapture comes with 4 different ones. A 0° that comes installed on the Rapture, then a 2°, 4°, and a 6°. These options help the pistol to fit any hand size, from small to large. On the rear of the Rapture is a beavertail to help lessen the chance of slide bite. GForce Arms kept it on the smaller side, I believe, to keep the pistol compact. It still functions as expected. The grip also has some slight indents where your trigger finger and thumb rest. This aids in getting a proper trigger pull for those with smaller fingers. It also helps with hitting the large magazine release. Being fairly large, the mag release size is nice and very useful. Helping to get rid of that awful Glock knuckle, is a slightly undercut trigger guard. One of the few flaws I found with the Rapture is the lack of a rail at the front of the pistol. But, it also wouldn’t fit in standard G26 holsters if it had one. Lastly, there is a thin slide release. Amazingly, the slide release was way easier to use then I expected it to be.

When GForce Arms says the Rapture is “heavy in glock compatibility”, it is. All of the internal parts are gen 3 Glock compatible, and some of the external ones. So if you want to change out the barrel, trigger, trigger bar, slide, end plate, and sights, you can. Just use any of the readily available gen 3 aftermarket parts.

The trigger in the Rapture is decent. It starts with a flat face with a little hook on the end. Yes, there’s the little safety inside the trigger. The flipper safety seemed a bit strong, but it didn’t keep the trigger from being pulled, so it works fine. I do like the little hook on the end of the trigger. It helps a little bit to keep my finger from sliding all the way down and rubbing against the inside of the trigger guard. Trigger pull is decent, for these types of striker fired pistols. The Rapture’s trigger does have a decent break, not mushy like some gen 3 triggers are. Trigger pull weight was 5.5 lbs on my trigger pull gauge. I thought the weight was decent for a carry gun. Besides, if you want it lighter, there are plenty of parts on the market to make it anyway you want.

Sitting on top of the GForce Rapture’s frame, is a fantastic slide. Yes, the slide looks kind of blocky, until you get a good look at it. It has front and rear angled cocking serrations, These are fairly deep cut, not overly sharp, and slightly deeper at the top. These serrations work extremely well. They blend into the frame nicely and look good. Inside the slide is a nondescript barrel and dual recoil spring system. Back on top of the slide are metal fiber optic iron sights. The front is red, and the back are green, both feature anti-glare serrations. The Rapture uses standard Glock sights, a big plus if you want to change them out for higher profile ones. Why would you want higher profile sights? Because the Rapture comes cut for optics! But it doesn’t stop there. The Raptures slide is cut directly for both the RMR and RMSc (sheild) footprints. GForce Arms also includes locator pins to use with either optics. These pins also help minimize optic movement under recoil. A nice optic cover plate comes installed if you don’t wish to mount an optic on the Rapture.

I ordered up a kydex holster for the Rapture. Once it showed up, I began carrying the Rapture on and off. The gun carries nicely with an IWB holster. Being that the Rapture is not big, that helped. Probably what helped the most is the thinness of the Rapture. One thing I noticed while carrying the Rapture was how the magazine's pinky extension stuck out more than I liked. GForce doesn’t have an option for a magazine without the pinky extension. So I proceeded to dremel off the extension on one of the magazines, making it flush fit. This helped a lot in how noticeable the pistol was under just a T-shirt. I thought the sandpaper texture might cause some discomfort when carrying. To my surprise, the texture didn’t feel bad against my skin. It is only a little bit noticeable to me. The Rapture makes a decent carry gun.

The Rapture comes with 2 magazines. I would have liked to see it come with 3. But since the Rapture can be found for under $350, that didn’t hurt me too bad. Plus, extra magazines are only $25. Both the magazines sent with the Rapture are steel and hold 12 rounds each. Both have that aforementioned pinky extension. The Rapture magazines are proprietary. Also not a deal breaker for me. Remember, P365 mags are proprietary also. I have had zero problems with the Rapture magazines.

Shooting the Rapture was a pleasure. The first thing I noticed was that it didn’t have as much felt recoil. Or at least less than I was expecting from a pistol this size. I shot it with the fiber optic sights. Those sights are really easy to pick up and fairly fast. I then proceeded to mount an optic up top. I used the RMR cut option and installed a Swampfox Liberty. With this combo, the factory iron sights just peek above the optic. You can still use them as back up irons, but just barely. I ran all different weights of 9mm through the Rapture, with both the irons and an optic. The only problem I ran into was some factory reloaded ammo that wouldn’t go into battery. Not the Rapture’s fault because all the factory new ammunition I used ran flawlessly. So I would say the Rapture has more of a match chamber. In fact, the pistol ran flawlessly with zero malfunctions through about 750 rounds. No, I didn’t clean it either. I didn’t run an accuracy test on the Rapture, but I did run a dot torture with it at 5 yds. The Rapture performed well, I didn’t. I also set up my A-Zone steel at 50 yds. The Rapture didn’t have any problems reliably ringing it. So I’d say it’s more accurate then I am. When shooting and manipulating the Rapture, I also noticed that it doesn’t have any sharp edges on it, at least if you don’t count the front sight. Overall, the Rapture exceeded what I was expecting

I really hope the GForce Arms Rapture stays around. It is a very well made, American, micro compact pistol. Plus it is affordable, hitting the streets at under $350. It has 12 round capacity, is thin, has lots of Glock compatibility, comes with 4 backstraps, and can mount any of the common red dot optics. I feel you can’t go wrong with the Rapture. Check it out at GForce Arms or your local dealer.

Firearms Insider Reviews - Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Sub-Compact handgun with a lot of Glock compatibility

Target Market:

Those wanting a quality micro-compact firearm at a decent price

Features, Benefits, and Specifications of this product:

Caliber: 9mm Luger
Capacity: 12+1
Comes with 2 Magazines
Frame Material: Textured Glass Filled Polymer
Comes with 4 Backstraps: 0°, 2°, 4°, & 6°
Optic Cut for RMR or RMSc footprints
Sights: Fiber Optic - Red Front / Green Rear
Barrel Length: 3.25"
Trigger: Flat Face with hook
Weight: 22.5oz with empty magazine
Width (Overall): 1.12”
Height: 4.7” without magazine
Length (Overall): 6.62”
Highly Glock Compatible, most parts are interchangeable
Uses Glock sights
Comes with carry case that’s cut for optics
Made in USA
Assembled and tested in Reno, NV
Lifetime Warranty

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Flat Dark Earth

What others are saying?:

Nothing found as of publishing`

Link to other reviews:

Outdoor News America

Price point:

MSRP = $379.00

Retail = $329.00 at Global Ordnance or Guns.com

I need it now! Availability:

Global Ordnance, Guns.com, or your local FFL

Our Rating:

Pros:

Price
Glock compatibility
Optic cut with pins
Fiber Optic steel sights
Backstraps
Large mag release button

Cons:

No accessory rail
No flush fit magazines

Score: 8.00 Great

Favorite Link: SwampFox Liberty Review

Chad Wallace

November 3, 2023

Review, Optics

Gideon Optics Judge

Chad Wallace

November 3, 2023

Review, Optics

Another red dot sight manufacturer has entered the arena. This new sight company is Gideon Optics. Gideon has come on the market strong with an assortment of micro and mini red, and green, dot sights. I’ve known the owner of this new optics company for some years now, so I am excited to get into the “Judge” red dot that they sent out for review. The Judge is Gideon’s micro red dot reflex sight and uses the RMSc mounting footprint.

When the Judge arrived, I was excited to mount it up. Part of the reason I was excited is because I was looking for a red dot for my G43ish carry gun. The Judge fit that bill nicely as my G43 slide was already cut for a RMSc style sight. The other half of the excitement came from the Judge's auto on/off ability. In today's market, I see no reason why a red dot shouldn’t be auto on/off. Gideon also includes 4 different pairs of mounting screws. So you should have something that fits. More important, in my opinion, is that Gideon also includes a sealing plate with the Judge. This is important since the Judge uses a bottom load battery. The sealing plate does just that, it seals the battery from moisture and dust.

The Judge has an option for either a red or green dot. I chose the red dot because my eyes just seem to pick it up faster. The Judge uses a 3 MOA dot size, which is a good size for all around use. If you have an astigmatism, like I do, the dot will probably look larger because of the “flare”. Don’t worry, the Judge’s dot is fairly clear in pictures, so I know it’s me and not the sight. To adjust the 10 brightness settings, the Judge has a brightness up button on the left side and a brightness down button on the right side. I actually like this better than the red dots that have both the up/down on the same side. There’s just no doubt which button I am pushing. With the Judge, you get 90 MOA of total adjustment for windage and elevation. More importantly is that the Judge has actual clicks for the 1 MOA adjustments. These clicks are not something you find in competitors' products, but the Gideon Judge has them.

Construction of the Judge is pretty sound. You get a 7075-T6 aluminum housing, not the less durable 6061. It is also waterproof to 1 meter for 30 minutes plus. Let’s just say that I have not broken it yet. The Judge also only tips the scales at around 0.6 ounces with the 2032 battery. Probably more important to the user, is that the judge has a window size of 16x21mm. This size is really nice for such a small reflex sight. I was able to get a good sight picture fairly quickly. Essentially, the window is big enough to make it easy to find the red dot.

The Gideon Judge just runs. I can’t seem to get the Judge to stop. It has given me zero problems since day one. It’s bright with very little tint to the lens. It has held zero through all my abuse. Granted, I didn’t drop it on concrete, but I also don’t want to actually break it just to break it. I love the click adjustments. In all, I have had a good shooting experience with the Judge.

If you are in the market for a micro red dot, definitely give the Gideon Judge a look. Maybe even judge it compared to others in this market space. It has some great features at a respectable price. I might even give it style points for its looks. Even if you are looking for a different style of red dot, Gideon Optics might have what you want, so go check them out.