Over the years, I’ve carried a variety of off-duty guns as a police officer. Snub nosed .38’s, .380 autos, and single-stack 9mms. When the Glock 43X came out, I moved to that and have been carrying it ever since. It’s been reliable with factory 10-round mags, but when I tried expanding my magazine capacity, I had mixed results. Fortunately for me, I came across the IWI Masada Slim Elite, and it provided the perfect solution.
The Masada Slim Elite
My Glock 43X is an early one, too, that lacks a light rail or optics cut. Since I’m running a light and a dot sight on my duty gun, I wanted to mimic that on my off-duty. So, I started looking at my options at SHOT Show back in January.
I could have gotten a newer 43X with rail and optics cut, but I was still limited to the 10-round mags without going aftermarket again. There were several other options, but one stood out to me for both features and price. The IWI Masada Slim Elite offered everything I was looking for at a price that frankly surprised me.
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The IWI Masada Slim Elite refines a proven formula. It’s a compact, no-nonsense 9mm that blends concealability with serious capability. The new Elite is built based on real-world feedback and field testing. It keeps the striker-fired, polymer-frame foundation of the original Masada Slim, while introducing targeted upgrades where they matter.
Inside, it uses an updated barrel with a longer feed ramp that broadens ammunition reliability. The trigger has been reworked with a new safety fin for smoother engagement and improved disengagement. That’s supposed to be especially helpful for shooters with smaller hands. It retains the flat-faced design of the original and delivers a clean break and a short, tactile reset.
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Barrel length is 3.4 inches with a trim slide and easier concealment. Sights consist of a clean white front dot with a blacked-out rear. The Slim Elite also shares sight cuts with the full-size Masada for cross compatibility.
Unloaded weight on the Slim Elite is 23 ounces with a 13-round magazine inserted. Standard magazine capacity is 13 rounds, although 10-round mags are available for ban states. The basic package includes a 13-round flush-fit mag and an extended 17-round mag.
The Slim Elite in Hand
The Slim Elite also has an all-new grip module. Aggressive texture improves control in stress and wet conditions. Three interchangeable backstraps let shooters customize their gun with a personalized fit. A raised trigger-guard undercut supports a higher, more secure grip as well. The flared magwell speeds up reloads without preventing manual magazine removal. All features that you see on full-sized service pistols, but that are often lacking on subcompacts.
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The new Elite is optics-ready with an RMSc Shield cut for direct mounting of micro red dots. It will fit sights like the Holosun EPS Carry or 507K X2, and Sig Romeo Zero without the need for adapters. A Picatinny-style rail provides accessory compatibility with lights such as the Streamlight TLR-7/8 Sub. Those two items were big ones on my new off-duty gun wish list.
Maintaining IWI’s modular DNA, the pistol uses a serialized steel trigger housing for simple removal, cleaning, and future configuration. The Masada Slim Elite is an evolution of the original Masada Slim, keeping its proven features and adding practical factory options that users are looking for.
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MSRP on the Masada Slim Elite is $499.99. That’s very competitive with other subcompact designs, especially with the features offered.
The Streamlight TLR7X Sub
Aside from increased capacity, the other thing I was looking for in a new off-duty gun was the ability to mount a light and optics. The Masada Slim Elite’s Picatinny accessory rail and RMSc cut slide made that easy to do.
For a light, I went with a Streamlight TLR7X Sub. It’s a compact light made for compact guns but it still puts out an impressive 500 Lumens and 5,000 Candelas. It’s powered from either a rechargeable protected lithium-ion battery pack or a CR123A lithium battery.
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Battery life is 1.5 hours on a CR123A or 1 hour on a rechargeable SL-B9. I’ve used Streamlight throughout my entire 25-or-so-year law enforcement career. So, going to the TLR7X Sub was an easy choice for me.
Shield OMSsc Red Dot Optic
For optics, I wanted something small and light, but still capable. About the same time that my Masada was shipping, I saw that Shield had a couple of new optics that would be compatible. I ended up going with the OMSsc model. That stands for Open Mini Sight Sub Compact.
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It was low-profile and weighed only 0.51 ounces without a battery. It has a simple, clean 4- or 8-MOA red-dot reticle. The OMSsc uses a CR1632 3V lithium-metal battery with a 9,000-hour lifespan.
It’s a bottom-mounted battery, which means you have to pull the sight to swap it out. I’m not thrilled with that setup, but it’s not like you’ll be swapping batteries often. It does help keep the profile amazingly small on this sight. I can deal with that.
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The OMSsc is built with an aerospace-grade anodized T6 6082 Aluminum body. An interesting aspect of it is that the top half of the housing is made from clear polymer. Shield calls it a “world first panoramic roof.”
They say that the translucent roof gives users an unparalleled field of view compared to other similar optics. It allows more light onto the photo diode, which gives a much more precise level of LED output. The transparent frame also provides a sharp and clear reflective surface, resulting in an improved sight picture and reticle.
Shooting the Masada Slim Elite
The new grip contours and texture on the Slim Elite worked well for my hand. I went with the stock backstrap, but it’s nice that you have two other options so you can get the right fit for you. The texture is aggressive enough that you have a firm grip with either bare hands or gloves, but not abrasive.
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The trigger on the Masada weighed in at an average 5.7 pounds on my trigger pull scale. That seemed pretty reasonable to me for a carry gun. I found it to be consistent and an aid in shooting.
For my first range session, I shot with iron sights. They’re good sights out of the box. If you don’t need night sights or an optic, the Masada comes with a solid option. They were well regulated for the 124gr loads I was using.
After that session, I added the Shield sight and shot with it. The dot was easy to pick up, and Shield is correct that the “panoramic roof” gives you a much better down-range field of view.
Feeding the Slim Sub-Compact
I appreciated the 13-round onboard capacity. Without having to deal with aftermarket magazines, I had a nearly 30% increase in capacity over my old off-duty gun. The provided 17-round spare magazine gave me a total capacity of 31 rounds.
I only had 21 rounds available before with my 43X if I was carrying one mag in the gun and one spare, which is what I typically do off duty. A 10-round increase while carrying the same footprint of gear is significant.
I ended up buying another 13-round magazine later, as well as a CZ 17-round mag. Yep, you heard that right. I was surprised to learn that the Masada uses the same pattern magazine as the CZ-75 series pistols. I wouldn’t have thought that such a compact gun would use the same mag as a full-sized service pistol, but they do.
The full-sized mag protrudes from the Masada Slim’s grip, but you can also run the compact CZ mags. The baseplate won’t line up like a factory Masada mag, but they feed reliably. It’s a nice option if you happen to be already running CZ’s mags or come across a good deal on them.
Reliability and Accuracy
Reliability with the Masada Slim Elite has been 100%. I’ve run a good mix of 115gr, 124gr, 135, and 147gr loads in both hollow point and various FMJ configurations. A few early malfunctions never surprise or alarm me, but I was pleased to see that the Masada had none.
Accuracy-wise, the Masada Slim Elite averaged around 1.25-inch groups at 15 yards, shooting offhand. I used a variety of weights and bullet profiles from Federal, Freedom Munitions, Remington, Speer, and Wilson Combat.
My best groups were tied between the Remington UMC load and the Federal Critical Duty load. I settled on 135gr Hornady Critical Duty loads for carry, as they shot well and I had a stash from when those were my duty rounds at my old agency.
I recently completed my off-duty qualifications with the Masada Slim for my current agency. The pistol handled the course as well as a full-sized service pistol. In fact, I actually shot the overall course a little better with it than I did my normal duty gun, and I’ve been using that gun for years.
I joked with our range master that maybe I needed to find a Level III duty holster for the Slim Elite and just start carrying it on duty, too.
The Masada Slim Elite Punches Above Its Weight Class
When I went looking for a new off-duty gun, the Masada Slim Elite checked off every box I was looking for. It was optics- and weapons-light-ready and carried a higher onboard capacity than my previous off-duty gun. It also came from a reputable company and was an evolution of a proven design.
The ergonomic upgrades made it extremely easy to shoot as well. I was impressed with the price point, too. It punches above its weight class as far as performance goes, but is priced well below a lot of the competition. The Masada Slim Elite is a little gun with the features and handling of a full-sized duty gun.
IWI Masada Slim Elite Specs
| Color | Black |
| Caliber | 9mm Parabellum |
| Action | Semi-Auto |
| Operating System | Striker Fired |
| Magazine Type | IWI, Steel |
| Magazine Capacity | 13 Round, 17 round, or 10 Round |
| Barrel Material | Button Rifled |
| Barrel Length | 3.4 inches |
| Weight | 23 ounces with magazine |
| Rifling | 1:10 RH |
| Sights | White Dot, Blacked Out Rear |
| MSRP | $499.99 |
Performance
All Groups Fired Offhand at 15 yards, Velocity is an average of 5 shots fired over a Garmin Xero C1 Pro Chronograph.
| Federal Critical Duty 135gr FT | |
| Velocity | 1018fps |
| Group | 7/8 inch |
| Federal Syntech 124gr JFN | |
| Velocity | 1091fps |
| Group | 1.3 inches |
| Freedom Munitions 124gr JRN | |
| Velocity | 983fps |
| Group | 1.75 inches |
| Remington UMC 115gr JRN | |
| Velocity | 1076fps |
| Group | 7/8 inch |
| Speer Gold Dot 147gr JHP | |
| Velocity | 875fps |
| Group | 1 15/16 inches |
| Wilson Combat 147gr JRN | |
| Velocity | 841fps |
| Group | 1 3/8 inches |
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