Cy and Lauren Hudson brought an updated version of their flagship firearm to SHOT Show this year, the Hudson H9A. We spoke with Lauren Hudson to learn what makes this new handgun so unique.

Everything I know About Physics, I learned at the playground

For starters, let’s review the H9 so you can see the differences in production models.

The H9 boasts a lower bore axis than most semi auto pistols. The locking mechanism sits against the takedown with a lower recoil spring. As a result, the recoil isn’t just reduced. The motion of the gun is actually used to the shooter’s benefit by bringing the recoil back instead of up.

In plain English, think about a see-saw on the playground. The lower the tipping point (fulcrum) of the see-saw, the greater the limit on how high the see-saw can actually rise.

On the Hudson H9, the lower bore axis means that the Browning-style barrel design doesn’t have a lot of room to rise when the gun is fired (the see-saw is the barrel).

The Hudson H9 comes with a 1911-style trigger safety.

The original H9 weighed a mere 34oz, had a steel frame, and an MSRP of $1177 in October, 2017.

The Hudson H9 debuted at SHOT Show 2017.

Enter the Dragon

The new and improved H9A has a lot of the same features as it’s older brother, but with a few modifications and improvements.

For starters, the Hudsons used an aluminum frame rather than a steel one to lighten the overall weight of the gun, taking it from the original 34oz to a mere 26oz.

Also contributing to the weight loss were the use of polymer back panels and grip inserts.

Lauren Hudson, one of the owners at Hudson Mfg, said that 90% of the H9A have parts commonality with the original H9 and even the same insert chassis. There’s still no grip safety. However, the team does have plans to launch manual safety kits, available in left-handed, right-handed, and ambi sometime mid-2018.

Hudson did not include a ship date on the H9A in order to ensure that they don’t mislead their customers.

The company has shipped more of the H9 this year than they did in all of 2017.

MSRP on the H9A is set at $947. No MSRP on the manual safety kits exist at this time.

The Hudson H9A debuted at SHOT Show 2018