My world revolves around modifying and upgrading firearms to be “race-ready” for shooting competitions. Many manufacturers are upping the quality of their stock firearms, including optic cuts, optic plates, fiber optic sights, and even custom shop additions. However, not many are race-ready out of the box. So, if you’re into turning a stock firearm into a racehorse, let’s talk about this custom IWI (Israel Weapons Industries) Jericho 941 topped off with a Trijicon RMR.
Tricking Out the IWI Jericho 941
This gun was modified before being sent to me. However, it’s important to note that if you don’t know how to swap the pistol’s internal parts, be sure to take it to a qualified gunsmith.
Upgrades that Matter
One of the best pieces of advice I was given starting out in competitive shooting—and advice that I pass on today—is to run whatever gun you’ve got. In fact, it’s even better to run a stock gun in competition before ever making modifications. This allows you to understand better what you do and don’t like.
The aftermarket world for firearm upgrades is heavily invested in creating options for shooters. Companies understand that one size doesn’t fit all. Materials, textures, sizes, and even colors are all options aftermarket manufacturers consider before developing products for guns.
Upgrades that matter are the firearm’s fit to you and the pistol’s performance. Everything else is extra or aesthetics. A proper grip is essential for shooting any firearm well. So, having a grip that fits your hand with enough texture for holding onto the gun while shooting is important.
Likewise, you must trust your pistol to function and run reliably with whatever ammunition you shoot through it. This is why upgrading the internal components related to the hammer, firing pin, springs, and more can improve the functionality of a handgun.
In firearms like the Jericho 941—a double-action pistol—this can be a game changer by making the double-action trigger easier to pull (and sometimes to reach). Let’s enter the world of aftermarket accessories and customization.
Grip Panels and Base Pads by Dissident Arms
Dissident Arms (DA) takes some high-quality and not-so-high-quality firearms and turns them into ultimate race guns. The company builds some of the fastest and best-performing PCCs, mag-fed and tube-fed shotguns, and rifles of the AK variety. These guns are built off already existing platforms but are almost unrecognizable after DA gets a hold of them.
DA offers a total package called the Jericho 941 ELITE. It includes the gun, slide milling for an optic cut, brass guide rod, tons of spring upgrades, grip panels, magazine release extension, ambidextrous safety, and more. If you’re looking for a one-stop shop to do it all, DA is the way to go.
If not, the grip panels and magazine base pad extensions are sold separately. The grip panels come in your choice of brass or aluminum and thick (Thicc model) or thin. The brass grips add more weight to the gun and help reduce the felt recoil.
Dissident Arms also offers brass and aluminum IWI Jericho 941 magazine extensions. When installed on the factory 16-round magazine, these base pads change to a capacity of 21 rounds. The overall length after the base pad extension is still legal in USPSA shooting sports and meets the 140mm magazine gauge.
For more information, please visit DissidentArms.com.
IWI Pro Package by Cajun Gun Works
Cajun Gun Works (CGW) is owned and operated by David Milam, who has decades of experience shooting and modifying handguns. His focus is custom work for the CZ platform guns. When he and his team get a firearm in to work on, they hand polish, hand fit, and hand-tune each gun for its intended usage.
I wish I could show you his incredible work on the Jericho 941 steel frame pistol. This handgun has a smooth action, runs reliably with half a dozen ammunitions I tested through it, and is a dream to shoot.
The double-action trigger is easy to reach and easy to pull, and the single-action trigger is best described as spicy. It’s a trigger pull that truly surprises you, and I love that about it.
Here’s what’s included in the IWI Pro Package:
- CGW high-performance hammer
- CGW adjustable sear with secondary angle
- “Hybrid” CGW disconnector
- Heat-treated pins to replace the factory roll pins
- Extended firing pin with a reduced power spring
- CGW music wire 13-pound hammer spring
- Stainless steel, dual adjustable trigger (pre- and over-travel) with a reduced radius
These internal parts help prevent light hammer strikes, help the slide move without causing ejection or feeding issues (even with a red dot optic mounted), and increase the longevity of the performance of the pistol.
The modifications were designed with competitive shooters in mind to make the gun perform and function even better.
For more information, please visit CajunGunWorks.com.
Slide Milling by Impact Machine
Impact Machine is a Louisiana-based company offering professional CNC machining services beyond slide milling services like barrel porting and slide cuts. The company advertises that if you can dream it, they can do it!
The Jericho 941 steel frame pistol isn’t optics-ready. So, you will need to have the slide milled to mount a red dot optic onto the gun. Impact Machine offers direct mounting options for almost any red dot footprint on the market. The slide milling on the Jericho 941 removes the rear iron sight.
For more information, please visit ImpactCNCMachine.com.
Running the Trijicon RMR on the Jericho 941
It’s hard to beat the rugged Trijicon RMR when it comes to a direct slide-mounted red dot optic. It’s a great all-around optic for competitive shooting, concealed carry, law enforcement or military use, or simple target shooting.
The patented housing shape absorbs impacts and diverts stresses away from the lens to increase the optic’s durability. Additionally, its low profile makes it easier to conceal on a carry gun.
The brightness adjustment buttons are easy to use, especially with gloves on. Finally, with multiple reticle size options, you can pick the best optic for your intended use.
For more information, please visit Trijicon.com.
Shooting Competition Performance Pistol
The Jericho 941 steel frame pistol, paired with these custom upgrades, is a machine built to race in shooting competitions. From USPSA to 3 Gun, IDPA, Steel Challenge, and more, this gun can race along the best of them. In fact, this gun was used by one of the top shooters in the 2023 Carry Optics Nationals event and performed flawlessly.
The Carry Optics division specifically has an approved gun list on the USPSA website. For this division, any double-action gun must have the hammer down or de-cocked before holstering or starting a stage. This means that if you want to race with the Jericho 941, the first shot fired will be in double action.
The Cajun Gun Works Pro Package for this pistol truly makes a world of difference when firing the gun in double-action mode. Follow-up shots after that are a breeze with a short reset into single-action mode. The single-action trigger is so fast that the top shooters can split shots within a tenth of a second.
The weight of the steel frame Jericho, combined with the additional weight from the Dissident Arms brass grips and base pads, helps mitigate the gun’s felt recoil. Because of their lightweight design, polymer-framed guns have much more felt recoil than their steel-framed counterparts. In terms of felt recoil, ammunition choice will also play a factor in how the gun feels when recoiling.
Running the Right Ammo
After chronographing the gun with Hornady and Federal ammunition, I was semi-surprised at the results. Both 124-grain 9mm ammunition were slightly faster than the 115-grain bullets. The 138-grain ammunition shot a lot slower, as expected, than the other ammunition types. The heavier projectiles did help the gun feel as if it shot a little flatter with a smoother sight return.
All this data is useful, but ultimately, what ammunition performs best in a gun can be a personal preference. Different ammo will affect how a gun recoils, how much the sight lifts, and how quickly the slide returns to your original sight alignment.
Some shooters enjoy a faster-moving bullet for a faster slide return. However, others prefer a slower bullet with less felt recoil to manage the gun more easily.
In the Jericho 941, we might be talking about microns of a difference. But at a high level of competitive shooting, these are the things that can really make a difference.
A Testament to the IWI Team
I couldn’t write this article without sharing a little about Israel Weapon Industries and the team behind the brand. The IWI brand started in 1933 under the name Israel Military Industries. The company developed small arms systems, and eventually, the UZI was developed along with all the popular firearms we’ve heard of today: the Tavor, X95, Negev, Galil ACE, and Jericho.
In 2013, IWI US began operations and brought the first commercial versions of the Tavor SAR to the US Market. IWI US launched a law enforcement division and continues to innovate with new products and updates to former versions. The company’s US headquarters is in Pennsylvania.
IWI is a huge supporter of shooting sports, from 3 Gun to 2 Gun, USPSA, PRS, and more. We all need to take more notice of their support and sponsorship of many of the events we shooters attend all over the country. They keep our prize tables stocked and help make our matches a reality.
The team at IWI is also one of the few in the firearms industry that will travel to a match and not just table but compete. I’ve personally squadded with and shot with half a dozen IWI employees who can run a gun with the best of them.
From AK Masters to 3 Man 3 Gun, they will put their firearms to the ultimate test in competition. How many other firearms manufacturers have employees who shoot, compete, and run their manufactured firearms in competition?
Final Nuggets
The fastest racehorse in the world can’t outperform a poor rider. You still need some solid fundamentals to compete at a high level. That said, the IWI Jericho 941 steel frame pistol upgraded with Cajun Gun Works parts, machined by Impact Machine, and accessorized by Dissident Arms is a great start into the world of competitive shooting.
It will outperform you and make shooting a pistol much more pleasant.
For more information, please visit IWI.us.
IWI Jericho 941 F9 Specs
| Caliber | 9mm |
| Barrel Length | 4.4 inches |
| Barrel Material | Button-Rifled, Nitride |
| Overall Length | 8.2 inches |
| Weight | 2.3 pounds |
| Sights | Adjustable Sights |
| Magazine Capacity | 16 rounds |
| Safety | External Thumb Safety |
| MSRP | $655.00 |
Aftermarket Upgrade Specs
| Cajun Gun Works IWI Pro Package | $293.00 |
| Impact Machine Optic Cut | Starts at $255.00 |
| Dissident Arms Jericho 941 Magazine Extension | $38.00 without replacement follower and spring, $57.00 with replacement follower and spring |
| Dissident Arms Jericho Grip Panels – Thicc Aggressive Texture Brass | $129.00 |
Test Firing Results
| Ammunition | Velocity (The average of five rounds chronographed using a LabRadar Chrono) | Accuracy (Best five-shot groups at 15 yards in inches) |
| Hornady Black 124 grain XTP | 1133 FPS | 1 inch |
| Federal Personal Defense Punch 124 grain | 1143 FPS | 1.25 inches |
| Hornady Critical Defense 115 grain FTX | 1126 FPS | 1.25 inches |
| Federal Syntech Defense 138 grain | 1055 FPS | 1.25 inches |
