Lone Wolf Arms is an American manufacturer that has been in the business of improving upon Glock’s “perfection” for nearly three decades. The company started out by offering a few upgrades. But over time, the company’s catalog of components has expanded significantly. Once Lone Wolf started making its own serial-numbered frames, the company began offering factory complete pistols like the LTD19 V1 and Dusk models.
For 2025, Lone Wolf chose to launch a fresh series of semi-automatics built around its time-tested, in-house Timberwolf frames. Various configurations of this frame have been available for several years, and they have proven to be well-made, durable and reliable. A few years ago, I enjoyed the results of pairing a standard-size Glock Gen3 G21 .45 ACP slide assembly with a hybrid Timberwolf frame featuring a subcompact double-stack grip. The result was essentially a G30L that proved to be enjoyable to shoot and comfortable to carry.
Before assembling that .45 ACP pistol, Glock had already begun to dabble in hybrid, or crossover, pistol configurations. The first of these, dubbed the 19X, was released in 2017. Simply stated, the 19X sports a compact G19-size slide assembly, fitted with a 4.02″ barrel, and a G17-length grip frame that can accommodate 17-round magazines. The result is a pistol that carries more like a compact but without sacrificing any ammunition capacity.
As part of this year’s Timberwolf series, Lone Wolf included a 19X configuration of their own with the model abbreviation TW19X. It, too, has a compact slide and a standard grip as the designation implies. But, beyond that, no one is going to mistake this short-recoil–operated, locked-breech, semi-automatic pistol for a Glock.
The TW19X sent for this evaluation is the all-black version with a matte-black nitride finish applied to the barrel and slide. The slide is milled from billets of high-strength 17-4 stainless steel, which is heat treated for added durability. This pistol features the company’s latest slide design sporting sleek bevels and just about as much canted cocking serration as possible. A set of anti-glare serrations are cut into the top of the slide between the front sight and the ejection port. Care was taken to ensure this slide’s profile is compatible with most G19-size holsters.
The pistol arrived with a set of Night Fision Lower 1/3 Height Sights installed. In this case, these sights were just tall enough to provide an unobstructed sight picture through the optic used without being so tall as to impede a proper holster fit. The front sight has a bright yellow/green injection-molded sleeve supporting a Tritium lamp that makes it easy to see in both daylight and low-light conditions.
The square-notch rear sight sports anti-glare serrations and is drift adjustable for windage. The slide’s optic cutout is sized for Trijicon’s RMR/SRO or Holosun’s 407/507/508 footprint. Optics with this base shape can be mounted directly to the slide without the need for an adapter plate. A steel plate is provided to fill the slot when no optic is in use. The slide’s endplate has been upgraded from the typical polymer component with a checkered aluminum plate.
The 3.9″ barrel is made from 416 stainless steel that has been heat-treated to increase its strength. It has a recessed crown and an improved feed ramp configured for added chamber support. The six-groove button rifling is of a traditional land-and-groove variety compatible for use with jacketed, plated or lead bullets. The recoil assembly consists of a full-length steel guide that captures a single flat-wire recoil spring.
The signature Timberwolf frame is fitted with a removable adapter inside of the dustcover, which makes it compatible with Glock Gen 3 and Gen 4 slide assemblies. The outside of the dustcover is shaped to serve as a 1.5″ long, two-slot accessory rail. The square profile trigger guard is generously undercut where it meets the grip frame for improved shooting hand comfort.
The external controls follow the familiar Glock-style layout including the takedown lever, the left-side extended slide stop lever and the reversible oversized magazine release button. This model ships with Lone Wolf’s Enhanced Flat Trigger (EFT) with a flat-faced aluminum trigger shoe that’s fitted with an integral safety lever. This particular trigger exhibited a 5-lb., 5-oz. pull-weight according to a digital trigger gauge, but it felt lighter than that. This is because Lone Wolf reworked the EFT to reduce the peak force required to cycle it by 30 percent. The result is a smooth trigger pull that feels lighter and more consistent from start to finish.
The G17-size grip frame features textured grooves along the front strap with effective blunted pyramidal texturing on the remaining three sides. The beavertail extension and radius allows for a higher shooting grip, which, in turn, lowers the bore axis for improved recoil management. Two interchangeable backstraps are provided, one with a curved profile while the other is straight.
The frame incorporates this company’s Enhanced Grip Angle, which is intended to provide a more natural feel. A removable, low-profile polymer magazine well adapter aids in quicker reloads without the bulk or added weight of competition-style adapters. This pistol accepts G17-type magazines including Glock factory and third-party options. The gun arrived with two KCI USA 17-round metal-lined magazines in the case.
In recent years, the micro red-dot optics have become firmly entrenched as a must-have accessory for defensive pistols. Now that we have that out of the way, the conversations have turned to the details of those optics, including housing configurations, illumination source, objective lens size and so on. Some folks are going with the compact, fully enclosed and simple to operate optics for their defensive pistols. The Holosun SCS Carry (as seen in this review) is a good example of this class. But, there’s something to be said for installing an optic with a larger objective lens and more reticle settings.
The Holosun 507 Competition (HE507COMP-GR; $470) was a perfect fit and provides a roomy 1.1” x 0.87” objective lens. The bright green reticle, which uses Holosun’s Super LED technology, is made up of a central 2-m.o.a. dot encompassed by 8-, 20- and 32-m.o.a. circles that can be turned on and off to provide a variety of configurations. Weighing 1.7 ozs., other features include a 7075-aluminum housing, adjustable brightness settings, Shake Awake technology and up to 50k hours of runtime using a single 1632 button-cell battery. This optic was used throughout the course of informal and formal testing.
A great fit for carrying this hybrid pistol is the Mission First Tactical (MFT) Hybrid holster. To be completely honest here, when I saw the early press release, this holster series seemed like a gimmick. I had to wear one for a while in order to fully appreciate the design.
Shown here is the in-the-waistband Hybrid configured for Glock G19, G23 and G44 pistols. Weighing in at 3.1 ozs., the lightweight Kydex core is wrapped in a thin layer of full-grain leather available in black (shown) or brown finishes. The wide, polymer belt clip is reversible and adjustable for cant. Wrapping this holster in leather rounds off the Kydex edges and aids in wicking away sweat. The result is an impressively comfortable holster-to-body fit for all-day concealed carry. Pricing starts at $70.
At the shooting range, three 17-round magazines were used for function testing, including one of the two KCI USA units provided with the pistol, a Glock Gen 3 and a Magpul PMAG. To mix things up a bit, an Extar 18-round and an Elite Tactical Systems (ETS) 20-round magazine were added to the mix. All five magazines locked in tightly, stayed put, fed properly and dropped free when the magazine release was depressed.
The only ammunition-related issue to crop up was a couple of stovepipes early on when warming up the gun using Belom 124-grain full-metal jacket, which is a Serbian practice-grade ammunition. They both occurred during the first 30 rounds through the pistol, and then they ejected properly after that. This load has a listed velocity of 1,115 f.p.s., making for a muzzle energy figure of 342 ft.-lbs. However, the 10-shot string fired next to a Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph showed that the load was averaging 965 f.p.s. for 256 ft.-lbs. of energy.
This means the operating pressures were low, even for intentionally subsonic rounds, which would explain the stovepipes. It was the ammunition, not the gun. But because the malfunctions stopped after the first couple of magazines, I went ahead and included the Belom in the formal accuracy testing for the practice-grade slot. Here are the rest of the formal, benchrested range test results conducted at 15 yards including defense-grade loads made by Barnes Bullets and Hornady:
When Gaston Glock launched his pistols back in the mid 1980s, the advertising consisted of a single word: Perfection. After shooting the Lone Wolf TW19X, a two-word description will do the trick: Design Elevated. There is nothing particularly earth-shattering about this pistol, which is a good thing. Wandering too far from the original striker-fired design would make it unfamiliar and possibly less reliable.
Instead, Lone Wolf hones in on incremental updates and upgrades resulting in a sum that is greater than its parts, and for a fair price. The TW19X is a well-thought-out multi-purpose 9 mm that can comfortably traverse the roles of casual plinking, serious training, concealed carry and home defense. For more information, visit lonewolfdist.com.
Lone Wolf TW19X Specifications
Manufacturer: Lone Wolf Arms, U.S.A.
Action Type: short-recoil–operated, semi-automatic, centerfire pistol
Chambering: 9 mm Luger
Barrel: 3.9″ 416 stainless steel, black nitride finish
Rifling: six-groove, 1:16″ RH-twist
Frame: textured black polymer
Slide: 17-4 stainless steel, black nitride finish
Magazine: 17-round detachable box; KCI USA
Sights: Night Fision lower 1/3 height; Perfect Dot front, serrated square-notch rear
Trigger: single-action, 5-lb., 5-oz. pull
Overall Length: 7.05″
Height: 5.63”
Width: 1” slide; 1.15″ grip
Weight: 22.7 ozs. (with empty 17-round magazine, sans optic)
Accessories: owner’s manual, foam-lined case, two magazines, two backstraps, lock
MSRP: $699.95
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