The REGULUS Alpha Blackout represents the latest generation of pistols from Lionheart Industries. The pistol’s design began life as the Daewoo DP-51 which, for a time, was imported to the US as the Lionheart LH9. Lionheart Industries made a series of improvements, modernizations, and enhancements and began producing guns entirely in the United States with the REGULUS Alpha and Beta models.
Those pistols, though, were absolutely beautiful. As an importer became a manufacturer, the cost was high and many found the price tag a bit steep to try a relatively unknown, boutique-grade pistol. A deep-dive explanation of the different models can be seen here.
Much of that has changed with the new Lionheart Industries. The company has moved to Georgia and is now producing all of the components in-house. This permits better cost and quality control.
Combined with some minor tweaks, the new REGULUS line of pistols is available at a much lower cost. As a fan of the originals we were curious about the new pistols. To see the new model up close, watch the tabletop video below . . .
Specifications below as taken directly from the Lionheart Industries website.
Aside from being an American-made, all-metal, hammer-fired gun, what really sets the Lionheart REGULUS apart is its Double-Action Plus feature. As the gun features a safety, but not a decocker, Double-Action Plus offers another trigger option.
With the pistol cocked, the user can simply push the hammer forward. Doing so returns the trigger to the double-action length of pull, but retains the lighter single action pull weight. There’s a slight bump in the pull as the trigger re-engages into single action.
This reminds me somewhat of the Walther P99AS “Anti-Stress” mode trigger as it provides the shooter just an extra moment to be sure of their shot, or to cancel it should circumstances change.
Tactical application of such a trigger mode unfortunately requires some maturity and training that few seem to appreciate. This is especially true among those who have learned purely on striker-fired guns and find two trigger modes challenging.
I would have been one of those if not for combat experience. While under fire in Afghanistan I never felt the GI trigger in my M16 to be too heavy or long, and later translated that lesson as a civilian in pistol training. I realized that while calm and not under stress, a striker-fired gun was quicker, easier, and built more confidence than a DA/SA. But under sudden attack it might prove a bit too short and light.
Only the individual can decide for him or herself, but I don’t mind a longer pull when each round fired could have a lawsuit attached to it.
Although we’ve experienced nothing but great results from Lionhearts in the past, we test all pistols the same way. Our battery includes the basics to see how a gun runs while collecting thoughts on the gun.
This battery includes filming our very first shots, full magazine +1, the trademarked What’s For Dinner test to see what a gun will eat (10 different loads representing a breadth of case material, projectile weight, and projectile shape), a sight and trigger control test, and finally some practical accuracy before giving concluding thoughts.
You can watch these tests in the video below. (Be warned, YouTube has restricted this video for showing how to attach a bump stock, facilitating firearm sales, and other craziness.)
Both shooters were a couple of weeks out of practice, but it was interesting that we both needed some time to get accustomed to the gun. The first few minutes of our Shooting Impressions test weren’t impressive shooting moments, but as we warmed up to the gun performance improved.
In my XXL-glove hands I found that resting my firing-hand thumb on the safety caused a gap to open in my grip, and the fiber-optic front sight’s tube was too thick for precise shooting (under a bright sky, the tube was so bright I couldn’t see the edges of the front blade clearly). For smaller-handed Teya Freeman the grip texture could have been a bit more aggressive.
These are all a matter of personal preference and fortunately easily changed. The sight cuts are Novak 1911 so there are hundreds of options and other grip options exist as well. The trigger isn’t as crisp or light as one might expect from a single action, but that also makes it a bit more appropriate for carry.
In an era when American-made, all-metal, hammer-fired pistols are uncommon, it’s nice to have an option like the REGULUS.
Specifications: Lionheart Industries REGULUS Alpha Blackout
Caliber: 9mm
Trigger mechanism: Hammer-fired
Standard magazine capacity: 18
Length: 7.4″
Barrel length: 4.1″
Weight: 27.3oz
Price: $999
Ratings (out of five stars):
Reliability * * * * *
With 11 loads tested of various various projectile shapes and weights, not one of them malfunctioned.
Ergonomics * * * *
The REGULUS Alpha’s shape has a natural feel without any edges jamming into the palm. Slightly more aggressive texturing would be preferred.
Accuracy * * * *
The pistol is mechanically accurate, but a slightly squishy trigger break and large fiber-optic front sight add challenge to printing tight groups.
Concealability * * * *
Although larger than many common carry guns, the rounded shape of the grip makes printing less obvious.
Overall: * * * *
There’s no doubt this is a very solid platform, and one of very a few fitting a specific sector in the handgun market. The only reason I can’t five-star this gun is because, in an effort to be a jack-of-all-trades it doesn’t excel in any particular category. The Lionheart REGULUS Alpha can, however, serve multiple purposes as a collection pride piece, a comfy range gun, and very capable carry pistol.
testing
$999, that should buy 10 gallons of gas, a gallon of milk a loaf of bread and a can of tuna fish
Let’s Go Brandon
Cost of living must be cheap where you’re at. My wife paid 6.35 for a gallon of gas today.
The son of a beach is gonna break us. theBiden wasn’t joking when he said when gas is $15 a gallon we’ll be happy to buy an electric car.
Just remember Possum both the Republicans and Democrats voted to fund the Ukraine and its war with Russia and put sanctions on Russian oil.
Less then 8% is imported from ruska
Graham sure does enjoy reminding we “civilians” about his time in “combat”. Huh.
I learned a lot about shooting and what happens under stress. While lots of folks like to theorize, but we don’t hear much from those who have been there. It took time for me to digest it all, so now I do what I can to impart that knowledge.
Lets review the sorry history of this pistol.
When it was first imported from South Korea the American Rifleman reported that the accuracy was so bad that even at close range the groups look like a shotgun blast. Supposedly Lion Heart Industries improved the accuracy but I have my doubts because the guns that were coming in from Korea a year or so ago were being dumped in my area by the basket full. As a matter of fact I know where there are two of them right now in a gun store that have been sitting there under consignment now for over a year and both are in like new condition. No one wants them.
Now lets look at this strange ignition system.
It was originally developed by FN and it was actually entered in some military test trials, its been so long I cannot remember if any were in the U.S. test trials or not. At any rate FN had no success selling this concept pistol to any nations. I believe they then licensed this system to the Korean military because they were using it the last I heard.
The advantages of this strange system is one of psychology, not any advantage mechanically, nor are they any safer to carry than carrying a pistol cocked and locked. The hammer down but internally cocked is not any safer to carry. I find this system totally useless and probably more likely to cause an accidental discharge. I might add all the additional parts in this pistol over the traditional single action pistol make it much more likely to eventually cause the weapon to suffer from a failed part.
If you like weird odd ball semi-auto pistols you might want one for your collection but be aware of what you are buying.
The Lungbuster!
By the way to clarify how this pistol works. You can push the hammer forward to the down position. When you get ready to fire you flip the safety and the hammer flies back to full cock and you are in the single action mode. In reality the hammer although down is still in the single action mode even with the hammer pushed forward, its just that you cannot see this because its all done internally.
Notice the accuracy test was done at only 7 yards. This is an old gun writer trick to mask the inaccuracy of some pistols rather than testing them at the usual 25 yards. The group shown would be very accurate if it had been a 25 yard group but certainly not a good group at 7 yards.
Have you ever shot one? I have an LH9N and it’s a very accurate weapon. I carried it daily until I moved to Florida. Here I carry a Hellcat because it doesn’t print in shorts & a tee.
Warren Page once said that his Asian mathematics professor once told him “The definition of Accuracy varies greatly among its users”.
We call it “practical accuracy” because 7 yards is a practical distance. Most defensive shooting happen within that distance so it’s how we practice. At 25 yards the shooter’s eyesight can put an undue influence on the results depending on sights and target, neither of which influence mechanical accuracy. Slap a red dot on a gun and shoot tigher; does the gun become mechanically more accurate? No, it simply becomes easier to aim precisely.
Red dot or no Red dot at 25 yards the groups would have been much bigger. At our shooting club I have seen people with iron sights beat people using red dots.
Must be the fake dacian.
That’s not quite how it works. When the hammer is cocked but in the forward position, there is a long but extremely light trigger pull that brings the hammer back to the cocked position. At that point the trigger works as a single action pull.
I had both a Daewoo DP51 and DP51C. They were nice guns and shot well, but I just didn’t like how they felt in my hands. Personally I felt like they needed a larger undercut of the trigger guard, but then you would need to move the mag catch and use different magazines.
Been following Lionheart over the years drooling every time I see one of their pistols. Like a perfect blend of function and beauty. I must have one of these when I lay alone at night.
CC, well when you finally do lay alone at night with one, exercise proper Gun Control Sense. Not only could you go blind you might now even blow a lung out. Or two.
Now with our new Lung Blasting technology!
Walked into the shop where I do all things gun about two years ago and the owner had an LH9 in excellent condition with 15 new magazines still in the packaging. $650.00 he said. I passed. I’m an idiot.
I’ll stick with my LH9N bought at their last Black Friday sale for $499. THe gun is great and the double action + is great for carry.
LOL. Go ahead and rub my nose in it. It is my just deserts and keeps me humble and honest. 😂😂😂
Much lower cost?!?!?! When was a non imported model not 1k?
I really enjoyed my LH9 back in the day. I’d be open to trying one of these, but that price tag is a little steep for a gun that doesn’t have optics mounting options from the factory.
It’s like they took a list of ways to modernize their handgun, saw what people wanted, and then only did some of them. They are pretty though
somehow missed this review ’til now.
the old ones look very hipowery, the latest a bit whoopskerdoodle. but me likey. daewoo makes some cool stuff.
re: double action plus (can’t not think of double secret probation), i have no qualms refuting what dingdong said above… i believe i’d carry this cocked, hammer pushed forward into super special mode with the safety off, and that the trigger would pull the hammer back before releasing. no?
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Do they still take 5906 mags?
$999 seems a bit high, between a Rex and a Sig 226.
Yes, it will still take 59 series mags, but they are a little wobbly in the grip. The new mags are slightly wider to accommodate the increased capacity, similar to the differences between the CZ75 and the P07/09. The new Regulus specific mags will not fit in the DP51/LH9
but does it take gLoCk MaGz
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