When I first saw the Laugo Alien pistol, it reminded me a little of the M6C Halo Magnum. All it needed was 12.7mm exploding armor-piercing rounds, a ridiculous melee animation, and a Captain to hand it to you with no ammo during an assault on the Pillar of Autumn. Sir, what the fuck!
If you’re unfamiliar, the Laugo Alien is a Czech-made competition pistol imported by Lancer Systems in the U.S. Its design stands out starkly from other popular semi-auto target guns, particularly the orientation of the barrel, which sits below the top of the frame rather than above it.
This lowers the bore axis to be more in line with the shooter’s hand and arm. But you don’t realize how different it really is until you see the Laugo in action or — if you’re lucky — until you get to shoot one.
When the slide is pulled back, you’ll notice the sights and barrel remain stationary and do not move when the gun is fired. The barrel is actually mounted to the frame, and the sights are mounted to a rib that mounts to the frame around the reciprocating slide. This keeps the sights and barrel perfectly aligned and zeroed.
I spent about two months with the Alien and found that it was more than just a futuristic-looking gun. It’s the Ferrari F1 of pistols, with a relative price tag to match.
First Impressions and Features
The first thing I noticed about the all-steel Laugo is that the pistol is incredibly heavy — more than 2.5 pounds unloaded, which is absolutely bonkers for a 9mm carry pistol, but totally expected on a competition gun. The heavier the gun, the less felt recoil, and the better it stays on target for follow-up shots.
The grip texture is aggressive and will likely tear up your hands unless you’ve got significant callusing or wear gloves. The grip angle is similar to a Glock and requires the shooter to tilt their hand slightly forward when presenting.
The magazine well is flared for fast reloads during competition, and the magazines themselves feature an extended baseplate, which adds an extra round to the mag’s capacity while also making the mags easier to grab and slam home.
The frame features a three-slot Picatinny rail to allow you to attach lights, lasers, or weights to reduce muzzle climb, but that might impede the use of the included holster and require a custom job.
Those are all pretty standard centerfire competition pistol features, so let’s get to what makes the Alien unique.
The extremely low bore axis keeps the barrel level with your wrist and arm and prevents leverage that would cause muzzle flip due to the barrel being higher than your wrist. It’s a similar concept utilized by the Chiappa Rhino revolver, which aligns the barrel with the bottom chamber of the cylinder rather than the top one.
Unlike pistol designs that use a Browning-style tilting barrel, the Alien’s fixed barrel will not move a bit between shots. Again, this design element improves accuracy.
The unconventional arrangement of the pistol’s components means it operates a bit differently than other semi-autos. Because of the stationary top strap to which the sights are mounted, a shooter can’t grab the top of the slide to manipulate it and must instead grab the significant serrations at the rear of the slide. However, there are generous front slide serrations for press checks.
Speaking of red dots, the base Alien pistol’s slide will not accept a red dot, but the Laugo Alien Retro variant includes a red-dot mount with a footprint for the Trijicon SRO, RMR, Leupold DeltaPoint and similar red dots.
On that specific model, the red dot is mounted on the reciprocating portion of the slide so that it is compliant with IPSC Production Optics Division rules.
It is also possible to mount a red dot on the top strap of a standard Alien with an adapter that replaces the rear sight. The Laugo Alien Full Kit comes with an additional top strap that’s red-dot ready and a Laugo brand red dot.
The slide release is a bit tricky to use. I gave up on it and resorted to slingshotting the slide for reloads.
Because you choke up so high on the gun, I also had trouble with my hand interacting with the slide stop while shooting. More than once this locked the slide open and caused an unintended stoppage.
The stock trigger is as good as any pistol trigger I’ve ever pressed; it’s even better than the triggers on Staccato 2011s or a CZ 75 Tactical Sporting.
Let’s talk about that top strap some more and the gun’s iron sights, which are unlike anything else on the market. They’re mounted directly to the top strap, which is a strip of metal that’s mounted to the frame of the pistol with a captive retaining pin and provides stability to the central slide portion. T
The design keeps the sights completely stationary while firing and allows the shooter to swap between iron sights and an optic without losing zero.
The top strap also incorporates the gun’s hammer, which swings downward rather than upward. The movement doesn’t meaningfully affect function compared to other handguns, but it does result in a vastly better trigger than any striker-fired Glock or SIG.
The vented top strap also covers the gas system. That’s right, this is no blowback handgun. A gas piston fits into a port in the barrel’s chamber block. This ensures the slide remains closed and locked until the chamber pressure drops. Beware: after sustained fire, the top strap gets very hot — hot enough to cause some heat mirage effect above the barrel.
The Laugo Alien comes with a holster — and it’s terrible. That’s the plain truth. It’s a simple, taco-style Kydex holster mounted to an Elornis mount, which costs 500 Euros across the pond. It sucks because the adjustable retention is too tight or too loose. It’s difficult to draw the pistol without using your support hand to hold the belt or holster still when it’s tightened down enough to reliably retain the pistol.
A leg strap will fix the problem, but it’s not included. What’s more, the Laugo pistol is so unusual that almost no other holster will fit — a custom holster is the only option at the moment. Not great for a gun that retails for more than $5,000.
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Competition Performance
The Laugo Alien is a competition pistol, so the only way to properly test it was to shoot a competition with it. I partnered with my friend and fellow Marine Mike Mayo, who participated in the 2022 Patriot Games in Virginia.
The two-day event challenged competitors’ physical ability and marksmanship skills. It involved a combination of shooting, running, weightlifting, and other strenuous activities, all while wearing body armor and other personal protective equipment.
As such, the challenge for the Alien was about more than shooting straight; the pistol also had to endure environmental hazards, such as sand and dirt, which were plentiful on the cross-country running courses.
The Patriot Games was a solid test to see if this wild pistol design has the potential to break into more tactical roles.
The results? The pistol performed admirably, and Mayo scored some great hits. Although the gun was a bit awkward to run with due to its weight, he made shots on small targets at 25 yards and farther. And despite it being Mayo’s first formal competition, he placed 11th overall.
The big takeaway is this: The Alien is a heavy pistol with light recoil. That, combined with the low-bore axis and gas-delayed operating system, made follow-up shots easier. It also allowed Mayo to transition from target to target without spending too much time or effort re-leveling his sights. But is it worth the price?
Laugo Alien Performance: Static Range
In addition to heavy competition use, we tested this handgun on several static ranges. We let shooters of varying experience levels test the Alien and see how well they did.
Nearly everyone — novice and experienced shooters alike — was blown away by the light recoil of the Alien and by its amazing trigger, which allowed them to more readily appreciate how accurate or inaccurate they were and adjust accordingly.
We also tested the claims made two years ago by Larry Vickers and other YouTubers that the Laugo doesn’t feed hollowpoints reliably due to an overly steep feed ramp. It seems that Laugo has rectified these issues, or it came down to ammunition choice. The pistol Mayo and I used fed Hornady Critical Defense, Sellier & Bellot hollowpoints, and Federal HST with no problems.
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Some Drawbacks of the Laugo Alien Pistol Design
The main issue that you’ll encounter with the Laugo Alien is the uncommon design. Compared to what you’re used to, it can be hard to clean, fix, and sometimes shoot, and you won’t be able to find gear for it.
The gas system runs very hot and dirty — so much so that the heat becomes unbearable after a few mags. Plus, if you want to replace the fixed barrel, which you may want to do if you use it as a race gun as intended, it’ll require armorer-level maintenance.
On the range, the Alien shoots slightly slower than a traditional semi-automatic handgun because of the gas-delayed action, so no Jerry Miculek–level rapid firing. Also, it’s oriented for right-handed shooters only with no reversible or alternate controls.
Of course, we have to mention the price. The Laugo Alien retails for $5,200, but you’ll find it listed online for well north of that price — sometimes over $8,000. That’s why hardly anyone owns one and why there are no holsters or aftermarket accessories for the Alien. If you want the Full Kit version described above, that will run you $6,250 from Lancer, but again, you will find it priced much higher elsewhere.
The Takeaway
Like the Ferrari F1, the Laugo Alien is built for high performance. It isn’t meant to make anyone better, but rather, it’s meant for those who want to invest the time and money to maximize their potential. While the Alien’s price tag is high, it isn’t ridiculously high compared to competition-grade pistols by CZ, Dan Wesson, Staccato, and others.
The difference, though, is that there’s plenty of gear, such as holsters, red dots, and other accessories, for those other guns. But, if you’re a serious shooter and someone who admires incredible workmanship, the Laugo Alien is the pistol for you.
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