What a Shooter

[Dennis1209]

Hey folks, it' been awhile since I was last here. Picked up a few guns since I was last on here. One in particular I'm really impressed with that I should have taken a picture of the targets. Shooting from 5, 10 and 12 yards all hits were within the size of a pie plate and the trigger is the best I've ever felt on a striker pistol. It's smooth and the reset is the best I've ever encountered. It's a long story and to keep everyone from falling asleep I'll keep it as brief as possible.

Last month I shot so well in our monthly IDPA match with my G19, which I switch back and forth between a Kimber Pro Rapter .45, I decided I wanted a duty size gun for competition and a longer sight radius. I had my mind made up on a G34, that is until I walked into the local gun shop and our club treasurer was working at the time. They didn't have the G34 in stock but would order it for me, but he pulled out another full size nice looking 9mm of which I had never heard the name of before. He and the other sales guy working there were praising it and saying they both had one and loved it. So I fondled it for about 10 minutes, pulled the trigger some and checked the reset, etc. I looked at all the gizmos and gadgets that came with it and asked the price. With tax less than $500.00. SOLD!

The pistol I'm referring to is the Canik TP9 SFx. There's nothing like buying a pistol first, then looking at all the Youtube video's and reviews afterward is there? Like any handgun, there are a few detractors out there, but most praise this Turkish pistol. The only draw back I've found so far was finding a holster for it, in LEFT - HAND, that was a chore. I'm anxious to see if and how much it improves my IDPA and steel match scores. Did I mention it comes with two - twenty round magazines? What a gun for the money. No, I'm in no way associated with them...

[Chucktshoes]

I’ve not had the chance to check one out but I know we have a few fans of the Canik line here. 

[DWARREN123]

I have a SF Elite and really like it. The Canik brand is starting to catch on.

[TripleGGG]

I enjoy my Caniks. Great guns IMHO.

[Dennis1209]

18 minutes ago, TripleGGG said:

I enjoy my Caniks. Great guns IMHO.

Let me ask you a question if you don't mind. Maybe I'm just stupid?

From time to time I completely disassemble my Glocks and 1911's for service and cleaning, upper and lowers, no biggie. I'm left-handed and I was going to switch the mag release to the proper side, thought that would be nice. Went to looking at it trying to figure out the simple way to do it. Well, Youtube is my friend in situations like these. By the way, there's no Youtube video's I can find that show how to completely disassemble the lower on a Canik TP9 SFx, or any Canik for that matter?

Anyway, I found the one and only video (Century Arms have none) that shows how to reverse the mag release. You got to be kidding me! This guy knew what he was doing removing the spring, had a difficult time and was scratching and marring the inside of the lower. And had a heck of a time getting that retaining spring back in.

So my question? Have you ever disassembled you Canik lower for service or cleaning, and did you have any problems. Youtube, the manual and Century Arms website are deafening silent on the Canik lowers. Is it just me?

Maybe the novice that I am I best leave things the way they are?

Thanks. 

 

[TripleGGG]

I have not disassembled the lowers on one yet. I will see if my brother has one of his. 

[Brendan]

I have a Canik TP9SA which is the same as the Canik TP9SF but mine has a decocker on it. I personally like the decocker. I've been pretty accurate with it and my groups are very tight with it. Out of 50 shots with it at 10 yards, my shots were all within a 6 inch diameter. I did see a youtube video of a that purchased a Canik TP9SF and stated that he was using a S&W M&P holster for his Canik so I ordered one just to see if it fits. I'll update later today.

[jgradyc]

You guys should just make your own holsters. A combination of leather on the body side and Kydex for the molded part to hold the weapon is really easy to make. Once you learn to make the mold, you can do all sorts of things with the leather. I have some with slits for a belt and some with clips for IWB carry. You can adjust the retention tightness with Chicago screws. I prefer to be able to hold the holster upside down and shake it without the (unloaded) weapon coming out, but that's just a preference on my part.

EDITED: Let me add that I'm a really skinny guy, so finding a comfortable holster has always been difficult for me. Years ago, I gave up looking and started molding my own.

Granted, my holsters aren't works of art, but again, that's a personal preference. I don't care much about cosmetics.

EDITED AGAIN: Another approach is to take a leather holster that doesn't fit but comes close to fitting, soak it in warm water, wrap your weapon in Saran Wrap, put it in the holster and squeeze the holster around the gun to form it to the weapon. Let it dry and you're good to go.

Edited April 5, 2018 by jgradyc
Added another idea

[ken_mays]

The holster that comes with the SFX is a piece of crap.   It has a spring loaded detent that is supposed to be cammed out of the way by the trigger guard, but more often it just refuses to move.   The detent needs to be reshaped so that the trigger guard will actually cam it out of the way instead of just hitting it and getting stuck.

The gun itself is OK.  I think mine shot pretty high with the stock sights, but I put a Vortex Venom red dot on it.  I don't really have more than about 200 rounds though it and will probably end up sellling it because it's just not that much fun to shoot.

[Dennis1209]

On 4/6/2018 at 10:43 AM, ken_mays said:

The holster that comes with the SFX is a piece of crap.   It has a spring loaded detent that is supposed to be cammed out of the way by the trigger guard, but more often it just refuses to move.   The detent needs to be reshaped so that the trigger guard will actually cam it out of the way instead of just hitting it and getting stuck.

The gun itself is OK.  I think mine shot pretty high with the stock sights, but I put a Vortex Venom red dot on it.  I don't really have more than about 200 rounds though it and will probably end up sellling it because it's just not that much fun to shoot.

Yeah that holster is crap and I'm left-handed to, so double crap  

I think I'm going to like the Canik for the Steel Challenge and IDPA, so I replaced the front fiber optic sight I couldn't pick up in low light, with a Trijicon HD orange front sight. Should have seen the trouble the gunsmith had and the size of the hammer to get the old front sight off!

Shot a couple of magazines through it to check it out. Think I'm going to like it, shoots just slightly low and right at 12 yards, but I can correct for that. Shot it on a cloudy day and the orange is easy for me to pick up. Since it's not going to be a HD or carry gun, left the blacked out Warren rear sight on and it works well.

In hindsight, I wish I would have got the Glock 34 though.