Review of the Canik 9mm handgun line by Pass The Turkey

Century Arms imports Canik, a line 9mm pistols. Century Arms, a U.S.-based firm originally located in Vermont, moved the operation to Florida a few decades ago. It might seem that a country is only producing low-rent products because it hasn’t been recognized as a manufacturing center for a long time. For younger readers, particularly those who drive a Japanese car, let me remind them that “made in Japan” used to be synonymous with plastic crap. Look at how far they have come. The Canik 55 is at the top, the TP9SA is in the middle, and the TP9 Elite SC is at the bottom. There’s also the METE. Future Collectibles. We don’t have enough space to cover the entire line of Canik pistols (TP9SA being the current model name). Century Arms and Canik developed the line, and they also created a wide range of future collectibles to meet customer demand. Let’s begin with magazines. All self-loading pistols require magazines. The Canik line will work with any Canik magazine, provided you have the right length. You will fail to use a Canik TP9 Elite subcompact magazine with full-sized guns if it is not flush-fit. The longer magazine will fit in the shorter pistols, and all models with similar length frames will accept the magazines. Canik started with magazines based upon the Walther PPQ series. If you have access to them, get them. Although Walther magazines are more expensive than Canik, sometimes you can score a bargain. If you need more capacity, you can find magazines for your Canik up to 20 rounds. Taylor Freelance has bolt-on magazine extensions that will give you more. They also make Plus-4 and Plus-9 extensions made in brass and aluminum. The Plus-4 is a new baseplate. The Plus-9 includes a replacement spring for the magazine. The magazine holds 12 rounds, but you can opt for an extended one. This pistol is sub-compact in size. This makes the frame compact and can hold up to 15 rounds. All this for less than $400 in a compact 9mm. This is crazy talk. The firing system is a striker-fired system with an internal safety system and trigger-blade safety to prevent discharge from being dropped or handled rough. There’s no bang if nothing touches the trigger. Canik has you covered when you install a red dot optic. The carry case contains a small box that includes all the tools and screws needed to attach the optic you choose. Bravo, guys. My second Canik is now the TP9SA. The first pistol was an all-black 9mm. This was when they called the pistols the “Canik 55” line. This was the beginning of the pistols that were taken directly from the Walther 99 series. The TP9 is now the name. This one has many details that have changed since the earliest. Press down on the decocking plate in the slide if you don’t want the unloaded TP9SA to be left with the striker cocked. This will safely drop the striker without releasing it. Keep the striker pointed in a safe direction to avoid injury. To re-cock your striker, you will need to work the slide. But that’s not the point. A better trigger is one thing. The striker system was transformed into a single-action trigger pull that is almost 1911-like. The internal drop safety and trigger blade safety are still there, but the trigger is crisper and has a shorter reset time than my Canik 55. (By the by, I still like my 55. The Desert Tan model is the TP9SA that I own. Canik used a dye to create the tan color of the frame. He also applied a Cerakote finish to the slide. The controls and backstrap are left in black. This is the kind of thing Century and Canik are most responsive to. The TP9 EliteSC has a gray/silver Cerakote slide that is layered over the black. In the past, other models offered different colors. They do so now. What about a two-tone version of the TP9? Or, the Signature Series TP9SFx Whiteout done in a white Cerakote with black accents?So Many ExtrasAnd, the TP9SA came with a pair of magazines, magazine loader, holster and holster mounts so you can choose from inside-the-waistband or outside-the-waistband carry. They all do. Caniks come with everything you need, including a lock and extra backstrap. The Canik is popular in competition (cost, great triggers, accuracy and reliability are all big selling points for competition shooters), and in addition to the magazine extensions for the Canik, Taylor can provide you with magwell funnels, weighted brass backstraps, mag-release buttons and slide-rackers.Slide-rackers? If you have a Canik with red dots, an extension for the slide can be used to rack it. It also holds the pistol off a table for those stages when you need to use it in a holster. This is a crucial detail that competition shooters are very strict about. Everyone, even those with a daily carry pistol, has benefited from it. A precise pistol is essential for competition shooting. A pistol barrel that is accurate is also more reliable. An extractor that is tighter and more centered will be able to grab the rim more consistently with a tighter chamber. A bore with consistent dimensions means more consistent combustion and bullet-bore transit times, which allows for a smaller range of variation in the cycling of the pistol. All of them have a loaded chamber indicator, which is a lever at the top of each slide. This Canik is full-sized, but it’s also set up for competition and duty. It comes with two magazines, one each of 18 and 20 rounds. They also have backstraps, an optics plate on the slide, and a competition-improved trigger. The METE’s trigger is flat-faced, unlike the earlier Canik pistols that had a slightly curved trigger. The safety is still in the trigger blade. However, the geometry of the METE’s trigger trigger allows you to bring it back to fire the METE. The point of release has the pivoting trigger oriented down. The trigger press is now straight back to less-disturb the aim. Although you might be right, serious competition shooters will not leave anything to chance. Even if you have a METE, upgrades are possible. But, a trigger upgrade is something that the Canik line has. It doesn’t matter which model it is in, it has an excellent trigger system. As I said, serious competition shooters don’t leave anything to chance. You can purchase aftermarket trigger upgrades. The METE will not require this. It’s actually a bargain most of the time. The MSRP for the current version, the TP9SA in Desert tan has been reduced to a penny below $400. This is a ready-to use pistol with two magazines, holster, and accessories in a lockable bag for less than $45. The Canik combo is ideal for daily carry, competition shooting, plinking, and target shooting. With Canik from Century Arms, you get accuracy, reliability, accessory availability–everything in one box–and at a reasonable price. Compare that to the top guns everyone knows. I don’t think there are any advantages to not having the same gun as everyone else in the gun club. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Gun Digest the Magazine, October 2022. Next Step: Download your Storm Tactical Printable Target pack62 Printable MOA targets with DOT drills – Rifle Ranges in YARDS. Storm Tactical has created an impressive target pack that includes 62 printable targets for rifle and handgun range usage. Target grids and bullseye sizes can be downloaded in MOA. This is a great option for long-range shooting. Enter your email address below.