You may not have ever heard of Sarsilmaz, but chances are you’ve already benefited from their manufacturing. They are the largest private arms manufacturer in Turkey and make everything from handguns to aircraft parts for Boeing. That’s right, Sarsilmaz is a private company so before you get excited about making comments think. If you boycott a private company who are you hurting? The government you don’t like or the people living in that country? Sarsilmaz has been manufacturing for over 100 years and is sold and used in 78 countries worldwide. With politics out of the way let’s move on to the gun.
By the Numbers
Action | SA/DA | Frame | Polymer |
Capacity | 17+1 | Slide | Alloyed Forged Steel |
Brl Length | 3.8” | Barrel | Alloyed Forged Steel |
Overall Length | 7.3” | Empty Weight | 28oz |
Safety | Ambidextrous manual; drop safety; firing pin block; hammer block | Additional Features | Picatinny Rail |
Changeable Front Sight Adjustable Rear Sight | |||
3 size-changeable back straps |
The CM9 Gen 2 is a modernization of an older design and has packed a lot of features into a very affordable pistol. If you skipped the tabletop video SPOILER ALERT: Sarsilmaz has an ultra-modern facility including 11-axis machines. 11! I’m not even sure how that’s possible, but if you look at the CM9 Gen 2 you can tell it was made with great attention to detail. The fit is about as perfect as one could ever expect from a handgun. The fact that the frame, barrel, and slide are all serialized could suggest that each gun is fitted. Front and rear cocking serrations, adjustable sights, ambidextrous safety, and three interchangeable back straps. That list is expected on most modern handguns, but not those with a MSRP below $400! T R Imports offers this gun for as low as $361.
If you’re like me that makes you wonder how the gun can be manufactured, transported, imported, then distributed for so little. How does such an inexpensive gun shoot? We wanted to find out and try with not only standard range-fodder, but also hollow points, steel-cased ammo, and target ammo. The results can be seen below.