After the announcement and fall out of the Army’s Modular Handgun Competition we’ve been distracted by all the headlines. From the new products that flew under the radar like the FN 509 to Glock’s incredible ability to not change much but call it new gun news has been busy since January’s announcement. Meanwhile, in the rest of the world other manufacturers have been continuing on, some of them under NATO contracts such as Sarsilmaz.
The ST9 imported by T R Imports offers the features many shooters seek. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of Sarsilmaz before, they’ve been in operation since 1880 and their 540,000 square-foot facility makes everything from revolvers to machine guns for military and law enforcement contracts delivered worldwide.
True fully-ambidextrous controls, adjustable steel sights, interchangeable back straps, translucent magazines, front slide serrations, and a market price of around $400. Does it have your attention yet? Here are the specs direct from T R Import’s website.
Ships in a hard case with extra magazine, cleaning and take-down tools.
| Features & Specifications – ST9 | ||
| 9mm | 45ACP | |
| Action | SA | SA |
| Capacity | 17+1 | 12+1 |
| Brl Length | 4.5” | 4.5” |
| Overall Length | 7.8” | 7.8” |
| Empty Weight | 29oz | 31oz |
| Frame | Polymer | |
| Slide | Alloyed Forged Steel | |
| Barrel | Alloyed Forged Steel | |
| Safety | Ambidextrous manual; drop safety; firing pin block | |
| Additional Features | Picatinny Rail; Transparent magazine (9mm) | |
| Striker Status Indicator; Dovetail Front&Rear Sight | ||
| 3 size-changeable back straps; Slider Bedding for Universal Polymer Frame [Patented] | ||
All-in the ST9 offers nearly everything we’ve been told to look for in a fighting handgun. Full-sized handguns have been somewhat ignored of late while we all focused on wonder-nine single-stack carry options. Although the ST9 is a bit too large for my taste to carry inside the waistband, it would make for an excellent duty gun, IPSC, training, or nightstand option. What remains to be seen is if the NATO-spec build also means the recoil assembly needs NATO-spec ammunition to properly cycle. It’s easy to forget that most common 115gr 9mm range-fodder ammunition is actually loaded a bit softer than the true 9x19mm NATO round. This was largely forgotten when the Canik TP9SF Elite was released and resulted in complaints from those who simply didn’t understand. To see the ST9 in action watch the video below.
