A few months ago we brought you the ST9 from Sarsilmaz. This gun is imported by T R Imports and has a lot to offer. See the original article here. Fully ambidextrous, 17+1 rounds of 9mm, and H&K styling make the ST9 an attractive design for those wanting a full-featured gun without the full-featured price tag. Far from compact, this is the extra-stuffing couch for your hand complete with cup holders and recliner. Guns of this size make for great range days, house guns, or just all-around service guns.
Turkey has been a great source of affordable firearms inspired by popular premium gun makers. Whether it’s a 1911, Walther (Canik), Baretta (Girsan), CZ (Canik), or H&K (Sarsilmaz) design you can find a Turkish variant that often has some added touches. I like to look at them as the same gun but from an alternate dimension. Often times these inspired guns go beyond just being a tribute and include features the originals lacked or weren’t en vogue at the time of original design.
What sometimes frustrates the American consumer though are claims of reliability issues. This made the most noise with the Canik TP9 SF Elite release. This issue was covered in the video below.
What folks seem to forget is that most of these guns were made for Turkish military or police contracts, or at least to the standards of such contracts. As a result they were designed around the 124gr NATO 9mm round, not the softer-shooting 115gr that most Americans take to the range. That’s not to say that the guns won’t run 115gr, in fact in our tests they’ll run as light as 65gr, but the shooter has to do their part.
This means having a firm grip and wrist, and possibly using 124gr or heavier loads until the spring and gun is well broken in. Another solution is to ensure that the slide is well lubricated. As a reviewer of firearms I tend to run them right out of the box without any extra love that might give the gun an advantage in our testing. Don’t let this deter you, they’re great guns. Just remember before you start blaming the gun that in most cases it’s our own fault, not the firearm.
More information about the offerings from T R Imports can be found on their product pages here.
