Why not a Canik?

[bignflnut]

Aside from the Made in Turkey label...
Some say they're totally interchangeable with the much more expensive Walther M2 PPQs

Better mag capacity, 1/2 the price?

Talk me down!

[Mr. Glock]

I bought one because it was one of the few larger-sized 9mm guns that really fit my hand well. And I'm a sucker for rummaging around the lower-end of the market, looking for something cool.

And I enjoyed shooting it for about 300 rounds, until it stopped going bang when I pulled the trigger. No warning, just dead trigger. Polymer handguns are pretty simple, so that was discouraging. Any gun can break, but nothing was easily recognizable as wrong when I did a field strip.

Then I had to deal with Century for warranty service. It was the biggest PITA, requiring copies of driver's licenses, bill of sale, affidavits, other forms. I shoot a lot, I break guns now and then. No biggie. You know what the good gun makers do when a new gun breaks? They send a call tag. If it applies, I have no issue providing a Bill of Sale. But sending in a ton of personal information to some peevish customer service person to fix a brand new gun just sits wrong with me.

It came back repaired (no paperwork saying what was fixed and why, just that is was fixed and test fired) and I sold it off right away without shooting it. I don't ever want to deal with Century ever again. And, not owning any Century firearms any longer, I won't have to. Ever.

You know what I'd do if I wanted a Walther? I'd go buy one. A real one. Because I'll bet their warranty service is worth the extra $100.

Focus group of one here, of course.

[Brian D.]

I have a pair of TP9 SF Elites, and Walther PPQ M2s. The Walther's flaw is it's adjustable, plastic rear sight. It won't stay tight in the dovetail. Walther offers a steel replacement, or use Gorilla Glue after figuring out where it needs to be.

The Caniks sometimes need to be broken in with 124 grain NATO or other "warm" ammo.

I use TP9 20 round magazines as spares for all four guns, way cheaper than the "Walther brand" mags. Mecgar makes ALL the mags for each company anyway.

I hope to not share Mr Glock's experience with Canik/Century.

[Mr. Glock]

I rank going bang while pulling the trigger as a Number 1 priority. I’ve not had a gun that just died, usually there is a bit of a warning. Glocks in 357 Sig, yep, they will toast their locking block. But they still work for a bit. Keltecs, they still sort of worked enough for a few rounds. Enough rounds that if you were in soup, you might be able to tap/rap and keep going. A gun that goes as dead as a failed battery? Stuff of nightmares.

That said, that was one gun. And the real issue was the importer not really standing behind their gun.

But it is not like the real Walther PPQ M2 is pricey......less than a Gen 5 Glock 19.

[Mr. Glock]

PS If you need to break in a polymer gun with special ammo, it ain’t so special.

[Brian D.]

PS If you need to break in a polymer gun with special ammo, it ain’t so special.

Meh. I used a combination of factory 124 grain NATO (about $27 for 150) and old Hydra Shok that needed to be used up anyway.

[Mr. Glock]

PS If you need to break in a polymer gun with special ammo, it ain’t so special.

Meh. I used a combination of factory 124 grain NATO (about $27 for 150) and old Hydra Shok that needed to be used up anyway.

Ok. You know how many polymer guns I’ve had to break in? None.

You go ahead, though

[Brian D.]

Just gave me another excuse to put rounds downrange. I also hastened the process by leaving each Canik slide slide locked back for a couple days between sessions. Both run fine on bulk 115 grain fodder now.

[Brian D.]

PS If you need to break in a polymer gun with special ammo, it ain’t so special.

Meh. I used a combination of factory 124 grain NATO (about $27 for 150) and old Hydra Shok that needed to be used up anyway.

Ok. You know how many polymer guns I’ve had to break in? None.

You go ahead, though

Three days later and that response still grates on me. Recounted my experience with the Canik pistols, merely to share the information, and you got snarky.

Just off the top of my head:

--Some early Glock models 21 didn't run right with ball ammo until broken in.

--When Springfield Armory took over the HS 2000 and expanded into the .40 caliber XDs, those were problematic with both reliability and accuracy at first.

--Several different Kahr variants need break in with FMJ before they'll run right with JHP.

--Taurus polymer semiautos? Where do I start?

--A few different FN plastic offerings.

--Whatever H&K fantastic plastic model that preceded the VP-9. And the early VP itself.

Most of the above could be made reliable with some combination of polishing, tweaking..and break in use.

I speak with some of the TDI crew from time to time. They've clued me in on what they witness out there.

[Pops Fun]

Bought a ported Canik a few months ago, ok so far. Only about 150 rounds through it, goes bang every time...
Looking forward to continuing break in.

[bignflnut]

FWIW, a standard 15rd Walther mag is too short to engage the Canik TP9 series, so it's a no go.
The Canik mags will sit in the PPQ magwell, but there's spacing, and it didn't feed my inert snapcaps cleanly.
So, one is left with proprietary mags for each setup.
NOT as interchangable as I had hoped.

[Mr. Glock]

Brian D, I took your “Meh” comment as snark, so responded in kind. If that was not your intention, then I responded inappropriately.

I do think that modern polymer guns should not need to be broken in, verses the days of all steel older autos where you expected to run a few hundred rounds of break-in through them. This is different from teething issues of new gun designs, since the Canik has been out for awhile. But, that is a separate topic.

My problem with the Canik was a dead trigger. Not much you can do about that other than send it back to, in this case, the
importer. My real issue was with the importer’s punitive customer service. Since all guns of any make can break, I find that customer service experience unacceptable. Since Canik parts are not available (at least where I shop for parts, being Brownells), any issue or preventative maintenance will be a direct interaction with the importer. These are salient points if you decide to invest in that brand. This may not bother someone, but worth knowing.

[bignflnut]

I appreciate the input both positive and negative.

There's a competitor out there named "Frank the Tank" and he's sponsored by Canik or trying to earn the endorsement.
He's got a firing pin replacement video...this is apparently so common that a video is necessary.
There's just no end to the videos and information that we have at our fingertips.

Brand snobbery/loyalty is one of gun culture's most colorful aspects. We've kept it respectable, but I appreciate it when grown men can deescalate tension while still delivering sharp comments.

[Brian D.]

FWIW, a standard 15rd Walther mag is too short to engage the Canik TP9 series, so it's a no go.
The Canik mags will sit in the PPQ magwell, but there's spacing, and it didn't feed my inert snapcaps cleanly.
So, one is left with proprietary mags for each setup.
NOT as interchangable as I had hoped.

So far the PPQ magazines have worked in the Caniks, and the extended TP mags run the Walther. That was with various live ammo, while firing. I guess you were hand cycling the snap caps? If so, that seems to be a tougher trick for many semiautmatics to handle, especially if you're not racking the slide at top speed.

[Side note: That's one reason I don't advocate chamber empty carry. If a circumstance ever came up where you wanted to charge the chamber quietly, you'd do it slowly right? Want to cause a feed problem in even the most reliable, broken in Glock, Sig, M&P, etc.? That will "ramp up" the odds of doing so.]

Yes, I experiment with a lot of stuff at the range. Today I attempted to induce a malfunction in a PPQ by limp-wristing it in a weak hand only grip. It took about ten tries, but I dood it!

[Bruenor]

A friend has one of the TP9 SF Elites, I've shot it on several occasions now and have been considering picking one up. The Caniks seem to get better with every revision. The first canik confused me with the Decocker on a striker fired gun, that went away with their next release.

The factory trigger on the TP9 SF is pretty nice out of the box for a striker fired gun.

As for break-in, Khar also recommends 200 rounds break-in for all their firearms. https://www.kahr.com/faq/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I had zero issues with mine during the "break-in period" but it is recommended in their manual.

I wouldn't carry ANY pistol for self defense unless I had at least that many rounds through it, and at least 50 of them being the SD ammo I planned to carry with no issues. Actual round count before carry would be quite a bit higher anyway.