CANiK TP9 SA Pistol

 

My CANiK TP9 SA arrived today.  I had read some good and some bad about these guns and lately a friend had told me of his experiences with one, so I thought why not.  This is the single action only model.  Their earlier model was double/single action.


Made in Turkey which really isn't a bad thing anymore and sporting a street price around $350.00.  18 round 9mm capacity makes for some fun.  And the trigger is phenomenal.  I was in awe when I dry fired it.  You won't find another tupperware gun with a trigger like this.


What you get in the box is a lot considering the price tag. 

You get a couple of different cleaning rods (no one cares), what looks to be a Blackhawk retention holster with paddle and belt mounts, alternate back strap with punch for roll pin, a mag loader, lock and two 17 round Mec-Gar mags.  I think there some confusion here as the mags are listed as 18 rounds online, but the witness holes count 17 and 17 was all I could get in them.


On close inspection the gun really looks good for one of the tupperware variety.  No awful looking mold lines or flashing left behind.  Very clean looking.  Much better than some other plastic guns I've worked on recently.  In the hand it feels pretty well balanced.  They molded indentions at the base of the grip on both sides which makes it feel much thinner than it is.  Pretty ingenious and I wonder why no one else has done this. 
In a way the gun is very Walther like particularly when you look at the take down mechanism and style in general.  The sights are reminiscent of CZ-75 sights. 
I'm not a big fan of 3 dot sights, but they added a post to the two dots on the rear sight which makes a nice sight picture.
Field stripping is typical. 
Dry fire or press the decocker (I'll get the that later), pull the slide release levers down and slide comes off.  No surprises.  The guide rod is metal and the recoil spring is captured on it.  I don't think comes a part, so this is replaceable as a unit I believe. 
The feed ramp on the barrel is polished to a very high shine which was surprising and appeared to be hand work and not by machine.


New toy in hand, off to the range I went.  I was kind of short on time, so I only got 75 rounds down range. 

The first 25 of factory American Eagle at 10 yards.  I like to hold at 6 o'clock so it shoots a bit low for me.  Might be a bit left as well, but I have the lefty kind of days, so I'll see what happens next trip. 
Last 50 round of reloads shot mainly rapid fire.  I had some wild ones in there, but no fault of the gun, just me being a bit rusty.  The more you shoot it, the more you appreciate the trigger.


Back home to tear it down and look things over. 

The first thing I noticed was what looks like rubbing on the top of the front rails of the frame.  I didn't see any corresponding marks on the slide, so maybe this was from factory fitting.
Noticed some finish missing on the inside of the slide and barrel hood. 
Also, so missing finish on the barrel.  All which I am sure is just normal break in wear.  I'll keep an eye on it in the coming range sessions.  The trigger bar which appears stamped like every other similar gun had been hand polished in areas.  I have to assume this is one of many reasons the trigger is so good.


Size, weight, etc. the TP9 SA is about the same as a Glock 17.  I think it is just slightly wider.

Now for the deal breaker so to speak.  This is a single action striker fired pistol that has a decocker.  WHAT!  Since the previous model was double/single action I understand why you would want a decocker on that, but on a single action only?  I can only think a bunch of turkish engineers where sitting around designing the SA version and were just too lazy to redesign the slide accordingly.  One of them probably asked what are we going to do about this and a senior engineer probably piped up and said "hell we'll just caulk it".

I know it sounds like I'm making a big deal out nothing but it is really something.  If you were to carry this gun, there is a pretty good chance you could manage to decock the think while in your holster.  Not a good thing.  Being a person who carries a gun all day everyday, I know how many times you beat your gun into door frames, shelving, etc.  With the decocker right on top of the slide, it is a real possibility it will happen.


So, forgetting the decocker issue, I still think this is a great gun and worth every bit of the $350.  I would never carry it, but it would make a good night stand gun or just a fun gun to take to the range and bang around with.


UPDATE

I kept thinking about the decocker and it was making me crazy.  Such a nice gun screwed up for no reason.  I decided to tear the slide down and see if it could be pinned or disabled.


NOTE:  I never recommend disabling or altering a safety feature on a gun. However, in this case I truly feel the firearm is unsafe in it's shipped condition.


Slide tear down is about the same as a Springfield XDsomething.  The backplate comes off with little fanfare and no flying parts.  Slightly removing the striker allows the decocker to come free.

There are two springs under it so be mindful of them.  The decocker is held captive by a couple of ears that protrude through the slide.


I'm sure I not the first to think about this, but I thought if I could put pins inside the two springs under the decocker that would defeat it.  I grabbed some 1/16" stainless dowels and started cutting them down.  It took a bit of fitting and I had hoped there would be zero movement on the decocker, but I could not achieve that.  There has to be a little bit of play to be able to re-install the striker.

Ended up with two pins .35" in length.  I suggest using a bit of gunsmith glue (grease) while going through the process.


Problem solved. 

The pins keep the decocker from being depressed while allowing no interference with the striker.  There is a bit of play, but you cannot decock it and the play really doesn't bother me as I never intended to press the thing anyway.