A few months ago, I was lent a Canik 9mm pistol to see how I liked shooting something different. I normally shoot a very nice custom made Open Race gun with all the extras added the way I like it. There is very little that hasn’t been played with, so it’s about as good as it gets. The only down side is the cost; they are a little on the steep side.
The Canik, however, is an ‘out of the box’ production gun with nothing adjusted or played with. To shoot production, they have to be as the company makes them. As it happens these pistols are very well made and come with a few extras than the standard, which meant I could fit a reflex dot to the slide, as it came with a few different plates. This gave me the flexibility to select something to suit and, as I have ‘old eyes’, I find red dots easier to see.
The next big change was the lack of a manual safety, as it has one on the trigger— the same as the Glock pistols that the police carry. To be honest, I’m not that fussed about not having a safety to activate before holstering, but that comes more from the fact I’ve had to do it for close to 30 years—and old dogs don’t like change. But we can be trained and as I have become more used to it through practise, I am starting to feel safe when placing it in a holster. The safety is part of the trigger, which is depressed as you squeeze off the shot, again much like a Glock but oh so much better and nicer.
All in all, it’s a great little pistol and lots of fun at a great price: simple to use, shoots groups well and just keeps going. I don’t think I have had even one jam or miss fire, which is very important when shooting competitions, as a jam can cost you the match or a number of placings.
So, while I have been very happy with it, they have now come out with a steel gripped version, which would improve the weight and reset even more. Looks like I might need to buy a new gun—anyone got a few dollars lying around? It would go to a good cause.
