Someone tell me why NOT to buy a Canik

O

OhioGuy

New member
Today I saw a Canik TP9 SFx (and several other models) at a local gun store. I've had my eye on several long-slide competition pistols and had almost decided on spending $800+ for a Walther Q5 series, when I saw this:

http://concealednation.org/2017/03/firearm-review-canik-tp9-sfx-full-size-competition-pistol/

Then I saw it at the store and got to hold, manipulate, rack, pull, etc. I have to say, for a price of $530 (!) this does not feel like a cheap product! It's lightweight but feels solid, has very good ergonomics, is easy to rack, has competition features including a 20-rd magazine, extended slide release, and "cut" for optics, as well as a fiber optic front sight. It comes with a cheap but totally usable paddle holster just for kicks.

All reviews on it sound pretty positive. The trigger! Oh man, the trigger felt great! I never thought I'd feel anything like the Walther PPQ trigger, but today I think I did. I manipulated the two side-by-side, and I honestly think the Canik's trigger feels as crisp, short and clean as the Walther's. Between them, better ergonomics are about all the Walther *appeared* to have over it.

And the Canik is a full $300 less expensive.

What am I missing? Do these things explode in your hand on the 51st round? Do they sometimes fire at you backwards?

For dedicated range fun, target shooting and some competition, why would I *NOT* buy this gun?
 
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They are accurate, reliable, and I think they look great. I don't know of many reasons NOT to buy one!

I am waiting for someone to make some comment about buying guns from Turkey...
 
Personally I would stick with the well known brands. My friend got the sigp320 for shooting sports and it's a darn good shooter. He has the competition model version and I think he got it for around the $600 range. The standard 320 look like they are in the $500 range. Anyway, that's what I would do atleast.
 
I'm not sure about the canik, but I hear good things about them. Maybe you should be our canik guinea pig!
That said, walther is a fine manufacturer with a pretty good track record of making good pistols.
 
I have read more than a few reports of Canik firing pins breaking on their SF pistols. Myself I would not buy one for SD purposes but as a range gun maybe. Though these days you can get the German made Walther PPQ for around $400 (not Q5 Match though), and HK VP9 for $450.

Service and parts availability is also a concern with imports.
 
I would check into how warranty service is handled. Do they pay shipping cost for warranty work? Do they do the warranty work or do they contract the work out to a 3rd Party? In case it is 3rd Party, how quickly will they handle your claim or do they put you in the backlog of other customers?

I would also consider how well resell prices hold up compared to more recognized makes.
 
Yes. I have owned 4.

1. Size (TP9(s) have all be physically bigger than the Walthers),
2. Finish (the Canik cerakote does not include ceramic that makes the finish good. Walther has Teffiner/Melonite--impossible to rust),
3. Trigger.

All are better on the one it copies (Walther PPQ/P99).

Walther is offering a $100 rebate on the PPQs right now. Makes them the same price as the TP9SF/Elite/SFX.
 
From all I've read there really isn't a good reason not to buy one. I looked at one a few weeks ago and thought it was pretty darned nice for the money. Buy it...if it's fails, you're not out much. If it functions like everyone says it's a win-win.
 
Good Youtube vid on how the Canik blows away the VP9. We have a few Caniks in "my" shop, and they seem like great pistols............as long as you like plastic-framed, striker-fired guns.
 
I was wondering about that too, plastic & striker. I did a Google - It is called production class.

I do like the walther name. In general the guns from Germany are excellent, but the builder name and labor costs generally carry a premium. Guns from Turkey, on the other hand, do not carry a premium for high labor costs or brand name recognition.

The country of origin alone is not a good or definite quality /performance indicator. I was looking at an pair of used Erma 22 lugers. One had been dropped and the pot metal frame broke. The whole gun was a cheesy piece of crap. "MADE IN GERMANY". The country of Turkey does not make guns it is individual companies and at least some of those companies are capable of building a good firearm. I have a Huglu double bbl shotgun. Fine workmanship meeting the requirements of cz. Before the CZ connection,I heard not so good. Zastava can make a quick and dirty POS or a reasonably well finished rifle. I never shot a Zastava. Looked at a few, read some reviews. Canik - no idea.

The replies here so far seem a little vague. Accurate? What are the 25 yards bench rest groups between the choices. Reliable, how much shooting? Trigger, describe the feel and weight?

The OP compared triggers side by side and said just as good if not better than a walther. Nothing substantial has been added here.

The OP said it was light. light is bad for competition shooting. Then he said good ergonomics and that is king. And very much an individual thing.

The OP probably has made up his mind and for good reasons.
 
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I had a Canik tp9sf. Overall it was a good gun. I had issues with my finger and the trigger. If I didn't put my finger on the trigger a certain way I wouldn't release the trigger safety. The trigger would stop and the gun wouldn't fire until I re-positioned my finger to push the safety properly. I don't have this problem with glocks or XD pistols that have similar triggers.
My biggest gripe though was with the importer Century Arms. I called them to order a couple of spare recoil springs. They told me they don't sell parts for the guns. I guess if you need anything including a recoil spring it's under warranty. The warranty is for original owners so don't buy used. If they stop importing Caniks then what.
 
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My biggest gripe though was with the importer Century Arms. I called them to order a couple of spare recoil springs. They told they don't sell parts for the guns. I guess if you need anything including a recoil spring it's under warranty. The warranty is for original owners so don't buy used. If they stop importing Caniks then what.
Click to expand...

Above is all the reason I would need to not buy this gun.

Dave
 
Thanks for the replies! I would not want to get screwed with bad warranties.

Yes, the $100 rebate on Walther products right now does bring them down considerably. I can get the 5" PPQ M2 for just over $600 that way, and it's the same as the Q5 minus a few "pieces of flair" (anyone remember Office Space?:p) and the ability to mount a red dot.

I also have an XD Mod.2 3" and have thought about getting the 5" tactical model. It's quite a bit heavier than either the Walther or Canik--not specifically a competition gun, but I already have magazines and accessories for that gun, as well as night sights I could take off the existing gun. So the Mod.2 Tactical represents my lowest-risk, lowest-cost option overall. For $150 I can get a competition trigger kit installed. I've tried someone else's gun with that mod, and it does put the trigger feel into Walther territory.

Someone said 'for competition, heavier is better.' That makes sense for recoil purposes...

But then, why do all the competition-oriented striker guns come with a bunch of cuts in the slides and other features specifically to reduce weight? Glock, Walther, S&W, etc. all cut down on weight for their "competition ready" pistols.
 
The Canik pistols are NATO certified and include a limited lifetime warranty to the original purchaser. They do some pretty extensive testing.

I haven't gotten to shoot it yet, but I'm anxiously anticipating the opportunity to fire my friends TP9SA.
The trigger pulls on these pistols is supposed to be something special (I hear). His TP9SA was around $350 and included a serpa style holster with mounting options, interchangeable back straps, 2 magazines, a mag loader tool, cleaning tools in padded hard case with a slot for everything. In comparison, another friends new $600 Beretta 92 came in a Beretta marked plastic case with egg carton foam and everything just scattered around inside.
 
The Military Arms Channel on youtube ran some reliability tests on a number of handguns, including the Canik TP9 SF.

I think the tests they put the guns to are pretty good, at least for civilian usage. A criticism is that to know for sure they weren't testing a particularly good or bad specimen would require testing a fairly large number of each model - something you're only going to see in government supported trials for obvious money reasons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7FZq9Rf650
 
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your $ are about $50-100 high for everything posted.

Slickguns.com

PPQ 5" is 550. PPQ 5" M1 is $620-July. minus $100.

PPQ M1 is 479 -100. This makes the Elite-S useless and more expensive and the Elite is suffering from +p/NATO only.

TP9SFX is $469.

So the PPQ 5" is actually cheaper.

All the creds spoken about Canik55 do not matter. The cerakote isn't strong. The Walther has Tenifer-none is better for protection of the steel parts. As spoken, the blade can hang on the TP9SF trigger. It's bulky. Century is awful.
 
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Though one Youtuber said the Canik has a better trigger, here is someone actively posting to your thread who has owned 10s of Walthers and four TP9/TP9SFs...they don't. The Canik is heavier and grinds a bit. Lots of people have the blade safety issue, none reporting it for the Walther.

I liked the TP9 in concept, but for a small increase in cost, the Walther is better.
 
Local range had two Caniks in their rental inventory. After a year's use and thousands of rounds fired, the Caniks have had no issues.

This was good enough for me I bought one. Mine has been perfect for over one thousand rounds. I have had superior accuracy with all loads from 115 through 147.

I let my son and brother-in-law shoot my Canik. Both of them bought their own Caniks. Their guns have also not had any problems.

 
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