"The SA-9 is the lightest weight compact 9mm in the world. The receiver is built with an ultra lightweight aircraft aluminum alloy inserted into a Polymer grip. The slide is constructed of 4140 ordinance steel giving it far superior strength to Die Cast Zinc.
The SA-9 is double action only with a non-exposed internal hammer. Trigger pull is about 6 1/2 to 7 pounds. Rear sights are adjustable. The SA-9 comes equipped with a 10 round Mec-Gar magazine. Suggested Retail for the SA-9mm is $249.00. All Standard Arms products come with a Lifetime Warranty against defects in workmanship"
Got my SA-9 last night. $130 + tax + transfer = $170 with 2 magazines. The pistol comes in a no-frills cardboard box, in a plastic bag, with a very brief foldout warning card/instruction pamphlet.
One thing that immediately caught my attention was the unfinished aluminum receiver (no anodizing apparent to me, although I am no metallurgist). Now I am concerned about the durability of the pistol, even before shooting it (as if I had any confidence before). Even a thin layer of black paint would've fooled me.
The gun looks very much like the Kel-Tec P11, right down to the take-down pin, and the overall shape and looks. The polymer frame is made of a dull polymer, with a lightly dimpled texture and finger grooves molded into the grip - there is no checkering or texture anywhere so I predict it will become slippery when wet. The trigger guard is, well, strangely "horned" at the bottom, reportedly as a finger rest for index finger of the non-firing hand. The trigger itself looks wider than the P11's, and is grooved along the front. The polymer is well shaped and smoothed, with no stray plastic protrusions or edges left from the molding process (like my P32). The grip feels pretty good, a little "square" and blocky, but comfortable in the hand.
Take down is almost exactly as the P11: remove magazine, pull back slide, use edge of cartridge to slide over the edge of the takedown pin, and pull firmly. Pull the slide forward and off the frame.
I noticed a few more things. First, yes, the entire receiver is bare aluminum. Pretty smooth and no gouging, wear, or impact areas visible [yet]. The spring rod is plastic, of course, and there is a single, low-tech spring on it. The barrel looks very well made, with no visible machining marks, and every detail machined to perfection. The slide has a thick layer of bluing on it, and also looks well made, although the inside was machined to fit the barrel hood, and was left heavily gouged and bare. There was no visible oil or grease anywhere. Sights are plastic, three dot.
I went ahead and greased the slide with Slick50 PTFE grease, and oiled everything else. I loaded some dummy rounds and cycled a few times. Extraction/ejection was not smooth, and I had several misfeeds. I realize this is not a "definitive" test, but my Sig will cycle manually with dummy rounds till the cows come home. Trigger pull was very smooth, not too heavy, with a crisp snap. The trigger will also "half-cock" (?) if you pull it back half way. I'm not familiar with this feature, but it makes the first pull shorter and more crisp than before. I'm off to the range this afternoon and will update you then.