Let’s talk Turkey

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dodo bird

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I like American made guns. Of course I like ALL guns. With everything going on today you can’t ignore that Turkish handguns are often some of the only handguns on the shelves today. I have some experience with Stoeger. They seem to shoot pretty good. Any of these brands to stay away from? (Yes I know Turkey is very divisive, I didn’t want to go down that road.). Just wondering about quality of the guns made there. Any experiences good or bad are welcome.
 
I have a Turk 1911A1, bought on a whim; had sold a Springer GI some years earlier. This thing is wonderfully fit and finished, and matte Parked. The only real fault was a sharpish edge on the underside of the hammer; a little work with a fine file resolved that. It is made by TISAS. It's not a perfect A1 clone; the magwell is flared. It does have a lanyard loop. The trigger is decent (it is pure JMB, series nothing), and it comes with one MecGar parked mag.
The American Rifleman had a complimentary article about their High Power replica, and wouldn't mind running across one of those.
Moon
 
The Tisas 1911s have been on my radar for some time now.
Came across two of them this week. If either is still there next week when I'm back in the area one will probably follow me home.
 
Canik and Sarsilmaz get very good reviews. I’ve been looking at the SAR K12 Sport. It’s fantastic looking and apparently a sweet shooter.
 
I owned a Tisas "GI" 1911. The finish wasn't great, but it was completely reliable and shot as well as the small sights allowed. I only traded it because I REALLY wanted a certain S&W Model 629 and knew I could always get another basic 1911.

I've had two SAR compact polymer CZ75 clones. I traded one towards the 629, and replaced it a couple of weeks later, although with a stainless steel version the second time (worth the extra $20, IMHO). They were super cheap back then, like under $250. Neither the original nor the replacement ever malfunctioned. I haven't carried it before, but it would probably be my choice as a "belt pistol" for CC.

I also have a basic Canik TP9... it's a copy of the Walther 99, IIRC. I got it used for cheap. It has a great trigger and functions well.

SAR B6C 9mm

SAR B6C 9mm


Canik TP9 9mm

Canik TP9 9mm

 
Tallball said:
I owned a Tisas "GI" 1911. The finish wasn't great, but it was completely reliable and shot as well as the small sights allowed. I only traded it because I REALLY wanted a certain S&W Model 629 and knew I could always get another basic 1911.

I've had two SAR compact polymer CZ75 clones. I traded one towards the 629, and replaced it a couple of weeks later, although with a stainless steel version the second time (worth the extra $20, IMHO). They were super cheap back then, like under $250. Neither the original nor the replacement ever malfunctioned. I haven't carried it before, but it would probably be my choice as a "belt pistol" for CC.

I also have a basic Canik TP9... it's a copy of the Walther 99, IIRC. I got it used for cheap. It has a great trigger and functions well.

SAR B6C 9mm

SAR B6C 9mm


Canik TP9 9mm

Canik TP9 9mm

Click to expand...
Thanks Tallball. Is that TP9 have a decocker like the AS system on the Walthers? If so how do you carry it if you did?
 
Yinz reminded me, shot a buddy's Canik CZ-clone down at camp, yeah, great striker trigger, and reasonably priced.
Moon
 
I purchased a SAR B6P in 2015 and it is holding up well.

Here is my review of it:

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/review-of-the-sar-b6p.786697/

Mine sits in my car all of the time. Five summers of sitting in a hot car on a hot parking lot and five winters sitting in the cold and I've never had a spot of rust anywhere on it. When I take it to the the range, it runs like a champ. I've never had a malfunction with it.
 
Just as info, Cabela's near me had quite a few Kimbers on display.
 
GEM said:
Just as info, Cabela's near me had quite a few Kimbers on display.
Click to expand...
Good to know. However a lot of people especially today cannot afford a Kimber. They want a reliable gun for carry or home defense. I am saving up for a decent 1911. A Kimber is on my radar.
 
Shot my Tisas Hi-Power this past weekend. It had been over a year since the last time and I had forgotten how nice gun it is. Very pleased with it and have bought all the upgrade parts from the fine folks at BH Spring Solutions. They did a very thorough review and test on the Tisas clone.
 
Here's some information about my heavily upgraded version SAR K12 Sport.

From this you can see what upgrades work and which don’t, along with links to all the items. This has been a fun / crazy journey and want to give back to the community.

First: a special shout out to Henning Wallgren (of Henning Group) who patiently helped me at various points on this journey, and who actually has a SAR K12 and could test fit certain items (rather than just guess).

Main Points (I go into more detail later):
  • Most (not all) internal parts for the Tanfoglio Small Frame will work
    • Henning Group and Patriot Defense are a great source of upgrades for Tanfoglio
    • I’ve been told that it’s most similar to a Tanfoglio Witness Elite Limited, but I can’t confirm that
  • Magazines: takes standard CZ 75 magazines
  • Rear sight: EAA SUPER SIGHT (LPA/Bomar style)
  • Front sight: some weird Tanfo-specific thing (you’ll be surprised which Dawson front sight actually works… see below)

What DIDN’T work (so you learn from my mistakes)
  • Henning Base pads on OEM SAR K12 mags
    • Issue: They will slide on but they will just pop right off when they hit the ground.
    • Easy solution: just buy regular Mec-Gar CZ75 mags and put the same Henning Base pads on those. They work perfectly.
  • Henning extended firing pin (H051-TL X-Long Firing Pin for Tanfoglio, HENNING GROUP - X-Long Firing Pin for Tanfoglio)
    • Issue: It would have required modification for both length and taper
    • Easy solution: Patriot Defense has one that just drops in
  • RedX Gear holster
    • Issue: really tight fit, and terrible customer service (that’s a whole saga in itself)
    • Easy solution: modify it or buy a different one (perhaps there are more options now?)

What DID work (so you learn from my successes)

INTERNALS

EXTERNALS

FYI… I worked with a gunsmith who is also a competition shooter who understands performance and tuning. In addition to installing and fitting all of these parts, he also
  • Chamfered outside edge of firing pin hole
  • Polished breech face and rails
  • Ramped and polished the feed ramp
  • Magwell: perfect blending of removal of any edges (see photo)
  • Overall polish and deburr

Some photos:
101.jpg 102.jpg 103.jpg 104.jpg 105.jpg 106.jpg 107.jpg 108.jpg 109.jpg 110.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Some impressive pictures here and very positive comments.

A lot of the foreign manufacturers sell what I call "wanna-be" guns. But, my wife tells me I am a "brand name snob" and pay way too much for things. I would rather die with a few really top notch guns than a stable of cheap copies. Don't shoot all the ones I have now anyway.

I am not saying that posters here don't know what they are talking about - It is just my slant on things.
 
Many US manufacturers, including Ruger, have copied guns made and/or designed abroad, such as the Mauser bolt action and a plethora of pocket pistols. Most US manufacturers no longer make guns the way they did 50 years ago. Many US manufacturers are no longer with us, or are here in name only. Some of the finest guns on earth were made in England, Italy and Germany.

The OP asked about experience with guns made in Turkey. The reviews I have seen here and from other resources indicate that many Turkish manufacturers are putting out a high quality product. They are buying a market share with value pricing, and benefitting from big demand in the US. Canik is also evolving their products, adding features and listening to the requests of shooters. They don't claim to be perfect, unlike an Austrian product that showed up about 30 years ago and is now on generation 5 of perfection. :D
 
I have several SAR and Canik made guns. IMHO, the CZ clones are every bit the equal to the "real thing". And honestly, my SS SAR 2000 is better finished than my friend's SS CZ75, inside and out. Both are pretty much 100% reliable, and accuracy seems identical too. After about 100 shots, it's very difficult to tell which one you're shooting by trigger feel.
pix179097629.jpg
 
I have limited experience with Turkish handguns (see https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...eap-1911-commander-style-just-because.892296/).

From my sample of one as detailed in the above thread, I got a forged slide and frame with a chromed barrel for not that much money, but added a lot to make it into an all tool steel/bar stock gun. I'm happy with it, it's safe, works, and now has a very good trigger. The major parts are well made and well fitted, and these days CNC machining brings this to reality at a relatively affordable price. Negatives are: cheap finish (Cerakote that looks good but is thin and shows wear); slide safety cut is too deep. The small parts generally not great which is why I replaced them all.

Would I buy another Turkish handgun?

I think so, but now I know what to look for and my expectations have been refined, at least in 1911s. Based on my limited experience I'd buy one of the BHP clones to have one - but I would want to read detailed critical reviews first, comparing to the originals. And I don't think I've ever seen a negative review of the Canik line, I'd probably buy if I needed one.
 
I own the following handguns that were made in Turkey:

Sarsilmaz SAR9 (I own 2)
Stoeger SAR9c (again, I own 2... why buy one when you can have 2 for twice the price?)
Tisas 1911
Canik TP9SA
Canik TP9V2

Of them, just like my Turkish semi-auto shotguns, I haven't had a single issue (other than I'm not crazy about having a decocker on the striker fired TP9SA pistol).
The Tisas 1911 was about the same price as my RIA 1911 but I feel the fit and finish are a step above and so far has proven dead-on reliable.

RIA left, Tisas right
51001865055_a3960b41a7.jpg
 
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