Canik 55 stingray or Zastava m70a?

[sharpcoolman]

Hello fellow gun owners. i am looking for an inexpensive, simple, battle proven pistol. My current situation means i am on a budget. The canik is based on cz 75 which is a proven design. Because it is a cz 75 clone magazines will be readily available. The zastava has been proven to work in the worst conditions ever. Magazines are available just not so readily. The canik wins out with mag capacity however the m70a is simpler and more reliable (i guess). Which would be the best for a militia battle sidearm considering all of the above?

 

[wild cat mccane]

I would tell you, but I'm an ignorant liberal that knows more than you....

Might consider how unfriendly that quote is...

 

[sharpcoolman]

This helped in no way. I am trying to make a discision i won't regret later.

 

[Kiln]

You can't know that much. A pro gun liberal is like a pro Tyson's hen, sure the hen stands for what it believes in but the interests of the hen are not taken into account by the group it is rooting for.

Now to provide a useful answer for the question asked. The Canik line is an awesome value for the money. They have the advantage of being DA/SA, the safety is proven, and the Canik lineup has a great SA trigger as well as a stellar reputation for producing quality pistols at an affordable price. There's not much of a decision to be made between the two IMO.

Either will serve you well but the Canik is more modern, has a higher capacity, and as noted above has the benefit of being DA/SA with a frame mounted safety making condition one a more feasable option.

 

[lincen]

I do have the Stingray-C and have had no failures with it or my other two Canik pistols. Granted I have only about 500 rounds total through the three. Two of these were bought new and each have fired about 200 flawless rounds. I did have a Tokarev and several Chinese model 213's, which is the basic same design as the Zastava. I would indeed go with the Stingray over the Zastava. Another low cost semi-auto that I have handled but not shot is the Arcus 98da.

 

[meanmrmustard]

Not sure what all the liberal sarcasm is about, but okay. Guess I missed something. But, then again, I'm conservative, so I must have been busy bible-thumping! Seriously though, back on topic.

I've owned both, as well as the M57, and I'm here to tell you the Stingray is where your money should go.

 

[sharpcoolman]

Ok thanks for the help guys. Will the canik hold it's own as a battle sidearm carried on chest rig or the like?

 

[Dain Bramage]

I love Tok's, but the general opinion is correct. The Canik is the more modern pistol. I'd only buy the M70A if you want a fun beater, cheap truck gun, or want a Tok to round out a collection.

 

[sharpcoolman]

Well i want to be part of a militia. However a 9mm is the standard and required cartridge we use because NATO uses it. However this will be for lack of better words a combat gun.

 

[Armor Snail]

All other crap aside,

Between those two the Stingray wins hands down.

Although any Sar(b6p, k2p), Canik(c,t,s,l,stingray) is good.

The Arcus mentioned is also a fantastic pistol.

Another to consider is also a Zastava but the EZ9.

I would steer clear of the M70 unless it's strictly a range toy.

 

[rockhopper46038]

The Stingray will hold up to whatever use you are likely to put it to.

 

[sharpcoolman]

thanks for help everyone i wanted to do it right the first time. when it comes to sights, grips threaded barrels where can i get them for a stingray c?

 

[rockhopper46038]

Aye, that's the rub. There isn't a lot of aftermarket support for the Caniks (although probably more than for the Zastava). You can get sights from Cajun Gun Works, and CZ grips will fit. I know of nobody providing an extended threaded barrel though.

If you find one, let me know. I'd love to get one myself.

 

[Impureclient]

Already did all the searching for anybody looking when I bought mine. I did find a couple through auction sites but that is a game with prices and availability.
That and for some reason the auction prices seem to be $100 overpriced by normal online gun sales sites consistently on these Caniks.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/index.php/cPath/21_1199/CANIK/ has them for $364 but not available but can be "reserved". So you may get it but nothing is for sure
as they say you can cancel the order after 90 days if they don't get them in....

http://www.jgsales.com/advanced_sea...ds=2-&x=33&y=13&categories_id=16&inc_subcat=1 has them in stock for $320 in a couple flavors.

http://www.classicfirearms.com/stirngrayc9 does also but only the black version. The picture they have up is also not what they are selling.
Pretty much everything must be wrong on their sights for pictures as I ordered mine in chrome and it was totally wrong also. The ones
they have are the updated models with black barrels and only drift adjustable sights. I told them about the pictures and they still haven't fixed it.
From what I am led to believe, the Stingrays will shoot low at POA and without elevation adjustable sights that is not good.

If you go with a Canik Shark STAY AWAY from Buckeyearmory.com as they are noting they have them in stock, they do not and will make sure you wait plenty of time(16 days)
before they finally tell you after charging your credit card that they do not in fact have them. If you figure it is taking a while after you have ordered this nonexistent gun from them,
they will lie to you about when it will ship and possibly say they were closed down for a week during your wait for the nonexistent gun. That's OK though as after they give you that
excuse and say they will ship it the next week, that won't happen either oddly enough. After all the gun is not in their inventory. This communication of course won't be by phone
as their Monday through Thursday 10 to 5 hours cannot afford them enough time to answer ANY calls you make to them so it will be by email. Ask me how I know.

My attempted Canik purchases have not been smooth.

 

[meanmrmustard]

Aye, that's the rub. There isn't a lot of aftermarket support for the Caniks (although probably more than for the Zastava). You can get sights from Cajun Gun Works, and CZ grips will fit. I know of nobody providing an extended threaded barrel though.

If you find one, let me know. I'd love to get one myself.

Zastavas have little to no aftermarket either.

 

[sharpcoolman]

What color did you purchase? I was wondering how durable the black finish is compared to the hard chrome and the cerakote models on j&g.

 

[Impureclient]

I got a chrome version, if it even is that. As far as durability, can't say as it's new. I bought the chrome one for that reason as I read the chrome should be better than other models.
If the other colors are really cerakote that fact does not seem to be pinned down for sure. Some people are saying it's just a polycoat or powdercoating.
I don't think even Canik knows what they are coating them with. According to their own site..."ALL PARTS CHROME PLATED PISTOL". Somewhere in the translation, everything about
these guns is getting screwed up. Other than the fact that they are all shooting good, nobody seems to be an authority on these guns to give a definite answer on finishes, sights,
barrel colors/coating or anything physical about the guns. They are "updating", if you can call it that, the newer models from what is on their own site with no longer having chrome
plated barrels or adjustable sights which is odd. I did come across one Stingray owner that said a wedding band rubbed finish off from his gun but he said it was polycoated and didn't
specify color.

 

[sharpcoolman]

Is the chrome finish too flashy to be considered "tactical" i like the fact that the chrome is very durable and is self lubricating.

 

[RussB]

Well i want to be part of a militia. However a 9mm is the standard and required cartridge we use because NATO uses it. However this will be for lack of better words a combat gun.

Join the National Guard

 

[benzy2]

What has made those two pistols the only options? While decent guns, there is little support and few aftermarket parts for them. Quality CZ mags aren't cheap either. When you look at overall cost, those twowith 5 extra mags are going to be in the same ball park as many of the more common options with 5 mags. This would be one situation where iI wouldn't go to a small supply option.

 

[sharpcoolman]

I want to join a militia because if and when the government get tyranical i may fight it the national guard is part of the government.

 

[rockhopper46038]

I got mine back awhile ago and it has a chrome frame, slide and barrel. The finish has held up very well. The rear sight on mine is adjustable for both windage and elevation, but I hear the newer versions may be drift adjustable for windage only. The things I would change about this gun if I could:

1. The loaded chamber indicator is a cheap flap of plastic atop the slide with a little "nub" that sticks down into the chamber. When a round is present, that "nub" rides atop the brass and raises the flap just a touch above the surface of the slide pocket it rides in. The lettering is just a cheap paint and I rubbed it off because I didn't like it. It works fine, but is just chintzy. I'm sure it's only there because of the points it gets on the Importation Rule. At some point I'll probably break it off and throw it away.

2. The guide rod is metal (which is a nice touch; even much more expensive pistols seem to come with plastic ones these days), but not chromed. I'd have paid the extra dollar to have them go ahead and chrome it when they were chroming all the other parts.

3. It's nice that the safety is ambi but (for me at least) the texturing on the safety isn't aggressive enough for me to get good, positive engagement/disengagement with my thumb. I'd like to replace it with something with more of a "shelf" from CZ Custom, but I'm not 100% certain they interchange. I'll probably take a file to my existing safety to carve more of a shelf and see how that works first.

4. The plastic grips are a bit slick. I already swapped them for some rubber CZ shoes off a CZ75 Compact (which fit fine).

5. I'm torn on the sights. They aren't night sights, but they are painted with a luminescent paint. I think the adjustability is a nice touch at the price point, but I prefer fixed sights on my pistols. I think the newer pistols have fixed sights now, and I know you can get replacement sights that fit the new slide cuts, but they aren't offered for the "old" adjustable sights. The adjustable sights I have aren't bad, but they aren't of the quality I'm used to on my other pistols. Again, at the price point, there isn't much I can complain about.

BTW, I called and spoke directly with MEC-GAR and they confirmed that aside from the Canik 55 markings on the OEM magazines they are identical in all respects to the CZ 75 Compact magazines.

Cajun Gun Works has some nicer hardened pins, hammer groups, triggers etc that can be swapped in, too. Not all the CZ aftermarket parts work on the Canik though; there is a special section for what is known to be a straight swap.

I got mine for less than $250 a year or so ago. I'm exceedingly pleased with it at that price.

 

[benzy2]

I suggest you ask your militia partners what they use and buy the same.

 

[sharpcoolman]

That is a thougbt i haven't considered. Most carry cz actually but money is tight and i can get a cz clone i suppose it would good enough. The most battle interchange ability will be with mags and canik can utilize cz mags just fine.

 

[wild cat mccane]

This is about the cusp for culpability which I would feel comfortable with as a website owner from an apparent anti social character asking about guns.

Some of us have actual hero family members in theater fighting real terrorism and reprehension. Afghanistan for me. Join the National Guard to do actual good for people.

Threads like these goes to show, as the NRA said yesterday, gun owners can be the worst for the cause. (http://www.salon.com/2014/06/02/nra..._open_carry_activists_to_stop_being_terrible/)