gudel
Member
Turner's having a sale for Steyr M-A1 40cal. Is this pistol any good (quality, reliability, and support)?
Who's got one?
Who's got one?
Is Steyr M-A1 any good?
- Thread starter gudel
- Start date
- Status
10-Ring
Member
I've shot the 9 & the 40 and I know they're good shooters & judging from the abuse they take at the range I frequent...they seem like good guns.
Beatnik
Member
I have the original M9 and I love it.
There were quality concerns in the first run (prior to 2000!).
There were problems with the extractor in particular - in fact it's still recommended to keep the extractor nice & clean.
Because of the extractor issues there were initial FTE problems. There have not been problems in years, and AFAIK there were never problems with the A1.
Check www.steyrclub.com forums for info. Of particular interest is a competitive shooter's story of putting his M through 90,000 rounds with minimal maintenance. I wanted to put the comma in there to show that it is in fact ninety thousand rounds we're talking about.
The trigger is basically the same as GLOCK's safe action. Also, the gun was designed from the ground up around the .40SW, and the chamber is fully supported - making Kb! events not really likely.
A while ago I got to shoot it alongside a P38, a G19, and a Kahr P9. I paid particular attention to how it performed up against the G19.
I will admit freely that the G19 has a better grip - it's textured, unlike the M9. But the A1 has extra texturing on it, so that may have been fixed.
The trigger on the M is wide, wider than the GLOCK trigger. I like that. Some people don't.
I did shoot better with the G19, but I attribute that to trigger. The G19 I was shooting was brand new, but the M was used when I bought it. There are tutorials out there for doing a trigger job on the M, but I don't have the guts.
I can still put 10 rounds all inside the bottle at 10 feet in about 3 seconds without too much effort.
All in all, I'd say that you're getting every bit as much gun as the G19, perhaps without the knowledge of all the unconventional torture testing the GLOCKs have been submitted to over the years. But you're saving $200.
There is one huge drawback though: Steyr doesn't seem to be able to get many of them into the US. There are supply problems, so these aren't in a lot of hands, which means that finding extra mags, holsters, and such is a big issue, unless you mail order.
If you do mail order, make sure to talk to someone to make sure that they have them in stock: Impact guns had me wait for three months before telling me that they were raising the price on an item they didn't say they didn't have in stock and didn't tell me when they were going to get.
There were quality concerns in the first run (prior to 2000!).
There were problems with the extractor in particular - in fact it's still recommended to keep the extractor nice & clean.
Because of the extractor issues there were initial FTE problems. There have not been problems in years, and AFAIK there were never problems with the A1.
Check www.steyrclub.com forums for info. Of particular interest is a competitive shooter's story of putting his M through 90,000 rounds with minimal maintenance. I wanted to put the comma in there to show that it is in fact ninety thousand rounds we're talking about.
The trigger is basically the same as GLOCK's safe action. Also, the gun was designed from the ground up around the .40SW, and the chamber is fully supported - making Kb! events not really likely.
A while ago I got to shoot it alongside a P38, a G19, and a Kahr P9. I paid particular attention to how it performed up against the G19.
I will admit freely that the G19 has a better grip - it's textured, unlike the M9. But the A1 has extra texturing on it, so that may have been fixed.
The trigger on the M is wide, wider than the GLOCK trigger. I like that. Some people don't.
I did shoot better with the G19, but I attribute that to trigger. The G19 I was shooting was brand new, but the M was used when I bought it. There are tutorials out there for doing a trigger job on the M, but I don't have the guts.
I can still put 10 rounds all inside the bottle at 10 feet in about 3 seconds without too much effort.
All in all, I'd say that you're getting every bit as much gun as the G19, perhaps without the knowledge of all the unconventional torture testing the GLOCKs have been submitted to over the years. But you're saving $200.
There is one huge drawback though: Steyr doesn't seem to be able to get many of them into the US. There are supply problems, so these aren't in a lot of hands, which means that finding extra mags, holsters, and such is a big issue, unless you mail order.
If you do mail order, make sure to talk to someone to make sure that they have them in stock: Impact guns had me wait for three months before telling me that they were raising the price on an item they didn't say they didn't have in stock and didn't tell me when they were going to get.
JHansenAK47
Member
I bet they had the price raised to them and decided to raise the price rather than cut their profits.
CDNN has M-A1s for $350 plus $12.95 shipping. Throw in your FFL transfer; costs me $15. Total $378
FFL transfers are the way to go on more expensive guns, because you can save money by not paying sales tax.
The only real problem is getting your gun shipped to your FFL at a reasonable rate. If you pay $30 to ship a pistol then the company makes money on the shipping. It is pretty standard to clip people on the shipping at a lot of places. Why not? People are stupid and pay ridiculous shipping costs.
Quoheleth
Member
I don't know if this is true...
I heard/read somewhere that companies can get away with it if they call it "Shipping & Handling" charges. Technically, if they call it "Shipping" they can only, legally, charge you THEIR shipping costs. But by adding "handling" to the line-item, they can hose you for the "extra labor" of packing it up, calling UPS, and passing the box across the counter.
I have no idea how to track that down and - if accurate - try to get it enforced. Just thought it interesting...
Q
I heard/read somewhere that companies can get away with it if they call it "Shipping & Handling" charges. Technically, if they call it "Shipping" they can only, legally, charge you THEIR shipping costs. But by adding "handling" to the line-item, they can hose you for the "extra labor" of packing it up, calling UPS, and passing the box across the counter.
I have no idea how to track that down and - if accurate - try to get it enforced. Just thought it interesting...
Q
Beatnik
Member
Don't know if I'd call it "hosing". I'd call it "they're selling the pistol at an insanely low price, about $150 under what a storefront would charge, and asking for $20 extra in handling".
phantomak47
Member
Watch for mag problems with the steyrs, I would go to steyr club and read more about it. Its a gun thats on my list.
JHansenAK47
Member
Whatever, they make money on the shipping charge. It is a simple way of getting a couple bucks for every order. Different companies in the same state will charge different amounts to ship the same thing. Some do hose people pretty bad. Just watch the bottom line.
ugaarguy
Member
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2006
- Messages
- 13,828
Federal law requires handguns to be shipped overnight, with the exception that they may be shipped FFL to FFL using USPS Priority Mail. Many dealers and distributors err on the side of caution and ship all handguns overnight. $30 is very reasonable for overnight shipping of a handgun when you factor in the charges for insurance & adult signature.
gudel
Member
Thanks for pointing me to the club, I went to steyrclub. Nice forum.
It seems there are quite some issues that need to be worked out first. I think I'm going to pass.
It seems there are quite some issues that need to be worked out first. I think I'm going to pass.
Hokkmike
Member
The USPS does NOT require handguns to be shipped overnight.
JHansenAK47
Member
So what your saying is most of the guns you buy except cruffles and warranty work is not included in your exception. I think that would be more a matter of company policy than law. I buy to many guns to get nickel and dimed on everything.
BTW Steyr designed the M-A1 as a direct competitor for the Glock. I got the Steyr on my list of guns to buy. Just points better for me than the Glock and I already have an XD. In my humble opinion if you buy a Steyr you should pay less than you would for a Glock. Not because of quality but lack of aftermarket parts and holsters.
Jon Coppenbarger
Member
I have used a m40 for my ccw for around 5 years and have never had a problem with it. factory mags have never given me any problem either.
Beatnik
Member
Well, it's your money, but I'm wondering - what problems are you seeing there that I'm not?
- Status
