Last week I took possession of two TriStar C100's which I intend to use for carry purposes for my wife and I. The C100 is made in Turkey by the Canik55 firm, and marketed in this country by the TriStar concern. It is closely modeled after the CZ 75 Compact, the most profound deviation from the CZ design being the use of an aluminum frame. The C100 has already been the subject of a multitude of formal reviews, including by the NRA, so I won't reinvent the wheel here, except to comment on certain areas of note.
We've been freezing our tails off around here, but yesterday got back up into the 60's and we were able to confirm zero and test out some groups before the 30 mph winds came in and blew us off the range. Here's what we did and how we did.
I began by carefully lubing both pistols and firing three 15 yard bench rest groups out of each pistol with three different loads. The purpose was to check zero and see just how well the pistols fed and grouped with different loads. I was especially interested in seeing how the Federal 124 grain standard pressure HST load would perform. Unfortunately, I developed a bad case of "fifth-shot-itis" and threw away every fifth shot in 4 of the 6 groups after having fired a really nice 4 shot group. So since I knew it was me and not the gun, I did not count the wild 5th shot in the group measurements. Here's how my wife's pistol did: (Test results and notes are on the photos.)
Here's how my pistol handled the same test:
Based on these results, I would have to say in all honesty that these little guns group every bit as well at 15 yards as any of my full size 9mm service pistols have. Included in that statement are a Beretta Brigadier 92FS, a Browning Hi Power and a couple of its clones, a S&W M5906. a CZ 85, two 85B's, and a Bersa Thunder 9 Pro. The C100's, in my estimation, are darned accurate pistols, especially for their short barrels and short sight radius.
In the next test I wanted to test the pistols' ability to feed and group with the HST loads, to proof one mag per gun with that load, and I wanted to get familiar with their double action triggering characteristics. So here are two 15 shot DAO groups fired standing offhand with full sight alignment, two-hands, at 7 yards. I fired continuously slow fire without lowering either gun. Here's how my wife's gun did:
And here's how my gun did - note the "ohpooshot." It was not entirely my best day. ;D
Throughout these tests I found the two pistols to have remarkably similar triggering characteristics in both single and double action. As reported in any number of reviews, the single action pull breaks very clean and is fairly light for a factory trigger, while the double action is a little stiff and breaks a little sooner than on the CZ's. it is also slightly stiffer than the CZ double action pull. There is no double action "stacking", thankfully. All in all the triggers on these guns are just fine for their intended purpose.
Most of the reviews of these guns I have read cite a tendency for them to shoot 3" low at around 10 yards. I found that my pistol shoots around 2" low at 15 yards, and a "click" left, while my wife's gun shoots dead bang center at both 7 and 15 yards. I don't worry about a minor elevation deviation in a defensive pistol, but I will definitely bump the rear sight a hair right to center up the windage. My wife's pistol shot all three loads to the same point of impact, while mine wants to be just a bit fussier. Who knows why?
Here is about the best of the reviews I've found, the NRA Gun Of The Week Review. It's definitely worth a looksee if you're interested in the C100.
http://www.americanrifleman.org/blogs/tristar-c100-gotw
Given its obvious quality of manufacture, fit, and finish, as well as reliable functioning and excellent accuracy, I think the C100 definitely falls into the class of pistol in which a lot of us will one day say: "Boy I sure wish I'd bought one while they were cheap." I have a feeling they're going to be "discovered," so you had better get one while the getting is good. Best wishes.
JayPee
We've been freezing our tails off around here, but yesterday got back up into the 60's and we were able to confirm zero and test out some groups before the 30 mph winds came in and blew us off the range. Here's what we did and how we did.
I began by carefully lubing both pistols and firing three 15 yard bench rest groups out of each pistol with three different loads. The purpose was to check zero and see just how well the pistols fed and grouped with different loads. I was especially interested in seeing how the Federal 124 grain standard pressure HST load would perform. Unfortunately, I developed a bad case of "fifth-shot-itis" and threw away every fifth shot in 4 of the 6 groups after having fired a really nice 4 shot group. So since I knew it was me and not the gun, I did not count the wild 5th shot in the group measurements. Here's how my wife's pistol did: (Test results and notes are on the photos.)
Here's how my pistol handled the same test:
Based on these results, I would have to say in all honesty that these little guns group every bit as well at 15 yards as any of my full size 9mm service pistols have. Included in that statement are a Beretta Brigadier 92FS, a Browning Hi Power and a couple of its clones, a S&W M5906. a CZ 85, two 85B's, and a Bersa Thunder 9 Pro. The C100's, in my estimation, are darned accurate pistols, especially for their short barrels and short sight radius.
In the next test I wanted to test the pistols' ability to feed and group with the HST loads, to proof one mag per gun with that load, and I wanted to get familiar with their double action triggering characteristics. So here are two 15 shot DAO groups fired standing offhand with full sight alignment, two-hands, at 7 yards. I fired continuously slow fire without lowering either gun. Here's how my wife's gun did:
And here's how my gun did - note the "ohpooshot." It was not entirely my best day. ;D
Throughout these tests I found the two pistols to have remarkably similar triggering characteristics in both single and double action. As reported in any number of reviews, the single action pull breaks very clean and is fairly light for a factory trigger, while the double action is a little stiff and breaks a little sooner than on the CZ's. it is also slightly stiffer than the CZ double action pull. There is no double action "stacking", thankfully. All in all the triggers on these guns are just fine for their intended purpose.
Most of the reviews of these guns I have read cite a tendency for them to shoot 3" low at around 10 yards. I found that my pistol shoots around 2" low at 15 yards, and a "click" left, while my wife's gun shoots dead bang center at both 7 and 15 yards. I don't worry about a minor elevation deviation in a defensive pistol, but I will definitely bump the rear sight a hair right to center up the windage. My wife's pistol shot all three loads to the same point of impact, while mine wants to be just a bit fussier. Who knows why?
Here is about the best of the reviews I've found, the NRA Gun Of The Week Review. It's definitely worth a looksee if you're interested in the C100.
http://www.americanrifleman.org/blogs/tristar-c100-gotw
Given its obvious quality of manufacture, fit, and finish, as well as reliable functioning and excellent accuracy, I think the C100 definitely falls into the class of pistol in which a lot of us will one day say: "Boy I sure wish I'd bought one while they were cheap." I have a feeling they're going to be "discovered," so you had better get one while the getting is good. Best wishes.
JayPee
