Steyr M9
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rellascout
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I have owned a few Steyr M guns and I liked them but they are not anywhere near as reliable as Glocks.
They have better ergos and a better trigger but they have some bugs in the design. My S40 suffered fame damage and had to be replaced. My M9's safety located above the trigger would engage itself due to a poor spring design. They removed this feature from the MA1 model IIRC.
Steyr makes good guns but has a terrible marketing & service department which has left them with very little market presence.
They have better ergos and a better trigger but they have some bugs in the design. My S40 suffered fame damage and had to be replaced. My M9's safety located above the trigger would engage itself due to a poor spring design. They removed this feature from the MA1 model IIRC.
Steyr makes good guns but has a terrible marketing & service department which has left them with very little market presence.
Snowdog
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I have an M40 and I love it. It's incredibly robust in appearance and I imagine it is just as robust in reality.
When I first received it, it would fail to go completely into battery on occasion and that prevented me from carrying it. However, I recently replaced the captured spring with a solid spring guide with new spring and it's been 100% since.
Considering the malfunctions completely disappeared after replacing the recoil rod/spring, I am still under the impression that the captured spring denied enough tension towards the end of the slide's travel to ensure the slide went into battery.
This failure to return to battery issue is not the norm with M-series standards, so don't let this scare you off.
I think the manual safety is quite clever and it works wonderfully on mine. My only gripes with it is that it required two hands to engage it and it requires a trigger-finger inside the trigger guard to disengage. For many, this poses no problems. However, I keep the finger indexed outside the trigger until I'm ready to send lead downrange.
Of course, there's no rule saying this unique safety must be engaged, so it could very well be carried much like a Glock with safety off (with the primary "safety" being between the ears).
I don't know what fair prices are for these M series today, but I very much enjoy mine.
When I first received it, it would fail to go completely into battery on occasion and that prevented me from carrying it. However, I recently replaced the captured spring with a solid spring guide with new spring and it's been 100% since.
Considering the malfunctions completely disappeared after replacing the recoil rod/spring, I am still under the impression that the captured spring denied enough tension towards the end of the slide's travel to ensure the slide went into battery.
This failure to return to battery issue is not the norm with M-series standards, so don't let this scare you off.
I think the manual safety is quite clever and it works wonderfully on mine. My only gripes with it is that it required two hands to engage it and it requires a trigger-finger inside the trigger guard to disengage. For many, this poses no problems. However, I keep the finger indexed outside the trigger until I'm ready to send lead downrange.
Of course, there's no rule saying this unique safety must be engaged, so it could very well be carried much like a Glock with safety off (with the primary "safety" being between the ears).
I don't know what fair prices are for these M series today, but I very much enjoy mine.
If it has the safety it is the older M9 model. I have one and love it. They are great guns that few people seem to know about. I have one and I'd snatch up another in good shape for $320. You will be getting a lot of gun for the money.
I find the M9 compares very favorably to my G19. I prefer the grip and the trigger. It has a lower bore axis and allows for a very high grip which I believe is what gives it less perceived recoil and allows for faster follow ups. With the new 17 round mags that are only negligibly longer that the 15 round mags it carries two more rounds without really adding more size. While the 19 will take my G17 mags or extension they come with a notable size increase. My steyrs (an old M and a MA1) have been as reliable as my glocks, which is to say highly reliable. I cannot speak for others. I trust mine as defensive guns. The one place my glocks blow the steyrs out of the water is in after market support. However, I only change the sights on my glocks and added a magwell to a g17.
I find the M9 compares very favorably to my G19. I prefer the grip and the trigger. It has a lower bore axis and allows for a very high grip which I believe is what gives it less perceived recoil and allows for faster follow ups. With the new 17 round mags that are only negligibly longer that the 15 round mags it carries two more rounds without really adding more size. While the 19 will take my G17 mags or extension they come with a notable size increase. My steyrs (an old M and a MA1) have been as reliable as my glocks, which is to say highly reliable. I cannot speak for others. I trust mine as defensive guns. The one place my glocks blow the steyrs out of the water is in after market support. However, I only change the sights on my glocks and added a magwell to a g17.
raddiver
Member
That's the one with the triangle sight right? If so, i dig it. I didn't get to shoot it, but it fit comfortably, and balanced well (at least in my hand)
I would have bought it, but i didn't have the 480 my friend was asking for it at the time.
I would have bought it, but i didn't have the 480 my friend was asking for it at the time.
I have a M9-A1 that I bought used that has run flawlessly for me. I wasn't interested in them due to all of the negative things you hear about them. But then a guy at my range let me shoot his. After the second shot I figured out the sights, and actually prefer them for speed. The trigger is better than a Glock as well as the ergonomics.
I was surprised to read that rellascout didn't think that they are as reliable as Glocks. All I can say is the one that I own runs flawlessly with just routine cleaning.
I wouldn't mind having another M series in .357 Sig.
I was surprised to read that rellascout didn't think that they are as reliable as Glocks. All I can say is the one that I own runs flawlessly with just routine cleaning.
I wouldn't mind having another M series in .357 Sig.
The fact is no one has the information needed to really make a statement about how they as a class compare as a class to glocks or whatever else. People can report their own experiences and what they have heard others say. Anyone who knows the first thing about statistics or sampling understands why that is problematic. Brands earn general reputations for a reason, but to make a definitive comparative class statement is simply conjecture at best.
I haven't seen a too many negative reports about steyrs. From what I always saw the general reputation was good enough to get me to try one. The particular ones I have work, and work very well. In the end it only matters if the gun you get works. I've had other guns with great reputations for reliability and durability that I had issues with (ruger sp101 for example) and all that reputation didn't mean much to me when I did. Reputation is good for making initial inquiries but what matters ultimately is if the gun you get works.
I haven't seen a too many negative reports about steyrs. From what I always saw the general reputation was good enough to get me to try one. The particular ones I have work, and work very well. In the end it only matters if the gun you get works. I've had other guns with great reputations for reliability and durability that I had issues with (ruger sp101 for example) and all that reputation didn't mean much to me when I did. Reputation is good for making initial inquiries but what matters ultimately is if the gun you get works.
My M-9 ran 100%, and was a nice, pretty accurate gun. Overall I liked it but couldn't warm up to the trigger, and it was pretty blocky for carry. I ended up selling it. I wanted and S-9, but at the time CDNN was out so I got the M-9. I somewhat regret selling it as it was a well made, unique gun.
rellascout
member
2 of the 3 that I owned has issues. One was replaced, S40, due to extensive frame damage. The other had intermitten problems with the safety located above the trigger. It would engage sometimes upon presentation of the gun this was a S9.
The 3rd was an M9 which was 100%.
I tried to love them but in the end I sold all of them and moved on. At the time Steyr had lost its importer for the 3rd time before opening up their own importer in GA. The guns have huge potential but without the proper support from the company they will never thrive.
I think that they missed their time window. There was a time that with proper marketing they could have give Glock a run for their money. These pistols are now $550+ and are hard to find. In the market today there are just too many good poly guns with better market presence and support. I consider them a lost opportunity.
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rellascout
member
If the price is right I might consider one but honestly it would have to be south of $300.
I wish they were going for that. I missed the CDNN fire sale. The way I look at it, right now they are selling for about the same as a new Glock, and to me a Styer is just a more refined Glock.
In fact now that I think about it, all new gun prices are very high to me. For the last several years I've found better value in used guns.
Snowdog
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I was one of the lucky ones to buy from CDNN when they were dumping them like they were hot. I believe I paid $289 or $299 for my M40 NIB. On occasion, CDNN tends to do that. I paid about the same for my new CD hi power, another pistol I've been happy with.
rellascout
member
That is where I got my S40 and M9. I bought by S9 at Gander Mountain because they matched the CDNN price.
The A1 version also has the manual safety lever option.
But the Steyr M series pistols do lack one of the most important safety features that standard on almost every service pistol; Firing pin block safety...
I have never owned a Steyr M9 or its A1 version, but I have several friends and shooting buddies who own or owned the A1 version and my personal view about the Steyr M9 is exactly the...I will never trust my life on a Steyr M9...
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thanks everyone for info on Steyr I decided not to purchase it. Pistol shoots great but there are not to many accessories for it and since I am left handed I cannot find holster for it, my friend also has a Glock 26 gen 3 unfired for same price and decided to purchase that instead.
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