The Caracal Enhanced F 9mm pistol [ ] GOOD [ ] BAD [ ] INDIFFERENT

The Caracal Enhanced F 9mm pistol [ ] GOOD [ ] BAD [ ] INDIFFERENT

  • Good

    Votes: 5 31.3%
  • Bad

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Indifferent

    Votes: 11 68.8%

  • Total voters
    16
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Hokkmike

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Press Releases
Enhanced F Pistol Featured at 2017 Industry Day at the Range™ and SHOT Show®
Jan 6, 2017 9:08:28 PM
BOISE, Idaho – Caracal introduces the striker-fired Enhanced F 9mm pistol for sportsmen, competitive shooting, concealed-carry, law enforcement and military users. Industry Day at the Range attendees will have an opportunity to shoot the firearm at Caracal Shooting Bay #SR-52. This new handgun, designed for smooth-handling, intuitive shooting, lower felt-recoil and excellent reliability, will also be available at their SHOT Show Booth #2829.

The Enhanced F is a polymer-framed pistol with an integral rail for mounted accessories including lights and lasers for customization and a low slide profile for versatility to meet specific customer needs. The Enhanced F is proudly manufactured in the United States, in partnership with Wilcox Industries. Projected commercial availability is targeted for the third quarter of 2017.

"Listening to our customers and incorporating their feedback, we've completely redefined the Caracal F pistol. The Enhanced F is designed to perform and its evolution brings with it many of the important features and upgrades that today’s shooters have come to expect from a world-class product," said Caracal Director of Marketing Jae Gillentine. "The enhanced F is unique because of its low-profile, reduced mass slide, intuitive grip and proprietary trigger system. These features and other elements combine to provide a reliable handgun that gets shooters on target and will hold up to the rigors of tough environments."

The Enhanced F pistol has a redundant safety system that includes an integrated trigger safety, a firing pin safety and drop safety. The trigger shoe, trigger safety and trigger bar all combine into a one-piece multi-function unit (MFU) design for an extremely intuitive pistol for shooters of all skill levels.

The one-piece MFU design incorporates a full-length steel slide guide to increase rigidity and durability, while diminishing torsion and flex during recoil. The sub assembly of this design also includes all internals and provides ease of manufacturing, assembly/disassembly and armorer-level service.

The Enhanced F provides a fully supported chamber in a (4.1 in) cold hammer forged barrel with a right-hand twist. These barrels are SAAMI proof tested for +P ammunition. The metal parts receive QPQ nitriding with an enclosed post-oxidizing surface treatment for a protective coating This treatment is very durable and protects well against rust and other forms of wear.

Sight configurations on the Enhanced F consist of a standard three-dot steel full-length (6.5 in) sight system. Both front and rear sights are now dovetail mounted and the slides will be compatible with after-market sights.

The Enhanced F also marks the return of the Quick Sight system, which has the rear sight machined into the slide and located just in front of the ejection port. This system places both the front and rear sights on a single focal plane allowing the shooter to present a clear sight picture on target extremely fast.

The pistol comes standard with two 18 or 10-round magazines (customer preference/regulatory compliance), a cleaning kit, cable lock and a user manual packed in a plastic carry case. MSRP for the Enhanced F is $599.00 and is backed by a limited lifetime warranty which covers the pistol from all material and workmanship defects for the life of the pistol under the ownership of the original end user.

enhanced-f-1.png
 
The the first batch were very nicely finished guns. One could tell they were quality guns. The one with "running game" or "battue sight" milled into the frame looked pretty interesting. Too bad they were recalled for some reason. Haven't shot one so I don't know how they perform.
 
Caracal has always sparked my interest, but until they actually launch guns that work well and don’t have recalls I will continue to vote indifferent. They seem to have what it takes to be mainstream but always fall short. They’ve been making pistols for a long time now to not have successful pistols and a decent track record.
 
Put me down as INDIFFERENT.

Never saw the first version; don't really care if I come across the new and improved version (Enhanced F Pistol?), that is if it ever makes it over here.
 
Day late, dollar short. In a market flooded with 9mm polymer handguns, why would I buy this one, especially considering where it's made. I have German, Austrian and American built handguns that already fill the same roles this pistol would, have a rock-solid reputation for working as well as durability and ruggedness.
 
I got to handle and shoot a couple of Caracals. It was agree by all present that the design and ergos were superior to Glock. Their triggers were superb...in my opinion, even better than both the PPQ and the P320. I was very disappointed that they didn't get the heat treat right on some of their compacts and the recall derailed their introduction. I was extremely impressed with those pistols.
 
At this point, Caracal has a very tough road ahead of them.

To win back loyalty of old customers and win over new customers, they must prove themselves against skepticism.

I believe Caracal pistols offer innovation that will challenge other gun makers and competition is good.

If Caracal pistols start winning IPSC/USPSA matches, that may change some opinions.
 
It looks decent, but it doesn't set itself apart from other modern handguns well enough. What can this gun do that a Glock or Ruger American can't for a lower price and better reputation?
 
Well they feel good in the hand and don't cause a painful abrasion on my thumb, like the American does. And they feel better in the hand than a Glock. However, there are a lot of other plastic wonderguns that feel great in the hand also.
 
18 rounds magazine capacity into a less bulky grip than any G17 sized pistols.
 
When it is available as a rental at a indoor shooting facility I frequent, I'll rent one thus have actual firing experience usage to base a preliminary opinion on. With no actual experience its just hot air verbiage.
 
At least it's not a glock....

But then again M&P and CZ both make excellent options.
 
I like the quick sights model, waiting for the compact version availability?
 
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At least it's not a glock....

But then again M&P and CZ both make excellent options.

Not to mention: FN, H&K, Ruger, Beretta, Springfield of Croatia, Glock, bunch of Turkish imports,....... It's going to be nearly impossible to come back.
 
Not to mention: FN, H&K, Ruger, Beretta, Springfield of Croatia, Glock, bunch of Turkish imports,....... It's going to be nearly impossible to come back.
Yes, it has a hard road back. Also, now the Canik is in the mix and has a good rep and priced low. So, the gun had better be really good and priced right. They may need to have a few given way by NRA and NSSF and some top shooters start using them for competition.
I suspect that I decided to purchase a striker fired gun today, I would make the safe choice an buy a Glock Gen 5 17
 
They may need to have a few given way by NRA and NSSF and some top shooters start using them for competition.

Tawazun Holding has the cash to make things like that happen. If Caracal was like most firearms manufacturers and had to turn a profit based on the firearms they produced, I think they'd be finished by now. They made a few missteps just establishing a presence in the U.S. and then they produced quite a few pistols that shattered when the trigger was pulled and had a massive recall. If they were just a company that started with x amount of dollars from the bank and were depending on revenue from sales to continue operations - they'd be finished. But Tawazun Holding was created by the Tawazun Economic Council which used to be called the UAE Offset Programme Bureau. It is a bureau of the United Arab Emirates which is a federation of monarchies or emirates. So basically Caracal is owned by the UAE and backed by the 7th largest oil reserves in the world and they're serious about being in the weapons business and they have the money to recover from their missteps.

Giving away firearms and putting together a team of highly paid competitors is not going to be a problem for them.
 
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