Browsing Bud’s or other Internet gun shops, there seems to be a profusion of Turkish-made pistols, under a variety of brand names. Many, if not most, seem to be clones of Walther or CZ actions. Prices are frequently sub-$400 and sometimes sub-$300.
A few shooting buddies tell me “steer clear of those cheap Turk guns”. Is that a fair assessment?
I’d say 90% of what I read about them on forums, slickguns.com, and some foreign discussion channels rave about them.
They’re a NATO member and have apparently mastered production. It’s a pity the only "designed in Turkey firearms they do are strictly for military, but whatever they copy (under license of course) seems to exceed expectations.
I own a Girsan 1911. Close to 1,000 rounds downrange of the cheapest ammo I can find and I’ve had ZERO jams, fte, ftf etc.
I also spent some time in the range with some Turkish CZ clones and same results above.
Which model(s) do your buddies own?
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I don’t have any first-hand experience with Turkish made guns, but if they exercise the same careful attention to detail on guns that they do with the engine parts I’ve seen come out of Turkey we should never give them any consideration at all. If you think Chinese and East Indian quality and metallurgy is poor, they are light years ahead of the Turks. I think you could realistically expect better quality out of Bangladesh.
I have a few. A 1911, CZ and a Beretta clone. They all are good guns. Well worth the price I paid for them.
I bought a TISAS 1911 solely to beat on. Ran about a thousand rounds through it with nothing beyond a bore scrub and regular lube. No issues using the cheapest ammo I could find other than not seeming to like hard primers. Sold it to a former coworker who I know has put at least a few hundred more through it and he hasn’t said anything about it at all.
I shot my buddie’s 9mm canik cz clone. It had a compensated barrel, not sure which model, maybe the shark? Anyways, it seemed like a very nicely machined pistol. Didn’t put a ton of rounds through it so I can’t really comment on reliability. Very soft shooting. Only problem is the takedown pin requires a punch to be removed. Might loosen up over time.
I had a Canik stingray. It was a good shooter. The machining inside the pistol was nicer than the stainless 75B I have. I still have two TP9SA pistols. I have over 1500 rounds through one and right over 1000 through the other. I shoot them better than the P99 I have. My small sample of Turkish guns seem to be fine, but the issue is if you ever need parts. I know Cajun Gun Works does alot for the CZ clones but none of the Turkish guns seem to be exact clones. David
These Turkish clones are the NORINCO of today.
Solid performance, great prices.
I have a Canik C-100 imported by TriStar. Only have around 500 round through it, and it is a fine alloy framed pistol. My opinion is that it is very well built and will withstand heavy use. Defintely accurate and reliable.
Turkey has a long tradition of building firearms—many are quite good and are based on pistol designs from well-known makers—I could own them…
:blink:
That’d be like blaming Colt for the Chevy HHR.
Had a Tristar T-120 in FDE (basically a Jericho 941) that ran perfectly and was surprisingly accurate, but traded because of the weight. I wouldn’t mind owning another, but probably one more along the lines of the CZ-75B in a blued or black finish.
Dionsysusigma, if weight is a concern, the Tristar C100 (compact size) is very light with the alloy frame. Check it out, if you can, They are now going for the ridiculously low price of $300.00 around here.
Here is a recent testament on the Canik TP9 series.
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I had a Regent 1911 for a while–Turkish made. For a $400 1911, it was very accurate and reliable enough; I had an issue with the extractor and upgraded it. Fit and finish was acceptable, sights were nothing to write home about, but they worked. For the price point, you get what you pay for–maybe a touch more. But for a similar price, I’d go with a used Glock or S&W 3rd gen and not look back.
Howdy Everybody,
I recently bought a CZ-75 clone made by Sarsilmaz in Turkey. It’s the Tristar S-120 9mm with steel frame.
I bought this pistol strictly as a range toy because .22LR is almost impossible to find, and I can reload 9mm ammo for slightly more than the going rate of .22LR ammo.
The pistol shows excellent workmanship, especially for a pistol that sells for 2/3 the price of a CZ. The fit and finish was better than I expected and is just was well made as a CZ.
The double-action trigger pull was smooth and steady without any rough spots, and was several pounds lighter, meaning easier to pull, than my 30 year old S&W .38 that has been fired thousands of times.
The single-action trigger pull was decent with only a little bit of take up , but it broke cleanly with very little effort.
Both trigger pulls will improve with time, even though very little improvement is needed.
The function of the S-120 was outstanding and fired evey round that I stuffed into the magazine including my 2nd rate 147gr LFP reloads. 115gr JHP, both standard pressure and +P loads, CCI aluminum Blazers and steel cased Tula 115gr FMJ. I did not have any type of jam or miss-fire during any of my shooting sessions.
Accuracy was also better than I had expected with the largest group being about 3"x5" ( WxH ) fired off hand at 20 yards using Tula 115gr FMJ steel case ammo. CCI aluminum Blazers 115gr FMJ averaged about a 2"x3" group at 20 yards fired offhand.
It is a full sized, steel framed pistol that weighs over 2 pounds empty and with a full mag of 17 rounds plus one in the chamber it is heavy when compared to a compact polymer framed Glock style pistol. This isn’t a problem as far as I’m concerned because I’m not a 9mm fan so it’s not a CCW, Self Defense, or home defense gun. It’s just a range toy. If I ever shoot IDPA again I’ll have to take it with me.
Also with 17 rounds in the mag ( 19rd mag available ) it would be a GREAT Zombie Invasion handgun!
Overall I am very impressed with the pistol and would buy another in a heart beat.
Here’s a couple of pics:
Now, I need to buy one of the polymer framed versions.
Paul
Thanks for the review. I didn’t know the V2 existed.
Not at all. I’ve seen firsthand the results of buying the cheapest thing you can find, and in hard use scenarios, the ending is rarely positive. Turkey is in the same situation India is, foreign investors are looking to cash in on an extraordinarily cheap source of cheap labor and low overhead. Modern materials and manufacturing processes aren’t part of the equation. How many military or LE professionals do you know who would carry such a low end weapon on duty? As a range toy, perhaps. Where the stakes are so much higher, no way.
Howdy anachronism,
You are sadly mistaken a reasonably price handgun for being, in your words, “a low end weapon”.
Some people are so hung up on brand name(s) that they would never except anything unless it had a brand name.
That’s why Sig, for one example, are so overpriced.
I could care less about “brand name” and am more interested in quality, function and price than brand name.
I have a Norinco 1911A1 .45acp that I’ve owned since 1993 and have fired +15,000 rounds though it with only 5 hiccups total. 2 were due to a bad $5.00 mag and 3 were my crappy handloads ( all from the same batch ). It’s bone stock except for a 2-piece guide rod and Wilson. All other parts are OEM chinese made junk. I was my EDC for 13 years until I purchased a Glock 23 in 2006. I’ve used it for IDPA, IPSC, USPSA, Steel Challenge, etc and have used it to take a 4-point buck and several coyotes.
Sure it’s a cheap ChiCom POS but it functions 100%, shoots 3" 25yd groups with quality ammo, and I’ve never said to myself “Gee, I wish I had a brand name pistol.” while I was outshooting guys with Kimber’s and Springfield 1911s.
Paul
I have put a little over 500 rounds thru my Canik TP 9 SA, not one problem, great sights, 18 rd magazines. It’s place is in the center console of my truck. I compared it to my FFL dealers VP9 and even he had to admit it was a good deal and well made. Clone doesn’t mean bad.