CANIK TP9 Elite Combat Executive Semi-Auto Pistol

DESCRIPTION: Canik TP9 Elite Combat Pistol
CANIK TP9 Elite Combat Pistol- Aim for reliable performance and superior reliability with the CANIK TP9 Elite Combat Executive Semi-Auto Pistol. The TP9 Elite Combat Executive is a striker-fired pistol, designed to meet and exceed law enforcement and military standards. Featuring fiber optic combat sights for rapid, intuitive target acquisition, and a crisp, flat-face aluminum trigger, this handgun excels in rapid fire scenarios, and withstands heat, water, dirt, and sand for dependable performance. The fluted and threaded, gold PVD-coated, match-grade barrel offers impeccable accuracy, while the slide features a durable Nitride finish for superior corrosion resistance, and all internal components boast a nitride or nickel coating for added durability and reliability. A loaded chamber indicator offers enhanced visual safety, and an aluminum speed funnel mag well offers speedy, intuitive loading.
Manufacturer model #: HG4950-N.

Exceeds law enforcement and military standards
Fiber optic combat sights
Short reset single-action trigger
Flat-face aluminum trigger
Loaded chamber indicator
Nickel-plated components
Fluted and gold PVD-coated barrel
12×28″ threaded barrel with Convex thread protector
Nitride coated slide
Review: Canik TP9 Elite Combat Pistol
Canik pistols originated as budget clones of the Walther P99. Currently, Century Arms imports six variants of the TP9, from a basic, everyday-carry configuration to a high-speed, optic-equipped racegun. Its Elite Combat (EC) model is the most-recent offering, manufactured in Turkey, but designed in part by Salient Arms International. A striker-fired, tilt-barrel design, it is conventional on the surface, but features a substantial number of quite clever and technical tweaks.

The TP9 EC features a Cerakoted-polymer frame complete with steel rails and locking block. Its Salient-designed barrel measures 4.73 inches long, is fluted and has a nitride finish. The end of the muzzle has 13.5×1 mm left-hand threads and comes with a knurled thread protector with flats for the included wrench. To my surprise, the TP9 EC’s case contains a flush-fitting 15-round metal magazine along with a spare that boasts an extended plus-three floorplate. Also included are four micro-red-dot mounting plates compatible with just about every MRDS on the market, a magazine loader, an adjustable polymer holster with an unorthodox retention device, a large backstrap, a trigger lock, a cleaning jag, a bore brush and a disassembly instruction card. In short, Canik delivers most of the typical accessories straight out of the box.

First impressions are quite favorable. The pistol fits the hand well, with sufficient texture for retention without being abrasive, and the controls are all accessible while retaining a low profile. The Salient-designed, dovetailed fiber-optic front and non-glare, square-notch rear sights provide a good sight picture. The rear assembly is retained with two setscrews, but requires a pusher tool for adjustment. From the box, it appeared somewhat to the right of center. However, the rear sight would likely be removed and replaced with a red dot. CANIK TP9 Elite Combat Pistol

The real star of the TP9 EC is the trigger. Previous designs felt good, but could lock up if the finger was placed too high, or if side pressure was exerted, or if the crease (rather than the pad) of the finger contacted the safety tab. This trigger fixes these problems and provides one of the best experiences on a fighting pistol. Both the trigger face and the unusually wide safety tab are metal. The tab is hinged quite high, near the frame. Once take-up is met, the finger presses across the entire 11 mm width of the flat trigger face, making for an extremely controllable and comfortable experience. The pull weight is the same, around 4.5 pounds, but it feels crisper and repeatable, with around 1⁄16 inch reset conducive to controlled rapid fire. A red striker indicator protrudes from the back of the frame when cocked, permitting tactile verification in low light.

Another Salient part, the pistol’s magazine well, provides a wider funnel for quick reloads and a bit of a pommel to aid retention. The magazine-release button is located, textured and tensioned just right, and may be reversed for left-handed shooters. Magazines are of the standard 15-shot, metal, drop-free design. While a loader is included, they can be refilled simply by hand. CANIK TP9 Elite Combat Pistol

The ambidextrous slide-stop lever is easily reached with either thumb or forefinger, and features a nicely textured shelf. While it excels in its purpose, this lever almost always ends up held down by the thumb of the strong hand during firing, preventing slide lock on the last shot when the standard thumbs-forward hold is used.

Disassembly of the pistol is simple but unusual: verify clear, pull the trigger to decock, pull the slide forward 1 inch and lift it straight up. Reassembly is the same in reverse.

Shooting the Canik TP9 EC is quite pleasant: minimal recoil, moderate muzzle flip and a good trigger all add up to a feeling of confidence. The experience is further improved by 100-percent reliability with all kinds of ammunition, from 124-grain SIG Sauer JHP to 185-grain Seismic subsonic HP. The pistol feels equally good during single strong– or weak-hand shooting.

To test accuracy, I rested the gun in a two-handed hold over a sandbag. At 15 yards, groups centered between 2 and 7 inches above the point-of-aim, depending on the bullet weight. For control, I shot a target longslide pistol of known, solid accuracy, and it printed 3 inches above the point-of-aim with 115-grain ammunition. Groups were only about 40 percent larger than from the target pistol, which I find useful in determining the baseline competency of the shooter doing the testing. CANIK TP9 Elite Combat Pistol

The group shape, with minimal elongation but with one or two fliers out of every 10, suggests that the shooter’s skill was inadequate with the combination of sights and trigger. I also noticed that groups shot from a rest were considerably higher than those fired offhand, meaning that the motion of the pistol in recoil affected the point-of-impact. The pistol also twisted noticeably to the right when fired for accuracy, but that was not observed when firing it while in a defensive stance. At 25 yards, I had no trouble keeping all shots on a 6-inch plate, and at 50 yards on a half-size steel silhouette. My conclusion is that the accuracy is ample for the intended task, and would improve considerably once a red-dot sight is mounted on this pistol.

Century Arms Canik TP9 Elite Combat: Pistol Extraordinaire
Let me say it flat out: The Century Arms Canik TP9 Elite Combat 9mm semi-automatic pistol is the most fully featured combat service-sized handgun that I have handled. The folks at Century say that the TP9 Elite Combat is the most advanced Canik pistol to date — and they are absolutely right!

Designed with the assistance of Salient Arms International, the brand-new Canik TP9 Elite Combat 9mm has every bell and whistle on it that one could ask for (without becoming a glommed-up mess)! Here is a quick overview of the most important features:

Proprietary convex thread protector with 13.5x1mm left-hand threads
Fluted and nitride-coated match-grade barrel
Fiber-optic sight set
Aluminum speed funnel magazine well
Internal components nitride- or high-wear nickel-coated
Flat-face aluminum trigger with a 4.8-pound trigger pull weight
Slide, barrel and small steel parts nitride-coated (slide is then coated with cerakote)
Optics-ready slide with four adapter plates and charging handle. CANIK TP9 Elite Combat Pistol
Extended magazine release
New retention holster with slide lock release
Ambidextrous, easily reached slide release levers
Loaded-chamber indicator
Red cocking indicator
Additional replacement backstrap
Molded-in Picatinny rail
Included cleaning tools and muzzle cap removal wrench
What About the Canik TP9’s Trigger?
The trigger is sheer genius. As is typical with most polymer pistols these days, the trigger has an integrated passive safety — meaning you don’t have to do anything to activate or deactivate it. Most passive trigger safeties consist of a lever in the center of the trigger that extends beyond the trigger face when the trigger is at rest. What I have found over the years is that sometimes the safety lever can become uncomfortable during prolonged firing of the heavier defensive calibers.

The Canik TP9’s trigger design eliminates the possibility of pain caused by the center safety lever on the trigger face. Like most brilliant developments, the solution is relatively simple. The Canik TP9’s trigger safety lever becomes the trigger!

The trigger safety is a piece of flat, red-anodized, grooved aluminum and is nearly the width of the trigger itself. It acts as a target trigger shoe without being detrimental for combat use and distributes the pressure on the trigger finger over a broader area. There is about a half-inch of total take-up before the process of releasing the striker begins. This makes the trigger very crisp and provides an additional margin of safety. CANIK TP9 Elite Combat Pistol

Canik TP9’s Steel 15-Round Magazines
The Canik TP9 comes with two steel magazines, one for concealment and one with a target extension. Here is the big thing: Both mags are marked to accept 15 rounds, and you can actually load 15 rounds without having to resort to the included loader or short-loading the magazine and carrying less ammo. Now that is impressive in a time when several manufacturers’ magazines don’t load up to fully marked capacity. The magazines drop free easily when the easy-to-reach mag release is activated.

I took the Canik TP9 to the range with SIG Sauer’s Elite 124-grain 9mm FMJ practice and Elite 124-grain V-Crown Defensive ammo. Both loads are rated at 1165 feet-per-second velocity with 374 foot-pounds of muzzle energy.

Both loads functioned flawlessly, and the sights were well-centered. The red fiber-optic front sight mated well with the plain black serrated rear. (I don’t need the distraction of multiple glowing dots in a dangerous situation.) The excellent ergonomics of the pistol made recoil inconsequential. The TP9’s grip melts naturally into the hand, so there was no need for me to mount the additional backstrap adaptor.

A Word on Shooting Accuracy
I was VERY impressed with the TP9’s accuracy. My first group of 15 shots using the FMJ Elite ammo at 30 feet, two-handed standing, measured 3 inches across. I later loaded up 15 rounds of the V-Crown 9mm ammo and moved up to 21 feet. This time I was able to keep all 15 rounds in a nice 2-inch group.

As many of you know, the gun makers of Turkey are very skilled, producing some excellent firearms at very reasonable prices. The Canik TP9 Elite Combat is no exception and can fill the mission of target pistol, home-defense pistol, suppressed sporting pistol, red-dot optic-sighted pistol and concealed carry handgun. CANIK TP9 Elite Combat Pistol