Specs & Features
Canik’s 9mm TP9 line of firearms borrowed generously from the Walther P99, and it shows with even the newer TP9 Elite SC that still resembles the Walther. The gun offers a flush magazine with a standard capacity of 12+1 – pinky extension optional – or 15+1 with the included magazine featuring an extended baseplate.
In transparency, this gun came to me used and with a few extra goodies – light, holster, and custom baseplate extensions, but I did my testing and shooting without them. The sights and trigger came to me stock. Let’s start with some general specs:
Length: 6.7 inches
Barrel Length: 3.6 inches
Height: 4.6 inches
Width: 1.45 inches
Weight: 1.54 pounds
Trigger Pull: 4.6 pounds
The gun boasts ambi, extended slide releases, and a reversible magazine release. There are also slanted front and rear slide serrations. The slide itself is tapered such that the front serrations only cover part of the slide. I found them positive but not overly aggressive at the rear and more than effective for press checks at the front.
The metal sights are not your tritium-style night sights but rather a blacked-out rear with a phosphorous front dot. The rear uses a square notch, hosts anti-glare cuts, and has a forward slop to assist with one-handed slide racking if you were forced to use something like your belt. I’ll talk more about the phosphorous front dot later, but the dot is large and white when not charged.
This gun is red-dot ready and provides direct mounting of the optic to the slide, which accepts Shield SMS/RMS footprint optics. With the direct mounting, Canik also boasts you will have “true” co-witness with the sights, which I assume means with the stock sights but cannot yet confirm. The front has a Picatinny rail for your lights and lasers.
Lastly, there is stippling on the side panels and raised dots on the front and rear of the grip. Overall, I found this locked into the hand nicely. I’d say it’s a cross between a Glock 19 and Sig P320 texture pattern. It’s more slippery than my Sig P320 but less so than my Glock 19 Gen 4 with sweaty hands.
Range Day: Accuracy & Reliability
For me, this is where this gun and other Caniks I have fired or owned shine the most as out-of-the-box performers – as long as you remember these are budget-friendly guns. So far, they've proven to be very reliable and accurate shooters without any need for any babying or excessive upgrades.
I’m only at around 250 rounds through the TP9 Elite SC – no issues to report yet – but I’m past 5,000 at this point with my older TP9SA because it was one of my favorite plinking guns before ammo prices went haywire. (Yes, that is the only version with a decocking button that makes it a no-go for carry or duty as a single-action-only gun IMHO). But the trigger was actually quite nice, and it ate everything from bulks of lacquered steel-case ammo and budget reloads to Federal and Winchester ball to Hornady Critical defense and Sig Sauer Elite Performance.
I can only recollect one failure and one shooter-induced failure with that TP9SA. The first was a failure to fire, which came from a box of cheap reloads I had pulled from the trunk of my car in minus 20-degree weather. The primer did not ignite. Before anyone takes that as a sign of the gun’s quality, it also did not ignite in subsequent testing with my G19.
The second failure was from another shooter firing the pistol with a limp wrist. In that case, I personally watched them allow their hand to recoil back and the slide caught the spent casing in a mid-flight stovepipe. It was kind of impressive bad luck really. Still, there’s some wear on the finish now, but I’ve come to think of the gun as a tank.
The carry-sized TP9 Elite SC still felt good in the hand, and I could get a full grip with the extended mags. I did almost all my shooting, however, with the 12-rounders, and it did not feel overly snappy or uncomfortable with my pinky creeping off the grip. This is just one opinion, but I felt like I shot this subcompact better than most of my full-size guns right out of the box. I also shot it better than just about any subcompact or smaller I’ve ever shot that was still in its factory condition.
I personally believe a lot of all that just comes down to the trigger and ergonomics of the gun. The grip is closer to 18 degrees like a 1911 instead 22 degrees like a Glock, so I felt it pointed more naturally in my hands. But the trigger was likely the real winner. It has a nice take-up that is more light resistance letting you know you are pulling than it is mush. The wall is clear, and there is just a hint of creep you barely can notice before a crisp break. The reset is also positive and short, making those follow-up shots so much easier.
Simplicity & Extras
Another thing about Canik’s TP9s is the extras that make life just a little bit simple. My test gun came from the Guns.com Certified Used collection, but it still had the extra backstraps, a Canik IWB/OWB holster, extra mag, magazine extension plate, and some other goodies tucked in a nice hard case. Beyond that, Canik TP9-series pistols are all incredibly simple to takedown and maintain, much like a Glock but with more generous, user-friendly takedown levers.
But as a used gun, it also came with a rechargeable Olight PL-Mini 2 Valkyrie pistol light, a nice Close Quarters Carry Kydex inside-the-waistband holster, and two TF aluminum magazine extensions. All were nice perks that sometimes come with used guns.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all 100-percent sunshine and roses. While the metal phosphate sights were better than what's offered by some competitors, I do wish they would be tritium-based sights personally. The phosphorus front can be made to glow a nice, bright green for quite a while with just a quick hit from your flashlight. It works, but if you were to leave it in your holster and forget, it might come out as little more than a white dot.
The TP9 Elite SC also comes with only two mags, which is a thing I would like to just see go away. Three mags with the pistol set the user up with what they need for most things, including training courses that often require three mags. Granted, at least Canik’s TP9s come with nice Mec-Gar mags.
My last gripe is the extended and somewhat beefy slide release controls. They make this more of a tactical than a carry gun by beefing up the width of the pistol. I can also see them eventually preventing the slide from locking back while shooting if you ride them with your support-hand thumb.
Final Thoughts: How Does It Stack Up?
I don’t generally like to give overly stellar remarks on a gun, especially after just 250 rounds fired, so I might be a bit biased here given my own history with Canik firearms so far. But honestly, I’m tempted to buy this gun after testing to keep putting it through its paces, and it is worth noting that prices on some of the Canik guns have been rising over the years as they gain a reputation. At the same time, they continued to improve their guns and add new features for different shooters’ needs.
However, as my last thought, I would certainly carry this pistol with as much confidence as my stock G19 or Sig Sauer P320 with a bit more testing, and I would likely eventually shoot it better. Though, I generally don’t carry with a pistol light and would likely drop that item.
