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Which Full Size 9mm Hi Cap, optic ready?

4K views 34 replies 17 participants last post by  Sneeky 
#1 ·
Looking for a good quality 9mm full size, high capacity, preferably milled for a red-dot type optic. A Walther Q5 maybe? Heavy, even steel frame is fine, but prefer to keep it under $1k for the gun itself.

Thoughts?
 
#2 ·
Glock 17-19 or the like from Glock, SW, Walther and a multitude of others produce the like.

You can get a G17, send the slide to https://www.landmprecisiongunworks.com , who for the unknowing did the first slides for the RMR equipped Glock and many other types for Suarez.

Not counting the red dot, you will be well under the $1000 mark for the gun and milling, and he will mill to you choice of site instead of the generic MOS mill cut
 
#5 ·



�� just because...
Jesus All I can say to that


Sneeky

I am unable to relate to things going wrong with Glocks and red dots.The slides milled to fit a RMR exactly run great.

What happens with slides which go wrong. Some manufacturers design slides which are incompatible with milling for a red dot. The Barretta 92/96 comes to mind. Some 1911 slides as well. Nothing wrong there just dont work together well.

The Glock has metal to spare in front of the rear sight, and nothing underneath the mill slot which need the metal above it, hence why the combination works.
Ammunition makes a big difference in reliability with this system.
Bulk surplus 115 gr 9mm is less than reliable with the optics attached. You need to run 124 or heavier for reliability with the aftermarket or factory milled slides if you attach an optic. The slide is heavier, you ned to use appropriate amunition.
I have large and small frame Glocks with the RMR mod done by the linked smith. Glock copied the aftermarket in this case, with the MOS option. However they porked the puppy trying to make the slot 1 size fits all optics.


Where problems come in with red dots-
Slide has a generic mill cut- doesnt fit anything well
Using a less than quality red dot on a handgun produces less than quality result- optics produce results directly related to what you pay for it.

At times, a red dot on a 17 length slide is known to be less than reliable with cheap or under powered ammo. The same can be said with 115gr or lighter bullets.

Glocks with an RMR attached run best with 124gr or heavier bullets.

A 5 inch barreled 9mm should be matched with 147gr HP ammo, red dot or not
4 inch barrels run a 124 gr HP
3 inch or less a 115 gr HP

These are found to be reliable bullet weight HP for expansion in the barrel length noted. Shorter barrels mean less velocity,so a lighter bullet means more reliable expansion.
 
#10 ·
Depends on the optic. Trijicon holds up just fine, which is why the new US service pistol comes optic ready, and why they have a contract.

Others might, but Trijicon definitely does.
 
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#11 ·
I love my Canik TP9 SFX, it has an amazing trigger, excellent factory sights, the price can't be beat, and it comes from the factory with 20 round magazines. I own 2 and shoot them in USPSA and steel challenge matches. 1 is setup with an optic (RMR) and the other I shoot irons with.

Even after the gun and red dot, you'll still have money left over for cases of ammo with your budget.
 
#30 ·
The Canik is interesting to me. Do you have any trouble with reliability with a red dot optic mounted and firing 115 gr std velocity/pressure ammo?
The TP9SFX has a ported slide,
IMO this reduction in weight negates the weight of the optic (the Vortex it comes with).

I currently have 2 Caniks here at the house, another on loan to my brother and I sold my first one which was a TP9SA.
All were "broken in" using 124gr Nato spec rounds and after that I've used a mix of 124's and 115's including cheap crappy steel cased junk.

The only problem I've had is with my thumb hitting the slide lock.
No ammo malfunctions.

My buddy has the same gun and he's running a Leupold on his and I know he buys the cheapest crap he can find for his and as far as I know he doesn't have any problems.

The trigger on these is amazing.
Yes really.
Compared to any other striker fired handgun I've ever shot it has by far the best out of the box trigger.
I know they did some sort of upgrade, severe duty something or the other and people have said it increases weight to 5+lbs.
Supposedly you can swap in a Glock safety plunger spring to lighten it back up.
Reset is very short, like less than a quarter of an inch short.

Accuracy is better than I can shoot.
Using my buddies ransom rest the SFX will make one hole easily.


Now, here's the rub with these things:
They have a limited lifetime warranty for the original purchaser.
They are imported by Century.
I would not count on long term parts or repair support just because of the Century connection.
The plastic feels "plasticky".
Not a huge choice of holsters out there and the one that comes with them is kinda crappy. You'll be looking for a sort of universal one or might find a handmade kydex type somewhere.

I have multiple Caniks, I have more than one gunsmith as a close friend, I own dozens of handguns, all this equals me knowing I could end up with a busted gun someday that I may have to have a part made for or that may render it scrap.
That's a choice I'm OK with considering the other qualities of these pistols.

If someone were buying their first handgun or only planned on owning one handgun I would never recommend one just due to the possible parts issues that could happen.
But if someone has other guns to fall back on or is OK with there potentially being an issue with a repair or parts then by all means yes I'd say try one out.
 
#34 ·
If someone were buying their first handgun or only planned on owning one handgun I would never recommend one just due to the possible parts issues that could happen.
But if someone has other guns to fall back on or is OK with there potentially being an issue with a repair or parts then by all means yes I'd say try one out.
I truly appreciate the thorough response. Thank you. :thumb:

Sometimes I buy a gun to play with knowing it isn't likely a hand-me-down to generations gun. And there are no true long-term guarantees no matter what gun you buy or from what manufacturer, just better odds in some cases.

But this one I'd like my son and grandson to both be able to inherit. Maybe the Walther polymer Q5 -- I can't afford the steel one and they are so back ordered it ain't funny anyway. It too has a ported slide -- would like to know how finicky or not (ammo wise) it might be.

Also, I wonder, are polymer pistols likely to have their polymers degrade significantly over decades with exposure to gun oils, cleaners, etc?
 
#13 ·
You could go with a Sig Sauer P-226 pistol. They're great shooters and are used by all sorts of military and police groups around the world and across the U.S. As for mounting a sight or red dot, you can do that after you have the pistol broke in with a few hundred rounds under your belt getting to know your P-226.

Navy SEALs were and might still be fond of the P-226 and the Sig Sauer Company even produced a version for both the SEALs and the Green Berets.
 
#32 ·
The ammo weight "rules" PLA posted are a fairly good recommendation. You will have the occasional outlier, but those numbers are a good metric across multiple samples. They are based on "stock" parts. My Roland Special has not hiccupped under regular conditions with anything from 115 to 147 gr, running a stock RSA, but that is a relative rarity, based on a fairly large sample size. Using 115gr, it gets cranky if it starts to get dry, or extremely dirty. With 147gr, it takes a combo of extreme filth, dryness, and limp-wristing to get it to have issues.

For the most part, a lot of folks are having to experiment with different RSAs to get consistency with the lighter ammo, particularly when running a comp.
 
#35 ·
So I bought the Walther Q5 polymer, stuck a Vortex Venom on it, had it sighted in with 6 shots. Fired Federal and CCI 115 grain FMJ cheapo aluminum cased and brass cased ammo. In about 120 rounds I had not a single hiccup.

With the Federal ammo I was able to shoot 3 inch 5-shot groups from a rest and offhand at 25 yards.

For experienced shooters maybe that's no big deal. For me, is the best I have ever shot a centerfire handgun. I am delighted with the gun and the sight.
 
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