Category Archives: ccw

Odds are, you haven’t heard of this Micro 9– but you should have

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The Stoeger brand has been around since 1924 and for at least a generation has been owned by Beretta. Known best for its shotguns – which are of great quality – their guns are made in Turkey.

However, in the past couple of years, the company has been marketing a polymer-framed striker-fired (and very, very Glock-like) series of 9mm pistols, the STR-9 platform. The smallest of these debuted last year, a micro-compact 9 dubbed, logically, the STR-9MC.

To be sure, it greatly resembles a G43X– if it was a Gen 3 gun that was slightly smaller but with a better magazine capacity, steel (not plastic) SIG-dovetail pattern sights, nickel-coated steel (not plastic) mags, and a steel (not plastic) guide rod/recoil assembly.

Plus, you can typically get them for around $300.

There is a lot to like about Stoeger’s micro compact 9mm. In terms of price, it gives guns like the Taurus GX4 and Mossberg MC2sc lots of competition and even compares well to a lot of genuinely nice Micro 9s such as the CR920 or a Glock 43X. It has a low bore axis that mitigates (but not eliminates) muzzle flip, and we found it both reliable and accurate enough on the range to trust it for EDC. It takes down easily for maintenance.

When it comes to balancing the pros and cons of the pistol, the STR-9MC remains a viable choice for those looking for an inexpensive and reliable micro 9 that Glock should have built but didn’t.

Full review after the jump.

Glock Finally Dropped a Factory 19L: Meet the New (To Glock) G49

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The so-called Glock 19L, using the compact G19 grip with a full-sized G17-length slide and barrel, has been a thing for years, with folks typically hacking a Glock 17 grip to make it a 15-shot capacity pistol that accepts G19 mags. Others used a standard G19 frame with an aftermarket G17-length slide that was compatible with the shorter frame.

The benefit was that, for many, the G19 is considered easier to conceal with its shorter grip/height than the G17, while the longer barrel and slide give the user a longer sight radius.

The Glock 49 Gen 5 MOS was first leaked back in May 2022 by Vickers Tactical in a post that had over 3,000 likes and comments. A popular rumor on Glock groups at the time was that it was a spinoff of the company’s large 2019 CBP contract that saw the federal agency purchase $85 million worth of pistols including the crossover G47, which was designed to run a shorter Glock 19 recoil system in a Glock 17-sized slide and barrel with a slightly shorter dustcover on the frame.

For the last year, the G47 allows the user to make a more or less OEM 19L pistol, by swapping a Gen 5 slide and barrel from a G19 over to the G47 frame.

For instance, take a look at this:

Showing off that modularity, I give you the “you got chocolate in my peanut butter” that is the G19X and G47 MOS with swapped uppers. Both guns shoot and cycle fine. You could do the same between the G47 and the G17 Gen 4/5, G45, and G19 Gen 4/5. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Now, the G49 is finally a real thing, as Glock announced it Wednesday.

Chambered in 9mm Luger, it holds 15+1 rounds in standard magazine capacity, has a 4.49-inch barrel, all the standard Gen 5 characteristics like the accurate Glock Marksman Barrel, and the company’s MOS system for mounting optics. (Photo: Talo)

Hopefully for Glock, there is still interest in this concept. Even if there isn’t, they’ll probably sell a million of them.

Hellcat Pro Gets Threads

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The new Hellcat Pro Threaded model in Desert Flat Dark Earth debuted on Monday and is the first model to ship in that colorway with an extended threaded barrel and both 15+1 round flush fit and 17+1 round extended magazines.

Springfield loaned me a test and evaluation sample of the new model prior to launch and I had a chance to give a first look at this feature-loaded desert cat.

Why would you want to have a threaded barrel on a micro 9mm subcompact? 

When it comes to the reasoning behind the Hellcat Pro Threaded, it all just comes down to value added. Users can opt to carry it as bare bones as possible, with no lights, optics or muzzle devices, and have the flush-fit mag inserted with the extendo as a spare should things get really really real, and the platform is still very concealable. Then, for quiet time on the range, a suppressor can be added without degrading performance. If weight and concealability is not a factor, say, for home defense, a user can add all the bells and whistles and run the larger mag full-time.

Plus, there is always the scenario of using a loaded-out Hellcat Pro Threaded as one’s home defense pistol while keeping a standard, more bare-bones, Hellcat Pro for carry use. This keeps the same manual of arms and practice factor across both duties while being able to share mags, most holsters, and spare parts. Could be a win on a bunch of fronts.

A Shorty Hi-Power Micro 9?

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Florida-based European American Armory has a new optics-ready BHP style pistol on the market with a lightweight alloy frame that gives the current micro-compact 9mm game a new darkhorse competitor. The Girsan MCP35 PI LW Match was among a series of new pistols introduced in the first week of October and I got an early look at the gun (they sent me SN 6!) to run it through its paces.

To cut through the background and get to the good stuff, Turkish gunmaker Girsan, working directly with EAA, has developed the MCP35 line over the past couple of years. Essentially starting with direct clones of the post-1980 Browning Mark II/III models (complete with the dreaded magazine-disconnect safety and hammer-bite prone beavertail), they started making more optimized Ops-series rail guns, improved Match guns, and shortened Commander-length PI models– giving the BHP-loving public new things to cheer about.

All ship with Mec-Gar’s excellent 15-round flush-fit BHP mags.

Now, EAA has shifted gears with the MCP35PILW series, an acronym that just rolls off the tongue. Breaking it down, the “PI” references the fact that the new guns have a shorter 3.88-inch barrel and corresponding top end, while the “LW” means it uses a lightweight alloy frame. The weight savings are about a half-pound off the standard-length MCP35 and a quarter pound less than the standard steel-framed PI. It will be available in both an Ops (railed frame) and Match model, offered in either an all-black or two-tone black and tungsten finish.

Length on the MCP35PILW Match is 7.25 inches overall (with almost an inch of that being the beavertail), and we found ours to hit the scales at 23.2 ounces, unloaded. Carry weight, with 15+1 rounds of Federal 124-grain Punch, is 32 ounces flat. Add a second mag for really bad days, and you got a serious carry with some class. 

In terms of comparison, the MCP35PILW Match is a very close match to the Springfield Armory Hellcat Pro in terms of length, height, width, weight, and flush-fit magazine capacity. Note the extra length on the shorty Hi-Power is in the beavertail.

Plus, did I mention that it is optics-ready?

More in my column at Guns.com.

500 Rounds with the Reflex (x2)

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FN over the past few years has been trying to shrink down its 9mm carry offerings as an answer to market demands sparked by guns like the SIG P365 and Springfield Armory Hellcat. While the 6+1-shot FN 503 was small and dependable, people seem to have that double-stack micro 9 itch and, to scratch it, FN has debuted the Reflex.

With a 3.3-inch barrel that gives it a 6.2-inch overall length, the FN Reflex falls into the increasingly familiar micro 9 subcompact category blazed by some rivals in the past few years. (All Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Hitting the scales at just 18.4 ounces right out of the box, it runs a flush-fit 11+1 round mag with a pinky extension for better grip support and ships with an extended 15+1 round mag.

FN sent me a pair of the guns– one a plain black standard model, the second an optics-ready MRD in FDE– and I’ve put 500 rounds through each.

More in my column at Guns.com.

14 Shot Tip Up .380: Meet the EAA Girsan MC 14T

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At first look, the EAA-imported Girsan MC 14T appears to be a clone of the original circa 1970s Beretta Cheetah series, now a classic.

However, you will note that the EAA carries an M1913 Picatinny accessory rail on the dust cover for mounting lights and lasers– a feature never cataloged on any old-school Cheetah variant.

Using a simple straight blowback action, it is chambered in .380 ACP and uses a double-action/single-action trigger with a manual frame-mounted safety lever.

The EAA Girsan MC 14T, left, compared to a Beretta Cheetah. Note the Girsan is slightly longer, and we’ll get into that. Of note, it uses the same magazine as the double-stack 13+1 round magazine of the Beretta 84.

This extended barrel length is to allow a “tip up” barrel easily actuated by a one-push lever on the right-hand side of the frame. For the gun nerds out there, Beretta briefly made a tip-up .380 Cheetah, the Model 86, but it was a single stack, and collectors, due to its rarity, tend to drive prices on those into the $1,500 region.

This is comparable to Beretta’s pipsqueak mouse guns such as the Model 21A Bobcat shown here in .22 LR.

More on the MC 14T in my column at Guns.com.

Hammer-Fired Micro 9: First Looks at the New FN Reflex

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Setting itself apart from the rest of the itty bitty 9mm double-stack pack, FN’s new Reflex 9mm is a hammer-fired micro-compact with a great trigger.

Debuted just before the NRA’s Annual Meetings in April, I’ve been taking a closer look at the Reflex series as part of an extended test and evaluation that will push this little palm-sized parabellum past the 2,000-round mark.

The Reflex ships in a cardboard box with a plastic tray and comes with two magazines. For most states, this means a 15+1 round extended mag and a flush-fit 11+1 round mag with a pinky extension for better grip support. (All photos: Chris Eger)

The unloaded weight is 18.4 ounces with an empty mag. We found the Reflex in its most svelte form, with 12 rounds of Federal’s Punch JHP 124-grain self-defense loads and no optic, to hit the scales at 23.4 ounces. Shown with a DeSantis Inside Heat which, although made for the single stack FN 503, fits it like a glove.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Swimming with the Manta

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This understated Tisas 1911, which sports an Ed Brown Bobtail to minimize printing – and maximize comfort – when carrying concealed, has proved smooth and dependable in testing.

We’re talking about the Manta.

I’ve been kicking around one for the past couple of months, wearing it both IWB and OWB, and putting well over 500 rounds through one.

One favorite minimalist OWB carry was the always popular Galco Yaqui Slide, paired with a bamboo Boker Burnley Kwaiken. When carried with a spare mag in N8 Tactical’s new Magna-Clip carrier, you had 17 rounds of Speer Gold Dot at the ready.

A more deep carry concealment setup was a Bianchi Leather Model 100 Professional IWB holster with a high back. An extra mag in a Crossbreed Confidant, which can be carried IWB as well, makes a good companion as does a fixed blade.

Does the cut make a difference when it comes to carry? The smoothed extended beavertail grip safety, coupled with the rounded hammer, keeps from digging into the side while sitting and moving, as does the Bobtail.

As someone who has carried lots of standard Government profile 1911s over the years, I can vouch that it is more comfortable. Plus, with the trailing edge of the rear grip effectively rounded off, you print less with a cover garment.

The full review in my column at Guns.com.

An Unlikely All-steel Micro 9

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EAA, long known for its Regard, Witness, and Windicator models, two years ago began to import the Girsan MCP35 from Turkey. That later pistol seems to be modeled after the later post-1980 Browning Mark II/III models made by FN during the last few decades of the model’s run with that company. The latter includes an external extractor, a serrated ring hammer, a slim trigger, a windage drift-adjustable rear sight, ships with a Mec-Gar produced 15-shot aftermarket double-stack magazine and includes both an ambidextrous safety and a magazine-disconnect safety (more on this abomination later).

I really dug the standard-sized MCP35, seen here in a factory FDE option, finding it an excellent value and lots of fun on the range. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

While EAA introduced updated OPS and Match series MCP35s, which upgraded the legacy standard with accessory rails, optics cuts, and a better trigger, what I openly wished for was a shortened version optimized for carry. Hi-Power fans will immediately recall the old FM Detective.

Made by FM in Argentina, which had been set up under license by FN back in the 1960s to make BHPs for the Argentine military and police, the Latin American armory developed a shortened model that retained the same size grip and magazine capacity. It was only brought into the States for a few years in the 1990s, when it was marketed as the Detective by importers.

I was a huge fan of the Detective and bought and carried the gun on the right for several years. It was rough and basic, but it worked. For those interested, according to the online inflation calculators, $239 in 1992 is worth $514.18 today, which is around what the MCP35 PI runs. Also, do not try to go to SOG and get the above deal, as that importer closed its doors years ago.

Taking a cue from the old FM Detective, EAA teased the new MCP35 PI late last year and started shipping it a couple of months ago.

The basic concept trims an inch off the barrel length and almost an inch and a half in overall length, as well as a few ounces in weight, from the standard MCP35, leaving a more compact pistol, roughly akin to the concept of a Commander 1911.

The big kicker is that, in that size, it is the same size as guns like the SIG P365 XMacro and Springfield Armory Hellcat Pro, while being hammer-fired and all-steel. 

The EAA Girsan MCP35 PI is a factory-shortened Hi-Power clone that still accepts standard magazines and most parts, save for slide and barrel components. 

My full review on the PI after the jump.

Peanut butter Hellcat travels

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I wouldn’t classify myself as a Springfield Armory fanboy, but after spending a lot of time and brass with the Hellcat Pro, I may become one.

Springfield introduced the Hellcat 11+1 round 9mm series in September 2019, becoming one of the first real competitors to SIG’s P365, a 10+1 round micro compact 9mm of about the same size that hit the reset button on the carry market the year prior.

Then, in 2022, Springfield updated the design with the Hellcat Pro series, which brings a 15+1 capacity and an optics-ready slide to the platform.

I’ve been kicking around one with a peanut butter (officially Desert FDE) hued finish since around Thanksgiving and have well over 2K rounds through it.

The full details after the jump.

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