Canik Mete MC9L

The Canik METE MC9 drew a lot of attention in the “micro compact” world by technically both meeting the size format, but not using narrower magazines. Canik fans quickly discovered that standard Canik magazines fit, and yet the MC9 was narrower in hand than the TP9 SC subcompact model. Those ergonomic updates were part of the METE line and were certainly noticable on the range. We made a comparison of the TP9SC and METE MC9 in the video below:

One compromise all micro-compact pistols have is the consequence of there simply being less surface area for the shooter to engage when drawing and firing the firearm. Depending on your hand size this downside may or may not be significant. As a larger-handed human it’s certainly been a point of frustration of mine. Thanks to the MC9 using standard Canik magazine tubes however the solution was simple for Canik to implement and the MC9L was created.

What Is It?

The Canik MC9L takes the popular MC9 platform and extends the stock to accomodate a 17 round magazine. When broken down like that it sounds relatively simple, but the form factor of the MC9 is maintained which makes the MC9L much slimmer than a typical handgun of that capacity.

Who’s It For?

With just a 3″ barrel the little Canik MC9L is an obvious choice for concealed carry. The longer grip adds capacity and a performance gain (we have a separate video testing this) for those with larger hands. Folks who prefer to carry appendix have often noted that barrel length is a comfort factor while grip length is not as challenging to conceal as it is when carrying strong side. Combining those factors and I’d suggest the MC9L for those who carry appendix and have moderate to larger hands.

Already quite familiar with Canik pistols and their performance it would be easy to simply say, “here’s another one” and call it good. 

• Cold Shots: Truly the first rounds through the gun. No warm up, no practice.

• Full Magazine +1: Suprisingly some modern guns still struggle with this. It’s a test of how much play is in the magazine as well as how the slide cycles with pressure.

• What’s For Dinner™: A test to see what ammunition the gun will eat. Does the gun feed the round from slide lock, will it cycle and feed another round of the same type, does the slide lock to the rear on empty, and is there any notable point of impact change with different loads.

Range Ammo Federated Ordnace 124gr

• Sights & Trigger Control: on a 6″ spinner target at a distance of 12 yards. We got this from Titan Great Outdoors and use it to gauge how learnable the trigger is and usable the sights are for forced, timed, precise shots.

• Practical Accuracy: Five shots from a distance of seven yards at a one inch target. This isn’t so much about printing a tight group as it is a culmination of our shooting experience and time for us to collect thoughts prior to making a conclusion.

• After Shots: Final impressions and reflections from the range session.

On the Range

The Canik MC9L performes as one would expect a Canik to. Zero malfunctions, a crisp and predictable trigger, and an overall great experience. That’s all been standard in our experiences with Caniks, but what we really wanted to know was what type of performance difference one might expect from the MC9L versus a standard MC9.

I believe this confirms that the more hand you can get on the gun the better you can perform at speed and under stress. If you saw that two then the Canik MC9L may be the micro-ish carry gun you’ve been looking for.

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