It’s been better than a decade since one of my friends at Century Arms asked me, “What’s it going to take to get you to carry a Canik?” His forthright question made me chuckle a bit, but I replied, “Tell you what, I’ll test it out and see what I think.”
The gun in question back then was the Canik TP9SA; the one with fixed sights and a slide mounted de-cocking device that negated the need to press the trigger for disassembly. Between myself and my oldest son, Jarrad, we put at least a thousand rounds through that gun during realistic training drills over a period of a month or so. The gun consumed every 9mm load we fed it.
The only downside was that our training range in coastal Mississippi had a powdery sand base and when magazines were dropped during drills, some of that fine sand invariably entered through the indicator holes that American gun buyers have been convinced they have to have. That required regular magazine maintenance post range time…which isn’t exactly a bad idea. You can’t really fault Canik for that design as every auto pistol for sale in the USA has those stupid holes in them. Yes, I started carrying the TP9SA every day after that in an IWB holster and did so for years.
Good Just Gets Better
A few years ago, Canik USA took their pistol line to new levels when they released the METE (pronounced met-ay). To their great credit, Canik took suggestions from end users and made improvements to their already Rhino-tough and reliable TP9 series of pistols.
I have previously reported on the METE SFT pistol which is built to withstand the rigors of military testing and would have blown the doors off of the FDE-colored Three Two Zero if they had gone head-to-head. The SFT can and should be carried in a holster with a round chambered and if you drop it from chest height, it doesn’t need to be given an MRI by a gunsmith before you can shoot it again…but I digress.
METE MC9 Prime
As you will likely know, Canik is a Turkish manufacturer with Canik USA being their American distribution arm. The METE MC9 Prime is the first true American-made Canik USA pistol. Just as the top cut of beef is considered “prime” the new MC9 Prime is a “top cut” when it comes to a striker-fired, polymer-framed EDC or concealed carry pistol.
The pistol is stacked, loaded, and overflowing with features to attract the eye of the modern Millennial gun buyer whose purchases are heavily influenced by Instagram models. Rather than redundantly list all of these features, I’ll let you to browse the “special features” and specifications sections below.
While they might now have been the first, Canik has been at the forefront of the “value added” line of handguns as their pistols have all come with holsters for as long as I can remember. The first holsters were, shall we say, Spartan, but they have made improvements with each iteration. For the Prime, Canik USA partnered with G-Code to offer a modular holster that can be set up as an IWB with a clip or an OWB with a paddle. The G-Code Prime is an ambi rig that can be set up for right or left-hand draw.
Something that I was excited to see was the Night Fision Tritium sights that come standard on the Prime. We at Student of the Gun have been working with Night Vision since 2018 when we co-designed the Accur8 Tritium sights with them. For the Prime, Canik USA decided to go with a three-dot Tritium setup employing an orange housing for the Tritium front sight. Personally, I would have chosen the super bright “safety green” or white, but they didn’t ask my opinion on the matter.
As you’d expect from any newly manufactured pistol, the Prime is “optic ready.” The footprint is designed for the Canik USA MECANIK red dot optics. In addition to the base model, they will be offering a Prime with an optic already installed as an upgrade option.
Most notable on this pistol is the newly designed barrel/slide porting system. Do I need this? No, personally I do not. But, I’m not the target audience for this new pistol. As you would expect from a modern polymer striker-fired handgun, the backstrap is interchangeable and comes with small, medium, and large inserts. The grip texture on the Prime is new and unique and they describe it as “Full Grip Surface Stippling”.
Feeding the Prime is accomplished with a slightly modified Canik TP9/METE magazine. Many of you know that the full-sized TP9/METE mags hold 18-rounds. The compact versions are 15. The Prime magazine holds 17 rounds. You can put an 18-round mag in the gun and it sticks out just a bit. The Prime mags have a unique base plate and fit nice and flush with the internally beveled mag well.
As for the action, Canik has become famous for their superior out of the box striker-fired triggers. The Prime’s trigger has a gold-colored flat-face trigger with 90° break. Once again, this trigger design is a winner.
For those who have experience with the original MC9, which I have been carrying as an EDC for about two years now, the Prime’s slide is a bit longer, as is its frame. For comparison, I laid the Prime down on top of Jarrad’s G48 and the north/south east/west dimensions are basically identical with the grip of the Prime being slightly larger than the aforementioned 48. The Prime is compact, but not so much so that it’s hard to get a solid purchase on. Truth be told, it’s a Goldilocks fit…not too big, not too small. Just right.
Range Testing
Jarrad and I took the Prime to the range the day after he picked it up from our FFL guy. BLUF: 300 rounds later, zero stoppages or hiccups. That was day one.
Exactly one week later, we hit the range again and put another 200 rounds through the gun. Once more, zero issues. The only thing I did was remove the slide and lube the gun up well prior to each session. Note: the METE slide disassembly is different than you’re used to. After removing the tension on the striker, pull down on the takedown lever and move the slide forward about a half inch. Now lift the slide straight off of the frame. Reverse the steps to reassemble.
As someone who cut his teeth on a GI surplus M1911A1, I can tell all you younger folks that “back in the old days,” having a gun come out of the box and be 100 percent reliable was a rarity. It was extremely common for manufacturers to recommend “X” number of rounds for a proper break-in period. Also, many gun makers would only warranty a gun’s function with certain loads or FMJ ammunition.
Thankfully, that’s not the case any more. Modern 9x19mm handguns consume every factory load fed to them with monotonous regularity. The manufacturing of such handguns has become so good that it’s rare to find a factory-new pistol that won’t function with everything from supersonic 115 grain to subsonic 147 and everything in between.
For defensive ammunition, I ran the Black Hills “Honeybadger” 115 grain supersonic ammo. All the rest of the test ammunition consisted of FMJ from varied makers with brass, nickel, and steel cases. Yes, the Prime ran the steel-cased ammo without issue.
As you would expect from a ported-barreled pistol, the gun cycles fast and the recoil is pretty flat. Yes, there is some felt recoil, but nothing a solid grip on the gun can’t manage. In addition to a strong, two-handed grip, I put several magazines through the gun single-handed right and left. No stoppages or issues occurred. In addition to the two magazines that came with the Prime, we also used a couple of the 18-round TP9 full-sized versions.
I’m still not convinced that an EDC or self-defense pistol needs — or even should — have porting. However, as I mentioned earlier, I’m not the target customer demographic for these guns. What I can say with unqualified certainty is that this new American-made Canik pistol is truly a Goldilocks handgun. It’s “just right.”
“Special” Features:
- NEW Full Grip Surface Stippling With Increased Texture On Front And Rear; Reduced Gap
- NEW Vertical Serration Magazine Release
- NEW Flat Face Trigger With 90° Break
- NEW Enlarged Trigger Guard
- NEW Forward Trigger Guard Texture
- NEW Enhanced Slide Stop Lever
- NEW Slide Serrations
- NEW Flared Slide For Easy Racking
- NEW Optic Cover
- NEW Prime Barrel Laser Engraving
- NEW Serrated Barrel Chamber
- NEW 4 Side Barrel Fluting
- NEW Full Grip Extended Backstrap Included
- NEW External Low-profile Magazine Well
- NEW Improved Double Under Cut For Deeper Hand Placement
- Textured Magazine Baseplate
- Low Profile Beavertail
- Forward Index Texture And Memory Point
Specifications:
- CALIBER: 9mm
- CAPACITY: 17 +1 rounds (2 magazines included)
- SIGHTS: Night Fision Tritium front and rear
- OVERALL LENGTH: 6.73”
- BARREL LENGTH: 3.64 inches
- HEIGHT: 5.43 inches
- WIDTH: 1.16 inches
- WEIGHT: 23.38 oz
- MADE IN: USA
- MSRP: $649.99
Paul G. Markel is a combat decorated United States Marine veteran. He is also the founder of Student the Gun University and has been teaching Small Arms & Tactics to military personnel, police officers, and citizens for over three decades.