The New Canik Mete MC9L and MC9LS

How do they stack up with the leaders?

The current concealed carry gun market in the US is flooded with a metric crap ton of good options. Many are offered by long standing, well known brand names, but some are from companies not everyone has heard of before. One of those companies is Canik.

For those unfamiliar with Canik, they are a relatively new manufacturer (comparatively) from Turkey. They sprang up in the 1990’s and started appearing here in the US around 2009. I first became aware of them when I saw them at SHOT Show in 2015. While I knew nothing of the company, I was impressed by the guns I saw at their booth.

Getting back on target, many of the guns saturating the concealed carry market started out as “micro-9s.” Guns like the original Sig Sauer P365, the Glock 43, S&W Shield and the Springfield Hellcat were all very concealable and all chambered in 9mm. Guns like both the Sig Sauer P365 and the Springfield Hellcat started out tiny and have gradually grown in both size and capability. The current offerings of the P365 XMacro and the Hellcat Pro have full-size handgun capacity but in a smaller, easier to conceal package, yet both maintain the ability to mount a standard light and optic.

While, in my opinion, both S&W and Glock are lagging behind in this category, Canik is not.

Early last year, Canik released the Mete (pronounced Met-Ay) MC9. Size wise, it is nearly identical to a S&W Shield or a standard Springfield Hellcat. It is a double stack micro 9 that comes with one 12 round magazine and one 15 round mag. It has good ergonomics and like all Caniks, it has a fantastic trigger. But for me, the original MC9 was not a winner, because I have giant hands and the MC9 just does not fit comfortably in them. The bottom of the backstrap hits me right in the palm and is just uncomfortable.

Fast forward to a couple months ago, a Canik factory rep came into Boise Black Rifle (the gun store I work at as a retirement gig to “keep me out of trouble”) and showed us the, at the time, soon to be released Canik Mete MC9L and MC9LS. As soon as I put them in my hand, I knew they had something special.

The Mete MC9L and MC9LS share the identical frame, which now has a longer grip that fits comfortably in my large hands. That longer grip accommodates a 17 round flush fitting magazine. While the slide and barrel on the MC9L are the same length as the earlier MC9, the MC9LS gets about 1/2” extra length in both. The stippling is aggressive enough to ensure a good grip without being so aggressive that it is going to remove skin or eat your clothing while carrying it concealed.

As for the controls, it has an ambi slide stop (or catch, or release, or lever… whatever your preferred term is) and the magazine release comes setup for a right handed shooter, but it can be flipped to accommodate those who use the wrong hand. It has a standard size, albeit short, Picatinny rail below the barrel, comes with metal 3-dot sights and the slide is cut for for optics that utilize the RMSC footprint.

The particular manner in which the slide is cut, in my opinion, is the best of all the guns in this category. Rather than relying of locating dowels at the corners of the optic, or requiring the use of mounting plates, Canik chose to leave shoulders where the mounting screws are. Those shoulders fit into the screw holes in the optic and where they 1) located the optic on the slide and 2) allow for much more threaded area for the mounting screws to bite into. On some guns, you only get a couple of threads holding your optic on, but on these small Caniks, you get nearly 1/2” of thread contact.

Lastly, and perhaps my favorite aspect of all Caniks, both the MC9L and the MC9LS have that fantastic Canik (cough, Walther) trigger. The trigger has a light take up, albeit a bit long, but then you hit a very distinct wall. Pressing past that wall there is a very slight amount of creep followed by a very clean break and almost no overtravel. The trigger reset is fantastic. Travel is about 2mm and once reset, you are immediately at that distinct wall. Rinse and repeat.

And yes, for those that do not know this, the Canik is and always has been a Walther clone, at least mechanically, and like the Walther PPQ and PDP, the Canik has what I consider to be one of the best triggers of any striker fired pistol.

The Competition

The new Canik MC9L and MC9LS are direct competition for guns like the Springfield Hellcat Pro and the Sig Sauer P365 XMacro. They are similar in size, shape, capacity and capabilities. Both the Hellcat Pro and the XMacro come optic ready as standard, and both have a standard sized Picatinny rail below the barrel. Both come with standard night sights and both can hold 17 rounds (the Hellcat Pro is available with 15 & 17 round magazines).

This is where I feel S&W and Glock have fallen behind.

In the case of S&W, there is no slightly larger version of the Shield Plus. The Performance Center versions do have longer slides and barrels, but the grip remains short. They boost the capacity by adding longer mags with grip extensions, and the Shield Plus is still not available with a Picatinny rail.

As for Glock, they are the farthest behind the curve of all the manufacturers. Both the 43X and 48 are comparably sized to the Canik Mete MC9L and MC9LS. Both Glocks are available in optic ready (MOS) and non-optic ready versions. If you want that optic cut, it will cost you more, and depending on the RMSC footprint optic that you choose, you may have to use a mounting plate or modify the slide before it can be installed. Even then, due to the design of the Glock, you can only get a few threads worth of bite when mounting the optic.

In standard Glock fashion, both models come with the standard garbage plastic sights that should be replaced with metal sights before you carry the gun for self-defense. However, the biggest downfall for the Glocks is that Glock decided to stick with plastic body magazines thereby artificially limiting the capacity of both guns to 10 rounds, which is downright anemic compared to all the other guns mentioned in this article.

But How Much $$$?

If you are shopping for guns in this category, you may already be aware the Sig XMacro and the Hellcat Pro both sell for right around $650 new, that is if you get the base model of each. You can spend more if you choose one of their optioned up versions.

The Glocks start at right around $450 for standard and if you want it to be optic ready the price jumps up to $485. Also, like I mentioned earlier, the plastic sights should really be replaced if you plan on carrying the gun so figure another $80 minimum for sights.

The S&W Shield Plus can be had for right around $499 for the base model. If you want it to accommodate an optic, shell out another $50. There are a plethora of versions of the Shield Plus, and the price can increase by up to $250 depending on the options.

The Canik has no options, other than colors. No matter which color scheme you choose, no matter which slide length you choose, the Canik Mete MC9L and MC9LS are going for $499. That is a lot of gun for the money. In fact, the two guns that are most comparable to the Caniks go for at least $150 more. You can get a quality light, or lots of ammo and range time for the price difference.