Author: r2kba.patriot

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Alien Gear Canik N8 Tactical subcompact TP9 Elite XD45 XD9

Canik TP9 Elite SC – Several items on the way

I revisited the range a few weeks ago with the Canik TP9 Elite SC again, using different ammo.  I used some light for caliber ammo (90-grain 9mm), as well as some 124- and 147-grain, hoping that one of those would lessen the recoil.

While I love the handgun, it is snappy as hell.  Keep in mind, I’ve been carrying a Springfield Armory XD45 Mod 2 subcompact the past 2 years, so when I say the TP9 SC is snappy, I’m not joking. And, prior to carrying that handgun, I was carrying the XD9 Mod 2 subcompact, which I also shoot well.

I’m not sure why I can shoot the XD45 without worrying about snap while I can shoot the XD9 and XD45 without issue.  It could be that the XDs have great grip texturing while the TP9 SC’s grip texturing isn’t quite as robust.

I’m going to attempt to carry the TP9 SC.  I’ve ordered some rubber Talon Grips for it.  I’ve also swapped out the backstrap for the large one.  I’m hoping that the backstrap alone will help me get a better purchase on the grip so that I can better control the muzzle flip.  The Talon Grips will certainly help with that, too.  I’m not sure when the Talon Grips will be delivered but hopefully I’ll have them within the next 7 days.  While I’m waiting for them to arrive, I’ll visit the range and work on grip control with this handgun.

I also ordered a N8 Tactical OT2 IWB holster.  I didn’t purchase a kydex holster, as I wanted a holster that would protect me from the grip’s texturing…it was rubbing me raw when I was test-carrying the handgun around the house.  I can also order an Alien Gear shell for the TP9 SC (I’ve several Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 2.0 holsters), but I’ll do that if I find I don’t like the N8 Tactical holster.

Update (12/27/2021): I’ve been using the N8 Tactical holster as my primary holster, mainly because it keeps the grip texture from my skin.  I sometimes use the OEM holster and sometimes use the Alien Gear hybrid holster, as well, but the go-to holster is the N8 Tactical holster.

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Canik Elite holster N82 Tactical subcompact trigger weight

I Measure the Canik TP9 Elite Subcompact’s Trigger and Searching for Holsters !

If you weren’t aware that I recently bought a Canik TP9 Elite Subcompact, I posted about it.

I took the liberty of checking the weight of my Elite Subcompact’s trigger, but I already know that it’s going to be outstanding, as it’s well-known that TP9s typically have great triggers.

I did an average of 5 pulls.

The five pulls:

4 lb 0.5 oz

3 lb 15.4 oz

4 lb 2.9 oz

3 lb 13.4 oz

4 lb 1.5 oz

The average of the above is 4 lb 0.3 oz.

Aside, I’ve been trying to find a good holster for this handgun.  There’s lots out there but I’ve not found what I’m looking for.  I do not want to get an Alien Gear, but not particularly looking for kydex either.  It would actually be nice if someone made a kydex version of the holster that came with the handgun.  I may order an N82 Tactical holster for now, until I decide on a nice holster.

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Canik Clark Brothers subcompact TP9 Elite Virginia Warrenton

My Thoughts on My Recently Purchased Canik TP9 Elite Subcompact

Yes, this is now a thing.  It feels good enough to replace my XD45 Mod 2 as my daily carry.  I’m tempted to use the holster that’s included with it (it’s configured by default to use as OWB, but I’ve rotated the clips so that I can use the holster as IWB) but when testing it, the grip rubs my skin, so I’d have to wear undershirts when using this holster.  I’d looked at N8 Tactical but they don’t have a Pro model hostler for this specific handgun.

I’ll probably visit the range some time this week so that I can get some rounds through the gun (mandatory for me, before I can consider carrying it).  Fortunately, I’ve a bit of 9mm ammo stashed away.  I may even consider using a red dot optic on it, since it has an RMR slide cut.

 I may also decide to sell my two TP9SAs and use the funds from selling those to obtain an SF Elite (looked at one of those yesterday at the LGS).

By the way, if you’re in Northern Virginia around Manassas or Gainesville, visit Clark Brothers.  They’re a good LGS.

UPDATE:  I’ve visited the range with the new Canik.  I’ve a post range visit video here:

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bar Canik Canik Fanatik excessive wear RMA spring TP9SA trigger

TP9SA Trigger, Trigger Bar, Firing Pin Block, and Springs Replaced!

I recently published the following post – Issue with one of my TP9SAs (or maybe both).

I sent the tan TP9SA back the week of April 15 in the hopes that Century Arms (the importer of Caniks) would replace some worn parts on the firearm.

I received the gun back today (28 April).

Per the work ticket that they provided when returning the firearm, the gunsmith noticed the trigger parts were “worn/poor” and replaced the trigger, trigger bar, firing pin block, and upgraded the springs.

They also checked headspace, mag catch fitment, ejector functionality, and test-fired 18 rounds (presumably to check the trigger work they performed).

Just dry-firing it, there’s a night/day difference with the trigger. The new trigger spring is still different from what’s in the black one, but at least they fixed the tan handgun’s worn parts. The trigger bar where the trigger spring attaches is flat, vs the original part having nooks at the top portion. It no longer feels that the trigger bar is dragging on another part when pulling the trigger.

I was on the fence on sending the gun back to them, after reading of complaints here and on the FB groups. They were very engaged with the process of me reaching out to them, them sending me info on how to file a claim, them receiving the firearm and working on it in a timely fashion, and them sending me back the firearm (in a real gun box that was discreetly packaged). The gun is also clean (they stated they cleaned it after the test firing). I’ve no complaints at all…I received outstanding service.

I guess I’ll need to visit the range with this firearm soon.

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2A anti-gun Biden Colion Noir ghost guns POTUS UBC universal background checks

Video – Biden’s Anti-gun Tactics & Executive Orders

https://fb.watch/4NON83aGlz/

It’s a bold lie that the majority of the US favors background checks.  Colion Noir provided details to refute that awhile back (https://www.facebook.com/COLIONNOIR/posts/3791001044282958).

It’s also bad (and quite bold) for a standing US president to say that NO amendment is absolute when the 2nd affirms the inalienable right to bear arms.  That statement should be raising quite a few eyebrows.  2A doesn’t grant citizens the right.  2A isn’t the US government giving citizens permission to bear arms.  2A is the government acknowledging that the right exists and is beyond the US government to take away.  Some believe (as I do) that it is a God-given (or natural) right.

So he’s going to ban ghost guns.  Why?  A mass shooter has never used a ghost gun to commit atrocities, so why the focus on ghost guns?

He’s pushing universal background checks.  Why?  There have been mass shooters committing atrocities in states that require universal background checks.  UBCs don’t stop mass shootings.

The tactic of creating many laws to impede lawful abiding gun owners is ridiculous.

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10mm 1911 22TCM 9mm R1 Remington RIA Rock Island Armory sight adjustment

1911 Range Summary for 3/20/2021

Video Highlights:

1.  We bought Remington R1 mags (45ACP doublestacked) for use with my RIA 10mm HC, since I can’t find any Armscor mags.  One mag feeds well, the other does not.  Also, the R1 mags will fit the OEM 10mm base plates.

2.  We had feed issues with the RIA 22TCM extracting spent cases (the cases were getting stuck in the chamber).  This was an ammo issue – I had half a box of older ammo that I’d put aside because I was blowing primers and one case refused to come out of the chamber.  I’d forgotten that this was a box I wasn’t supposed to finish shooting.  In fact, there was one primer that was blown out in this range visit (I forgot to mention that in the video).

3.  I’ve been frustrated with all of my 1911s, thinking that I can’t shoot them because I’m never able to have tight groupings or that I’m always hitting low left (meaning I’m flinching or have bad trigger discipline).  Well, I prove that’s not the case on this range visit, as I also took my 9mm RIA Rock Ultra.  My groups were tight and directly under the bullseye.  I was shooting this gun the same way as the other two.  This proves I need to make sight adjustments.  In this case, I need to move the POI up 2 inches.  In the case of the 10mm, I need to adjust the sights up and to the right a few inches.  Not sure yet on how I need to adjust the sights on the 22TCM (maybe 2″ to the right).

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1911A2 45ACP base plate Century Arms magazines R1 Remington

Looking for mags that fit your RIA 1911A2?

When I bought my RIA 10mm 1911A2, I tried to order A2 mags from AdvancedTactical.com (Armscor parts/support site).  The showed as having plenty in stock but apparently, they were out, because my order sat for a month before I told them to cancel it.  In fact, they’re still showing as out of stock at the time of this posting.

I tried looking at other places but most stores are out of stock.  The only stores I saw that had them were in places like Alaska and Canada and they required $100 in purchases before they’d even consider sending to you (shipping was free, though).

I then saw in a 1911 FB group where a guy stated he’d bought Remington R1 .45ACP double-stack mags and that the mags latched into the gun.  The mags fed ammo reliably into the handgun.

I decided to seek out that magazine type.  Again, I had a difficult time finding a place that had them in stock, but I finally found that Century Arms carries them.  I ordered two of the mags on 3/9.  It is now 3/18 and they’ve arrived at my door.

The first mag latched without issue, but the second one initially would not latch.  Ground the top of the mag’s catch hole just a tad.  It now latches.

Both fit without issue, although latching is pretty tight…this can be fixed by ordering thinner base plates (or slightly grinding the top of the catch hole on the mag).  The mags are designed for 45ACP and will hold 16 rounds of 45ACP.  I loaded one mag with 10mm and was able to load 18.

I will be visiting the range tonight or tomorrow to test feeding/functionality with both mags. I’ll test with 16 rounds as well as 18.

These mags are $9-$10 cheaper than the mags Armscor sells and they appear to be more readily available.  I’ve been trying to get mags since 1/31 and Armscor went out of stock around that time.  I could find Para mags but didn’t want to hack/cut/file a mag.  Granted, I had to grind one of the mags I bought, but it was a 10 sec grind where you wouldn’t even notice an alteration.

The base plate on the R1 mags are rather thick.  They protrude from the magwell a bit, but they can be changed to something less thick (or they can be ignored for shooting purposes).

OEM magazine
OEM magazine
R1 magazine
R1 magazine

As of 3/9, Century Arms had them in stock.  I’m not sure if they’re still showing as in stock but if you need 1911A2 mags for your RIA, Century Arms is currently the place to visit.

UPDATE (3/19/2021):  I took off the base plate on the OEM mag to see if it’ll fit on the R1 mags.  It does.  So, if you buy the R1 mags, you can buy OEM base plates from Armscor and fit them on the R1 mags.

UPDATE (12/21/2021): Century Arms has stopped carrying the Remington R1 double-stack mags.  🙁

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blogger google+ traffic traffic block wordpress

I’m Experiencing a Traffic Issue

I’ve been trying my hardest to get more traffic to the site.  My site took a hit when Google killed Google+.  

Now I’m thinking that the site might be purposely be hindered from getting traffic.  

I’ve other blogs that get hits.  This one hardly gets any.  The other blogs aren’t firearms-related.  This one is.

I may go a different route with this.  Instead of using Blogger (which is a Google product), I may host this  blog on my own server via WordPress.  We’ll see.

UPDATE – I just discovered this article. (The word “article” was linked, but the link didn’t migrate when I migrated this website.) It’s as I thought…this blog is more than likely being hidden from search engines.  I will start planning to host my own site with a big hosting service.

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Excel Google Docs journal log range

Range Log – Track Your Experience Via Spreadsheet!

This is just a quick post on range logs or journals.

I have a spreadsheet that I use to keep track of rounds shot out of my guns.  I also use it as a range log.  I usually log things such as the type of ammo shot, as well as the grain of the projectile.  I’ll log any failures and will also log if a particular ammo make/model is accurate/clean/etc.  I keep track of each range visit by date and can see how much ammo I fired that day, even if I shoot 3 different guns during a specific range session.

Why do I do this?  Because I love stats, but a really good reason to track round counts is so that you know when a recoil spring (or other gun internals) needs to be replaced.  As well, it will track ammo makes/models that your guns might not like.

I decided to see which of my guns had the most rounds through it.  The spreadsheet already shows this (I’ve formulas that show total round counts of each gun), but I wanted to calculate it via pivot table.  I’ve done it in Excel but I use Google Docs and it is quite different.  Well, I did it:

1477Grand Power P11 Mk12
773Bersa Thunder 380 Plus
570PSA AK-V
565Glock 19
555SA XD9 Mod.2

In 6th place (I only did the top 5) is the RIA 22TCM 1911 at 526 rounds. It’s round count will climb, as I’ve been trying to shoot 1911s more often, especially since my newest handgun is a big bore 10mm 1911.  I’ll continue to shoot the 22TCM since that ammo is currently cheaper than 10mm.

A sample of the spreadsheet I use is here. (Note that there’s no pivot table, but you’ll be able to see the total round count for a particular firearm in the far right-hand column.)  Feel free to copy this and use it as you see fit.  You can download it and open it using MS Excel, use Google Docs, or even other free office suite spreadsheet software.

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bar Canik Canik Fanatik excessive wear RMA spring TP9SA trigger

Issue with one of my TP9SAs (or maybe both)

I’ve two Canik TP9SAs.  I bought a black one in Jan of 2014.  Back then I was planning to move to CA.  I’d decided to buy another TP9SA since no Caniks are on the CA DOJ Approved List of guns, so I bought the tan TP9SA.

I’d always wondered why there was a drastic difference between the two triggers.  For reference, the below are the trigger pull stats for both handguns:

Black handgun:

2 lb 14.3 oz

2 lb 15.8

2 lb 7.3

3 lb 1.4

2 lb 8.0

Average – 2 lb 12.6 oz

Tan handgun:

3 lb 12.3 oz

3 lb 3.3

3 lb 2.1

3 lb 2.9

3 lb 4.8

Average: 3 lb 5.1 oz

Initially, I’d noticed that the trigger bar on the tan one appeared to be rubbing against the frame, so I thought that was why.  Maybe two weeks ago, I decided to remove the slides of both and put them side by side so that I could compare components, knowing that the black TP9SA had the good trigger.  Well, I noticed that the trigger springs appear to greatly differ between the two guns!  The black handgun appears to have the lighter spring with more coils.  The tan gun’s trigger spring is heavier with less coils.

When I posted pictures to Canik Fanatik’s forums, I was told that the tan gun had the standard spring and that the black one may be out of spec.

Keep in mind, both guns were bought new.  The black handgun was bought locally, at a gun store.  The tan gun was bought from Prepper Gunshop.

I dry fire both a lot, although I don’t shoot them much.  I’ve a lot of handguns, so I tend to rotate my favorites a lot…the Caniks are good but are not my favorites, so the round counts for both are low.  I’ve shot 150 rounds from the tan handgun and 100 rounds from the black gun.  Still, that’s way too much wear from just dry firing.  As well, I dry fire them roughly the same amount, but only the one handgun has excessive wear.

I mention the dry fire because the tan TP9SA has a lot of wear on the bar/lever that the spring is attached to.  On the top of that lever is supposed to be a 90 degree edge.  That edge is completely gone and almost worn level.  On the black handgun, the edge is present.  As well, on the striker surface that the trigger bar actuates, the surface is worn and material appears to be missing (it’s supposed to be a flat surface, but the area is beveled from excessive wear.

I’m currently OK with the way the black handgun’s trigger is.  It’s light but not too light (it’s about as light as I’m willing to allow).  There’s no wear.  At least one person at Canik Fanatik’s forums thinks there’s something wrong with the black handgun, but I don’t think anything is wrong with it….as long as there’s no excessive wear, I’m OK with it.

So, I reached out to Canik and told them the issues.  They replied back asking for a slew of information so that they could process the RMA.  Once I get the RMA number from them, I’ll send it to them to check out, tune, or replace.

I’ll update the blog as I’m updated by Canik.

UPDATE – 4/22/2021:  Century Arms currently has the Canik.  Due to Coronavirus, it may be awhile before it’s repaired and sent back to me, but I’m patiently awaiting.