Steyr M9-A1 with InForce APLc

[caporider]

Exactly 107 rounds into owning a Steyr M9-A1 with an InForce APLc mounted. No malfunctions, very accurate, super flat shooting. I like how fast the trapezoidal sights are, and if you slow down a bit you can place the tip of the triangle on the target for more accuracy at 15+ yards. The trigger reset was a bit subtle at first, but got more noticeable after a few mags. I don't know if this was the trigger behaving better or if I just got used to the reset. I shot the Steyr back to back with my M&P9 Gen 1 with Apex sear (have shot thousands of rounds through the M&P over most of a decade) and I prefer the Steyr.

The APLc weighs nothing and I like the simple switches. The only downside to the light is that it uses a battery that is not in my stockpile (CR2) -- not a huge deal.

Shooting Gold Dot 124gr +P as my primary defensive load.

http://personal.visualitymedia.com/personal/handguns/m9a1_aplc_1000px.jpg

[ramairthree]

I do like the controls on APLs.

[The Dumb Gun Collector]

Those Steyr’s are under appreciated gems.

[teksid]

I too like the trapezoidal sights. I wish I could get them on other guns.

[Cold/Bore]

I too like the trapezoidal sights. I wish I could get them on other guns.

Totally agree!

[yugo308guy]

Those Steyr’s are under appreciated gems.

Completely agree. I think you need to put one in your current Death Match!

[Talon167]

Those Steyr’s are under appreciated gems.

Yep...


I too like the trapezoidal sights. I wish I could get them on other guns.

...and yep.

[Biggy]

So other than the competition or maybe its price point, I wonder why this pistol never took off ?

[Cold/Bore]

So other than the competition or maybe its price point, I wonder why this pistol never took off ?

Steyr does not know what marketing is.

[yugo308guy]

So other than the competition or maybe its price point, I wonder why this pistol never took off ?

Steyr got off to a rough start with this pistol. They exeperienced several failures of distributors in the US , which, in turn resulted in a lack of consistent support for service and parts. Add to that, every time a US distributor went under, the remaining inventory was sold off to companies like CDNN for liquidation. The first Steyr M9 I bought cost me $249 brand new through them. Lack of support and a super low entry price resulted in lack of confidence in consumers. “I mean they cost $249, how can they be any better than a HiPoint, right?”

Then, add To the fact that, after a US distributor would go under, their inventory sat around while litigation was happening, then waited for a new buyer, and the prevailing thought was, the extraction issues they had may have been related to lubricant getting gummed up while sitting on the shelves. I don’t know that I believe that, but early on they did, certainly have extraction issues, which, even today their extraction is less than forceful, but most have not experienced extraction failures with any of the guns put out in the last several years. Old guns needed to be cleaned well prior to getting them out on the range. Especially the extractor and channel.

I still, to this day, rely on mine as my daily CCW, in addition to my Kahr pm9. I don’t think there is any other polymer, striker fired pistol out there that has any advantages over the Steyr, and it fits MY hand perfect and I shoot it well. No reason to change, for me.

[waveslayer]

I love mine, I just have to adjust my draw a bit because the grip angle for me makes me aim high. I think it had the best factory trigger on the market

my wife thinks I only have 3 guns

[caporider]

Steyr is running a $50 rebate on these pistols thru December, making it a good a time as any to get one... Mags are around $33 each, so I guess factor that in if you need a stockpile of 'em. It was not a huge deal for me after owning H&K and Walther pistols.

[m4brian]

I bought one of the M9A1's from CDNN which came as a good deal for about $350. It seemed very solid and was very ergonomic. They do tend to feel like magic in the hand. However, mine had a bad case of "variable trigger" - it had about three modes. One that broke clean. Another that had plenty of creep, and another just a little creep. It just didn't feel right. I ended up breaking two strikers, so I ditched it. I understand that the trigger QC is way up, and these are likely decent guns. The market is SO crowded with great plastic guns right now it is amazing. Steyr, CZ, HK, SIG, MP 2.0, on and on. People will look back on this as the golden age of high cap 9mms.

[yugo308guy]

I bought one of the M9A1's from CDNN which came as a good deal for about $350. It seemed very solid and was very ergonomic. They do tend to feel like magic in the hand. However, mine had a bad case of "variable trigger" - it had about three modes. One that broke clean. Another that had plenty of creep, and another just a little creep. It just didn't feel right. I ended up breaking two strikers, so I ditched it. I understand that the trigger QC is way up, and these are likely decent guns. The market is SO crowded with great plastic guns right now it is amazing. Steyr, CZ, HK, SIG, MP 2.0, on and on. People will look back on this as the golden age of high cap 9mms.

Wow. That’s the first I’ve heard of anyone breaking strikers. Mind if I ask, where did they break? Any idea what caused it, or approximately how many rounds through it? Just curious.

[m4brian]

They broke at the base of the tip. It was from dry firing and trying to break it in. Likely several hundred dry fires, but that was a while ago.

[Bret]

I have three Steyr M series pistols. The first is a 1st generation M40. It was unreliable from the start with failures to feed and eject. I sent it back to their then current service center, but that didn’t help. I read online about some having a piece in the extractor area installed upside down. I checked mine and the part was installed upside down. I reinstalled it properly and that fixed the failure to eject problem. However, I still had the failure to feed problem. Meanwhile, the ‘94 AWB van expired, so I bought a couple of proper full capacity magazines. The pistol fed 100% using them. Turns out the mag springs were the exact same even though the 10rd mag was compressed over a shorter distance. The result was that the 10rd mags were pressing the cartridges on the underside of the slide too hard. Since I fixed both issues, the pistol has been 100%.

My 2nd is a Steyr M357-A1. It’s accurate, reliable and a dream to shoot, though I do not like the bulky rail.

My latest is a M9-A1 with a threaded barrel. It runs great without the suppressor installed, but sometimes failes to fully return to battery with my suppressor on it. I’ve installed a heavier recoil spring, but that has not solved the problem. I’m still working on finding a solution.

Bottom line is that I’d recommend the Steyr M series pistols, but not the threaded M9-A1 if you’re wanting to run it suppressed.