Steyr pistols are baaaaaack!

[The Dumb Gun Collector]

Good news,

I have always had a soft spot for the Steyr pistols. I see they are even bringing the S model back.

http://www.steyrarms.com/products/sporting-rifles/steyr-pistol-s-a1/

[GermanSynergy]

Good news,

I have always had a soft spot for the Steyr pistols. I see they are even bringing the S model back.

http://www.steyrarms.com/products/sporting-rifles/steyr-pistol-s-a1/

I had a Steyr M9 in 2004/2005 that never ran worth a hoot, even with NATO spec FMJ ammo. Hopefully they've tweaked em a bit....

[jaxman7]

Off of Greg Bell's link: Trigger System description, DOUBLE ACTION WITH DRUCKPUNKT......Awesome.

[TOrrock]

The only Steyr 9mm pistol I want is a GB.

I remember selling them as a 16 year old at the gun shop/range in 1987.

[spamsammich]

i regret selling my m9-a1 but I won't be buying another at the price they're asking and it would never take the place of my g19 or M&P 9 as a go to gun. I just don't have enough faith in their reliability. It was a sweet shooting gun when it would run but the reset and gritty trigger sucked.

[Entropy]

I had a Steyr M9 in 2004/2005 that never ran worth a hoot, even with NATO spec FMJ ammo. Hopefully they've tweaked em a bit....

Same here....only in .357sig. I couldn't go through 50rds without having at least one FTE.

[The Dumb Gun Collector]

I said I had a soft spot. I didn't say I would every buy one! I have been resisting for 10 years or so.

[majette]

first m9-a1 bought new no problems. second one bought used started to not reset after i put a few hundred rounds through it, did not clean it before i shot it. once cleaned, no issues. s9-a1 (i have one of the less than 500 imported a few years ago) no issues.

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/1270/dsc00006hw.jpg

there were issues with extractors but steyr support was on top of it with a new extractor design. they would send them out for self-install or provide very quick turnaround if a pistol was sent to them. their support is excellent even though they have not imported the pistols for years. i would buy another without reservation even at the higher price.

[spamsammich]

yeah i do have to hand it to Steyr USA, they were quick with replacement parts and their CS (Jeff) was top notch. That being said, I still had trigger reset issues (indistinct reset, no reset and slow, weak reset) and the 9 HATED reloads. Yeah, I know, stick to factory ammo... I owned that gun at the height of the mania when anything but Canned Heat wasn't available. Even after the extractor swap I had a couple FTE with WWB.

[The Dumb Gun Collector]

A buddy of mine brings his M9A1 to the range nearly every weekend. It is a great gun and seems to work perfectly.

[KTR03]

Love Steyr. My Aug is sitting within easy reach with a 42 round magazine in it, but I just don't get what this gun will do for me that an MandP or Glock won't. Other than having something different...

[TOrrock]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/Tim_Orrock/Steyr_GB.jpg

[ck1]

I had an M9-A1 that just ran and ran, know I put over 6000+ rounds through it without an issue and it still looked new.

They're great guns, very accurate and a smart design with their internal steel sub-frame. They're built as nice or better than anything out there, on par with or beyond H&K. Their grip/ergos are second to none IMO, even without any switchable-backstrap set-up they seem to just about fit everyone perfect and they point better than anything I've come across before or since. I even kinda dig their trapezoidal sights, they're really fast while still staying precise at distance.

The only things that bugged me, and why I got rid of it was that:
(1) their trigger clockwork is a little over-complicated and makes the trigger-pulls inconsistent, you'll get like 9 out of 10 pulls that are just great, short and crisp, and then out of nowhere 1 that's gritty and heavy do to a stupid little crescent-shaped washer in their striker set-up dragging along a guide, it gets annoying after a while as no amount of polishing will really solve the issue, it's just inherent in their firing-design... Then (2) the slide-release/stop ergos are a little too good for some IMO, if you're the type who shoots with a high thumbs-forward grip as I do you run into either your thumb riding it and not getting it to lock back on empty mags, or worse, premature slide-lock... the same guys who put the extended stops on their Glocks dig it, the guys who don't, don't.

I still may end up getting another one though at some point... they're really well-made, unique guns that I'll always have a soft spot for...

[DrMark]

I shot my friend's M9.

It ran fine, and was accurate & reliable. Considering the ergonomics and trigger, I think there are many better choices out there for me.


Templar, thanks for the GB pics. My late father always wanted one of those.

[Cecil Burch]

I had a M9-A1. Most ergonomic pistol (for my hand) that I have ever felt. The slide sat so low, it felt as close to no recoil as a 9mm will probably ever come. And, as mentioned earlier, SteyrUSA's customer service was really good.

However, I got rid of mine because:

1) the trigger was not as good as my G19 - mushy reset mostly

2) it wasn't reliable with Remington ammo. I had numerous FTE's with it. I never had an issue with Winchester, Federal, Wolf, etc.. I could have just avoided Remington, but I had that nagging feeling in the back of my brain that kept saying "if factory Remington gives me trouble, whose to say I won't suddenly find myself at the wrong time with issues with other ammo?" I just couldn't trust it as a carry gun. And, yes, I had the upgraded extractor. It still was wonky with Remington.

It was a fun gun to shoot though.

[uwe1]

I had the same gripes about my M9A1. Inconsistent trigger pulls and unreliable performance with different ammo brands (resulting in FTExtracts) were the main ones. Once I got the extractor upgrade from SAI, the FTExtracts stopped, but no matter what the trigger was a POS.

Worst of all, 3 times out of the 800 rounds I put through the gun, the slide would lock out of battery with a live round in the chamber. The only way I was able to resolve this was to carefully, but forcefully rack the slide with the gun pointed in a safe direction while pulling on the trigger.:suicide:

No matter how fun the gun was to shoot, it wasn't reliable like my Glocks. I don't need a gun that I lack confidence in.

[Rayrevolver]

This guy sells some small parts to help the M9-A1.

http://btguiderods.com/

I have 5 malfunctions in 2945 rounds. Steyr sent me all new mag springs when I asked. CS was good.

I did a pistol-carbine class in the rain/mud and it worked well. I did install the BT firing pin cups to see if that would help the sometimes heavy pull. I don't shoot it much anymore since I am focusing on the G26.

I like it, especially when they were being blown out by CDNN.

[JonInWA]

I had a M40, with the trigger upgrade performed at Trussville. Conceptually, I thought of it as in improved Glock G23. Unfortunately, in "real life" it inevitably had ejection issues-it seemed at least 1 per every 100 rounds. It was one of those guns, liike my Beretta 8357 Cougar that I really wanted to work, due to it's compelling ergos-but in the cold, objective light of empirical experience, didn't-at least to the extent that I felt I could trust my life to it.

Best, Jon

[ck1]

FWIW, forget to mention, another idiosyncrasy with the M-A1's is that they all have the same recoil-spring assembly in them regardless of caliber, and while the .40 was the base caliber they were spec'd to, their springs are actually stiff enough for a 10mm, they're like 20+lbs... IMO besides the two different extractor designs, that's why you see a lot of reports of ejection/extraction issues with them.

(In a way IMO they're the precursor example of what a lot of guys, including me, have seen with the 9mm Gen4 Glocks getting the heavier spring... some get guns that run just fine, but some don't.)

Now, if you're a Glock fan and also kind of like some of the ideas tried with the Steyr M's, these will be available sometime in the next couple weeks:http://www.caracal.ae/ - designed by Wilhelm Bubits (same guy who was one of the main designers of the Glock pistols and also the Steyr M). A company called Waffen Werks out of TN is importing them and they'll be around 600-650, a friend of mine from Italy has shot one and swears they're what's great about Glock's taken up several notches...

[StrikeFace]

Gnarly. I really liked my M357. Thing was a tack driver and sat nice and low in the hand. Only gripes were the accessory rail was useless and holsters were hard to find. I wasn't a fan of the new grip shape of the M-A1, I still prefer the smaller, simpler design of the first generation.

Hmm. The S-A1 picture on the company site makes it look like they reinstated the Garand-style safety, something that was present on the original M-series but removed on the second generation "M-A" series. Anybody know more about this?

[dojpros]

The sights do not do it for me. As others have said, holster support can be a bit touch and go.