View Full Version : Steyr M40...any info?
Im pretty sure someone here has seen one, Anyone actually had any time with one? Its made in Austria and is calibered in 9mm and .40, hence the M9 and M40. The ergonomics look excellent, I was just wondering if anyone has had a chance with one. I have found them starting at 400 and up to 600. Thanks!
They are unique guns. Very Glock-like but different enough that you should handle one before deciding. I got one from the CDNN fire sale years ago and aside from a bad extractor it's been fine. They have a tendency to eject brAss straight up at times.
SAI in Trussville has spare parts. Jeff is cool to deal with there. If you want aftermarket springs, rods or trigger parts hit up Big Taco on steyrclub.org.
In a nutshell: picture a short frame Glock with a trigger that feels like a 5lb single action. If you shoot 2 thumbs forward, watch you don't
Block the slide release and make it fail tO lock back.
Ya thats how i shoot, ive had a couple times i locked the slide like that on my taurus. The Steyr looks pretty cool, im not really into the trigger. I would for sure hold it before buying though.
The trigger is just unlike most other DAO plastic guns. Almost zero takeup. Breaks at around 5.5 pounds. Very short reset.
When brand new they can stack a little bit, but that's easily solved by polishing the striker and optionally swapping in Big Taco's delrin striker cup. A little moly powder inside the striker also works wonders.
Supposedly the new wave of Steyrs have some kind of roller bearing to make the trigger more consistent. The old ones smooth right out with use, though.
Web Architect
01-14-11, 23:39
Had the M9A1. Great gun,and I'd buy one again. The grip angle seemed different than my favorite 1911 at the time, so it went away.
Some people love the sight picture, some hate it.
Oh ya i forgot about that! The crazy "predator" style sight picture! lol thats what i reminds me of. That would for sure take some getting use to. I heard a few people say its pretty fast on target aqusition. Its like an alternative to the straight 8 sights almost? Wow that trigger sounds pretty amazing. I have a few magazines featuring that pistol. I gotta check one out now
Rayrevolver
01-15-11, 16:07
I still have an M9A1. Got it cheap from CDNN. Had 3 malfunctions with 1 magazine (incorrect springs) and Steyr sent me new springs. If Jeff is still working he is very helpful.
6 malfunctions in 2945 rounds. Last 700 rounds were trouble free including a pistol/carbine class in the rain & mud.
I got the Big Taco spring cups to address the trigger stacking. I shot 100 rounds and it has sat ever since. I got a G26 to carry but I haven't really thought about whether I would carry the Steyr or not.
The sights are wacky but they work. I think I can still shoot it faster than a Glock 19... maybe its the low bore axis?
I've had the chance of shooting both the M9A1 and the M40A1 and I can honestly say that I enjoyed shooting the M40A1 more. It's low bore axis makes it very comfortable to shoot unlike many other 40s. However, I could never adjust to the sights.
P.S. It is a very good looking tool.
The Steyr guns are a crapshoot in terms of reliability. You can get some that run well out of the box and others that straight suck. Mine sucked. I had 8-10 failures to extract in the first 200 rounds. I thought that the gun needed some breaking in, but the issues still continued after 800 rounds. I finally got the new extractor from SAI and while there weren't any more FTEs, the brass shot straight in the air, between my eyes, or on top of my head.
On steyrclub.org, there was also reports of the wrong followers in the magazines. People had 9mm followers in their .40 mags and vice versa. With my confidence in the gun shaken, I stuck it out with the gun until about 800 rounds and sold it. I ended up buying another Glock 17 and 19.
With Glocks and M&Ps widely available, there is NO reason to get one of these guns....unless you just want to be different/unique.
I have had both the M40 and M9. Both unreliable with trips to Trussville with no joy. I'll never own a Steyr handgun again.
Okay finally some critisism...i wanted to hear both sides...good AND bad feedback. Okay so ive been looking at it but a pic can only tell you so much. If it fell out of the back of the truck would you gasp and be worried? Or would you let it fall knowing its gonna be fine. If my XD fell onto the concrete it would be fine. Those are the kind of guns i like. Does it have a good weight to it? Does the plastic feel cheap and weak?
Both seemed as well made as any poly framed service auto. I did like the feel although the grip did seem a little small in my hands. To bad they just didn't perform, same issue with both, FTE. Hope that helps.
adobewalls
01-16-11, 17:09
The steyr is the pistol I really want to love. The ergo's and short take-up and reset on the trigger take this pistol beyond the Glock. Its internals are all housed in a single steel frame that can be completely removed from the poly frame as a single unit. For me its fast and accurate. I shoot it and have no problems.
Now the BUT
Two of my friends cannot get through a magazine without multiple FTE's. And that's shooting reloads on the hotter end of the scale using 115's, 124's and 147's - same story. For me, no problems - for them, shooting the pistol turns into a clearing drill.
The steyr is the pistol I really want to love. The ergo's and short take-up and reset on the trigger take this pistol beyond the Glock. Its internals are all housed in a single steel frame that can be completely removed from the poly frame as a single unit. For me its fast and accurate. I shoot it and have no problems.
Now the BUT
Two of my friends cannot get through a magazine without multiple FTE's. And that's shooting reloads on the hotter end of the scale using 115's, 124's and 147's - same story. For me, no problems - for them, shooting the pistol turns into a clearing drill.
Tell your friends to call Steyr Arms Inc. to request a new extractor. Or....they can do the 1911 plunger spring fix (I did this and it worked, got it off the Steyrclub.org site)...which is to purchase a 1911 plunger spring, remove the Steyr extractor and spring assembly, clip about 2 coils off the 1911 plunger spring, place the shortened 1911 plunger spring inside of the Steyr extractor spring, and reinstall the whole thing. It adds tension to the extractor claw and, at least for me, ended the FTE mess....but no one should have to go through that bubba gunsmithing BS to make their gun work. The only good thing to that whole shitty experience was that it made me take the gun apart and learn how the gun worked.
My M9A1 had a tendency to lock up with a live round in the chamber. It happened to me 2-3 times. The firing pin catch appeared to get jammed at the top of the sear, or at least so I thought. I sold mine.
Okay finally some critisism...i wanted to hear both sides...good AND bad feedback. Okay so ive been looking at it but a pic can only tell you so much. If it fell out of the back of the truck would you gasp and be worried? Or would you let it fall knowing its gonna be fine. If my XD fell onto the concrete it would be fine. Those are the kind of guns i like. Does it have a good weight to it? Does the plastic feel cheap and weak?
It doesn't matter if it can take a fall if it can't get through a mag without a stoppage. It doesn't feel cheap or anything and in fact it feels pretty decent while messing with one in the gun shop. It feels pretty darn good up until the point your gun has a stoppage, and another, and another until you ask yourself...WTF? My Glock doesn't do this! The question you should be asking yourself is if you are willing to risk $400+ on the chance that you might get a well functioning gun? I'm not.
I've had two M40's and liked them both, but not enough to keep them. I never had any issues with either of them.
I've had two M40's myself, Cabelas here sells them (used) cheap, as in under $300. The sights are probably the most unique thing about the gun, and I actually liked these sights. I'm not a fan of the .40 S&W but if I could find one in 9mm I'd be all over it. I gave the second M40 to my little brother, he uses it as his CCW piece and loves it.
I had one of the early M40s several years ago. It went to Trussville for the trigger modification. I liked the ergonomics and the engineering-I thought of it as sort of a product-improved Glock G23.
Unfortunately-I could never really trust it. At least once in every 100 rounds it would have a jam or malfunction. It was one of those guns that I liked and really wanted to trust, but based on empirical experience never could. Reportedly the issues I experienced were extractor related, and resolved in the succeeding M1 models-but my interest in the guns has been breeched.
As a point of interest, the designer of the Steyr M-Series guns and the new Caracal is the same-Willi Bubits (who is a former Glock employee also)
Best, Jon
It doesn't matter if it can take a fall if it can't get through a mag without a stoppage. It doesn't feel cheap or anything and in fact it feels pretty decent while messing with one in the gun shop. It feels pretty darn good up until the point your gun has a stoppage, and another, and another until you ask yourself...WTF?.
I agree with you but disagree at the same time. How good is a pistol that performs flawlessly and shoots a million rounds, but a 3 foot fall snaps the frame in half! lol That would suck. I think it has to be a compromise of performance and strength. Was the pistol that had stoppages past break in point? Or free of factory cosmoline? Ive owned a few pistols that need to be past a couple hundred rounds to be truly "reliable"
They are good guns if you get one with all the upgraded parts. Steyr has gone back and forth with magazine springs over the years, and in my experience, the 9-10 coil springs just plain suck. Like everyone said, the extractor and plunger was redesigned a few years ago and this should straighten out ejection and fix the FTE issues that some users have. I have two of the M9A1s - one with the old design, and one with the new - both guns run perfect.
Take-down and cleaning is easy (just like every similar gun these days), and the finish holds up pretty good. I've been carrying my first M9A1 in a Blade-Tech UCH for 4 years now - every day - and holster wear really is pretty minor. The polymer frame is as durable as any other going - my carry gun has seen a good amount of abuse, and it looks almost good-as-new.
Aftermarket absolutely sucks - limited holster and sight selection, and BigTaco is just about the only person making anything for them.
The guns run alright as a suppressor host - as quiet as anything else I've heard, but it does like to fail to return to battery if the Neilson device gets dirty.
Parts availability is troublesome - Jeff Reece at Steyr Arms has always been more than generous with me in the past, but there are times when Steyr-Mannlicher screws them over on parts and you just have to make due until new stuff arrives.
Through local SteyrClub meets, I've been lucky enough to get trigger time on all of the flavors of M and M-A1 guns - my preference is the A1 series. There are some reported problems with the 357SIG guns, but 40S&W is good to go. The 40S&W version shoots like some other-manufacturers' 9mm's - it really is quite pleasant.
All that said, Steyr isn't alone with their awesome ergos anymore. I'm probably one of the biggest Steyr cheerleaders that you will meet, but my honest advice is to look at the S&W M&P series if you want a gun that offers all of the same ergo benefits, but has a decent aftermarket following. If you're just interested in owning something novel, take a look at the new Caracal series pistols (same designer as the Steyr M and M-A1) - I own one of those, too, and for my money, I like the Caracal more.
Very nice. Im not the kind of person that buys something for looks, they do look really cool but im very interested in the pistol, hence this thread. At this point its a toss up between that and the M&P. I can almost guarantee you i will have both. The m&p seems to be HOT right now! Everyone is getting one. I love my XD to death and im good with it, I have quite a few hours with it and its my daily carry, but i like different flavors. Thank you for your help
I agree with you but disagree at the same time. How good is a pistol that performs flawlessly and shoots a million rounds, but a 3 foot fall snaps the frame in half! lol That would suck. I think it has to be a compromise of performance and strength. Was the pistol that had stoppages past break in point? Or free of factory cosmoline? Ive owned a few pistols that need to be past a couple hundred rounds to be truly "reliable"
The Steyr M series doesn't have cheap plastic. I wasn't debating that. None of the quality modern polymer frame handguns will fall apart on you through a simple three foot drop. My point was that you won't know at the time of purchase if your gun will run or not. An unacceptably high percentage of NIB Steyr Ms don't run well. Those who have guns that run seem to trust theirs.
As Syntax has said, you need to put upgraded parts into the gun AND the mags to make this thing run. You need a upgraded extractor if your gun has a defective one, new firing pin spring cups to prevent the trigger from binding, and you need to check your magazine springs and followers to ensure that they are the correct number of coils and for the correct caliber. Many people have sent their guns to the factory with little resolution. If I wanted to screw around that much with my gun, I'd buy a 1911.
As I already mentioned in my earlier post. The FTE stoppages stopped after 600 rounds, after I upgraded the extractor and did the plunger spring fix. It still continued to eject spent casings right between my eyes. I had the gun until about 800 rounds (detailed round count). The frame locking up with a live round in chamber issue (happened in the first 600 rounds), I never did resolve, nor was I able to replicate it. After replacing the extractor and shooting 200 trouble free rounds, I sold it. I just didn't trust the gun or the platform after that.
Many people have sent their guns to the factory with little resolution.
I would agree with most of your post, except this point. As you said, a good number of owners end up contacting Steyr Arms to get the free "upgrade" to the new extractor/plunger (magazine spring and follower issues are much less common)... As such, we see a good number of folks over at SteyrClub that have interacted with the factory, and they almost unanimously walk away with a glowing report of the experience. Even more importantly, very few folks continue to have problems after the process, and I think it's an outright mis-characterization to say that "many people" contacted Steyr Arms with "little resolution".
[concerning "old stock", non-new-import guns]:
You're not wrong - there are a lot of possible points of failure that should have been fixed before Steyr let these guns go, especially when they offloaded them to CDNN and shipped to gunshops everywhere by the truckload for public consumption. Still, it's not like having to tweak a 1911 - you know that out of the box, Steyr Arms will need to be contacted for an extractor kit (they just mail it to you and you can take 2 minutes to install it yourself, or you can send your gun in - almost everyone ops for the former). Really ambitious people can inspect the magazines to confirm their gun has the right follower - if not, the factory will send that out with the extractor kit. If your springs fail (let's be honest - all spring crap out eventually), the factory will send you new ones, again at no charge or great inconvenience. I'm not sure how many other factories just hand out parts like this - I know from personal experience that a few will charge you for replacement magazine springs.
Like I said, I have two guns; I have also setup 7 more for close friends - I've done more than my fair share of troubleshooting and "preemptive maintenance" with these guns (we won't even go into the number of local SteyrClub guys I've met, shot with, and assisted over the years). There are some quirks, sure - but it really is a simple and painless process to get a gun "up to speed", if a guy wants to. Like I said, I'd just assume go get a M&P considering all of the market conditions today, but if a guy really wants to give Steyr a try, it's still a viable option.
You guys are both a really big help and i appreciate it, UWE i hope i didnt come across as being rude, i was over exxagerating the "million" rounds and a 3 foot drop. I think it might be worth it to spend a few extra dollars to have a well running pistol. I like the fact im getting help from two owners of the pistol and one being a critic of it. I like getting feedback from both sides.
You guys are both a really big help and i appreciate it, UWE i hope i didnt come across as being rude, i was over exxagerating the "million" rounds and a 3 foot drop. I think it might be worth it to spend a few extra dollars to have a well running pistol. I like the fact im getting help from two owners of the pistol and one being a critic of it. I like getting feedback from both sides.
No offense taken. I was a longtime "lurker" on SteyrClub. I read everything I could about that gun because, as others have already mentioned, it was a gun I wanted to love. Syntax is right in that many people have had no problems with FTEs since replacing the extractor. My stoppage issues resolved, but not the erratic ejection patterns. In this very short thread, where only a handful of people posted on the gun, you have about 4-5 first hand reports of guns with issues. Many people stuck it out with the gun because of the ergonomics so they spent a good amount of time trying to troubleshoot it. Syntax is/was a steyrclub admin. He knows how to work the M series well. Most gun owners won't have the time or expertise to mess with that.
I own handguns for one reason and that is for defensive purposes and training. I don't want to take time to troubleshoot a faulty gun when I could spend that time training on a more reliable platform. The gun does shoot very nicely with little muzzle flip. But there were just too many doubts for me to ever trust it. Currently, you have many better alternatives to go with and they all have better aftermarket support.
And, in all fairness, the M&P as certainly not been without issues itself, some of which have taken years to resolve...
Best, Jon
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