Turkish gun maker Canik has become known in recent years for affordable, reliable, and stylish pistols. Want a dramatic cerakote design that looks custom but comes right out of the box? They have it. Want a threaded barrel and/or integral compensator but only have $550 to spend? They’ve got you covered. Their TP9 and Mete series pistols, primarily striker-fired guns in 9mm chambering, have exploded in popularity. But it’s one of their earlier models that makes my day.

For me, the TP9 SF is the most preferable among the company’s many models, four of which I’ve personally owned. The SF is seldom seen or heard of, though, as it lives in the shadow of newer, often flashier renditions such as the SF Elite and SF Elite Combat. These bear a strong resemblance to Canik’s Mete series, which first gained popularity overseas. Despite its low consumer profile, the plain old SF is what I keep ready as a first-line backup duty gun. It’s the gun I hang on my belt most frequently for teaching. Here, I’ll share why the TP9 SF has earned esteemed status among the choices in my gun safe.

Reliable, With a Caveat

Like other modern Caniks I’ve owned and spent time around, the TP9 SF just works. For a time, Canik recommended a break-in period of 200 rounds using 124-grain 9mm Luger ammo; after that, their TP9s were approved to run the grain weight of your choice. While that recommendation seems to have quietly gone away, I did it anyway with my own SF. Whether that “worked” or it never needed a break-in at all, I’ll never know. What I do know is that it never malfunctions.

Now, there is an idiosyncratic firing issue that I’ve experienced about four times in the 50,000 or so rounds I’ve fired through Canik pistols. I’ve also seen it occasionally in students’ TP9s. It is a failure of the trigger to travel rearward enough for the gun to fire. The cause is a finger that’s too high on the trigger, failing to disengage the trigger safety. If there is any universal fault with Canik’s striker guns, this is it. However, it is a rarely occurring issue that can be addressed with time behind the gun, even in dry fire. I trust my own SF enough to carry it on duty as a guard and courier. That should suffice to say I’m not worried about this issue.

Ergos on Point

Lots of pistol makers boast of a low bore axis, indicating minimal offset between the ulna of the shooter’s forearm and the bore of the barrel during operation. Canik was among the early adopters of this trend with their first-generation TP9 SA, a gun I used so long I wore it out. Thoughtful designers of the SF sculpted the frame right where the thumb and trigger finger grip. This effectively decreases the distance from the backstrap to the trigger and provides a slight cradle that enhances grip security. Two backstrap choices are included.

The polymer grip has a lightly pebbled texture on the front and rear, and the side panels have a sandpapery texture. People who like a very rough grip will not be pleased, but I think it’s great. The sandpaper part can prematurely pill rash guard sleeves.

A reversible magazine release and extended, both-sided slide lock make the TP9 SF not only fully ambidextrous but also friendly for users with smaller hands. I love that the slide lock is within easy reach of my thumb for fast loads.

Distinctive but not showy angles on the slide profile maximize the shooter’s ability to take in visual information when the SF is pointed downrange. The corners have been lopped off to create an angled dome-shaped slide that also saves on weight and bulk when carrying the gun on long days. I find this to be a great advantage for duty use.

Simple Sights

The U-channel rear sight and front white dot sight are drift-adjustable. I’ve not tried it, but they seem tall enough to accommodate a suppressor if a body wanted to use a threaded barrel with the SF. Canik finally came around to the notion of putting replaceable sights on their guns, but oddly enough, these are a mix of Smith & Wesson on the front and Glock on the rear, making shopping for a set of sights challenging.

At $399 MSRP, I don’t expect tritium sights, but it sure would be advantageous, at least on the front. Ergonomically speaking, I like the narrow gap on the rear sight as it makes precision and distance shots more attainable. I have found that I must hold about six inches low at 25 yards to make center-ish hits on a six-inch bullseye, thanks to the combination of sight height and bullet arc. Every gun has some feature that is ultimately a training issue, and the low hold at a distance is the technique that I’ve found I need to use.

Trigger Connoisseurs Rejoice

For skilled shooters, the crowning glory of Canik is their trigger. Its smooth, brief takeup, crisp break, and short reset are as good as those in the most expensive stock guns in the striker-fired market. It’s on par with and has maybe a little shorter reset than Walther’s PDP guns. It has a shorter, cleaner break than HK’s VP series. I know because I use all three. They are all good, but for me, the Canik’s superior ergonomics and price make it the clear winner.

Of course, it is possible to replace the stock trigger as some people have an irresistible compulsion to do. I do not know what brands/models fit because I’ve never felt the need to replace what’s already as good as I’ve had for duty use and teaching. Match shooters who want a feather-light pull can find a way to make that happen with the TP9 series; indeed, their purchases are a small but important part of keeping the accessories industry alive.

Uncommonly Accurate

My training associate and I have sent many rounds downrange through several makes of pistols, trying to best our highest iron-sight scores on the well-known 700 Aggregate, AKA Humbler drill. It’s a 25-yard bullseye challenge. Both of us achieved our best scores on this test with separate Canik SFs. We’ve done the test with numerous Glocks (including ones with accurized barrels), an HK VP9, Lone Wolf LTD, a Sig 1911, and probably others I don’t recall. But the SFs always prevail with accuracy.

I’ve no information on barrel manufacturing or sourcing by Canik. But they’re doing something right in the barrel department and for a lot less money than their competitors.

What’s Not Right

Canik has some issues in the optic mounting arena. Their polymer plate mounting system offers a fit for pretty much every major brand of full-size optic, but it is ineffective at maintaining a tight mount. This has been my experience with a TP9 Elite Combat, as well as with students’ guns I’ve seen. Perhaps to keep the SF in the budget-friendly category, it’s not even sold with an optic-ready slide option. The chunky mount on the Warne rear sight, though it is elevated enough to bear co-witness with an optic, is likely so long as to interfere with an optic cut, so the otherwise nice rear sight would have to go.

I will likely explore this at some point—having my SF’s slide milled and refinished so that I can direct-mount the optic of my choice. Plain-top slides may have been appropriate a few years ago when Canik first released the SF, but an update that offers users a choice of optic mount is overdue in the current era. Optics are here to stay.

All Value, No Hype

The TP9, in its regular package, ships with two 18-round metal body/polymer floorplate mags that are compatible with other guns in the TP9 and Mete lines. In addition to two backstrap choices, Canik generously includes a Kydex holster. The “One” package, no longer advertised, includes only one mag and no holster.

Holster choices are a bit limited for the SF compared to Canik’s shorter-barreled pistols. But they’re out there in every configuration. I found a perfectly suitable belt/paddle holster for general use on eBay. A thorough web search will yield two, at last count, companies that make a Level II or III duty holster for it.

Color choices include tan and black, with other colors occasionally showing up as distributor specials. The finish on my black SF has held up well to holster wear. Gone is the erosion-prone Tenifer finish from the early days of TP9 pistols.

When shopping for this gun, do not confuse it with the SF Elite or SF Elite Combat, the shorter-barreled versions, the latter having a threaded barrel. MSRP on the SF is $499.99. Vigilant shopping can make it yours for just over the $300 mark. Prices for this gun have seen a decrease in the last year; I believe that’s due in part to the increase in demand for optic-ready guns, which this is not. It is still, in my estimation, the best-quality off-the-shelf striker gun available in terms of trigger and barrel quality, and for that, the price is a steal.