Rethinking my stance on Turkish guns

[Old Dog]

So I just shot a buddy's Canik on Monday. Holy crap, I'm actually impressed. Kinda looks like a cross between a HK and a Staccato. It looks and shoots like a more expensive pistol; couldn't find anything not to like about it.

My first experience with a Turkish gun was the father in law's Kirikkale pistol, a clone of the Walther PP, that he'd brought back in the '50s (he was USAF stationed in Incerlik). Decent shooter, but with all of the cons of the Walther and none of the pros (fit, finish, reliability)

Was on a det in Turkey late '90s, bunch of the guys and I visited a factory making shotguns, many for name manfacturers. Several guys bought some decent shotguns in the $300 range, smuggled 'em back in cruise boxes (at the time, we were on the honors system with Customs) and found out not only were they high-quality, but worth substantially more than they'd paid for them.

Bought a Tisas Stingray a while back. It has totally exceeded my expectations. The fit and finish is excellent, it's reliable and accurate. Actually a cool lookin' 1911. Would like to swap out the sights for some decent night sights (but I'm hearing that's a total PITA).

I find it interesting that the rumors that the "metallurgy of Turkish firearms is suspect" persist.

The major companies' manufacturing standards are fully ISO, CIP and NATO compliant. Tisas has been manufacturing firearms since 1993, and several credible folks from the U.S. firearms industry have visited and inspected its plant and processes, with positive reports. Don't know about Canik or SAR, but their products have gotten some good reviews by a lot of credible folks, too.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I'd much rather have a Ruger than a Turkish made gun.

 

[Aero Denezol]

Everyone really seems to like the Canik striker fired pistols, which I believe are modeled on the Walther PPQ/PDP. One guy even told me it was the best handgun he owned.

The Tisas Raider is a nice copy of the M45. It has a forged steel frame and so forth.

I wouldn't buy a Turkish Benelli clone.

 

[Catfishmoon]

I am not interested in buying any firearm just because it is inexpensive, but I do look for value. I think multiple Turkish weapons appear to be a good firearms at a price which I would purchase.
There is a custom firearm company that specializes in 1911's called Chambers Customs owned by Joe Chambers and he puts out some interesting videos where he disassembles handguns by different manufacturers and takes precise measurements of the tolerances. Because in the end it is these tolerances that help determine the functionality and accuracy of a firearm; as he likes to say "math matters"...
He has videos of 1911's being measured from $500 to many thousands. If I were buying another 1911, I would consider a Rock Island Armory.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk4T7V7JnN8

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Tisas 1911 safety recall

Tisas Safety Recall 2024-0001

tisasusa.com

 

[Duneblaster]

This one will/can fire if you rack the slide with the muzzle pointed towards the ground:

 

[Bruce-Banner]

My Turkish SA 12 ga's keep sucking up all the high brass I can feed them.
"Punch far above their weight, esp. considering the price"
Yes, Exactly!

 

[stompah]

A valid concern. If you're interested enough in the product maybe buy used? Then you're not really giving money to Turkey.

Eh, then I would be worried that there was something wrong with it. I'm not jonesing for a 1911 enough to buy one that may give me a headache.

 

[Bruce-Banner]

My Turkish SA 12 ga's keep sucking up all the high brass I can feed them.
"Punch far above their weight, esp. considering the price"
Yes, Exactly!

On the other hand, just watched a bunch of Turkish shotgun burned down videos and even though the reviewers can't resist feeding them low brass for an intended result, most of them aren't doing very well in that video genre.
Feeling fortunate that mine are performing well and thinking I need to run a couple hundred rounds of slug through each one, just for reassurance.

 

[bumpus]

The Turks have been making Firearms for hundreds of years. I have had several shotguns of turkish origin, they have been reliable and their fit and finish was great. Like many mfrs, they have items that are for different markets, Stuff for the US market may be of different quality than for their local market.

There are a couple of plants there that make stuff for multiple importers... The same plant used to make stuff for Armso, and Tristar and CZ and Huglu and Dehaaan. Some of it was for the knockabout market... field guns, and some of it was showcase stuff. They know what they are doing.

for Shotguns and Rifles, it is pretty hard to beat a sweet piece of Turkish walnut.

 

[JRuby]

I have a good friend that was heavily into trap shooting - he use to compete and was successful. He literally wore out several Huglus over unders. They were soft metal. He finally went to a Browning and that Browning is as tight now as when it came off the shelf
Comparing a nice Browning to a Huglu is not really fair and for most a Huglu will do well depending how they use it. However there is a big difference in quality between a Huglu and a quality shotgun like a Browning

 

[bumpus]

The Huglu plant makes (made) Arms for half a dozen different mfrs. CZ was one of the most widely distributed. You can get a nice cz Shotgun for around $1100. Browning and Ruger are 2-3x as much money. Most folks don't shoot 5000 rounds out of their shotgun in a lifetime. It is those folks that are the market that the Turks commonly serve.

 

[JRuby]

I will stick with something I will be proud to pass down to the next generation. It's called pride of ownership.

 

[Juniper9mm]

I will stick with something I will be proud to pass down to the next generation. It's called pride of ownership.

I agree with James here in principle, but was recently compelled to pick up four cheap single shot Fedarms, two in .410 and two in 20 gauge. I think they were about $74 each shipped to me. At the time I was living in Ridgefield, and Mike at Fin and Feather gave me a hell of a deal on the transfers because I was a veteran. I still owe him a lunch. I kept one of each size for myself and gave the other two to my nephew. I'm setting them up as survival guns for the truck. Something that I won't be too upset with if they got damaged, ect. Did the same with a Chinese pellet rifle in .177 recently, just to try it out. It's not my Beeman R7, but I know it for what it is and it will be fun to play with, sort of like I did with my Norincos years ago.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

I will stick with something I will be proud to pass down to the next generation. It's called pride of ownership.

I agree with this. Have a German shotgun made in 1913 that feels like it just came out of the factory. Tight and smooth. Should last several more generations if taken care of. Although not all guns need to be that way, Fe range blasters, etc.

I will say that the Chinese made lynx 12 semi auto shotgun the only failure I've heard of is a broken bolt at 11,000 rounds. Mine have been flawless. Cost around $300 and made by same factory making quality AKs for over 50 years.

 

[JRuby]

I have picked up a couple of NEF handu rifles. I find them interesting due how cheap they were and the accuracy I have been able to obtain from them. They are functional and I am not going to be unhappy if they get dinged up due to being used. I have some Ruger #1s and a Browning Highwall. The difference in quality is amazing and so is the cost in comparison. I like the handi rifles due to thier simplicity I like the Rugers and Browning due to thier quality. Which if taken care of do you think will last longer? Which would you rather inherit? To me there is no question.

 

[Certaindeaf]

The Huglu plant makes (made) Arms for half a dozen different mfrs. CZ was one of the most widely distributed. You can get a nice cz Shotgun for around $1100. Browning and Ruger are 2-3x as much money. Most folks don't shoot 5000 rounds out of their shotgun in a lifetime. It is those folks that are the market that the Turks commonly serve.

You can get a nice Miroku Browning citori for like $800.

 

[JRuby]

The Browning side by sides are closer to 2k.