Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Your chosen carry gun needs to meet—or exceed—some standards for reliability, accuracy, and durability. That means you can’t expect the cheapest pistol on the shelf to function when your life depends on it, but it doesn’t mean you can’t find one that’s reasonably priced and good quality. As a fan of polymer pistols, I’m pleased to report the Canik Mete MC9 Prime not only meets but exceeds its price point (and then some). Here’s the rundown.
Table of Contents
The Canik Mete MC9 Prime
The Canik Mete MC9 Prime is—at the time of this writing—the latest handgun from the Turkish gun maker. If you see their country of origin as a reason to pass it by, you’d be missing out. Canik’s upped its game over the years, and the Mete MC9 Prime is fantastic evidence of that evolution.
Yes, this is another 9mm striker-fired handgun made for self-defense applications, so it isn’t precisely unique (not on the surface, anyway). It does feature a polymer frame, so it qualifies as tactical Tupperware, but likely not as much as you’d expect. This is a compact pistol, despite the occasional person referring to it as a micro-compact (it’s not, not at all). More importantly, the Mete MC9 Prime is designed with various features catering to those focused on concealed carry.
Features of the Handgun
Whether you call them features or specifications, the result is the same: lots of numbers and catch-phrases. The Prime features a 3.64-inch barrel with four-sided fluting and topmost porting at the muzzle end. Angled serrations at the back and front of the slide are cut deep enough for a solid hold without being excessively sharp. The slide is also lightning cut and compensated. Night Fision Tritium sights come standard.
It’s in the gun’s overall dimensions that you can clearly see it can be a compact, but not a micro. Those designations can be frustrating because there’s no tried-and-true industry standard for the labels, something that can lead to confusion. As for the Prime, its overall length is 6.73 inches, overall height is 5.42 inches, and overall width is 1.16 inches. Of course, that height is going to change if you go with the optics-ready package rather than sticking with iron sights. It weighs just over 23 ounces, empty. With a 17-round capacity, it does get heftier when it’s loaded, but it’s nothing extreme.
Other features include a flared magwell, aggressive grip stippling, and a rounded, undercut trigger guard. The trigger is a safety-blade style with a flat face and a gold safety component. As expected for a striker-fired gun, there’s not an external safety, but there are multiple internal safety mechanisms. The magazine release is one-sided with vertical serrations for easier operation, and there’s an accessory rail in front of the trigger guard.
How it Shoots
Right out of the box—which is a fancy-looking hard-sided case—the Prime felt good in my hand. The grip length is ideal, and the flared magwell gives my pinkie finger just the right amount of support (sure, that’s not really why it’s there, but who cares?). It’s nicely balanced, too, which I appreciate quite a bit. Not a lot more annoying than handguns with odd weight distribution.
When I’m testing review guns, I always run a variety of ammo through them, meaning both target and defensive loads. For the Prime, I used a few, including Hornady American Gunner 9mm 115 grain FTX, Winchester USA 9mm 115 grain FMJ, and Federal Personal Defense 9mm 147 grain HST JHP. The gun didn’t have any failures during testing, which is initially promising. Generally, it’s nice to get 500 rounds through a gun without issues before using it for carry. However, that isn’t always realistic.
Thanks to the high contrast of the Night Fision sights—green in back, orange in front—acquiring sights was easy enough. Personally, I find the colored front sight helps me remain focused rather than being more likely to let my eyes wander to the target. This gun does have an optics-ready removable plate with a modified RMSc footprint. The plate is held in place with a couple of Torx screws.
Intuitive Controls
The design of the controls is always important on a defensive handgun, and Canik did well with the Prime. The slide stop lever is oversized without being cumbersome. There are serrations on the upper edge to give your thumb some traction. The mag release is indeed one-sided, but it’s also smoothly designed—the magazines slip right out, no muss, no fuss. That makes magazine changes faster, which is always a plus. Overall, the controls were easy to operate without requiring much hand movement. That’s important because the last thing you need is to wildly change your firing grip just to execute a basic mag change or manipulate the slide.
This is a comfortably accurate pistol, although not precise. That’s pretty normal for the average defensive handgun, and it’s just fine. The Prime is more than capable of threat-ending accuracy. In fact, it is accurate enough to outdo the capabilities of many shooters (that’s a good thing when it comes to gun quality).
The Prime is a Good Carry Gun
Thanks to the pistol’s dimensions, it’s highly concealable for most gun owners. I consider it a bonus that it isn’t micro-sized. I prefer having a carry gun with a larger gripping surface. Its size isn’t an issue for concealment, and to make things easier, Canik includes an IWB holster.
Like I mentioned before, it’s ideal to run 500 rounds through a gun before deciding to trust it with your life. That isn’t always possible, especially with the way ammo prices have changed in recent years. If you can at least run 150 through it—including a box of the self-defense ammo you intend to use—and experience no failures, that’s great. Whatever you do, don’t jam it onto your belt without putting it through its paces (you’d be surprised what people will do).
With a concealable footprint and the option for optics, this really is a solid option for concealed carry. Of course, it isn’t limited to being concealed. The Prime can be used for home defense, too, or for defensive carry while hunting (just make sure you check your local laws first).
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You Should Get a Canik Mete MC9 Prime
If you’re in the market for a carry gun or just a 9mm in general, the Prime is worth a look. It’s well-made, comfortable to run, and accurate on target. Add on the fact that it’s optic-ready and comes with high-contrast iron sights, and it’s even better. The factory trigger is also nice, and that’s definitely not something you can say about the average striker-fired pistol. So yes, you should get your hands on the Prime. You won’t be disappointed.
Learn more on Canik’s site.
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Kat Ainsworth Stevens is a prolific outdoor writer based in North Texas. Her love and enjoyment of firearms extends to both self-defense and hunting, and she’s driven to teach safe gun handling. Kat’s the author of several books and thousands of articles as well as a successful editor with more than a decade of experience in marketing. With experience in everything from defensive handgun use to field dressing a deer, Kat’s background is varied and extensive. She firmly believes in the importance of protecting the Second Amendment as well as the First.
When she’s not behind a gun or processing her own game meat, Kat can be found trapping, boating, doing yoga, and mudding. The outdoors and the Lone Star State are where she belongs.
Experience
Author:
Handgun Hunting and anthologies including The Deer Shot Back: And Other Hunting Tales and How Not to Shoot Fish and Other Deer That Got Away.
Dedicated Outdoorsman:
Year-round enthusiast of hunting, trapping, and fishing.
Advanced Training:
More than 1000 hours of training in defensive handguns, long guns, edged weapons, self-defense law, force-on-force, handgun retention, and related topics.
Focused Specialty Skills:
Expert witness. Massad Ayoob Group certified Deadly Force Instructor and graduate of Active Self Protection The Practice & Preparation of Being an Expert Witness.
I’d say it’s closer to a 3″ barrel since the last 1/2″ or more is an expansion chamber not barrel. That said, I want one!
MC9 Prime is a wonderful pistol, unfortunately Canik does not have replacement parts for a lot of their pistols so hope it doesn’t break.