Steyr L9-A1 Pistol – Full Review

I think Steyr has always been a forward-leaning company and has stayed a little ahead of their time on certain products. My first bolt gun back in the late 80’s was a Steyr SSG Marksman with set triggers and a hammer-forged barrel—an absolute tack driver. I also had a synthetic stock and rotary plastic magazine, both concepts way ahead of the times, both of which worked flawlessly. A few years later, I had an AUG Bullpup 223 carbine, years ahead on the modularity and use of polymers that would become commonplace in the future.

Tri topped slide profile along with front and rear cocking serrations make for a slim profile slide.

Well, Steyr continues to think out of the box with several of the design features of the L9-A1 pistol. The first thing you notice when you pick up the gun is that the area for the web of your firing hand is deep up in the frame. This really gets your hand high in the grip up under the slide. Then as soon as you point it, you will see that it points a bit high due to a more rearward grip angle compared to most pistols. Both these design features allow greater control when firing the pistol due to the hand being placed closer to the line of the bore, allowing the wrist to be straighter.

I’ve heard some people describe this as a grip similar to an old German Luger. Luckily I knew where to get a hold of one of those for a quick comparison. The Luger had an even more radical rear-leaning grip than the L9-A1. The thing the two did have in common was that the grips felt small in diameter compared to guns such as the Glock 9mms and S&W M&Ps. The Luger made sense, as it was a single-stack magazine, but the Steyr was surprising and comfortable. I think the use of the metal magazine bodies on the L9 allowed Steyr to keep that grip smaller and still keep capacity up compared to thicker polymer magazine guns.

The old Luger had a longer reach to the trigger from the back of the grip than the Steyr.

The next out of the box thing that you will instantly see is the use of a pyramid/triangle-shaped front sight and a “trapezoid” shaped cut out in the rear sight. Okay, it definitely seemed a little weird when I first saw it, but it is completely natural for our eyes and mind to line up the angular sides and center the front sight.

White highlighted front and rear sights were quick to find and align.

So not only was I dealing with a different grip angle from most traditional pistols, now the sights were something totally new as well. Fantastic. I could see this was going to be a challenge when I got it down to the range.

Well, I’ll cut to the chase. It wasn’t. It only took a few rounds to adjust to the gun presenting the front sight higher due to the grip angle, and this may have led me to find the front sight faster, lining up the sights more instinctually than a conventional post and notch.

The sizing of the front and rear was perfect. It left enough of a gap between the angled sides to have movement but not so much as to leave a shooter wondering when it was centered. The tip of the triangle made a perfect aiming point rather than the flat of the top of a post sight. I was hitting targets, rapidly changing between steel silhouettes and plates as fast as I could move the gun. The sights just work.

Sight picture may be a bit different but was easy and natural to align.

The sights are dovetailed into the slide with the rear being adjustable for windage only. There is a warning in the manual to be careful if changing the rear sight, as the loaded chamber indicator that protrudes out the rear of the slide runs just under the sight. This is one of three loaded chamber indicators on the L9 pistols. I guess we want to be sure without having to press check the slide to see if it’s loaded.

Loaded chamber indicator protrudes from rear so it can be felt in low light environments.

Loaded chamber can be seen through a notch at the top rear of the barrel or felt at extractor protruding from the slide.

The next thing that stands out about the pistol is that the slide is not very tall. Reducing the weight and keeping the moving mass lower over the hand also helps to reduce muzzle flip and perceived recoil. The lower the barrel and slide sit, the better the shooter is able to point and control the weapon. The grip design also supports this effort by minimizing the material between the hand and the slide, but the design is done well with little worry about getting bit by the slide as it cycles.

Low profile of slide and high grip can be seen compared side to side with Glock.

Steyr used their Reset Action System trigger in the L9-A1. It has the familiar trigger safety in the middle of the trigger that must be depressed in order to pull the trigger. The trigger pull on my test gun averaged 4.5 lbs. with a bit of take-up and over travel, but neither was excessive or distracting.

The reach to the trigger due to the grip design seemed shorter and easier to manage for me than most guns I shoot. The grip area under the trigger guard is also cut very high to allow the hand to sit higher in this area, resulting in a more comfortable grip on the gun. The grips are scalloped near the magazine release to aid in reliably making magazine changes.

Pistol controls are easy to reach and operate due to grip design.

The two supplied magazines are steel-bodied and marked with witness holes for 15 rounds but have plus two magazine bases installed, for a total of 17 rounds each. The lower part of the grip has slight recesses to allow a better grip if pulling the magazines from the grip, however, this was never necessary as they dropped free every time while in testing.

The L9-A1 is a duty-sized pistol weighing 28 ounces and has fantastic ergonomics. Disassembly is easily accomplished and it breaks down into four basic parts for general cleaning and maintenance. The forward part of the frame has an accessory mount rail for mounting lights or lasers.

The L9-A1 also has a Limited Access Lock that is located on the right side of the gun adjacent to the takedown lever. The gun comes with two keys for operating this locking feature. In the “F”, Fire position the operation of the pistol is normal. When the lock is turned to the “S” safe position with the supplied key, the trigger cannot be pulled and the takedown lever cannot be rotated, so it cannot be taken apart.

Again, Steyr may be ahead of their time, as I can see locking up a gun to keep it safe from children and theft, but I can’t imagine ever wanting to try to execute the fine motor skills to find the key and unlock this mechanism under pressure. However, I realize they sell to a world market and needs differ across the globe and it doesn’t impact use if you don’t lock it.

View shows how low the 4.5” barrel rides in the slide, sides barely come below the hole for the muzzle.

Range Time

As I said earlier, the grip and sights became natural and fast in the first few mags down range. The grip size, along with low bore design, made the gun very controllable and easy to shoot, not to mention the 4.5# trigger. Not bad at all. I concluded with no complaints and found it was 100% reliable while shooting several boxes of three different types of ammunition.

Accuracy-wise I was also impressed, though none of my previous Steyrs ever lacked in that department. I shot from a bag rest at a reasonable defensive distance of 15 yards. The combined average of all three ammunition types was 1.99 inches for five shot groups.

The best group was a .96” group shooting CCI Blazer brass-cased 115-grain ball ammunition, with the combined average for five shot groups of that coming in at 1.66”—better than I expected for low-cost training ammunition.

Speer Lawman 147 grain ammunition came in with an average at 2.4,” While Hornady Critical Defense averaged in at 2.2.” The tip of the front sight made a great focal point for shooting groups, but I found myself drifting a little high and low on the bullseyes. I think the gun is actually capable of a little better than I shot with a bit more time working with the new sight design.

I also tested the gun for function, strong and weak hand-only, to ensure it would cycle reliably in one-handed shooting scenarios. (You just never know.) It shot reliably and had no malfunctions during these drills, as well using a variety of ammunition down to Hornady’s 100-grain FTX Critical Defense Light rounds. If a gun is going to fail you it’s best to find out on the range, so always practice or at least put your gun through the paces with the ammunition you plan to carry.

A bit large for average concealment at 5.5” height and 7.75 length, but a great duty gun.

Final Thoughts

I liked the Steyr L9-A1 better than I thought I would. It felt good in the hand and once I got accustomed to the grip angle it was easy to shoot. I wouldn’t hesitate to have it as a house gun with a light attached or carry it as a duty gun if I was in that line of work. The grip and ergonomics fit me better than many name brand guns currently on the market. At market pricing below the $575 MSRP the L9 is a competitive option for a full sized pistol.

Visit Steyr to learn more about their products by clicking HERE.

Also, Steyr is running a $50 rebate on the purchase of any A1 pistol now through Dec. 31, 2018.  Click here to learn more.

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