Canik Mete MC9 Prime Review

The Canik Mete MC9 Prime. Let’s check it out.

 

Guys, today we’re going to take a look at the Canik Mete MC9 Prime.

One of the huge benefits of the Micro 9 series has been that we do have this small little high capacity 9mm that we can carry, but out of that came a number of handguns that were more in a full-size profile and yet extremely thin and still carrying a very high round capacity. The MC9 Prime does that. It is a full-size handgun and yet it holds 17 plus one in the magazine, super thin.

Now this is on the heels of the MC9 LS, which is a full grip with a full length slide and yet there are a lot of upgrades made to the Prime. It’s one of the things about Canik, they are upping the game constantly and really it’s been a great catalyst to have a lot of the other gun companies to follow suit and we’re really getting some really great offerings from a lot of different companies, which just in turn give us a lot of choices. With the Prime, this is completely upgraded in the MC9 series and we’re going to take a look and compare it to some of the other MC9 offerings.

This one does have a ported barrel. It is optics ready and there’s a lot of other cool things about this handgun. Now we want to give a big thank you to Century Arms for sending the Canik Mete MC9 Prime for this review.

Guys, I’m a huge fan of Canik and they make some really great handguns and this is really the pinnacle of the MC9 series. Well guys, the Canik Mete MC9 and this is their Prime. We’re going to look at some different features.

One of the things about Canik is honestly it is an industry leader and the big reason is these when they first came out, the quality was just over the top and the price was very reasonable. It really got the ball rolling and a lot of other companies started following suit. So I think Canik just did us a favor straight up by being very responsive, putting out a number of different models, different upgrades and have really transformed the original TP9 series into something completely different and yet retains the quality and typically the price.

While it has inched up, but the quality has inched up as well. Now one of the big things about the Prime is that this is made right here in the USA and this is Canik’s first. So let’s go ahead and make sure the gun is unloaded.

We have a 17 plus 1 magazine capacity, chamber’s empty. One of the things about that is this is a very thin handgun and we’re seeing a lot of companies introduce a small subcompact and then they start moving it up to longer slide, longer grip and then it just gives it a full self-defense style handgun and yet it’s concealable because it’s so flat. That’s one of the things that really kind of dictates what I carry.

If something’s thicker, it’s harder to carry. It’s harder to conceal and it’s just large on your hip. Bringing down the same mag capacity and a very thin handgun is very appealing because you have a lot of confidence.

This is very shootable and it’s not snappy. But of course if you want something smaller, they have the standard MC9. Now it took a while for them to put this out.

A lot of that had to do with the gun control act of 1968 because of the Saturday night special law. So they brought in the MC9 which is an excellent firearm in itself and this kind of got the ball rolling. But this is a 12 round magazine.

So for this size, which this isn’t a micro micro pistol like some, like the Sig P365. It’s a little bit larger but it’s great quality. The price is there and again even this is a little more shootable than some of those really small micro 9s or for that matter even the little 380s.

But really when you compare it to the regular full-size Canik and this is one of their metes. It’s the SFT and you can see that it’s a lot thicker, a lot bigger. Now of course obviously this one has a longer slide but really the grip is not much bigger.

It kind of hangs down. Now one of the problems is this is the hardest part to conceal but this does give you 17 plus one in the magazine. So you have a really high capacity firearm.

Now for me light summer carry this is not something that I’m necessarily going to carry but I have the option with the smaller MC9. But these have been excellent pistols. In fact the Mete is one of my favorites in the bigger series and it holds 18 plus one.

Chamber’s empty and one thing I’m going to show you up front which is really kind of phenomenal because if you look at the back of the grip it’s definitely thinner, definitely smaller, again flatter to your body. But we can take that full-size Mete magazine and it fits in the prime and it fits in all the different MC9 series. So you have that full capacity magazine and yet a much thinner handgun.

Now it’s not vice versa because this is a little bit too short. It doesn’t quite reach up to the mag release but the thing is with these being out for a good while there’s a lot of magazine choices. Now one of the things about the prime is that it has this magazine well.

Now this is removable and it still has a bevel on the inside but it just gives you a very muted magazine well. It’s not big and clunky. To me this is a good concealed carry mag well.

If you take this off it’s going to make it a little more concealable again because your grip hangs out. But also it’s the grip angle that makes this very appealing. It just fits in your hand very well.

It’s more of a straight down even though we do have our back straps which they do have interchangeable back straps that come with the pistol. But one of the things about the grip is the texturing. This texturing is far superior to anything that Canik has put out except maybe their TTI series handgun.

Very well done back strap front strap but all along the sides and all the way up to where your thumb rests. Now one of the things that I say a lot is that the front and back strap are the most important parts to have texturing because that’s really where you grip the gun. But one of the things about the side texturing is that it keeps it from turning.

It keeps it from canting in your hand so you get a good solid full grip. We have this shelf here for your thumb and of course if you’re left-handed you can use that same shelf. It’s mirrored on the other side and it gives you a very solid grip.

Now one of the things about the original we’re going to bring in the MC9LS and this has nice texturing and it’s front and back strap has nice panels. Smooth here on the top but it’s not as grippable. With the Prime it has a lot more texturing and yet it’s not abrasive to your skin.

When I rub my fingers across here it’s fairly smooth but once you bite down and grip it it’s a good solid hold on it. With this it’s fine but definitely between the two I feel like that the Prime really has an advantage. And while we have the LS model out here we’re going to compare it.

Again it does have a 17 plus 1 mag and the chamber is empty. Now with this model it is the same dimensions, same grip length, same slide length. One of the big differences though is the dust cover doesn’t come all the way out which it does on the Prime so you have a little more real estate out front.

Still three slot picatinny rail but it doesn’t have that dust cover showing. Also much more aggressive and well spaced out serrations and you can see they go up to the top of the slide where it has been beveled. Then you have ports on the top of the slide.

Now one big thing about the Prime is that the barrel is ported and you have ports in the slide. So we’re going to bring this back put it in the slide lock. Here you can see these ports go all the way across the top.

There are three ports in the top, there are three ports in the slide and you have these cutouts in the slide as well. But this is going to help with muzzle rise, muzzle flip. It’s going to just keep it more level and we are going to test these two specifically side by side.

I want to see how the LS goes against the Prime and how effective these ports are. And one thing about ports is there’s a number of companies that have been putting out ported guns. In fact we did a video a couple of months ago about ported options and one of the things you need to make sure of is ammo reliability because these have a little more gases coming out of the top.

It usually has a little stronger recoil spring. So that’s one thing to consider and we’re going to see how it functions. Another big plus for the Prime is the trigger.

Canik typically has really good triggers but now they’ve gone with a flat face trigger and we’re going to look at the trigger action in a minute. But it definitely has that really nice 90 degree wall and then a really nice break. Reset really fast.

And so Canik again really pioneering in the polymer striker fire frame triggers and with the Prime they’ve really got that down. And we’re going to go ahead and try this as well. You have that going to that wall, goes back a little farther and a nice break.

I’ll tell you though the Prime definitely has it beat. Pretty much the same shape configuration as far as the grip angles. Again you have multiple back straps that you can change out.

Also we have optics ready which obviously with the LS we’ve already got one of the mechanic sights on here. And this fits the shield RMSC or the Holosun 407k footprint. And it mounts directly to the slide.

And you can see it right here. It fits down in there. I love direct slide fit for your optics.

It gets it in a low position and it allows for you to be able to co-witness with your sights. And so with this as well you’re going to be able to co-witness putting that optic on there and really beautifully stylized. I mean they have really upped their game with the Prime.

Kind of like Optimus Prime. Sights are dovetailed in both front and rear. We have night vision tritium sights on the back and they are black circled.

And then here at the front we have an orange circle around tritium. And so this is going to give you good night sight capability. The barrel is 3.64 inches in length and it is fluted which we didn’t show or really just flats on either side.

This is going to just reduce the weight of the barrel a little bit and it’s going to give it some strength. And so you’ve got just a little bit of fancy barrel work there. Which this is a fairly upgraded handgun already.

I like the recoil pad memory pad right here so I can just place my finger it gives me an index point. And then here at the front when I’m bringing up my grip I’m able to get it right there on that index point. Now one thing about it when you’re firing the gun sometimes it’ll slip off unless you have a little ledge.

But this makes it super thin. I mean this is a very thin, even with the controls, very thin option. And again guys I’m getting into more thin handguns to get them really close to the body.

Amadextra slide releases they are extended. We’re going to see how that works out at the range. Sometimes if they’re extended and you have a high rod grip you can inadvertently press on the slide stop and it won’t hold open on the last round.

But with the LS version we didn’t have any problems with it. Really nice undercut right here at the trigger guard and we have a double undercut. And one of the things about an undercut is that it changes your support hand to be able to get in that right natural line.

So this way you have cut and then cut and it actually aligns better. And we also have a cocked striker indicator. So here we have this red dot.

It means that the striker has been in the cocked position. As we pull the trigger it disappears. Now that is not a loaded chamber indicator.

And we have that right here at the top. And you have this small lever. So we’re going to place in a dummy round enter it into the chamber.

And then here you can see that it does pop up. So this is tactile and it is visual. So you’ll know that you have a round in the chamber.

And again you’ve got that indicator back here that the striker is in position. Now the MC9 has a little bit of a higher bore axis than some. And here we have the Glock which is notorious for a low bore axis.

And you can see it does ride up quite a bit more. And that’s one of the unique features of the Glock which other handguns have matched that. But it does bring that slide really close to the hand.

With the MC9 you’re going to have just a little more slide over your hand. But it still gets it up to the bore. So your bore axis is going to be a little higher.

But your SIG handguns typically have the same features. The nitride finish on the slide is impeccable. I mean it’s beautiful.

They do a very good job and Canik has been doing that for a long time. Just a very nice finish. Even the mag well very nicely finished.

And the magazines which you do get two magazines. Base pads have texturing here so it’s going to be a little bit easier to pull those out if you need to. And again you can use full-size Canik mags in your MC9 and definitely in the MC9 Prime.

Let’s get a closer look at the trigger action. You have a gold safety and you can see that if you inadvertently hit this unless you depress this safety it’s going to block the trigger action. And so here we’re going to depress it.

We’re going to bring it right to a wall. It is at 90 degrees. Then very nice break.

There was a little space in between but a very very crisp break. Reset right there. Very quick reset.

Let’s check the trigger pull weight with our Lyman trigger gauge and brown nails. 3 pounds 14.6 ounces. 4 pounds 3.5 ounces.

So around 4 pound trigger pull. Weight on the MC9 Prime 23.46 ounces. Full-size Meta SFT 28.82 ounces.

So you’re getting one additional round but you’re getting a super thin handgun. Now one thing that Canik is known for is including holsters with their guns. And I want to show this separately before we show the box content.

This is actually from G-code. So this gives you a really good quality holster that comes with the gun. And one of the things about new guns when they first come out is it takes a while for holster companies to catch up.

And so here you have a ready holster in the box. Now I will say that this is thinner than the typical G-code holster. This was probably commissioned by Canik to make these.

But G-code are some of my very favorite holsters. They make really high quality. Now here we have it inside the waistband.

Go ahead and fit this in. And we have a nice snap of course. It’s adjustable for the tension.

But this gives you an inside the waistband option. And typically you can have a paddle option as well. And so this just is a nice little holster to go.

And then if you want something different you can go for it. But honestly it’s just nice to have the option of a holster right out of the box. Also included is a paddle section.

So you can put this on your holster. You can just remove the clip. Use the same exact screws and attach it right to the system.

G-code makes some really good paddle designs and their holsters. So this is really easy. So again inside the waistband.

Appendix carry. Or you can do outside the waistband. And really if you already have the LS version.

We have this dust cover again with a shorter picatinny rail. So holsters that fit the LS model are not necessarily going to be able to fit the Prime. Now as far as the MC9 family.

We have the original. This is the more compact version. Of course this is great for concealed carry.

It’s a small option. It does have a the magazine with the extended base pad. Which you can get a flush base pad.

And then we have the MC9L. Which is the same slide length as your original. But it has a longer grip.

And then we have the MC9LS. For long grip. Longer slide.

And then when we bring in the Prime. This goes more toward again the LS model. It’s the same size.

So it just gives us a lot of options. And whatever you’re looking for. If you want compensated.

You may not like compensated guns. Of course this one is going to run a little bit more. There are some extra features with this handgun.

But with the originals. It gives you a lot of different choices. Well guys check out Soochgear.com. We have just revamped our website.

We’re doing a lot over there. Including monthly giveaways. We also have a weekly newsletter.

There’s a lot of deals on there. Also we have contraband videos. And we have a lot of merch.

Including some Richardson ball caps. That are for the Sooch Nation. Also we do t-shirts as well.

In all sizes. We also have patches. Which we have a number of different designs.

And we do stickers. So check out Soochgear.com. Big thank you to Fiocchi for sponsoring our ammo. All made right here in the USA.

Biggest supplier of ammunition in the country. And also big thank you to our Lula loaders. Making range day fast.

And yet we get to shoot more. Guys we have the Canik Mete MC9 Prime. Very thin handgun.

And I love the texturing. Because you have a good solid grip. On the full length grip.

And yet it’s a lot smaller than their standard Canik. The magwell helps kind of nest it right against your pinky. Slide serrations.

Really aggressive. Very nice. The barrel ports help for sure.

I mean it gives it a really softer shoot. We’re also going to test it right next to the LS model. Just to see the difference.

It doesn’t have a ported barrel. 17 plus one in the magazine. Smooth.

We have had no malfunctions. Which we don’t with Canik. It’s just really nice shooting.

You feel like you have control over it. And that’s one of the things when it gets down to the real micro nines. They’re a little bit more difficult to shoot.

To master. With this handgun. It’s really thin.

So it’s going to be great for concealed carry. A little bit larger. But definitely more capable if you ever need it.

The lightning cuts in the slide are going to give it a little less weight. The trigger is excellent. I mean it’s that Canik trigger.

But this is actually a step above. Just a very 90 degree break. Overall guys.

This is definitely one of my favorite Caniks that they’ve produced. And I’m a big fan of Canik. The TTI was also one of those that I just love.

But the Mete series has been really solid. I’m going to shoot a few rounds with the prime. And then we’re going to follow up with the LS.

And here we have the LS model. I’ll tell you guys. The LS shoots pretty good on its own.

There’s definitely just a touch less muzzle rise with the prime. But really to be honest. This is a great shooting handgun.

And I find that all the MC9 series pistols do. I thought I would get a little more compensation. But honestly this is a very flat shooting gun.

And really with more higher pressure loads. You’re going to feel more effect. We’re shooting target loads from Fiocchi.

If we put some self-defense plus P in here. These would really make a huge difference. It just shoots flat.

The grip. That grip texture. I’m telling you guys.

That really locks in. Makes it feel really great. Feels like you got a lot of control.

It really kind of gives you a extension of your hand. And really in a gunfight. You want something really natural to shoot.

And I’m pretty impressed with this. All right guys. For disassembly.

We’re going to drop our magazine. Check the chamber. The gun’s empty.

First thing. You’re going to pull the trigger. Pull back on your slide just a little bit.

And pull down on your takedown tabs. Then just push the slide forward. But it doesn’t go all the way off.

It actually lifts off of the frame. And then we have our recoil spring. It’s captive.

Dual recoil spring. And we have our barrel. Now I want to take a look at the barrel first.

We have our ports. And you can see where we’ve been shooting it today. We do have the flats.

You do have prime right here on the barrel. And so this just relieves some of the weight of the barrel itself. This thing is just very well done.

Of course we have a nice feed ramp. And this is all metal on the guide rod. Here on the inside.

Striker polymer frame style. And very nicely finished. And we have our slide.

Which inside no tooling marks. Very well finished as well. And we have relief cuts in the slide.

Just to relieve the weight. Of course there’s a lot of cuts as well as the ports. These cuts.

Even from the front. That looks pretty cool. And we have a window right here.

Very nicely stylized as well. But Canik does a great job of their finishing and the quality of their parts. And it’s very simple.

And then for reassembly we’re going to drop in our barrel into the slide. Take our recoil spring and guide rod. You want to make sure that you get the right position on the barrel.

There are two different ledges. And you want to get the bottom ledge. So we’re going to bring it right at the top of the scallop.

And it fits just like this. If it’s sticking down a little bit. You need to make sure that it’s seated correctly.

Now with the frame. We’re just going to set it about an inch ahead of the slide rails. And there are slots that actually fit.

And it just drops down. And then you can just take it back. And you’re back in business.

It’s really quick. Really easy to do. Test for function.

And we’re back in business. Keeping your firearms maintained and cleaned is vital. Otis makes some of the best cleaning equipment out there.

They make a number of different kits that are dedicated for different rifles, pistols. They also have Shooter’s Choice which makes excellent CLP and bore solvent and different cleaning materials. The Ripcord is one of their signatures.

And there’s a whole system based around it. They are suppliers to the U.S. military. So check out Otis Technologies.

Highly recommended. And we want to thank Otis for being a sponsor of the channel. Box is exceptional.

It’s one of those that you can take on a flight. And definitely very solid. We have our owner’s manual and all the paperwork.

Here we have the gun. And again we have our holster. Extra magazine with loader.

Lock federally mandated. Then underneath we have a paddle that we can put on the holster. We also have a bore brush, cleaning rod, and we have a tool that we can use.

And also in the top we have our back straps and we have this small little tool kit. And inside the magazine well we have a lot of different tools that we can use for the optics and different things that we need to do. And this is really pretty cool.

In fact you can even adjust your optic with some of the tools in here. So this is just one of those things that Canik does. It’s just pretty cool and it fits just like this.

And we have the MC9 Prime right here at the top. This is a really nice case. And everything fits right back inside.

We close it down. Well guys the retail price is $649.99. You get your holster, you get your extra magazine, and you get a lot of accessories with it. With the MC9 LS this retails for $499.99. So we have about a $150 difference.

And of course street price is going to be typically less. But with all the different features it is bringing the price up some. But this really has with that trigger, with the fluted barrel, ported, the great texturing, optics ready.

I mean there’s a lot of great features to it. And if you want you can go to the standard MC9 whether it’s the LS, the L, or the subcompact. So again guys it just gives us a lot of choices.

There are a lot of features on here that really excel above the LS or the L. And one is the trigger. And of course the texturing. Of course it is optics ready.

And then a lot of the slide work and the barrel work and it is ported. So those are a lot of the pros for this handgun. And again you get a lot of accessories.

So what are some cons? If you really want something that’s very small and compact, you know the MC9 may be more appealing. It is a smaller handgun. This is going to be easier to live with.

You don’t have to worry about it printing as much. And it’s a really high quality gun. It is optics ready.

Texturing is not quite as much as it is here. But this gives you a very small option. With the Prime you know you have a lot of features.

And the price is going to be a little bit more. And that could be a con to some as well. But overall the Canik line, especially the MC9, has really come on strong and there’s a lot of different options.

So guys in short the MC9 Prime is one of those handguns that you can use for home defense. It’s very shootable. Has that full size feel to it.

Has that high round capacity. Optics ready. Rail system.

Ported barrel. And yet this it makes a great concealed carry offering because of its thinness. And so this is really the both worlds.

And so if you’re looking for that one gun this could really fit a lot of roles. But one of the things about Canik is they just continue to improve and this is definitely one of those examples. And we want to give a big thank you to Canik for sending the Prime for this review.

Be strong. Be of good courage. God bless America. Long live the Republic.

 

-Don