# Lifestyles & Discussion > Personal Security & Defense >  Low cost full size 9mm viable?

## Intoxiklown

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/produ...rrel?a=1905118


Does anyone have any experience with the Century Arms TP9SA? For $313,a 19 round capacity 9mm "Glock clone" could be a solid buy for someone looking to finally get a semi handgun at an affordable price. I think I will take a chance on one, as it is being made by the same company that makes the Tisas .45 ACP, and that was a pleasantly surprising gun.

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## Ronin Truth

Don't know anything about that one. 

How about ........ ? http://www.hi-pointfirearms.com/Hi-P...M_handgun.html That'll save you a buck or two.

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## oyarde

I have a High Point , made in Ohio i think . Guy I bought it from said he pd 175 for it new ten yrs ago .

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## fisharmor

Century is an actual company which has been around for a while.  It's not like when SCCY showed up with a new subcompact 9 and we all went "Cool... who the hell are you again?"

As far as this particular TP9SA handgun, I haven't seen it, but this is just first impressions.

Grip angle looks similar to the GLOCK.  You either learn to use it or you hate it and don't.  GLOCKs point naturally slightly too high and for a while that pissed me off because it didn't just point where I wanted.  Later it occurred to me this is probably intended so as to make sight picture acquisition easier.

Two 18 round magazines come with it.  Also you get a holster and a paddle?  Seems like they're throwing it what could be an additional $100 worth of stuff here.

I don't see anything about the barrel.  At that price it's most likely button rifled.  When you guy a GLOCK I'm pretty sure you're paying mostly for the polygonal rifling.  There ain't nothing in the world wrong with button rifling and for a pistol I'm not actually sure why anyone thinks the polygonal rifling is at all necessary.

The BIG plus on this gun seems to be the takedown.  GLOCK takedown involves a tiny little nub that you have to manipulate on both sides of the frame.  It's fidgety and even after I got good at it, it still pissed me off.  Century apparently also was pissed about it because even though it still seems to be the same GLOCK style spring loaded catch (I rather prefer my Steyr's rotating lever), it's got a bigger surface area for your fingers.

Speaking of which... I can't see how wide the trigger is.  Some like narrow triggers like the GLOCK has.  Some like their triggers wider.  I'm a fan of wider triggers. 

Going back to pointing angle... it looks like the backstrap might be swappable.  If that's the case then that's a big plus for it.

Can't tell if it has a separate loaded chamber indicator on the back or if it's on the extractor like GLOCK.

I will say that the bore axis looks higher than the GLOCK.  That means two things: more muzzle flip, and also at this point it's pretty clear to me it's trying to rip off the Springfield XD, not the GLOCK.

The reason I wouldn't buy it, at least not without some more research, is the same reason I own and carry a GLOCK.  Aftermarket support.  Can you buy extra mags?  What kind of other holsters are there for it?  What about parts?  I carry a GLOCK because they're the single most popular autoloading pistols in the world.  If I could buy a decent holster for a Steyr S9A1 I would totally carry that... but I can't even find the pistols, let alone the holsters.

The only Turkish gun I ever owned was a Bunda II shotgun.  You know how they tell you never dry fire a gun?  Well that shotgun is the reason why they tell you that: I dry fired it once, and the firing pin snapped and the last half of it slid out of the barrel.  Well, go try to find a firing pin for a halfassed clone of a Browning Auto 5 that hasn't been made in 30 years, and you'll know how I feel about Turkish guns.  They have a good reputation among some, but the bottom line is you have to know whether some minor thing going wrong with the gun turns it into a 300 dollar paperweight.

The other thing about pistols that I like to keep in mind is that if you carry it or have it for the express purpose of defending yourself, you should not get attached to it, and you should realize that if you ever use it you're never going to see it again.

About the Hi-Point... I don't own one because I was full up on 9mm pistols when I first heard about them but I always regret not spending $100 to get one.  YT is full of torture tests on them.  They might be inelegant and even clumsy, but it's probably one of the best value handguns out there.

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