Has Canik finally gone too far? Shooting the new Canik Mete MC9 Prime Ported 9mm

Last week I went to a “limited” shooting range event showing off the new Canik Mete MC9 Prime 9mm medium sized pistol. No pictures were allowed- all very hush hush. This range said they were one of only 20 such ranges in the U.S. doing a preview of the pistol. They allowed me to shoot it for free and threw in some ammo to boot. They had me at free ammo.

The range hosted the three-day event and at the end they would sell the on hand limited stock of the new pistol, give you a free shirt or something, and would take orders for more. I am pretty familiar with the Canik line and did not know if this was going to be a medium to small sized pistol or a micro sized like the Sig Sauer P365 or Glock 43X. Well, turns out it is a medium sized pistol akin to a Glock 19 or a Sig P320 X Compact despite the fact Canik is calling it Micro Compact. The Canik is 6.73″ long and 5.43″ tall with a 3.64” ported barrel. Glock 19 the essential mid-sized “compact” is 7.28″ and 5″ tall and the Sig P320 X Compact is 7″ log by 5″ tall.

If you don’t know Canik, you are missing out. They showed up in America 10-15 years ago and after a couple of entry level guns they started upgrading like crazy. I grabbed one of the first Canik TP9 Sfx pistols to hit the market to shoot it in 3-gun competition. It was a full-sized polymer frame pistol and an honest to goodness out of the box competition ready marvel- a steal at the time for about $500. The base of the Canik TP9 copies the SW99/Walther P99 frame, one of the most ergonomic grips ever devised (according to me.) It had a better than Glock striker fired ignition , match grade barrel, ambi systems and was already cut for optics. It also came with three mounting plates to fit on your choice of dot sights. Shoots like a dream too. They were a huge hit in 3 gun, IDPA and USPSA.

If you missed it, this past year, Taran Butler (trainer to Kenau Reeves/John Wick) skipped another souped-up Glock to sell for competition sales, and has instead gone with a full-sized Canik TTI Combat for about $1000. Very reasonable price for a very competitive gun.

Well back to the Mete MC9 Prime. Canik was selling the MC9 as a mid size compact pistol and this year pulled out all the stops to push the Prime package. The biggest change, marketing wise, is this MC9 Prime has a ported barrel. I shot the gun, and quite honestly could not “feel” any difference with the single port vs a regular mid-sized 9mm pistol.

Like all of the mid to smaller guns being marketed this year, the MC9 Prime takes a 17 rd magazine. They even have a 10 rd option for silly states like Illinois who are statutorily capped at 15 rds. You get two mags and a G-Code holster in the hard case along with a cleaning kit and a speed loader for the magazines.

There is an undercut trigger guard of course, flared magwell and generous beavertail to facilitate a grip which sits high up in the web of your hand. They also include three grip backstraps to make it bigger or smaller to your preference. My medium sized hand fit the medium just fine.

For me, the biggest highlight on this pistol, which was chock full of details and extras, was the grip. Canik has put a new stippling on the grip surface and with the grip angle and length, it fit my hand like it was melted to it. I liked that part very much. Picking it up gave instant tactile message “This gun is good to go” and naturally pointable.

The other changes were exactly what you would expect from an innovator. The slide lightening cuts were very aggressively angled to increase grip surface. The slide was cut for multiple optics of course.

The flat trigger is a redesign or improvement with the break coming at exactly 90 degrees. Excellent trigger pull (still better than even an aftermarket Glock trigger). It breaks cleanly at around 4.5 lbs with a short, tactile reset. Trigger snobs like me, and casual shooters will both appreciate the smooth pull and predictable break.

Standard sights are three white dots, and Night Fission are optional. The sample pistol I shot had one of the new factory’s Canik Mecanik M01 mini red dots installed. It is also brand new to the Canik line. It features a 1 MOA red dot and aluminum housing. The gun store did not have a price on it but I looked on Amazon just now and you can have one for $169. Good price for a red dot, and it worked fine for me and I imagine it will work fine for you.

Canik has applied a new finish to the slide and interior parts called Diamond Like Coating (DLC) for corrosion and wear resistance. Some magic thing I guess.

Well did it shoot? Of course it did. Accurate and no hiccups with the limited amount of ammo I was allowed. This pistol has every aftermarket or custom type feature you would put on a serious competition, or upgraded Every Cay Carry weapon. It was a very good gun.

But have they gone too far? Bottom lining it, after I found out the asking price was $650, I thought Canik had finally gone too far. Their historic bargain prices for very good guns have been some of their value and charm to me. At $650, this pistol is chock full of upgrades and certainly state of the art for 2025. However, the ported barrel did not make any difference to me, and at that price point they have finally marketed themselves into the price range for off the shelf Glock/Sig/Springfield better known guns. Without a doubt, this is an excellent pistol for anyone entering the Everyday Carry Market, but for me I did not want to pay the upscale price for it with iron sights let alone somewhere around $800 with the Mecanik red dot sight installed.

If it had come in at say $500 I would have grabbed one up as a terrific bargain. But I have too many other mid and small sized pistols doing the same job.