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Steyr L9-A2 9mm

BytorJr

Two Star General
Full Member
Minuteman
Nov 28, 2018
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I see my local giant pawn store says there will be no more of these. Now, is that for their shop or is that nationally?

I've fancied either this or a P-10 CZ. Would be a shooter and maybe bedside; but not carry: $550-$620
 
Yeah, I've never bought at this place because they seem a bit of the mindset "we're big, we're best, we know more than you do" mentality. I remember going in an trying to order a VP9..."why do you want that, you know it has that paddle thing going on." To which I said..."EXACTLY" and left. Not to mention unless it's Ruger they're not that interested.
 
I remember going in an trying to order a VP9..."why do you want that, you know it has that paddle thing going on." To which I said..."EXACTLY" and left.

I would have done the same thing. One thing I cannot fucking stand are douchebag gun store salesmen. 99% of them can't shoot worth a shit either.
 
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I would take that with a humongous grain of salt


I'd pick one up if I knew of someone milling the slide for Trijicon optics.
I talked to the guy from Ranger Point Precision about this. He is a long time Steyr shooter, and accesory maker. Said there was virtually no way to mill it for a RDS. I have no idea if it is true, but it is a cool, if immense, gun. The smaller sizes are also enormous, which kind of sucks.
 
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I talked to the guy from Ranger Point Precision about this. He is a long time Steyr shooter, and accesory maker. Said there was virtually no way to mill it for a RDS. I have no idea if it is true, but it is a cool, if immense, gun. The smaller sizes are also enormous, which kind of sucks.
The slide being so "short" is what attracts me which isn't necessarily short bore axis but reduced mass to be sure. I'm guessing without measuring it should be lower than about anything. I'm sure recoil < P10 < VP9. But it's one gun I'd buy mainly because it just looks cool (to me anyway) and I'd like to see those trapezoidal sights.

Ahhh, if I just had a printing press or a way to win a lotto of 600 million :)
 
Quite honestly people focus way too much on bore axis, slide mass, and all kinds of pseudo-techincal stuff that doesn't make any difference if you grip a pistol with both proper technique and man hands.
 
The slide being so "short" is what attracts me which isn't necessarily short bore axis but reduced mass to be sure. I'm guessing without measuring it should be lower than about anything. I'm sure recoil < P10 < VP9. But it's one gun I'd buy mainly because it just looks cool (to me anyway) and I'd like to see those trapezoidal sights.

Ahhh, if I just had a printing press or a way to win a lotto of 600 million :)
It's a neat gun, but they fucked up in that they tried to make it a modular pistol, but the ATF nicked them because older model unserialized innards could fit in the newer model unserialized grip modules. I have a couple of the first run that are grandfathered in, but in addition to that, not being able to take a RDS is a big problem for a modern pistol.

As far as recoil, I'd just say that every pistol has a different recoil impulse, but pistols are so good nowadays that most are very shootable. I actually find the sig, which has the highest bore axis, to be the fastest along with the P10c, because both seem to return the sights to the target better for me than others. YMMV of course.
 
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Quite honestly people focus way too much on bore axis, slide mass, and all kinds of pseudo-techincal stuff that doesn't make any difference if you grip a pistol with both proper technique and man hands.
Exception may be a USPc :) :). In 45. Just my 0.02.
 
Never did care for HK pistols
I prefer the magazine release because my hands are on the smaller side which ultimately destroyed my ability to play stringed instruments well. Now when I look and hold a USP which seemed bad ass in the 90s, now just seems like a block with an overly heavy slide. P2000/P30 not so bad, and VP9 quite nice.

That said, I keep toying with a CZ for no other reason than why the F not?

So, would you get a P-10F, P-10C, or P-10SC? Just curious. It's on my list. Same with Steyr.
 
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So, would you get a P-10F, P-10C, or P-10SC?

None of them. Either a P-07 for carry or a P-09 for sport.

The P-10 series grip design is not large enough even for medium hands. Its semi rounded shape makes it difficult to get a consistent index out of the holster and even more difficult to make precise transitions quickly.

The P-09 with the large backstrap is like an extension of my eyes.

Another nice CZ combo is the P-01 for carry and the SP-01 for sport.

I've made fun of Glocks before but they're growing on me. I'm starting to think they Glock's grip angle and shape is what everything should be like.
 
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I carry either my L9-A2 or my C9-A2, and I compete in USPSA Carry Optics with a CZ P-10F, and I love them both.

The Steyr's build quality is impressive and I love that the dustcover is rigid (much like the S&W M&P 2.0). The Steyr's shoot 2-3" 25 yard groups (jacketed or lead) and I've never had a malf. The L9-A2 is my SHTF sidearm.

The CZ is actually more accurate than the Steyr's, and I have no issue with the draw or transitions. But the CZ is light so it's not the best comp gun. Much like a Glock I can wiggle around the dustcover which doesn't affect performance but bugs the hell out of me nonetheless. The CZ has a very short throat, so it's touchy with ammo OAL. And if you go too short on ammo they won't feed.

Both are great guns, they just have different roles in my collection.
 
I carry either my L9-A2 or my C9-A2, and I compete in USPSA Carry Optics with a CZ P-10F, and I love them both.

The Steyr's build quality is impressive and I love that the dustcover is rigid (much like the S&W M&P 2.0). The Steyr's shoot 2-3" 25 yard groups (jacketed or lead) and I've never had a malf. The L9-A2 is my SHTF sidearm.

The CZ is actually more accurate than the Steyr's, and I have no issue with the draw or transitions. But the CZ is light so it's not the best comp gun. Much like a Glock I can wiggle around the dustcover which doesn't affect performance but bugs the hell out of me nonetheless. The CZ has a very short throat, so it's touchy with ammo OAL. And if you go too short on ammo they won't feed.

Both are great guns, they just have different roles in my collection.
Not to get too personal, but how big are you that you can comfortably carry a Steyr? My only complaint about the gun is that it is enormous in every dimension. Even the C and M have the same gigantic grip. Very comfortable, ergonomic grip, but gigantic.
 
Not to get too personal, but how big are you that you can comfortably carry a Steyr? My only complaint about the gun is that it is enormous in every dimension. Even the C and M have the same gigantic grip. Very comfortable, ergonomic grip, but gigantic.

Yeah, it is big. I'm 6'0" and 190 lbs and I carry appendix. Light t-shirt and I'm okay. No skinny jeans for me, haha.
 
There are some low profile RDS footprint plates that replace the back dovetail, I use one on mine with a 507c, though I enjoy the Trapezoid Sights as well.


I love mine, fantastic pistol and design. I'm still trying to find a kydex holster maker that will make one for an L9A2 in multicam with a Baldr Mini and RDS cut with QLS fork attach.
 
The Steyr pistols are cool, but IMO only get one as a "check this out never seen one of these"-guns because you just want one... not to ever run seriously or use as a working gun (even though they're usually up to either/both). I made Master in IDPA my first time with an M9-A1, you could get them from CDNN for ~$300 on clearance back then, and they were so rare/unique that you couldn't find a holster or anything else for them (which honestly, it probably isn't that much easier now). They had a pretty good cult following for a while. They were made incredibly well.

That was ~2008 I think, and back then the Steyr M-series was ahead of the curve and offered a lot of things that Glock or anyone else hadn't really figured out or tried yet, like: more ergonomic grip ergos, nice trigger on a striker-gun, etc, which is all sort of commonplace on poly striker-guns now. The Steyr beat them all to it, but they just didn't take off for whatever reason.

They're a Wilhelm Bubits design, he's designed a bunch of cool unique guns over the years, not the least of which being the Glock 17 (he not-so-arguably had a lot more to do with it than Gaston). The Steyr M-series was his first crack at a "better Glock" after leaving Glock for greener pastures as they say...

Anyways, the design has evolved over the years, the early ones had incredible triggers but weren't always drop-safe... and then later, like with the more recent ones, they've sadly actually had to incorporate some design cues like fancy stippling and such from its contemporaries and play follow the leader, even though the newer striker-crowd were probably influenced by the Steyr in the first place.

IMO they're a cool gun that was ahead of its time in many ways, but don't overpay for one, because there are enough of them out there where you shouldn't have to, and the latest designs may not even be the best examples or the one you want after you start looking into them.
 
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