Been looking at one of these at a local gun shop. Super comfortable to hold, super low bore axis, and a pretty nice trigger. Any one have experience with these pistols? Pros/cons? Pictures? Thanks for your time.- Austin.
Sidearms & Scatterguns Steyr L9-A1
- Thread starter Awag1000
- Start date
I have the newer L9-A2 MF and it is my favorite pistol to shoot. Everybody at the range raves about it. Trigger is very good for a striker fired with very little over travel, finish is much better than a Glock, the sights are triangular and take some getting used to. The magazines are metal and drop free. I believe the A1 magazines work in the A2, but not the reverse, so magazine availability might be an issue in the future for the older guns.
the A1 vs the A2 is more of a personal choice, Steyr has not come out with the change over kits, so the modular frame of the A2 is kinda a moot point right now. I like the frame texturing of the A2 as the A1 felt a little slick to me, but the triggers and ergonomics are basically the same.
My friend had an L9-A1 and bought an A2 at the same time I got mine. I could have bought a discounted M9-A1 and went with the L9-A2
My friend had an L9-A1 and bought an A2 at the same time I got mine. I could have bought a discounted M9-A1 and went with the L9-A2
Good quality gun but parts and service is almost non-existant. For a collector? Maybe. For a primary shooter? Pass.
Lot’s of experience with the L9A1. Used it to compete in Production class and SSP. Pros-Reliable, accurate, great ergonomics, great trigger.
Cons-Out of production/questionable long term factory support, little aftermarket support.
It’s a solid pistol. You didn’t really state what characteristics are a priority to you. Carry? Competition? Collector?
I just like guns that I can carry and stuff I can depend on in dirty environments (woods). I'm pretty scrawny so I can hide a P226 in my waist line pretty well.
with the A1, you're stuck with that grip- the A2 has interchangeable back and side panels like an HKvp9. If the A1 grip fits you well ( it does me), then its' one of the best feeling/handling striker pistols out there.
I have the "C" version of the A1, I love it. The triangle sights are quick to aquired, it points very well and unlike my flippy Walther PPQ, it's an enjoyable shooter. Downsides to the A1 : the magwell isn't bevelled so that can slow down reloads- I believe the A2 is bevelled, and the slippiness of the grip- the A1 has a lot of unnecessary shapes and contours going on- and none of them are really grippy- I ended up doing a gentle stippling on them. Again, the A2 is better sorted.
As far as accessories and after market - the stock trigger is excellent, so why mess with it--, sights can be switched out for tritium and you can hang lights and lasers off of the rail.., but no, you can't fancyboy the fuck out of it like you can with Glock, so if that sort of thing is important, then it's probably not for you, but if you want to put holes in things, rather than than post pics on Instagram, it's going to do everything you need.
I have the "C" version of the A1, I love it. The triangle sights are quick to aquired, it points very well and unlike my flippy Walther PPQ, it's an enjoyable shooter. Downsides to the A1 : the magwell isn't bevelled so that can slow down reloads- I believe the A2 is bevelled, and the slippiness of the grip- the A1 has a lot of unnecessary shapes and contours going on- and none of them are really grippy- I ended up doing a gentle stippling on them. Again, the A2 is better sorted.
As far as accessories and after market - the stock trigger is excellent, so why mess with it--, sights can be switched out for tritium and you can hang lights and lasers off of the rail.., but no, you can't fancyboy the fuck out of it like you can with Glock, so if that sort of thing is important, then it's probably not for you, but if you want to put holes in things, rather than than post pics on Instagram, it's going to do everything you need.
Good points. I didn’t see any reason to mess with the trigger, either. I added Trijicon sights, and Talongrips.
The magwell does not do any favors for speed reloading. It was rarely a problem in matches, though.
My brother has some older generations, and I was always very impressed by them, so I just received an L9-A2 and C9-A2. Very impressive guns. I'm having competition and CCW kydex holsters made this week. Love the ergos, trigger, sights. Only wish there was more aftermarket support.
V1 Tactical has the best deals on new ones.
V1 Tactical has the best deals on new ones.
So I ended up haggling with the gun shop and I managed to score an L9-A2 for $30 more than the A1. got a "free" box of ammo too.
honestly one of the most comfortable handguns I've handled in a very long time.
That "free" box of ammo was Federal 115gr +p+ I'm pretty concerned about using +p+ in this handgun. I don't want to blow up my brand new pistol.
The stippling i did on the frontstrap and trigger guard:
and the side panels and backstrap.
took about 35 mins with a soldering iron on a lowish heat- very easy and it improved the grip about 15000%.
you can see here, comparing the tangs, how much lower the mass of the gun sits to the web of your hand than most.
and the side panels and backstrap.
took about 35 mins with a soldering iron on a lowish heat- very easy and it improved the grip about 15000%.
you can see here, comparing the tangs, how much lower the mass of the gun sits to the web of your hand than most.
I think the only modification I'm going to do to this handgun is down the line just cut the barrel back just a tiny bit on my lathe so is sits flush with the front of the slide. That'll probably be after 4k rounds though. Other than it needs a light the gun is pretty much perfect.
Make sure you play with the grip panels and backstraps. I have size Large hands, and with the flat panel on the left, the large panel on the right, and the medium backstrap the gun fits my hand like a glove; a very locked-in grip.
Because I can't leave anything in it's original format and also because I think it looks cool.
Do you know how to re-crown it?
Do you know if there is a valid technical reason why Steyr left the barrel poking out of the slide? And if there is, can you buy a new barrel somewhere to fix the gun once you screw it up?
Thats 90's era police loads. Crappy bullet with a ton of powder behind it. Very Hot load but any modern gun can handle it.
Good stuff out of a MP5, but not fun to shoot out of a handgun.
Yeah that is a down side.
I'm gonna see if T-Rex Arms would make a holster for this pistol.
Steyr seems to be the only firearms manufacturer that understands how we grip handguns today and so puts grip texturing where no one else does.
BUT, someone tell Steyr that reflex sights on handguns are the way of the future and the future isn't very far away at all...….
Good, could be better
Not good (CZ and everyone else)
I talked to the guy from Ranger Point Precision about RDS. He is a big steyr guy, used to make aftermarket stuff for them. Bottom line is that the slide was too low profile for him to be able to cut an RDS without risking failure, so he made dovetail mounts for them. If there was a reasonable market for Steyr parts -- sights, holsters -- I would shoot the A2 without a question. I am mixed on the sights. They are fast as hell, and reasonably accurate, but weird and useless in low light.
Shit. Now you guys have me looking at my MF again. I have to say, it seems like the best made polymer gun on the planet. The frame rails are a thing of beauty, and I don't see any particular weak points on the entire pistol. It is really nice.
Apparently the ATF put the kibosh on the switch frame thing for Steyr. Don't really understand why, but it seems that you can take an old A1 FCU and put it in the new frame, and then you have an unserialized gun. As opposed to sig where there is no way to do that. Whatever. Bad move.
Apparently the ATF put the kibosh on the switch frame thing for Steyr. Don't really understand why, but it seems that you can take an old A1 FCU and put it in the new frame, and then you have an unserialized gun. As opposed to sig where there is no way to do that. Whatever. Bad move.
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