SAR9, the budget Glock killer

[obsessiveshooter]

Check this out, I ordered the SAR-USA SAR9 from my local gun shop and paid $320 for it with a stainless slide.

 

This pistol has a lot going for it: the slide is essentially a Glock slide with a beefier extractor, chrome barrel, and front cocking serrations. The grip is basically identical to an HK vp9, except it has a properly placed metal button style mag release. The pistol uses metal MEC gar made magazines that can be bought for about $25. They drop free.

 

The Glock-ness of the slide goes deeper than the Aesthetics. I was able to put a g-17 Jager guide rod on this. All the Glock springs for the slide go in the same way and the trigger return spring is the same.

 

I have shot Glocks in limited before and this trigger after changing Springs and polishing, is the equivalent of my old Glock trigger. I'm sure I could do more to improve it, as the connector seems to be an exact copy of a Glock connector, so an aftermarket connector should work. The striker seems to be an exact copy as well.

 

I have a few hundred trouble-free rounds down the pipe, but I will update more as I shoot it more.

 

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[obsessiveshooter]

I should mention, the rear sight on there is a Dawson Novak sight I fitted with a triangle needle file. The factory rear sight was a bear to get off, they use some epoxy in addition to a set screw at the factory. Dawson FO glock front sight has been ordered.

And, I applied silicon carbide to the front strap and grip panels. The factory stippling isnt too grippy.

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[Eargesplitten]

Very cool. I wonder if someone with a spare Glock connector can test whether it works. They seem to be available for $260 online, so if you can fit all the  Glock springs and bits it could be a pretty fantastic deal. I especially like the VP9 grip adjustments. How much polishing did you need to do, and where?

 

There isn’t any way to make it work with Glock magazines is there? Given how much of a difference there is in the grip I’m assuming no.

[obsessiveshooter]

I did all the normal glock polishing, it made a huge difference. One extra step beyond glock polishing was that I needed to polish where the chassis and the trigger bar touch. The connector pushes the trigger bar into the chassis and that creates grit in the trigger pull. Bending the connector to it didn't push the trigger bar over with as much force was a big part of fixing the grit.
Glock mags wont work, but honestly I dont like glock mags anyway. They can be finicky with dropping free and the mag catches get deformed.

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[obsessiveshooter]

I found a holster with an excellent fit. This is a UM Tactical holster made for a glock 17. Interestingly, the bladetech holster for a G17 is way too narrow.
The dimensions on the magazines are such that glock or STI mag pouches are a great fit. The SAR9 mags are too wide for my cz75 mag pouches but fit nicely in my CZ Tactical Sport belt's mag pouches (same as Glock/STI).

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[obsessiveshooter]

After several weeks of trying, I got SAR-USA the forms and now the SAR9 is on the USPSA production list.

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[obsessiveshooter]

Update: I have another 500 rounds through it, no issues. My wife shot it at her first steel challenge match, no issues. It seems to be very accurate, no discernible difference between the Sar9 and my CZ tactical sport.

There is still some grit in the trigger, even though it is lighter. I think I will put an aftermarket glock connector in and do a better job polishing the trigger bar. I want to get the trigger to where it is great.

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[obsessiveshooter]

So I bought a Zev glock connector to smooth the trigger and tweak the pistol. The connector needed to be trimmed where it slides into block. It fit perfect, but the dimensions are a little different. The portion the trigger bar rides on is about 1/32" further up the connector on the Zev, causing the cruciform to ride higher on the striker. It never got low enough to release the striker. I bent the trigger bar to get it lower, but it wasnt reliably releasing the striker.
Oh well. The zev glock connector is a no-go. Maybe a different brand connector would be better.

So instead, I polished up everything better than I had before. My Dremel is a single speed model and the polishing wheel wasn't working very well because it would just fling Polishing Compound off the felt wheel instead of soaking it up so that it could polish. To fix that, I cut the cord and put an inline dimmer switch on it from my junk drawer of electrical stuff. Now I have a variable speed Dremel and it polishes really well.

With the factory connector polished, along with the trigger bar and Chassis where they touch, trigger is much smoother now. I also hit the sides of the actual trigger with 400 Grit sandpaper because it seemed to rub on the frame a bit. It think it helped quite a bit.


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[obsessiveshooter]

Silver connector is the Zev model. Black one is Sarsilmaz.

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[vizsladog]

Have you swapped the striker spring? I have a ghost 6.5lb I'd like to try. You put in a lighter Glock trigger spring? I tried a ndz Glock 17 guide rod but it was about 5 mm too short.

[vizsladog]

Also redxgear is going to be making holsters very soon.

[vizsladog]

Also can you confirm that the striker is the same as a Glock 

[vizsladog]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwfZHEvn7Wq/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

freedomsmith trigger

[obsessiveshooter]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwfZHEvn7Wq/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
 
freedomsmith trigger

Thanks for the heads up! I'll definitely be picking up one of these triggers! I really think the factory trigger shoe itself contributes to the just-OKness of the trigger pull in factory form. And the spring for the factory trigger safety seems too strong.

I am running a 4.5 lb striker spring and 13 recoil spring. If I remember right, the extra power trigger spring was too strong, and didnt allow the trigger to reset reliably.

I haven't tried a glock striker yet- I'd need to borrow one to find out. It would be cool if a lightened / extended glock striker was possible. So far though, no light strikes with current setup and Winchester primers.

I do want to see how low of a recoil spring I can run. I would prefer a 10lb. But that may be too light to function.



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[vizsladog]

Awesome. All this helps. I am shooting for them this year and got my gun a couple of weeks ago.  I will try your combo out and see how it works.

[obsessiveshooter]

So your are shooting for SAR-USA, as in a sponsorship? Are you a USPSA shooter in the states, or IPSC elsewhere? Just curious.

Just do a ton of polishing like you would on a glock, but with special attention to where the trigger bar and chassis touch, then keep those contact points oiled.

Your guide rod that was too short may still work- lay it in the slide and put the pistol together upside down. I need to do that with the jager guide rod if I tighten the capturing screw all the way down. Instead, I have the screw backed out about 1/8" so that it stays in place for assembly.

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[vizsladog]

Yes. I am an idpa shooter. They have new president and he is doing amore grass roots approach. I polished everything up when i put in the trigger. Made a noticeable difference. I will try what you said. i was going to try a glock 20 next because its longer. 

[obsessiveshooter]

Today I found out what magazine extensions work on the SAR9-  the Sig P320 extensions are a perfect fit.  My buddy had Springer extensions and they worked perfect, but they use a set screw that strips out eventually.  He said that the TTI extensions would be a better product.  

[vizsladog]

So you think the +0 sig square notch base pads will work also?

[obsessiveshooter]

So you think the +0 sig square notch base pads will work also?

I'm not familiar with those, so I don't know.

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[obsessiveshooter]

I recently put a 10lb glock recoil spring in, it locks up fine and it makes the sights settle faster, at least for me.  I do think any lower of a recoil spring would cause issues.  

Also, on a whim I bought a Cain Arms +5 Sig p320 base pad off Ebay to try out, since it was only $16.   The description said it was made of industrial polymer.  Upon opening the package, it was clearly made in a 3d printer. But, the important thing is that it fits the magazine perfectly.  I was able to load 22 with the factory spring and follower.  It was tough to get the 19th round in; it took some banging and shaking to get the spring to get out of the way for the rest of the rounds.  Like most things that come out of a 3d printer, the base pad is NOT smooth, inside or out.  I'll smooth it out and see if it makes loading the mag easier.  

Since this pistol will likely only be a production division pistol, I'll probably buy the UTG PRO aluminum base pads, they are like $10-14 each. If my wife ever wants to try USPSA, I'll get her going with it in Limited division and get a couple more +5 base pads.    

[vizsladog]

Did the glock front sight work?

[obsessiveshooter]

Yes, the Glock front sight went in without issue! 

 

[obsessiveshooter]

I bought and installed the freedomsmith trigger, and my initial impression is
*the trigger fixes the last bit of grit in the trigger pull. The factory trigger was too tightly fit in the frame and you could feel it rubbing during the trigger press.

*the freedomsmith trigger did reduce the takeup nicely. It isnt super short now, but it's just under 1/4" now. (For follow up shots, it's about 1/8" to reset).

* I dont know how this is possible, but I also feel more of a wall than I did previously. I polished the striker up concurrently with installing the trigger, so maybe all that rubbing of the spring on the striker and the trigger on the frame was making the wall imperceptible.

*the trigger breaks just past vertical, which is good thing for a flat trigger.

*The bad: the trigger is wide and flat, and the trigger safety dingus is narrow in the center. It is possible to try to pull the trigger and have it be dead, because you are either too low on the trigger and pulling on the outswept portion at the bottom, or your finger is angled and you are hitting the side corner too much. Practice could fix this, but in my mind this is a big deal. My wife, my shooting buddy and I all experienced this. I hate to do it, but I'm going to dremel a chamfered into both sides to fix this problem. Which take the trigger from cool looking to homemade. But at least I can trust it to go off when I want it to.


This pistol has mainly been used for steel challenge by my wife recently. She was getting some Failure to Eject malfs that I was attributing to limp-wristing and or the super low PF of the ammo I made for her (around 105PF). Yesterday my buddy figured it out. The ejector was bent out of the way, so that it was bumping the cases upward instead of out. On a 9mm glock, the ejector is bent noticeably to the right for definite contact. On my SAR9, it was bent to the left, only making a glancing contact. Not good. I have no idea if I did that somehow, or if it came like that. Attached pic is after i straightened it. Now I need to bend it further to the right.


I have five mags, one which never would drop free. Now a second wont. For the life of me, I cant figure out why. Every measurement with calipers reads the same on all mags. This pistol will be useless in production till I figure it out. By the way, the mags absolutely are Sig P320 mags, but with the mag release cuts about a 1/2 higher.

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[vizsladog]

My mags would not not drop free either. I had to sand down the mag release on the inside. Fixed it. Freedomsmith is going to come out with a racer version of the trigger that fixes the issues you talk about. 

 

If you email Carlos at freedomsmith he might help you out. They are good people.