The SAR9 Sport Gen 3: Competition Ready on a Budget
By McKenzie Hanson
Not everyone who wades into the world of competitive shooting wants to drop big bucks on a high-dollar gun. Several manufacturers are producing match-ready pistols at easy-on-the-wallet prices. I’m taking a closer look at one of those options: the SAR9 Sport Gen 3.
SAR9 Sport Gen 3 Specifications
Action: Semi-Automatic Striker-Fired
Safety: Trigger/Manual Thumb Safety
Magazines: 17-round & 19-round
Optic Ready: RMSc
Sights: Tritium Night Sights
Barrel Length: 5.2 inches
Weight: 29 ounces OAL: 8.1 inches
Width: 1.4 inches
MSRP: $549.99
About SAR USA
Turkish manufacturer Sarsilmaz was established in 1880 and is now Europe’s largest arms production facility. SAR USA is the company’s exclusive importer and distributor, bringing the Turkish handgun to the US. In the SAR9 lineup of handguns, shooters can choose from six different guns to suit their mission, from concealed carry to duty: the Subcompact, Compact, Full Size, Sport, SOCOM Full Size, and SOCOM Compact. In addition to the SAR9 series, SAR also offers the K12 Sport, a hammer-fired single-action competition pistol, as well as several other hammer-fired options available to the global market.
Foundation year
The SAR9 Sport Gen 3: Next Generation of SAR
There is no shortage of polymer-framed, striker-fired 9mm pistols on the market. For a company to have its pistol stand out in the category, it must offer exceptional performance at a price point that the average shooter can stomach. The SAR9 Gen 3 does just that, offering a high-performing pistol at an affordable price. If you’re familiar with Turkish-made pistols, such as the CANiK, then you know how affordable they are. SAR is not yet as mainstream as CANiK, but the company has undoubtedly caught the attention of many shooters looking for a budget pistol that offers everything the big names do. The SAR9 Sport Gen 3 is geared for competition shooting, offering a 5.2-inch barrel with an exceptionally low bore axis. The newest generation of SAR pistols, Gen 3, sees minor cosmetic changes in addition to a few notable functional upgrades, including a milled, optics-ready slide, tritium night sights, and a flat-face aluminum trigger.
What’s In the Box
The SAR9 Sport Gen 3 comes with two magazines: a standard 17-round magazine and a 17-round magazine with a 2-round extension, for a total capacity of 19 rounds. It also comes with a cleaning kit, interchangeable grips, an RMSc optics plate, and tools to change out optics.
If you’re shooting a budget gun, it’s nice to have budget magazines as well. The SAR9 19-round magazines retail at $42.24, and the 17-round magazines retail at $37.36. This is just a tad pricier than the CANiK Mete SFx magazines that retail at $39.99 for the 18-round magazines with +2-round extension and $34.99 for the 17-round magazines.
SAR9 19-round magazines retail
SAR9 17-round magazines retail
CANiK Mete SFx 18-round magazines retail
CANiK Mete SFx 17-round magazines retail
