The marketplace has spoken, and it is now a 9 mm world. Whether for defense, competition—everything but hunting—the display counters of your local gun shop are filled to brimming with 9 mm pistols. But, which one to choose?
If you are looking for a compact, easy-to-carry and easy-to-use 9 mm that holds a useful amount of ammunition, all without breaking the bank, then the SAR9 Gen 3 Subcompact should be on your short list. Made in Turkey and imported by SAR USA, the SAR9 Subcompact is a feature-laden pistol, and the model name “subcompact” should be a big clue as to just how compact a package the pistol is. It is not bulky. The squared outline may seem like it will be, but it isn’t.
The molded frame is a polymer composite with a reinforcing material included, so while it is impervious to all known solvents including New Jersey tap water, it is not squishy or flexy, as some polymer-frame pistols are. The frame has textured non-slip panels included in the molding, which are also present above and ahead of the trigger as index points for your trigger finger when it is not inside the trigger guard. (Which should be all the time when you are not on-target.) As part of Sarsilmaz engineering the SAR9 Gen 3 Subcompact to be as small as it is, SAR designers had to give up on a replaceable backstrap. If this is something you simply and absolutely must have, then I guess this isn’t the pistol for you, which is a shame, because it will be a stellar choice for the rest of us.
Tritium night sights come standard on the Gen 3 Subcompact. A white-outlined tritium dot in the front post combines with a tritium-flanked U-notch rear for an excellent setup • Should you prefer an MRDS, the pistol’s cover plate can be removed to reveal that it is already cut for a red-dot sight having an RMSc footprint • Peering into the port reveals a ramped barrel and clean, well-finished machining of parts • Finger grooves and fine stippling contribute to satisfactory purchase and control. • The squared trigger guard is textured, for those who place a support-hand index finger there. It also allows just enough space for a small accessory on the rail • Both the flush-fit and extended magazines can accommodate all fingers, though the former provides discretion while the latter offers enhanced comfort and control • Although small, the single slot rail is not an affectation, given new, smaller light/laser units.
The frontstrap has subtle finger grooves. In most instances, the more aggressive finger grooves end up in spots on the frontstrap that don’t really match with the finger size of most shooters. Here the grooves, even if they don’t line up for you, work to add to the non-slip nature of the grip. You might not even notice them, except for the fact that the SAR9 Gen 3 Subcompact doesn’t move in your hands during recoil. Adding to the excellent ergonomics of the frame size, the baseplates on the magazines (The pistol comes with two of them; one holding 12 rounds, the other 15) are also subtly grooved and textured as well.
On the front of the frame, SAR included an accessory rail. Here you can mount a light or laser, with one proviso: the rail has only one cross slot, so you may be limited in your choice of lights or lasers, in that they have just to the one slot to lock into while fitting on the frame. Given the vast number of lights from which to choose, this should not be a major problem.
The SAR9 Gen 3 Subcompact trigger is just like all the other SAR9 triggers in that it is inside of a generous trigger guard, with the rear of the trigger guard “lifted” to provide more space for your hand on the frontstrap. Combined with the relatively high-rise tang on the rear of the frame, and you can get your hand well up onto this handgun to deal with recoil. Not that the 9 mm has much recoil, but with a pistol this small and this lightweight, you want as much control as you can get. The trigger has a middle tab in it, the trigger safety, made of a red composite, which blocks the trigger from moving until your trigger finger has pivoted it out of the way. As with all safeties, it is just a mechanical device, and it is up to you to make sure you follow the “Four Rules of Gun Safety” and conduct yourself accordingly.
The frame controls are not ambidextrous. The slide-stop lever is above and behind the trigger, on the left side only, and it is a flat steel plate with groves on it for purchase. It is not meant to be a competition-size slide stop; it is meant to not be a problem when holstered. It works easily with your thumb. The magazine release is a flat, grooved button that is also not meant for competition, but to stay where it is when holstered.
The slide of the SAR9 Gen 3 Subcompact bears a host of extras, or at least, what used to be extras until recently, but now are considered essential to many prospective buyers. It has cocking serrations both front and rear, but it also has some extra serrations that I had not thought of before this pistol. Right-handed shooters will find that the extra serrations, on the left side and in the middle, are right where the heel of your left hand bears on the slide when doing the overhand slide manipulation. So, not only is the heel of your thumb getting purchase, but the heel of your hand—out at the base of your little finger—is also getting some. My second thought, on noticing that, was that lefties would be, left out, as so often happens. No, they aren’t. I did some left-handed slide manipulations and discovered that the rear edge of the ejection port served the same purpose.
Now, if you manipulate the slide with an underneath hold on the front cocking serrations or reach over the top with the web of your hand, not only are there serrations there for either technique, but the slide has been machined through to expose the barrel. There’s also a slot machined on the top exposing the barrel. On a long slide I can see this as a detail helping balance the slide mass, but on the SAR9 Gen 3 Subcompact, it probably isn’t that. Still, it looks cool, and it makes working the slide easier.
In keeping with modern styling cues, the Gen 3 Subcompact has a ported slide • The safety tab within the wide, serrated and flat-face trigger is bright red, if for no other reason than to give the pistol a dash of color • Taking down the pistol into its large component groups is simple for anyone familiar with that Austrian handgun. No tools are needed and the process is all that is required in order to conduct routine cleaning and maintenance.
The barrel has an integral feed ramp, lacks a 1911-style link and locks in place in the ejection port, the now-standard design and arrangement that has been the norm for 9 mm pistols for decades. This is definitely a case of if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and SAR has a reputation for not trying to come up with clever non-fixes of non-problems. The recoil spring is a contained assembly, and on disassembly it comes out as a single unit. Disassembly is exactly like that of the ubiquitous Glock, so if you know how to take apart a Glock for cleaning, you know how to do the same on this SAR.
Unlike Glocks, the SAR9 Gen 3 Subcompact magazines are not polymer. They are sturdy steel tubes with polymer followers and baseplate assemblies.
The immediately obvious best parts of the SAR9 Gen 3 Subcompact are on the top of the slide. First, it comes with tritium night sights, standard—a white dot out front, with a big white circle around it, and the rear-sight notch is flanked by tritium inserts, but without the white outline. The handgun is machined for optics mounting and comes with a cover plate bolted on. There is an adapter plate in the lockable hard case, made for optics using the RMSc footprint.
And speaking of the case, it is packed with extras as well. Not only is the extra magazine in there along with the pistol, but there’s a flush baseplate just in case you don’t want the 12-round magazine to have its finger-hook baseplate. A manual, tools, a cleaning kit in a plastic cylinder, a lock for the pistol itself and a holster are also included. Yes, a holster. It is a Kydex, IWB, right-handed holster with a thumb guard, and it is entirely suitable for daily use. It clips right onto your belt, easy as pie. The only detail that SAR has perhaps overlooked is a way to carry the spare magazine it so thoughtfully includes in the case. Then again, what you are wearing has pockets, does it not? That will do until you can source a spare mag carrier. (Your gun shop probably has a selection; ask them.) So, right there at the counter of your local gun shop you have everything you need for daily carry except ammunition and a concealed-carry permit in the minority of states that still require one. As always, I would recommend you get in some practice with your new SAR9 Gen 3 Subcompact before embarking on a stroll wearing it. That is only prudent.
Testing and practicing with the new pistol proved to be both fun and a bit boring. Fun in that getting to the range is always fun, and boring in that it never failed. When I made sure the sights were on target before pressing the trigger, it never missed. Plate racks were routine, and even plinking at rifle gongs at 100 yards proved to be not too difficult an exercise. Shooting groups for accuracy testing proved to be just as boring. While the SAR9 Gen 3 Subcompact is not a bullseye pistol (and no one suggests it is) for a really compact, daily-carry pistol it certainly does its job in the accuracy department.
With standard-velocity training reloads, the pistol recoiled as comfortably as if it were a larger handgun, and with full-power defensive loads it was never objectionable to shoot. The hand-filling grip and non-slip texture kept it from moving during recoil. For the extras that are built in, and those in the case, the SAR9 Gen 3 Subcompact is an even better deal than the initial price point might suggest. If SAR is not a brand you have considered up to now, then you really have been short-changing yourself. So, go investigate this 9 mm deal.
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