Monday, November 26, 2012

Caracal F Review

I've often posted here with high praise for the Caracal pistols so I figured I'd knock out a review of the Caracal F.   Here are some of the pros/cons of the gun according to yours truly:
Pros:
-Reliable.  The gun has well over 1,000 rounds (not sure on the exact count, I've let many people borrow the pistol to try out) with 0 malfunctions of any kind.
-Price.  I picked the gun up for $399 shipped.
-Accurate.  This gun is like a 1911 in that it tends to make average shooters shoot like good shooters
-Very low bore axis resulting in an extremely soft shooting gun.
-Excellent trigger.  It's smooth with no stacking.  It breaks extremely cleanly and has a positive reset
-Great finish.  The Plasox (with nitriding) finish is holding up very well thus far
-It has a loaded chamber indicator on the top of the slide allowing the user to check that it is loaded without having to conduct a press check
-Very good ergonomics.  Everyone that has shot the gun seems to comment on how good it feels in their hands
-18+1 capacity while only weighing 26oz
-Passed the WTD 91 (German armed forces) testing in 2006
-Has been adopted by several nations' standard military sidearm; many police agencies in Italy and Germany have adopted it as well
-It's classified as an IDPA production gun
-Easy to clean and maintain.   Requires very little lubrication as well
-Interior parts are coated with the Plasox finish as well
-Ambi controls (except for the slide lock)
-Spare parts including springs are available from Caracal-USA now (this is relatively new)
-The Caracal F mags can be used in the C and SC models.
Cons:
-Little aftermarket support
-Night sights are not available in the US currently.  I spoke with Caracal USA last month and they said they are working with several manufacturers currently but they don't have a date yet as to when they'll be released
-The rear sight is part of the firing pin assembly.  This will either make aftermarket sights more expensive or limit some to front sight only
-The guns are made in the UAE and Germany.   The UAE made guns are the only ones available in the US currently.  (I don't care about this but it's a common point brought up so I'm including it so people don't say "you didn't mention where it was made....")
-In order to detail strip the gun you have to deal with roll pins.  Not a big deal but I'd prefer not to if I didn't have to
-The slide lock protrudes to far.  I hit it with my thumb about 50% of the time if I'm not conscious of it and many people I've let shoot it have the exact same issue
-The vast majority of the guns imported have been recalled.  The latest is that the guns will be completely replaced with a new gun at no expense to the owner or you can choose to get a full purchase price refund.   So far, their customer service has been great on this end but it's kind of a wait and see with these guns to see how it all shakes out.  Many quality brands have had guns recalled or "upgraded" in the past and as long as they make it right I have no problem with it...


Here's a video of me shooting the gun, a tabletop review with some comparisons to the Glock 17, and a chronograph test with some popular defensive loads:


Chrono data:

Winchester Ranger 115gr JHP: 1128fps, 325 ft/lbs energy
Federal HST 124gr JHP: 1126fps, 349 ft/lbs energy
Speer Gold Dot 124gr +P JHP: 1234fps, 419 ft/lbs energy.

1 comment:

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