By Shaun Kennedy
Turkey is becoming a respected source of firearms in the last few decades, with an array of pistol, rif le, shotgun and air-gun manufacturing plants introducing a wide range of firearms, some ok, and others great.
That said, I was keen to try out a new 9mmP pistol when I was recently asked to do a video and write a short introduction to the Sarsilmaz B6 full size 9mmP pistol. I had never heard the Sarsilmaz brand name before, but after seeing a number of excellent air rifle brands appear in the last few years, many of which have achieved good acceptance worldwide, this pricked my interest a bit, so off to the range I went in a good frame of mind.
I then spent a wonderful two hours on the range enjoying the opportunity of shooting this delightful new Turkish made 9mmP pistol from a stalwart Turkish arms manufacturer, SARSILMAZ. If the Sarsilmaz name is new to you, do a bit of internet research and uncover an arms manufacturer that first starting making firearms in 1880. Yes, Sarsilmaz are one of those silent giants in firearms production, and if you spend a few minutes checking on them, you may be surprised at the extent of their pistol model range, which covers both commercial and military applications very successfully.
Getting back to the Sarsilmaz B6 model I was testing, the polyframe pistol looks somewhat like some CZ pistols I have used and enjoyed before. The size, weight and design parallels the full size CZ models I have used for years, and even the slide stop was exchangeable with the one in my personal CZ 75, so the initial comparison was not wrong.
To test the Sarsilmaz was easy - it loaded using 15 shot magazines I felt totally familiar with - the magazine follower was a bright red plastic material that made spotting how many rounds had been loaded in the magazine easy because there are holes drilled in the magazine frames that indicate 5, 10 or 15 loaded rounds. The sole importers of the Sarsilmaz, Nicholas Yale, advised that they had sold more than 1500 units similar to the polyframe model I was testing in the past 18 months, so the brand is already in circulation in the marketplace.
This take-up volume has not yielded a single return or factory repair claim, so this means that the owners have seen excellent service and, taking over 100 years of manufacturing into account, one can assume the Sarsilmaz products will survive the test of time as well as any other 9mmP pistol out there. Shooting the Sarsilmaz B6 was a pleasure- the white dot, high visibility sights made aiming simple; whilst the trigger pull weight was totally acceptable. One of the Wildland team, who also tested the pistol, thought the first stage trigger movement was quite long, a comment I agreed with, but it was consistent and this meant I could adapt to after 10 or shots, so this lengthy movement become manageable with even a short time shooting the pistol.
I specifically chose to use my own reloads, a 125gr poly-coated bullet on top of a 3.2gr S121 charge. The rounds fed well, cycled the pistol reliably, and grouped really well at the other end of the range. I chose to shoot reloads because they reveal problems that factory loads don't uncover easily. I had clean case ejection, minimal sight alignment disturbance, clean barrel (no sunburnt powder), minimal recoil and great groups in the overall.
The hammer on the Sarsilmaz B6 is wide, the safety 100% secure, and the slide stop worked every time, all indications of a pistol in perfect working condition, start out of the nice, well designed plastic storage and carry case that comes with the pistol. The carry case includes space for the second magazine and a pistol cleaning kit, so it implies a well thought out presentation that will impress many buyers, who will not have to dig too deep into their pockets to afford this well-made, well balanced pistol that benefits from the polyframe with steel uppers by offering minimal recoil and a highly enjoyable shooting experience.
I expect the Sarsilmaz will be a good investment for a new shooter, who will appreciate the value for money offering that is the Sarsilmaz B6 9mmP, whose 15 shots plus one up configuration is ideal for both self defense and as a start up pistol if you want to get into some competitive shooting - accuracy, consistency and reliability are crucial components for both types of shooting, and this pistol ticks all the boxes comfortably. The pistol points well, offers a great sight picture, fits the hand well and the largish magazine release button ensures fast reloading with the nicely shaped magazine well, which allows easy access for fitting and removing magazines quickly.
Field-stripping is simple - remove the magazine, pull the slide back to the well-marked dis-assembly mark, which is a clear round recess on the slide and the frame, and pop out the slide stop. It's a simple matter to remove the slide from the frame and then dis-assemble the slide itself.
The loading ramp is well proportioned so it did not cause any miss-feeds, perhaps the poly-coated 125gr bullets help with feeding.
An interesting design feature is the blued barrel - very often manufacturers leave the barrel chamber section, which is always visible through the ejection portion the slide unblued, so it can "glint" in normal sight. The Sarsilmaz's barrel chamber section is blued, so it offers a clean, matched appearance against the black slide metal. Not a big deal, but a nice touch indicating some thought has been applied to the uniformity of appearance.
The model and serial number is engraved onto a silver metal tag that is fitted to the left side of the frame, making it obvious and it too adds a touch of class to the overall appearance as well. This is not some run-of-mill pistol, but a quality pistol that ticks a lot of boxes for someone wanting a well designed, well made, functioning pistol that will be a worthwhile pistol for many users.
The importers, Nicholas Yale, have a good supply of spares, even though no repairs have been necessary to date, and the pricing structure is very competitive in a very lively market sector that has seen a lot of new names appearing in recent times, the difference being that this manufacturer is a long term production house that has produced hundreds of different firearms over the years.
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