When a company calls its products “Perfection,” boldly proclaims itself to be America’s Gun (as if we have only one) and outsells every other marque of polymer-frame pistols, it had better be prepared for challenges to its market dominance. Enter the Caracal-C, a plastic 9mm manufactured in the UAE and Germany. The pistol is cleverly named after a desert feline with ears as long as a mother-in-law’s memory. The Caracal clearly has the Glock 19 in its very odd sights, but the question must be asked: is the Caracal a pussycat, or should the manufacturer pound sand?
The Big Dog vs. The Little Cat
Laying them out “a side by each” (as they say in Woon-sock-ett) it’s easy to see that the pistols are comparable in size, portability and concealability.
The Caracal-C is 3.67 ounces heavier that its Austrian counterpart. In all other dimensions there’s little variation twixt the two. Both pistols use 15-round magazines, both are striker-fired, both have ambi controls.
A national catalog retailer currently offers the Caracal for $400. Glock 19s usually sell for a Franklin more, but the Gen4s are boxed-up with three mags and replaceable backstraps. The Caracal comes with two mags and any grip modification you want so long as you file it yourself. Strictly on price-value ratio, the desert cat scratches out an edge.
Jaded shooters may think that the Caracal-C is yet another snooze-inducing compact nine Glock-off. Oops, I mean knock-off. But let’s not jump out of the sandbox yet; the Caracal has some interesting tweaks that separate it from the humdrum. Let’s start with the sights . . .
The Austrian/Georgian’s sights are comprised of a Glock-standard U-shaped rear with a dot front. Some people love ’em. Others swap them out for tritium three-dots on the way home from the store (not recommended). Caracal offers a more comprehensive menu for your dining and dancing pleasure. You can buy the Caracal-F (not reviewed here) with either standard 3-Dots or 2-Dot Figure-8s (similar to the well-regarded Heine Straight-Eights).
On the compact Caracal-C the weird turn pro. The Arabian-German partnership sells the C model with their Quick Acquisition Sight (QAS) System. It’s a big deal. A fixed, white dot front sight sits at the business end of muzzle. The rear sight is way up in front of the ejection port. Caracal’s added a set of squared-off pussycat ears built into the slide; those ears are part of the rear sight.
Of course, there’s more to the QAS than just a couple of feline auditory organs. To channel the shooter’s vision, there’s a deep trough leading from the ears to the front sight. The channel flares trumpet-like toward the muzzle end, letting in plenty of light and adding to a terrific sight picture.
The sight system looks as wrong as socks on a rooster, but it works. And if that ain’t trippy enough for ya, there’s this: the Caracal-C has a sight radius about half the length of a Smith & Wesson 642.
The diminutive sight radius keeps the front and rear sights on the same focal plane, allowing even the most ancient eyeballs to focus on both sights at the same time. In other words, when a shooters focuses on the front sight as we have all been taught to do, the rear sight is so close that it, too, will be in sharp focus. To quote Wallace (of Gromitt fame) that IS clever.
To check out the second big deal with the Caracal clock the handle-to-handle comparison with the Glock 19. The bore axis of the Caracal is low, even lower than that of the Glock and possibly lower than any other pistol of a similar size. If there was a 9mm ergo limbo contest, the Caracal C would eventually be banned.
The Caracal C’s handle sports a 111 degree slant. That’s about the same as the Glock, but the Cat’s frame is deeply undercut. The C places the shooter’s hand closer still to the bore axis of the pistol and closer to the center of the pistol’s mass. The entire handle package is reminiscent of the Steyr M, only more so. Which should come as no shock, since the designer of the Caracal also worked on the Steyr and, oh yeah, the Glock.
There are shooters who love a lot of rake in the handles of their pistols, and some who prefer less. The Caracal’s rake is less than the slant of a Luger 08, a pistol that some consider the most natural pointer of all time. But the geometry nestles the shooter’s hand in a more neutral position. The claimed result: a reduction in muzzle rise.
The firing systems of the two pistols are similar. The Caracal web site describes its striker-firing mechanism as “double action,” but I’m not so sure about that. I didn’t tear the gun down to reverse engineer it, but when the slide is racked, it certainly feels like the firing pin is pre-tensioned, much like the Glock’s.
To prove that the Caracal is ready to rock and roll, there’s a “cocking indicator” at the rear and a witness hole in the middle to check for a chambered round. Needless to say, anyone who depends on external devices for safety should be prepared for a nasty surprise. However, little safety gizmos have a way of impressing lawmakers and regulators who wouldn’t know a Caracal from a cucaracha, so I’m guessing that’s why the pistol has them.
The battle lines have been drawn, so let’s talk about shooting these two pistols side by each.
The Shoot-Off
I started out by slow-firing both pistols offhand at five yards, just to get a feel for how they worked and felt, and also to acclimate myself to the unusual QAS sights on the Caracal. I was not disappointed with the accuracy of either gun. Here’s five from the Caracal.
Even though I’ve been shooting with three dot sights since the Earth cooled and formed from a gaseous cloud, I found the Caracal’s QAS sights intuitive. Leveling the sights was a bit more challenging than centering them, but it was rapidly mastered. There’s one “flyer” in this group, less than ½ inch outside the bull. I feel that with additional practice, a competent shooter could decorate a target with pretty cloverleafs all day long. The Caracal was absolutely a pussycat to shoot.
Next up, I slow-fired the Glock, which is well-known for accuracy.
You’ll notice two distinct groups, which was intentional on my part. The pistol was shooting a bit high-left. To compensate, I lowered my point of aim for the last two shots and moved my sight picture a bit to the right, creating a second group. Had I maintained my point of aim, all the shots would have been touching but none of them would have been centered. The pistol was shooting left and I didn’t think it was my fault.
There’s a laser on the test G19 which I did not use for this comparison since the Caracal had none. However, when I checked the alignment of the Glock’s plastic sights using the laser, my fears were confirmed. The Glock’s sights were out of alignment. Still, I’m calling the slow fire test a dead heat between the G19 and the Caracal-C. Both guns are very accurate at self-defense distances and will shoot tight groups.
The Caracal’s Quick Acquisition sights clearly were made for something other than slow fire, yah? So, I decided to test the ability of both pistols to acquire targets and shoot rapidly. And just to add some spice to the stew, I shot one-handed, because in an SD situation, I might have to use my non-shooting arm to protect a child or to hail a taxi.
I did not use a bladed target stance; in a self-defense situation I don’t think anyone is going to assume the dueling position and wait for their second to yell “fire.” So, I squared up to the target and blazed away as fast as I could, with the guns at eye level but not focusing hard the front sights. I was looking for a true “flash sight” picture. CC indicates a Caracal hit; you know what the G stands for.
With enough trigger-time, the vertical stringing would go away. Also, you can see that I had a tendency to pull Caracal shots to the right when shooting one-handed, while the Glock hit left because of the sights. Still, I was very pleased that every round from each gun was inside the kill box, and that both pistols were easy to control with only one hand.
With its minimal recoil and muzzle rise, the Caracal may have won this round, but the margin of victory was small. The Caracal’s sights work as claimed, yet my results with the Glock were just as good. The Cat was especially nice to shoot. The Glock 19 is not known as a gun with recoil issues, but as gentle as the G19 was, the Caracal was a real, yes, pussycat.
Since both pistols seemed to point pretty naturally, I decided to put both pistols to the test with some point shooting. The protocol was to present and shoot with the plane of the pistol below eye level, eliminating any chance of sighting. I would have preferred a fast draw into a low presentation, but with the RSO standing directly behind me for some odd reason, I decided that discretion was the better part of not getting banned from the range. Here’s the Caracal’s target.
Since no sighting was permitted for this shoot, the exercise was focused exclusively on firing ergonomics. Subjectively, the Caracal felt very natural in the hand and seemed to be drawn to the target like catnip. Performing the same test with the Glock yielded a somewhat different result.
While the Glock 19 points well, it simply did not point as well as the Caracal. To say that your mileage may vary understates to issue. Ergonomics may be the most subjective of all criteria, and as Lucretius said in the first century BCE, one man’s meat is another man’s pasta e fagioli. For me, ergonomically speaking, the Caracal served up the more savory dish.
I expected that the Caracal’s short sight radius would give me fits at longer distances. But no, the Caracal’s sights proved to be less of a problem than I expected. When I shot the G19 and Caracal-C pistols at a TQ-15 full-size silhouette, both guns did an admirable job of scoring sighted center mass hits at 25 yards time after time. While neither gun exhibited target pistol accuracy, they both did the business. If I’m ever called upon to sling lead at a murderous fiend 25 yards away, I would be confident with either of these guns.
So what about the triggers? The Glock 19 shot like . . . a Glock. The trigger was very nice although it was little on the vague side and just a tad spongy. Yes, I’m nit picking. For many years, the Glock trigger has been the standard off-the-shelf go switch for obvious reasons.
The Caracal’s trigger was better in every way. It’s lighter by about a half a pound, sported a very positive, audible reset, a shorter throw and felt just about perfect. If I was going to order a trigger job from my gunsmith on any traditional striker-fired pistol, I’d hand him the Caracal and say “make it work like this.” The Caracal’s trigger shines like the desert sun.
Conclusion
So would I pick the Caracal for my EDC? Probably not. There are two issues that lead me away from the Cat.
I usually don’t use black targets for range reports because they don’t photograph well, but that’s what I had for my first date with the Caracal. Shooting at black B24s, I discovered immediately that a black gun aimed at a black target using black sights in dim light is a recipe for failure. It was just too hard to get the gun on target with the QAS.
Since most confrontations occur at night, and most home invaders don’t wear brightly colored Hawaiian shirts with white trousers, I’m thinking that the sights might be a problem in the real world. Still, that’s nothing that can’t be fixed with a new front sight (all that’s needed). RF will modify and report.
The real issue for me: the plastic Arab lacks the Glock’s record of reliability. Even though TTAG’s testers have thrown well over a thousand rounds of God-knows-what downrange with the Caracal C with only a single bum bullet, I’d only consider the C for my Every Day Carry (EDC) after the gun’s reliability and durability were proven through some kind of torture test. Or a longer track record.
When I can be sure that the Caracal is as well made as I think it is, you can be damn sure I’ll own one. It’s faster than a tabby chasing a ball of string and more fun than a roomful of kittens. Maybe that’s why RF has adopted the C for his EDC. With a .45 due out next year and holster options growing, no doubt about it: Caracal is one to watch. Meanwhile, is the C better than the Glock 19? Yes. Yes it is.
SPECIFICATIONS
Model: Glock 19 Gen4
Caliber: 9mm
Magazine capacity: 15 or 10 rounds
Materials: Reinforced polymer frame, steel barrel and slide
Weight empty: 20.99 ounces
Barrel Length: 4.02″
Overall length: 7.28″
Sights: Polymer, windage adjustable
Action: Striker fired, “Safe Action”
Finish: Parkerized Tennifer with RTF
Price: Around $500 “street price”
Model: Caracal-C
Caliber: 9mm
Magazine capacity: 15 rounds (10 round magazines are available for AWB states)
Materials: Reinforced polymer frame, steel barrel and slide
Weight empty: 24.67 ounces
Barrel Length: 3.66″
Slide Length: 6.57″
Sights: Caracal Quick Acquisition Sight System
Action: Striker fired, double action
Finish: Black with proprietary “Plasox” coating
Price: Around $400 “street price”
RATINGS (out of five stars):
Style * * * * 1/2
The proportions look great, and the swoopy, space-age contour lines of the handle are so very avant-garde, you’ll think you’re Captain Kirk. The Quick Acquisition Sight System looks cool in a goofy kind of way, or goofy in a cool kind of way. I’m not sure which.
Ergonomics (carry) * * * * ½
It’s a couple of ounces too heavy. The extra weight is a reasonable tradeoff for a comfy all-finger grip, but boys and girls with hands the size of oven mitts won’t like it. With a slide thickness of 1.1”, the gun is lean and flat and nicely concealable.
Ergonomics (firing) * * * * 1/2
The rakish handle geometry and undercut frame makes this gun a natural pointer. The Caracal-C is nicely balanced and easy to shoot well. The trigger was light and positive. The teeny-weeny trigger travel of .314 inches and the feathery 4.85 lb. pull made this trigger one of the best in class. Those concerned that the light, short trigger might cause an AD can order their Caracal with an optional manual safety.
Reliability * * * * *
No issues, but this is a new pistol and long-term reliability remains to be seen.
Customize This * * *
The Caracal-C has an accessory rail for your gizmos. In an era where replaceable palm swells are the norm, this pistol falls short. You either like the Caracal’s grip as is or pass it by. The swoopy triangular-ish panels on the handle are replaceable with several colors to differentiate one pistol from another, but the panels don’t change the grip. A fiber optic front sight is available should you need more fiber.
OVERALL RATING * * * * 1/2
The Caracal-C is a wonderful gun to shoot. The low, low bore axis almost makes muzzle rise an obsolete term. The fast, positive trigger is the sweetest switch this side of custom. Despite its short 3.66” inch barrel, the Caracal-C is very accurate at self defense distances and the Quick Acquisition Sight System does what it claims. Since the UAE is our top trading partner in the region and is strongly committed to quality of manufacturing, this pistol and spare parts should be available for decades, easing concerns about functional obsolescence. At around $400, this pistol’s “introductory price” is a bargain. Grab one before the street price climbs, which it inevitably will.
This is flawed logic that only makes sense when applied to agencies who are looking to justify bulk purchases. For an individual the question is simply does your gun run reliably? Similarly if a specimen of gun which is supposed to be reliable and time-tested (e.g. a Glock) jams frequently, we discontinue using it despite the fact that it’s brethren are noted for their dependability. We apply these criteria all the time to new guns and it should apply equally here–your Caracal runs well therefor it has proven itself trustworthy.
One of the biggest reasons some die hard Glockers won’t even consider a different handgun, and one of their favorite reasons to bash competitors who have proven they’re just as good (if not arguably better).
“It doesn’t have Glocks record of reliability!”
Glock doesn’t have Glocks record of reliability. At this point every time they update something the shooting community cringes in fear.
I have Glocks and they have issues just like any other gun. I took a friend of mine shooting and she didn’t exactly have the most secure grip when shooting my G22 (gen 3). It would stove-pipe quite a bit if limp-wristed (is that even a word?). Just the nature of a plastic gun.
Glocks are not perfect, duh. But they are still great and I sure like mine.
Daver, flawed logic? You gotta be kidding me. Would you really buy a pistol with a bad record in the hope that yours would be good? You must have a lot of Hi-Points in your safe.
There are a lot of guns I won’t buy because as a group they’ve been proven to be lemons, even though some of them perform flawlessly. Likewise, there are guns whose reliability is proven, even though there are some examples that suck. A good reputation built over time is no guaranty that an individual pistol will work as advertised, but that’s the way to bet.
Would you really buy a pistol with a bad record in the hope that yours would be good?
Nope, and that’s not what I said.
Ralph, don’t be a MikeB and argue something completely different than what he posted.
He said that saying it’s unreliable and therefore you shouldn’t buy it just because it hasn’t been around for 30 years is flawed logic. Though, looking at the name now, I realize you’re the one who wrote this review. As you stated in the review, the gun has worked flawlessly except for one round (I forget what that particular issue was from a previous post) but just because it hasn’t been around forever, it’s automatically “bad”. Using that flawed logic, we should all be using muzzleloaders since they’re older and therefore no other gun “has as long of a history of performance”.
Both of your complaints with the gun are flawed – you whine about the black sights on a dark target at night….apparently you’ve never heard of sight paint that not only adds color but glows in the dark. Spend $3 and two minutes and your problem is fixed. Your comparison showed that the Caracal was better than the Glock in pretty much every way, yet you refuse to accept it’s a good gun just because it’s not a Glock. If you really want to question your religious devotion to the Church of Glock, spend some time with a Steyr M9-A1 – that’s the gun that finally convinced me to buy a polymer striker-fired pistol and it’s the best gun I’ve ever owned.
You know, given your name, you’re not on the side of this fight I’d expect.
The name is German – Totenglocke means “death knell”. I started using it around 15 years ago for online games and stuck with it.
Ah, good to know. I figured it was jokengerman.
Caracal Issues Recall for Model C Pistols
Caracal International LLC has been informed about an incident in which the slide of a Caracal Model C pistol malfunctioned and broke during firing causing personal injury. We are thoroughly investigating this incident to determine the cause(s) and are initiating this voluntary recall to protect the safety of our customers.
Caracal aims to conclude its investigations as quickly as possible. Updates will be posted on Caracal’s website to include further information on the limited number of defected Caracal Model C pistols.
Until this investigation is concluded and if you own or have access to a Caracal Model C pistol,
PLEASE DO NOT LOAD OR FIRE THE CARACAL MODEL C PISTOL.
Customers may choose to wait until more information with respect to the investigation or arrange to have the pistol replaced free of charge, using the following steps:
Step 1: Contact our customer care center nearest you and provide the serial number of your pistol.
For Customers in the United States:
Contact us directly at 205-655-7050 or [email protected]
For Customers in Europe:
Contact us directly at +49 (0) 3681 854 257 or [email protected]
For Customers in other countries:
Contact us directly at [email protected]
If you have sold or transferred your Caracal Model C pistol, please contact us using the above information and provide us with the name and contact information for the person to whom you sold it so that we can notify them of this recall.
Step 2: After contacting customer care center, we will send you a prepaid shipping box with instructions so that you can return your pistol to us, free of charge.
Step 3: We will replace your pistol and return it to you free of charge as quickly as reasonably possible.
Caracal apologizes for any inconvenience that this may cause, and thank you for your patience and cooperation.
+1 to Daver
Should you put 10,000 rds of every 9mm made through it before it makes the Herculean effort of traveling to the grocery store and back. No. Should you test it with fire and anvil. No. Howsabout a box or so of your chosen carry ammo and a few oddball rounds that seem to accumulate in the bottom of your range bag.
That really ought to cover it. Unless you find it reading the Kuran to the other guns in your safe. We all know how dangerous guns can be when they’re locked up.
If you’re going to trust your life to a pistol, would you rather buy a gun with a shitty reputation or one with a good one?
That’s what I thought.
Except that the Caracal doesn’t HAVE a shitty reputation. You’re just making excuses for why you won’t change from your religious devotion to a Glock.
Go back and re-read your own review and you’ll see that you found the Caracal to be the better gun, yet because it’s not called a Glock, you won’t recommend it.
Apparently you don’t think a major recall that stopped all sales in the USA for the last several years a shitty reputation…
hey, can we get more photo comparisons? I’d like to know which one is thinner.
Google dude. Caracal = 28mm width, Glock 19 – 30 mm
I never thought id say this about the Austrian Block, but compared to the Caracal it wins by default due to one crucial area:Customer Support.
I dislike Glocks, but I recognize the crucial fact that when a problem comes up one can get parts and factory support relatively easily.If for some alien reason the factory cannot get a part or fix a problem, the extensive aftermarket will step in for whatever a Glock owner could possibly need.
With the Caracal, what’s the factory support like? A ? That’s not good,considering that no matter where a gun is made or what its built out of it will break *something* if you shoot it often enough. That’s true of a Glock as it is of a 1911 or any other marque of firearm. For all any of us know Caracal could go belly up this time next year.
“Caracal could go belly up next year”
This is my main reason for waiting to purchase one of these things. The dust bin of history is littered with cool inventions that just didn’t catch on for one reason or another.
“Caracal could go belly up this time next year?” No, not a chance. I’ve been in the Caracal shooting Club in Dubai and it puts 5 star shooting clubs to utter shame. If public demand doesn’t keep the Caracal 9mm alive, the Emirati oil subsidies most definitely will. The UAE takes a lot of pride in this pistol.
I was going to post this (I’ve been there too, damned nice place). The UAE can afford to throw money at this thing for the next 50 years if they want to. It’s not going anywhere.
Or put it this way: if the UAE goes belly up, then we’re in a SHTF, TEOTWAWKI type situation, and product support is out of the question from anyone, anyway.
Honestly, just being Arabic would deter me from buying it. It would need to be the best pistol ever conceived before I would put more of my money in a Saudi business.
UAE, not Saudi. Completely different country and culture (yes, really).
Skyler, the UAE is our number one trading partner in the area and their internal practices put the Saudis to shame. They aren’t Saudis.
Here’s a bummer, though: As the US was driving Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait the ruler of Abu Dhabi referred to the fact that the UAE could rely on “its white slaves” to protect it. This was enormously offensive at the time, and I will not forget it. Basically US oil companies displaced British ones in 1968. Since that time the US taxpayer has been footing the real bill for the oil majors’ profits in the UAE.
Overall, the average UAE citizen has a much higher opinion of Westerners than the average American citizen has of Arabs.
Nate: On average, the UAE doesn’t have many citizens to like us. More that 62% of its population are peons imported from Pakistan, the Philippines, and elsewhere, working as near-slave labor. Of course they like us. We have Carrier Battle Groups and Marines. What’s not to like?
I’ve lived and worked in UAE for the better part of a year. I don’t need a lesson on their social demographics.
Here is a video of the Caracal in a SIMPLE 1000 round test. The trigger begins to fail near the end of just 1000 rounds….. THIS is better than a Glock???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28XiHfUEyeo&feature=relmfu
They managed to get just enough dirt/mud in just the right place to cause the trigger to fail to reset by throwing it all over the place. I’ve seen Glocks do it too.
OK. So let’s see THAT video…..
Cause in 25 years I’ve NEVER seen a Glock do that.
I still haven’t cleaned or lubed my son’s Glock 17. It’s been over 11 years and just over 20k rounds.
My family has fired cases of various ammo over a week of shooting and have never experienced any sort of failure at all. Much less a, “Dirty-Trigger-Failure”.
just sayin
Easy enough. Shooting starts at about 6:07.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ygcfp40RTKs&feature=related
To be fair, he did drag it behind a truck for a few minutes. Though I have witnessed a Glock 22 do it under much less torturous conditions.
Toss your guns around the sand, dirt, and mud and eventually they’ll fail.
He’s THROWING a **wet gun** into the sand. That’ll choke a Glock too.
True.
Was that when it was failing?
Thought it was much later.
Nice review. Is the Caracal trigger crisper than the PPQ? Is 4.5 lbs a bit light for a carry trigger? The largest engineering difference between the Glock [and M&P] vis a vis the Caracal seems to be this: The Caracal designer went to a full one-piece slide rail, apparently in a tradeoff with the shallower slide depth. If anyone reading this understands the engineering consequence, what is at stake in that tradeoff, I’d be interested to know.
“Is 4.5 lbs a bit light for a carry trigger?”
——
My EDC’s (full-size 1911) trigger breaks at 3.5 lbs clean. Keep your booger hooker off the bang switch and any trigger is perfectly fine.
I have the same belief about my 1911’s, but they have external mechanical safeties not part of the trigger itself. Put another way, why have so many serious users opted for D/S triggers with the D at 8 to 10 lbs on guns without such safeties? I have no answer. Perhaps the D/S supporters are silly?
The Caracal is available with a manual safety for those who want one. I don’t think that the trigger is too light for a carry piece, but people should decide that for themselves. As for a side by each trigger comparison with the PPQ, I can’t tell you which is more crisp, but I can state that the firing systems are different. The PPQ’s striker is fully “pre-loaded” prior to the trigger press ( kinda like SA, no?), while the Caracal’s and the Glock’s are not. The Caracal claims that it’s DA, and the Glock’s pin is pretensioned but not fully loaded.
I’m going to stick with my Glock, which has a proven record of many thousands of rounds for me personally and billions of rounds for the platform itself. It works for me and works well.
The only gun I personally see as superior to the Glock (for me) is the M&P series. Given the number of Glocks I have, along with the requisite gear like holsters, mags, pouches and the like, I won’t be switching any time soon.
Not keen on short sight radii myself. I do like the ability to get your hand up so high on the barrel axis.
One other practical downside: Good luck finding a decent, non-custom holster for that new gun.
John
Hi, John. Just out of curiosity, why do you view the M&P as superior?
I don’t own either one although I have a high opinion of both after shooting several of each. Just curious as to why you view the M&P as superior.
Thanks,
-R
as a glock, XD9sc, Xd45, M &P 9c, and full sized M & P owner, , my opinion is that the M & P has a more positive feeling trigger. on the glock, the trigger has a ca-twanggy feeling after firing a round, the XD’s triggers do not cut into your index finger (safe trigger mechanism) after firing several magazines, , and the smith feels smoother all the way through. this is just my opinion, and may just be how my particular guns feel. love and trust all of them.
Four ounces heavier?? I’ll keep the Glock and the zillions of holster options available for it.
Yea, who needs accuracy when you can have a tacticool holster!
The Caracal does have a certificate of endurance:
WTD 91The Tests were carried out by the Federal German Armed Forces Testing House WTD 91 in Meppen, Germany. This included metallurgic and composite analysis, functional fitness-for-purpose and quality evaluation, endurance firing, environmental exposure, safety and accuracy tests. This certification fully certifying the Caracal Pistol to be in compliance with test criteria of NATO D14, TA police and the German Federal Armed Forces Technical Purchasing standard.
http://www.caracal.ae/new/certificates.php
You have to actually see the quick site to believe it. Its amazingly fast to aquire the sites. I have both quick site and regular site caracals and there really is a difference and I pick the quick site. I dont think anyone mentioned that the caracal only has 28 parts also. I have a few thousand rounds thru my caracal quick site and would have no problem with it as an edc.
400 bucks shipped is a great price for what you get….might just get one..cheers
Caracal’s models F and C are having a massive recall right now!! It seems the triggers are self firing when the gun is placed hard, or dropped on a hard surface.
Yes, they have a recall right now. I spoke with them about this. They had two pistols to do so and to be on the safe side, they decided to do the recall. Glock’s have had several, several recalls over the years. It happens. Glock has had years to perfect their pistol due to these errors. Glock is a reliable pistol now. I think Caracal will do it sooner and at much better price point. I have let quite a few Glock lovers shoot my Caracal. They all loved it! They are thinking long and hard about this pistol. It has passed 4 major NATO test and continues to move forward. Caracal is willing to refund the entire cost of the pistol and/or fix the pistol, throw in a free magazine, shirt, hat, and 15% discount on the website which is coming out with more offerings in the future. This is one pistol to watch guys!
My PWA import Steyr M9/-A1 hybrid was hands down the best pistol, all in all, that I ever owned. It was like a magic meeting, like I finally found the one. Low bore axis, superb trigger in all regards, target pistol grip feel, great sights box stock, and so on. When I started seeing these Caracals, it appeared Bubitz had acheived more of the same, albeit without the banner of a legendary old world arms firm. Perhaps some improvements in capacity, thickness, and grip texture. Only thing I wouldve considered replacing my Steyr with. And now I do need to replace it. Torn on the Quick Sights. Always been drawn to Express
Sights, Ghost rings, Advantage, etc. Big, easy to see and align irons. And
why not. Optimize for the most likely scenario. But after adding more point shooting and long range pistol training my repetoire,
great write up I love my caracal!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3Zh8r5DMQE
Looks like a real sweet shooter. Very little recoil. Thanks for sharing.
4000 rounds through my model C and not one issue. Trigger is fantastic and quick sights and low bore axis have proven useful in both daily carry and USPSA matches. Caracal customer service has always been good to me and ships quick when ordering mags and fiber optic sights. Never any repair issue to speak of so I can’t comment on that side of things.
I did paint the quick sights and install a front fiber optic. Works very well for me. I also add some rubberized tape to grip to aid in traction and purchase and both are a welcome addition. Ergonomics of the grip are in my opinion superior to Glock and XD. M&P ergonomics are as good and probably a little better.
Larger F model mags work in the C and can be had for $35 from Caracal. That’s 18+1 in 9mm!!!
All in all…really enjoying my Caracal C. In the look out for another but I don’t see them all that often around here. Thinking a model F may become my new dedicated USPSA gun. Hard to beat that trigger and low bore axis.
Regarding the recalls. I’ve had Smiths and Kimbers and Springfields that have all been affected by recalls at one time or another. It happens from time to time and the more guns you own the more likely you’ll encounter an issue at some point. These guns work great. Only time will tell if they are as reliable as some of the more established models on the market. My guess is yes.
Later
4000 rounds through my model C and not one issue. Trigger is fantastic and quick sights and low bore axis have proven useful in both daily carry and USPSA matches. Caracal customer service has always been good to me and ships quick when ordering mags and fiber optic sights. Never any repair issue to speak of so I can’t comment on that side of things.
I did paint the quick sights and install a front fiber optic. Works very well for me. I also add some rubberized tape to grip to aid in traction and purchase and both are a welcome addition. Ergonomics of the grip are in my opinion superior to Glock and XD. M&P ergonomics are as good and probably a little better.
Larger F model mags work in the C and can be had for $35 from Caracal. That’s 18+1 in 9mm!!!
All in all…really enjoying my Caracal C. In the look out for another but I don’t see them all that often around here. Thinking a model F may become my new dedicated USPSA gun. Hard to beat that trigger and low bore axis.
Regarding the recalls. I’ve had Smiths and Kimbers and Springfields that have all been affected by recalls at one time or another. It happens from time to time and the more guns you own the more likely you’ll encounter an issue at some point. These guns work great. Only time will tell if they are as reliable as some of the more established models on the market. My guess is yes.
Caracal C is better than a Glock 19? As of today, all Caracal C firearms are on recall with a design flaw that cannot be fixed:
“This is not good news for fans of the Caracal: all C-model (compact) Caracals have an inherent safety problem and cannot be fixed.”
Turn’em in and buy a Glock 19!
Us glock guys dont deny there are other fine brands. There just isn’t a reason to change except to change for the sake of it. Just as S&W aren’t what they used to be, the day will come when someone over takes Glock. There is always a Pink ready to replace a Madonna.
I could still remember the time when Glock 17 was first introduced in America. Everyone balked at the idea of replacing the 1911. The Gov’t Model 1911 was replaced alright but not with Glock. The Beretta M9. After a clever marketing and cheap pricing, Glocks became over 50% the sidearm of law enforcement with the exception of military police. Of course, there will be manufacturers eyeing the Glock market. The only one I like is a CZ. But there will be more, like H&K, Sigs, and S&W to name a few that will challenge that Glock saturated market. I like Glocks but I like CZ’s more. And if there is one that I will recommend, it will be a CZ P07. And no, they don’t have the marketing of Glock, they only go by Legend.
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Very well written article! Informative, well thought out, and from and entertainment point of view, a nicely-done literary work. Hope to see more from author – will be “googling” for more – – – and also googling to find a Caracal dealer. I will be more than happy, at the “introductory price”, to be part of beta testing for reliability!!
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Thank you for sharing.
Arab guns, when they start making Arab Scotch, maybe. What does that name mean in Arabic, slow goat. lol
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