Longtime readers know I had a passionate, ill-fated love affair with Caracal. I greeted the Caracal C as the GLOCK refined and reinvented (even though it was designed by the father of the Steyr M, Austrian Wilhelm Bubits), The C’s how-low-can-you-go bore axis, iceberg-crisp trigger and revolutionary QuickSights made it my everyday carry gun. And then things went seriously pear-shaped. Caracal had a drop-safe issue. First they recalled the C’s, then all their handguns. The company refunded customers’ money and promised to return. Many times. They didn’t. In fact, they stopped answering the phone. And now they’re back! Promising to produce a full-sized F (and a couple of rifles). Once bitten, twice shy, four times…what? Press release after the jump . . .
CARACAL: REDEFINED
SHOT SHOW 2016
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Caracal will be showcasing its latest cutting-edge products at SHOT Show 2016 at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas, Nevada January 19th through the 22nd. For members of the Media and Industry buyers, Caracal will have live fire demonstrations of select product at Industry Day at The Range located in Boulder City, Nevada on January 18th.
This includes the international debut of the highly anticipated, Enhanced F pistol, a product of extensive collaboration among Caracal’s world-class engineers and designers.
“By redefining our weapons’ equilibrium, Caracal has differentiated itself from the competition,” said Hamad Al Ameri, CEO of Caracal when speaking about Caracal and the development process for the Enhanced F. Al Ameri explained that, “This approach underpinned the redesign process of the Caracal F pistol, and we look forward to showcasing this exceptional product at SHOT Show.”
The Enhanced F maintains many of the fundamental design qualities of the original Model F such as; extremely low bore axis and low profile slide which work together to provide extremely low felt recoil and greatly reduce muzzle rise as well as the same, smooth, crisp trigger press. The Enhance F pistol will also bring back the much anticipated, proprietary Quick Sight system along with the standard sights.
Also on display at SHOT Show are the CAR family of Caracal rifles. The CAR 814 and 816 are direct impingement and gas piston operated rifles respectively. This line of rifles carry with them a special meaning for Caracal, as they have elevated the company to the premier level of firearm manufacturing with emerging capabilities to service the defence market with International sales and high volume manufacturing currently in process.
On Caracal’s future plans, Hamad Al Ameri commented, “This is an exciting time at Caracal. We have sought and recruited a diverse, world-class executive team with extensive experience in the small arms industry in order to take our business to the next level. The EF and the CAR family of rifles are just the first of a new generation of innovative products to come.”
Caracal is the only OEM small arms company in the Middle East, and it is now backed by a strong industrial parent company, the Emirates Defence Industries Company (EDIC). This unique arrangement allows for Caracal to receive maximum resources and support in order to drive the next phase of growth for the company.
Caracal is represented in the United States by the newly reorganized Caracal USA. The US subsidiary has been established to meet the needs of the local firearms market and demonstrates the commitment of Caracal to become a major contributor of firearms to both the defence industry and retail markets.
Let em sell their defective guns to the jihadis.
As Saudi is only (at times) slightly behind Qatar as a State sponsor of terrorism, I’d say yes, save for the fact that the product is a bit too upmarket.
I won’t buy one either because I am not confident that some of my purchase money wouldn’t fund terrorism. The best way to avoid that? Don’t support Arab companies. No money, no AKs or bombs.
If the Saudis didn’t have oil revenue isis would not exist.
I hope the F is as good as the C with the problems solved. The website had a nice looking 1911 and some nice looking sniper systems last time I checked.
I guess you never watched Peanuts cartoons as a child? Linus? Lucy? Football?
“knock knock, c’mon, open the door… this is love, i wouldn’t lie to you again!”
Kinison?
Hell yeah. 🙂
I do miss Brother Sam…
It was Charlie Brown who got duped, not Linus. Otherwise, right on.
Had a C, liked it a lot. Returned it for more than I paid but I think I’ll sit out the return. Have enough 9’s and I love my Lionheart LH9N.
Friend has a Lionheart and loves it.
Making an AR-15 variant elevates a company to the premier tier? That’s … interesting.
I look forward to their new line of pistols but will wait a couple of years at lease, and then want to shoot one at the range, before even considering a purchase.
One more thought…”The EF and the CAR family of rifles are just the first of a new generation of innovative products to come” Since when is a 1950’s design copied by almost every arms manufacturer considered innovative?
Good point. Their gas piston rifle in the AR platform is at least fairly unique … I have only come across one other vendor/model.
With respect to Caracal, once bitten, twice shy is excessive. Once growled at would be more accurate. The company behaved honorably when it realized it had a problem. Customers were disappointed but not cheated. There have been other start ups that took customers’ money but never produced a product. Considering how good the previous Caracals were to shoot, I say they deserve another chance. Steyr handguns, Bubits’ previous work, are on my short list for a 9 mm to replace my .45 ACP. Depending on the reviews, I may add Caracal.
Case in point; Remington (700 trigger, R51 shoddiness, 870 chambers, none of which were readily acted upon nor actually corrected)
This. Caracal acted more responsibly than would most other companies. They refunded my full purchase price (plus FFL transfer fees) very promptly.
The Caracal C was a gem of a gun and I was bummed when I learned of the recall. However, I’m not sure I’ll be getting another, at least not until I’m convinced that the company’s investment in the US market ranges beyond SHOT show appearances.
Agreed, It’s foolish to order and pay for a gun that isn’t in stock yet.
I have read that, when Bill Ruger started out in 1949, he didn’t cash the check that accompanied an order until he was ready to ship the customer’s gun. Had his company collapsed, he would have lost his shirt but his customers would not have suffered.
Do we know that Bubits was involved in the new generation F? As a Steyr owner I could see myself owning a Caracal if that’s the case.
Why? Never. That is all.
I’ll stick to CZ. /fanboy plug
I recently had the opportunity to play with CZ’s SP01 Tactical…it will be my next purchase.
Ditto….my stuff works…
A solution from the people bringing you the problem.
… Correction:
A part-of the problem
Good luck. I might look at a Canik if I wanted a pistol from the Mid-East. They seem to get decent reviews.
That pistol is truly ugly, by comparison a plain Jane Glock is at least girl next door pretty.
Yea, if you live next door to a farm and like your girls built like a brick shit house. Glocks are many things, but pretty is definitely not one of them.
… the entire concept of ‘brick sh*t house’ is that it is put together Exceptionally Well. It’s a juxtaposition versus things which are normally (at least by comparison) built very shoddily.
In decrying ‘the brick sh*t house’ you are simply publicizing your preference for the more common poorly-built temporary/shoddy sh*t house. To each their own, but it’s not exactly a point for your side…
Not at all. In fact you seem to have gotten my point on the nose. Glocks are well built tools intended to do a job, and they do it very well. Much like a brick shit house, keeping the poo out of sight, mind, and olfactory senses. But they aren’t built with doo-dads and mosaic tile to make them prettier. Much like a Glock. Built to do a job, but not be pretty while doing it. I don’t like anything shoddily built, especially my guns. I’ve made it well known I’m no fan of Glocks, but they have a job to do and I’ll be damned if they don’t do it well. I don’t know what other point you could have possibly thought I was trying to make. Put more simply; Glock =/= pretty.
Is this going to another year where they’re at SHOT and then don’t have a gun for sale? This company is better than Kel-Tec and generating show buzz for vapor-guns. I really liked Caracal when they first came out, I got to shoot one and it was awesome. I was just about to pull the trigger on a purchase when the recall happened. I was bummed. Two years after saying they were returning to the U.S. market and they still don’t have guns for sale. Heck, this company even managed to lose control of the facebook page they had up and running. Caracal has been a non-communicator for years now, and, here they are again at SHOT.
When I see guns for sale, then there will be a story here. History tells me they won’t have guns for sale in 2016.
Anything coming out of that part of the world has an inescapable stink, and directing money back into it isn’t something I’m keen on. I’ll just hold out for a Steyr M9.
Steyr: They’re fine for the range but I wouldn’t trust my life to one.
Why not? I’ve never heard anybody ever say anything negative about Steyr.
A haji made gun; thanks, but no thanks.
Model F – named for the grade they get for the way they handled the previous debacle…
How so? They handled their QC problems better than most companies would. I recieved no less than two separate notifications about the problems they were having. Then Caracal sent me a paid return box and a full refund (w/o any requirement to document all my claimed loss). That’s A+ accountability in my experience.
Now if you want to argue that the metallurgical problems with the slide warranted an “F”…then I’d have to agree.
I was thinking more of the process as seen by someone on the outside with no stake in it. Yes, they eventually refunded everybody’s money, but my recollection was that they first announced they’d fix the guns, then announced they’d replace them, then just gave everyone their money back and sort of dropped off the face of the Earth for a couple years. First it was a small subset of guns with specific serial numbers, then it was all of them. It was supposed to be a drop safety issue at first, then reports trickled in about some of them kabooming… I may not be remembering the details exactly, but at the time it seemed like the problems and the company’s answers to them were changing a lot. I was left with the impression that the whole thing was a chaotic mess.
“By redefining our weapons’ equilibrium, Caracal has differentiated itself from the competition,” said Hamad Al Ameri, CEO
“Redefining our weapons’ equilibrium?” WTF does that mean? Never mind. I don’t care to know right now. Get back to me in a few years after the recalls.
No Arab guns? How about oil? Hard to get away from the Mo-hammedumbs. Does Turkey count??? I have no experience whatsoever with these guys(they LOOK cool). As far as fixing their flubs I’ll buy another Taurus,Ruger,S&W>and Ford ,Chevy or Toyota…is this any better than the Diamondback full-size 9mm which sells for less than $300 and has gotten very good reviews(including HERE)?
LOL @ diamondback…….one of the few companies every FFL I’ve bought guns from has told me to stay away from because their piles of poorly made shit with the highest rates of returned guns of any brand they sell…..
THAT was my attempt at humor. And TTAG gave the little DB 9mm 5 stars when most thought it was a terrible POS. And still do…
If this topic were a country song it would be “Caracal F-that”.
A point worth making: UAE is not Saudi Arabia. The United Arab Emirates are Islamic in Name Only and arguably represent THE most modern country in the world and most definitely among the highest living standard. I look forward to seeing the reviews.
I probably wouldn’t give the title of “most modern country in the world” to any place that still uses whipping and stoning to death as punishments for things like kissing in public and adultery. But that’s just me.
My bad, I’m so used to typing the House of Saud, it’s kinda rote. They are neighbors in more than geography.
Regardless, I’m afraid you have the UAE mixed up with somewhere else, fantasyland perhaps. They are so Islamic that Sharia law is firmly ingrained in much of their judiciary. TCNs (Third Country Nationals) work under slave-like conditions, and often die on the ongoing construction projects. The government has a horrid human rights record, criticism of the government in the press or in public is not allowed, and will get you (if you’re lucky) beaten or whipped. Stoning happens too. Opponents are routinely disappeared, trials are a joke, especially if you’re royally connected. Women are treated somewhere between property and dogs. The list goes on, just like any country infected with Islam to the extent they get the run of the joint.
The thought that those 8th century savages are anything but our mortal cultural enemies shows either a complete lack of knowledge, or you’re just one of them, lying to the infidels as Muhammed commands.
I think you’re full of sh*t and couldn’t find the UAE on a map.
They have their issues – it’s not a ME version of Sweden – but stoning?
Bullsh*t.
I’ll only consider it if it feeds reliably. And not all of Bubits’s guns do…
The only real selling point Caracal had over a Styer or other striker-fired pistol was the quicksights…so getting rid of those makes their pistols completely pointless to me.
F is for Fail.
F is for Funding terrorism.
Caracal is located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in Abu Dhabi & Dubai. It is not located in Saudi. I lived there for a while, and I have to say, I found every Emirati native to be really relaxed, calm, and pretty easy to deal with. Not a bunch of religious fanatics at all…And no where near as obnoxious as the Saudi’s, Kuwaiti’s, Qatari’s, or the Pakistani’s.
I think Caracal behaved extremely well. They had a problem with their product and refunded everyone’s money. Holy Cow, how often does that happen?
I’m still interested in their products.
See above, but you must lived in a very Western area (like a hotel), because the country is a human rights s-hole, just like every other country run by Muslims.
Religious police are not the sign of a modern country last time I checked.
I don’t understand your love affair with this company. I really don’t, But then again, I don’t understand America’s fascination with everything Kardashian either.
They show up every year at Shot Show. This is nothing new. They have guns people want, but there are none to be had. I don’t get it at this point…
F that junk.
Speaking of recalls, why no TTAG followup on the Taurus refusal to take back their Milleniums?
HUH? Taurus most certainly IS taking back their guns for fixing,replacement or $. I belong to multiple Taurus FB groups and monitor Taurus’ site-it’s just taking forever. And they are selling a ton of guns-unlike these Arabs…
It’s nice to see these guys are back at least at SHOT show. I’ve been wanting a Caracal for a while and I’m hoping they actually put the product out this year…maybe in May so I can justify it as a birthday gift to myself!
I kept my caracal F and am glad I did. Those who did not i do not feel sorry for them. First rule in combat or a crisis don’t panic stop and think rationaly. Caracal will grow to be the premier weapon builder of the east. What they face every day they will need them. I wish ignorant humans would stop ragging on others just because someone is born in a different part of the world. Caracal did something that few others have done. Buy them back regroup and make things right
I’ll buy one ifnthey sell it with the quick sights
Otherwise I’ll buy the USA version on the AF-1 Strike One..aka stryk A and stryk B
Steyr with extractor replacement and 1911 plunger within said extractor spring won’t be bad deal..
It looks interesting, but as it is Hadji owned, i won’t buy one .
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