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.

Smith and Wesson Shield 9mm Review

The Shield is one of the, if not the, most talked about handguns within the shooting community this year.   The trend for small carry guns in 380 seems to have been set aside for compact single stack 9mm guns.   The Shield certainly isn't the smallest of the "pocket 9s" but it may well be the best.  I've shot the Nano, Solo, PF9, PM9, P938, and own the CM9...  if I had to pick one of them it'd be the Shield.    Here are some reasons why:

Pros:
-Reliable.  I just passed the 1K round mark with this gun using everything from steel cased Russian ammo to quality JHPs it's never missed a beat
-Shootable.   Of the guns I mentioned above, the Shield is the easiest to shoot well.   Many of these small guns tend to jump around in your hand causing the shooter to re-grip halfway through the magazine; the Shield doesn't seem to have that problem
-Lightweight.  It comes in at 19oz unloaded
-Great finish.  The melonite (68 HRc) finish is top notch.   With over 1K through the gun it shows less signs of wear than my SIG P229 did after 200 rounds
-It comes with usable sights.  I replaced my sights with Trijicon NS but the factory 3 dot sights are easy to use and better than most guns in its' class.
-Cost.  I got mine for $389 OTD right when they were released and used the Nation's Finest rebate (they used to honor it for the Shield but no longer do.  They now have MIL/LE pricing however) for an additional $50 off.  
-Value.  For the cost above you get a well built, seeming very durable firearm that carries extremely well.  Due to this, demand is currently exceeding supply and they're hard to find.
-Lots of aftermarket support from Apex parts to night sights to holsters.
-Comes with two mags (some of the competitors don't); a 7 round flush fit and 8 round extended mag.
-It has by far the best out of the box trigger of any gun in the M&P lineup; the reset isn't faint like the rest of the series.  My trigger breaks consistently at 6lbs.
-You don't have to pull the trigger for disassembly.  That's important to some people so I mentioned it to me but I don't mind pulling the trigger (as you'll see in the video below).
-Fish scale serrations allow for a positive purchase on the slide when manipulating the weapon.

Cons:
-Right side only controls.  If you're a lefty you likely won't appreciate that.\
-External safety.  I'm in the camp of the people who do not like external safeties on a striker fired gun.   That said, it takes an intentional sweep to put it in the 'on' position and I worry little about it accidently coming on (has never happened yet).  Also, for those who like external safeties it's still a con.   Reason being it's small and difficult to manipulate...  likely more so under stress.   I think they tried to compromise here and missed both ways.
-It's larger than some of its' competitors.  I don't find it to be a pocket gun (I know some do) unless I'm wearing cargo pants/shorts.


Here's a video with some shooting from the 12m line, a size comparison with a couple carry guns, demonstration of disassembly and assembly of the gun, a quick discussion of the guns' pros and cons, and some chronograph testing with some popular defensive rounds

Chrono numbers:

Hornady 147gr TAPs: 894 fps, 261 ft/lbs energy
Federal 124gr HSTs: 1016 fps, 284 ft/lbs energy
Speer 124gr Gold Dots: 1076 fps, 319 ft/lbs energy

Caracal C: Glock Killer?

I've often posted here with high praise for the Caracal pistols so I figured I'd knock out a review of the guns with the Caracal C going first.   The C model seems to be the one people ask about the most and frequently the question is, "Is it better than a Glock 19?"   We'll get to that a little later but first I'll lay out some of the pros and cons of the gun.

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 only 1 malfunction which was a bad primer with Brown Bear ammo.  I put the same round in my G17 and it didn't fire with that gun either so I'm putting the blame solely on the ammo
-Price.  This gun is available online for $399 shipped with box and two mags.  In my opinion it's the best handgun deal on the market today (CZ 82 second).
-Accurate.  This gun is like a 1911 in that it tends to make average shooters shoot like good shooters
-Very low bore axis (see comparison pictures with my P229 below) resulting in the softest shooting 9mm (along with the F model) I've ever shot
-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
-15+1 capacity while only weighing 25oz
-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 C can use F 18 round magazines

Cons:
-Little aftermarket support
-Night sights are not available in the US currently.  I spoke with Caracal USA last week 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

Now, back to the original question---is it better than the G19?  In terms of familiarity, factory customer service support, sight availability, and aftermarket support---no, it's not.  In terms of factory trigger, cost (non-blue label program), and perceived recoil---yes it is.   I'll give them a tie for reliability, simplicity, and accuracy.

The best way I can answer the question is to say if I never fired a handgun and was given a Caracal C and a G19 to shoot for a day and asked to pick only 1 which would I pick?  I think I'd pick the Caracal C.  That said, I've been shooting Glocks for years and am very comfortable and relatively proficient with them so now I slightly prefer Glocks but I wouldn't have any reservations about trusting my life to a Caracal.

Here's a video of me shooting the gun, a tabletop review with some comparisons to other 15 round 9mm guns (G19 and SIG P229R), and a chronograph test with some popular defensive loads:

Chrono numbers:
Speer 124gr Gold Dot JHPs: 1127fps, 350 ft/lbs energy
Federal 124gr HST JHPs: 1092fps, 328 ft/lbs energy
Winchester 115gr Ranger JHPs: 1095fps, 306 ft/lbs energy

Caracal bore axis:

 SIG P229R bore axis: