Canik S-120

Canik 55 (pronounced, "ch'e-nick") is a Turkish company that seem to specialize in cloning successful firearm designs. I have seen a number of Canik pistols at the SHOT Show 2013, and they looked very interesting. Right at the show I was able to order a few S-120 pistols, that seem to be identical copies of CZ 75 B pistols.

The ones I got were imported by TriStar, an importer better known for its shotguns. Century also imports them, and they happily sold me a bunch of Stingray pistols (which seem to closely resemble CZ 75 P-01), but unfortunately they did not fulfill the order.

Out of the box

S-120 pistols I got had chrome finish, dimensions indistinguishable from C75 B, and skeletonized hammers.

Sights are plain, not target and not adjustable, and seem to be identical to stock CZ 75 sights.

The trigger has a very short double action stroke so characteristic of CZ 75. The single action broke at 4.5lb, exactly, on all 3 that I measured. The trigger was not crisp like on CZ 75 target models, but exhibited exactly the same amount of creep as regular non-match CZ 75.

To appreciate how remarkably similar this pistol is to a proper CZ 75, here they are, side by side. The CZ 75 (black slide and frame, silver barrel) in picture is an older, pre-B model, so it is lacking the firing pin block.

Interestingly, all three pistols came with their barrels thoroughly fouled with both carbon and copper - they appeared to be tested at the factory for a lot more than just a regular few shots.

At the range

I am not currently set up for 9mm loading - still waiting on backordered Dillon caliber conversion, - so I could only test it with the factory ammunition.

All testing was from supported position at 25 yards.

The pistol turned to be quite picky when it comes to accuracy - PMC and S&B were the worst with 3-5" 5 shot groups, Herter's aluminum cased ammunition was semi-ok, and it did excellent job (considering the price) with American Eagle. Here is the target.

The groups are - 1.6", 2.5", 3.0", 2.4", and 2.7".

I suspect that with handloads 2" average may be possible.

Overall

This is a great, high quality copy of CZ 75 B, for approximately $100 less than the original. The finish is actually better than CZ - unlike the ugly black enamel paint that CZ uses on its entry level pistols, these are chromed - and the chrome finish is unlikely to wear off or peel.

If you can get your hands on it, buy it without a hesitation! After playing with it, I backordered a bunch at every distributor that offered them, so check back - they may be back at our store.