A Turkish Delight at a Great Price

How much should a good gun cost?

The 500 dollar mark seems to be a pretty good gauge, but the Tisas Zigana PX-9 is trying to provide a good pistol for half that cost. Does it? Let’s find out.

Tisas Zigana PX-910-RD

The PX-9 is an excellent value. It’s got quirks, but it’s a functional and reliable pistol that’s more than accurate enough for defensive shooting.

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Quick Overview

Turkish shotguns can be very hit or miss, but I’ve been surprised by Turkish handguns. They seem to be fairly solid guns sold at low prices. I’m typically attracted to Turkish pistols that replicate guns long out of production, like the Browning Hi Power.

For me, these guns are fun guns, but the PX-9 is a modern, polymer frame, striker-fired pistol that wants to be taken seriously.

Tisas, or how it’s properly spelled, TİSAŞ, is actually an acronym for Trabzon Silah Sanayi AŞ. Tisas is a Turkish firearms firm that began production of semi-auto pistols in 1993. Their imports have recently picked up after partnering with U.S. importer SDS Arms.

This has brought forth a ton of guns, including an entire series called the PX-9. The PX-9 we are looking at today is the base model. Some variants include optics ready capability, threaded barrels, and more, but this is the plain Jane option, which is also the most affordable.

Tisas has taken influence from several different firearms. The slide looks like it was ripped off of a Springfield XD. It’s blocky, kind of ugly, but perfectly functional. The gun uses a Browning short recoil operation. Unlike the XD there is no grip safety, but there is a manual frame mounted safety.

The gun uses SIG P226 magazines, but you need the newer 18 round options. The older 15 round magazines won’t fit. The PX-9 has an accessory rail and comes with interchangeable backstraps. In the box they even include an OWB polymer holster with a grip lock device. We also get two MEC-GAR magazines.

For 250 dollars on average it’s a fairly complete package.

Tisas Zigana PX-9 Features

3 Interchangeable Backstraps

Shooting Straight With the PX-9

The PX-9 comes with an adjustable rear sight which is a nice touch. I still prefer optics but the PX-9 performed quite well in the accuracy department. The front sight is a bit large, which makes it easy to see and acquire, but it also obscures smaller targets at longer ranges. This makes it tougher to place precision shots.

Head shots in an A-zone can be difficult at 15 yards since the sight is covering up so much of the target. Shots into the torso A-zone are surprisingly easy to make. The trigger surprised me. It’s super smooth and short with a nice break. It won’t disturb your sights when you’re squeezing that trigger.

At 50 yards, I could make most of my hits on an IPSC-sized steel target. It’s a big target, but it’s just iron sights, so I take that as an absolute win. It’s also fast and easy to pull for accurate and easy double-taps and longer strings of fire.

Sadly, long strings of fire become a little tougher to control. The big, heavy slide adds in additional recoil as it slams rearward. This pulls you more off target and makes your fast strings of fire disperse a little wider. It’s not going to get away from you, but it won’t have the fast back to target nature of higher-end guns.

Other than that, there are no notable shootability factors. No discomfort, no slide bite, nothing, just a little more recoil and muzzle rise than most other handguns. It reminds me of a S&W 3rd Gen gun.

Ergonomics and Grip

I was suitably impressed with the gun’s ergonomics. The polymer grip feels fantastic in my hand. It encourages a nice, high grip on the gun via the rear bottom hump of the grip and the upper overhang. A decent grip texture surrounds the whole thing, and it’s aggressive enough to keep the gun from moving in your hand.

The safety is positioned a bit like a 1911’s safety. It’s smaller, but easy to hit with your thumb and completely ambidextrous. It clicks up and down with ease and is easy to use. I don’t think a safety like this is necessary on a modern pistol, but I know some people prefer the inclusion of a manual safety.

The large slide release is quite nice, and so is the magazine release. It sticks out a fair bit from the frame, and with a quick thumb movement, the magazine flies out of the gun. Overall, the PX-9 surprised me with its capable and modern ergonomics. It’s well put together and everything works without difficulty.

I honestly wish modern gun companies would utilize a larger slide release like the PX-9. It’s a small thing, but a real standout feature on an affordable firearm.

Tisas Zigana PX-9 Pros and Cons

Reliability	No problems whatsoever. It runs and runs well.	A+
Ergonomics	The ergonomics are impressive for an affordable firearm. The controls are well-placed, and the grip is good, but it’s got a stiff recoil spring that makes charging it difficult.	B+
Accuracy	The Tisas PX-9 shoots straight enough, but the large front sight makes precision shooting difficult. It’s odd to pair such a large front sight with an adjustable rear sight.	B+
Shootability	The gun shoots fine, but the recoil is surprisingly intense for a 9mm pistol. The gun feels snappy, and I think it’s due to the slide, which weighs about a pound.	C+
Value	At around 250 dollars, the PX-9 is an excellent value. It’s got quirks, but it’s a functional and reliable pistol that’s more than accurate enough for defensive shooting.	A+

Our Grade

B+

Reviewed by Travis Pike

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Does It Run?

A significant issue with inexpensive guns is their reliability. A weapon can feel good, shoot straight, and be controllable, but none of that matters if the gun can’t run. I’d rather have a reliable firearm than anything else, so does the PX-9 run? I can happily report that it does. I shot the gun’s value in ammo, which wasn’t as difficult as it sounds.

The PX-9 series didn’t choke or stutter one little bit. The PX-9 chewed through standard brass case, steel case, and jacketed hollow-points. It didn’t fail at all. Tisas made a smart move by using MEC-GAR magazines. They are extremely reliable, and magazines are often a fail point for handguns. MEC-GAR historically makes fantastic magazines.

The Tisas PX-9 scores high in reliability, impressively so. I’m not sure if it is a gun that will run after ten years of shooting, but in my testing, it works.

Additional Resources

Before you purchase your Tisas PX-9, be sure to check out the manual and cleaning video below.