Sarsilmaz is one of the most recognizable names in the huge world of Turkish gunmaking, and the company supplies many of the small arms used by Turkish police and military forces. In 2023, Sarsilmaz rolled out its most advanced design yet, the Gen3, which endured 150,000 rounds of live-fire testing. As part of that new family of guns, SAR USA offers its SAR9 SC Gen3, a small, subcompact, striker-fired design made for daily carry. Watch our video above to see this concealable pistol in use on the range.
Outfitted with a 3.3" barrel and measuring just 6.4" long and 4.8" high with its 12-round magazine, the SAR9 SC Gen3 floats just above true micro-compact territory, and while it isn’t as small as some 9 mm carry guns on the market, the dimensional elements of this design offer some added features. Each pistol ships with two 12-round magazines complete with pinky finger extensions, allowing shooters to obtain a confident, full firing grip that provides capability without impeding concealability.
But the biggest benefit of the SAR9 SC Gen3 is its compatibility with other SAR9 Gen3 magazines, including the 15- and 17-round models used in the company’s duty models. Magazine spacer sleeves are available to bridge the gap between the bottom of the magazine well and the top of the magazine floorplate, ensuring a clean, seamless length of grip surface for added control. Speaking of grip, the SAR9 SC Gen3’s polymer grip frame provides finger grooves on the frontstrap that guide a shooter’s strong hand into a confident firing grip, and the deep trigger guard undercut ensures the grip frame sits low in the hand, which aids in controlling recoil.
In terms of control, one of the biggest upgrades on the Gen3 models of SAR9 handguns is the addition of a new trigger design that has a flat face that breaks clean at 90 degrees and provides a short reset, all while preserving the safety values traditionally found on striker-fired designs. There’s a contrasting red safety blade located in the middle of the trigger shoe, as well as a built-in firing-pin block.
The other major upgrade on the Gen3 model of the SAR9 SC is the addition of a milled slide cut that accepts all Shield RMSc-footprint red-dot optics. A contoured cover plate is included from the factory, along with a set of tritium-illuminated night sights. The rear sight sits within a dovetail just to the rear of the optic-mounting section, allowing shooters to co-witness their open sights with a mounted optic, if they choose.
Thanks to the full-size grip and the great trigger in this SAR9 SC, our experience on the range was a blast. Despite its compact size, this pistol was controllable and gave us great confidence in our shots, even at a distance. We appreciated some of the new styling and texturing found on the slide of these Gen3 guns, which allowed us to get the pistol into battery quickly and easily. Reliability was golden, and we also enjoyed the fact that this SAR9 SC even came with a basic holster and a well-built, hard-sided carrying case for easy storage and transport. For those seeking a durable, proven design capable of being carried comfortably, all at a reasonable price, the SAR9 SC Gen3 is worth a closer look.
Sarsilmaz SAR9 SC Gen3 Specifications
Importer: SAR USA
Action Type: recoil-operated, semi-automatic, centerfire rifle
Chambering: 9 mm Luger
Barrel: 3.3"
Slide: black steel
Frame: black polymer
Magazine: 12-, 15- and 17-round detachable box
Sights: three-dot tritium; U-notch rear, post front
Trigger: striker
Overall Length: 6.4"
Height: 4.8"
Width: 1.1"
MSRP: $500
