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Thread: Will North Sylva treat the Steyr L9 A1 future owners better than the M9 A1 ones?

  1. #1
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    Will North Sylva treat the Steyr L9 A1 future owners better than the M9 A1 ones?

    A few months ago I bought a brand new Steyr M9 A1. It looked nice, impressive ergonomics, trigger OK but when I started to shoot ... it was failing to eject like crazy, especially with 115 gr ammo. I followed the dealer advice and ran more rounds through it to break it in; the same, maybe even worse. At the same time I was not able to install a Streamlight laser / flashlight on it (which had been installed perfectly on other brands). I measured the Picatinny rail and ... it was completely out of specs.

    I took the gun to North Sylva under warranty, with very detailed explanations, photos and measurements. They didn't do ANYTHING. For the FTE problem they said they couldn't reproduce it, although I had given them many photos with empty cases stuck inside. For the Picatinny rail, they came up with the story that, actually, it was not a Picatinny one but a "Steyr proprietary rail". As all Canadian dealers sell the M9 A1s imported by North Sylva as having Picatinny rails, they said the ads were incorrect.

    Now, the truth:

    1. For FTE, it is well known (research CGN Forum) that North Sylva had imported all M9 A1s from a batch with problems. Some of the guns in this batch (not all) have FTE. For these, the solution is to replace the rail spring and the extractor. I was not the first one with FTE problems, I even knew before buying I could hit a junk, but I took the chance having been informed UPFRONT that North Sylva would replace any faulty parts. However they didn't want to do it.

    2. For the rail, the old M9s had indeed a Steyr proprietary rail but the M9 A1s were designed and manufactured with Picatinnys. (Anyway, the rail measurements were even farther away from the so-called Steyr proprietary rail.) It looks like North Sylva doesn't know this and did not even bother to call Steyr for clarifications.

    I was lucky to have bought the gun from a very nice and honest dealer: SFRC. They took it back and gave me a full refund.

    I am not at all pleased to be obliged to criticise a member of the Canadian firearm business, so I have been reluctant up to now to post this info. However, seeing the enthusiasm many CGN fellows have for the new L9 A1 imported as well by North Sylva (I understand, the 9 mm Steyr handguns look and feel special) I don’t think it would be fair towards them to keep all this hidden.

  2. #2
    CGN frequent flyer jwillmoore's Avatar
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    North Sylva...........NOT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  3. #3
    Member sportsman416's Avatar
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    Shame about your Steyr... I have one from the same batch, and when I first started shooting it I had FTF and FTE like crazy... 2-3 per magazine. No matter the ammo - I tried Remington UMC 115gr and 124gr as well as S&B 115 and 124... The S&B was a disaster with almost every round either failing to feed or eject.

    Finally on the 3rd mag of the S&B 124gr I had the slide lock up on me after a light primer strike resulting in a (very dangerous) live round jammed in the chamber that could not be removed without forcing the slide back against a picnic bench with all my weight!

    I (like you) had read about the risks and was convinced I had bought a lemon... HOWEVER...

    I took it apart, and very thoroughly cleaned all the moving parts and lubricated the slide assembly with the thinnest film of oil and on my next trip to the range it chewed through 200 rounds of all the same ammo without a single failure. It's been perfectly reliable ever since.

    I'm sorry about your experience, and big props to SFRC for taking it back - I personally love the look of this gun so much, I would have even taken it to a gunsmith to replace the extractor at my own expense if it came to that - Unfortunately, firearms enthusiasts are a captive market in Canada and the industry is so small that there isn't always a lot of incentive to excel in customer service.

  4. #4
    CGN frequent flyer KeNd0's Avatar
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    I'm convinced they just got the bins of junk left overs when the newer model Steyrs came out. I'm not even sure any Canadian dealer carries the updated models.
    Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Getting splinters from the wedge.

  5. #5
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    Hi, I had the same issue With FTE at least or 3 every magazine until I did the 1911 spring fix in the extractor, has run great ever since I did not know about the rail not being to speck I was going to go out and get a light laser combo today know I'm not sure if I should

  6. #6
    CGN frequent flyer KeNd0's Avatar
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    Both of mine have regular rail.
    Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Getting splinters from the wedge.

  7. #7
    CGN Regular humphry76's Avatar
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    That's too bad to here about. Such a nice looking gun too.

  8. #8
    CGN Regular Pule's Avatar
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    I've had mine for about 2 years now and have had a few FTE's and FTF's, mostly with the steel cased MFS. Twice it required me to press the slide against a bench with quite a bit of force to eject the case. Lately i haven't had any issues, probably because I've gone through roughly 700 rounds and have maybe broke it in but also because I've switched to brass.......well at-least until i find another one of those awesome $99 for 500 rounds of 9mm MFS deals. Thanks for the heads up on the rail, I'll have to look into mine.

  9. #9
    Member sportsman416's Avatar
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    I believe all the Canadian M A1s are 2nd Gen

    Still, mine (bought from Wanstalls) functions like a champ now that it's cleaned, lubed and broken in.

  10. #10
    CGN frequent flyer Big_red_truck's Avatar
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    I always had an eye on the steyer .... until now ... I think i'll save up and spend my money on another reliable revolver.
    I'm canadian eh , there's no doot aboot


    Quote Originally Posted by FLHTCUI View Post
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