S
toeger’s latest fi rearm is—no,
not a shotgun—a strik-
er-fi red, polymer-fame pistol.
And as you’d expect, it’s a
rugged, budget-priced gun.NOT NEW TO
HANDGUNS
Established in 1924, Stoeger Industries
is perhaps best known for building
good, value-priced shotguns. But hand-
guns are not new for the company. It
did produce a .22-caliber Luger type
pistol from 1969 until 1985 in the Unit-
ed States. Stoeger is now a member of
the Benelli USA family of companies.
Stoeger builds a version of the Beretta
8000 in Turkey as the Cougar 8000 and
is listed on the Beretta website.Other pistols have also been imported
by Stoeger over the years. With the
introduction this year of the Stoeger
STR-9, the door is open for a whole
family of striker-fi red, polymer-frame
pistols to follow.READY TO GO
The Stoeger STR-9 pistol is what most
of us would consider full-size and is
chambered in 9x19 Parabellum (9mm
Luger). I fi nd that the STR-9 most
closely resembles the Gen 4 Glock
17 when compared to other current
pistols of similar design.With a capacity of 16 rounds (15 in the
magazine and one in the chamber),
interchangeable backstraps, a 1913
Mil-Std rail on the dust cover, dovetail
mounted steel front and rear sights,
front and rear slide serrations and ag-
gressive texturing on the grip, the STR-
9 is ready to go right out of the box.Its overall length of just under 7.5
inches, width of 1.25 inches, height of
5.5 inches and weight of 26.4 ounces
unloaded, put it smack dab in Glock 17
territory. Where it beats the competi-
tion is its price. The MSRP for an STR-9
with one backstrap and one magazine
is $329. Adding two more magazines
and two more modular backstraps rais-
es the MSRP to $389. This compares
to an MSRP of $649 for a comparable
G17 Gen4. The street prices are likelyinterchangeable, but if you were to
disassemble both guns and put all of
the parts in one pile, you would have
to be extremely careful to put the
correct parts with the correct pistol
upon reassembly.Rugged is the best way to describe
the slide. It features both front and
rear slide serrations that are cut deep
and wide. They are very easy to use.
The steel front and rear sights (not
polymer as on the G17) are bothThe Stoeger STR 9
is an aggres-
sive-looking 9mm
polymer-frame,
striker- ired pistol.
Everything about it
is rugged, from the
slide serrations to
the trigger housing
and the rear grip
texturing.OPPOSITE: This
bottom view of the
STR 9 shows the
three rail slots in
the dust cover and
the serial number
plate in the same
location as that of a
Glock 17.to be closer to $350 for the STR-9 and
$499 for the Glock 17.INSIDE THE STR-9
Stoeger describes the STR-9’s frame as
being manufactured using a fi berglass
reinforced technopolymer. As with
most of its competitor’s pistols, the
rails are made of steel and are molded
into the technopolymer frame.For those folks who are familiar with
the inner-workings of a Gen3 or Gen4
Glock 17, those of the SRT-9 will look
extremely familiar. With the exception
of the extractor, most of the internal
parts in the STR-9’s slide and frame
appear to be virtually identical to
those of a Gen3/Gen4 Glock 17. Closer
scrutiny will show that they aren’tVelocityinfeetpersecondcalculatedusingaLabRadardevice.Groupsizesininches,averagesofthreefive-shotgroupsfiredat 25 yardsfromasandbagrest.SHOOTING RESULTS MC1SC
VELOCITY SM. GRP. AVG. GRP.
WINCHESTER “WHITE BOX” 115-GR. FMJ 1,111 2.11 2.53
BLACK HILLS 115-GR. TAC-XP +P 1,123 2.11 2.77
FEDERAL PREMIUM 124-GR. HST 1,115 2.74 3.09
BLACK HILLS 124-GR. JHP 1,120 2.72 3.10
FEDERAL SYNTECH DEFENSE 138-GR. 1,086 1.83 3.13
FEDERAL SYNTECH TRAINING MATCH 147-GR. 993 2.51 3.55
BLACK HILLS 125-GR. HONEYBADGER 990 2.80 3.64
HORNADY AMERICAN GUNNER 115-GR. XTP 1,092 3.12 3.70
HORNADY CUSTOM 147-GR. XTP 943 3.72 4.26
FEDERAL SYNTECH TRAINING MATCH 124-GR. 1,167 3.93 4.36
FEDERAL PREMIUM 147-GR. HST TACTICAL 994 4.44 4.75
HORNADY CRITICAL DUTY 135-GR. FLEXLOCK 994 3.73 4.8486 CONCEALED CARRY HANDGUNS FALL 2019