Over the course of several days I have been able to add another 3000 rounds to the total count for the Caracal F. I started this process by giving the gun a thorough cleaning and another dousing with Frog Lube. I was making no attempts to monitor accuracy as this was strictly a function test.
Overall, the gun has been running incredibly well. Some have even said that they are quite surprised at how well the gun works. I chalk that up to a certain amount of brand snobbery and pre-judgement based on where the gun is manufactured. Once we got through all that nonsense things began to settle down with most shooters looking at this with an open mind. All five of the shooters I had helping me with this cycle of the testing said they will be buying one in the near future.
The standard comment from most people that picked up the gun is that the back-strap seems to come to a sharp hump and that it feels odd in their hand. After they shot the Caracal, that opinion seemed to change. I admit, I had the same problem at first. The gun just felt off in my hand during dry fire practice, but once I began shooting, I failed to notice it at all. Score another one for the adaptability of the human mind and hand.
These latest 3000 rounds consisted of 1000 rounds of Winchester 124gr NATO, 1000 rounds of Prvi Partizan 115gr FMJ and because I was feeling particularly cruel and had it sitting around, 1000 rounds of Wolf steel case 115gr FMJ. I fired each type separately from the others. I did not clean the gun during these 3000 rounds. I did allow it to cool every 250 rounds at which time I lubricated it using Frog Lube.
As expected, the 9mm NATO was a bit snappy, but the Caracal ate it up without a single issue.
I experienced absolutely no trouble at all with the gun with either the NATO or Prvi loads. The function was smooth and fast with no noticeable deterioration in slide velocity or extraction. Ejection was consistent and reliable. It wasn’t until I began shooting the Wolf ammo that things started to change.
1000 rounds of the Prvi Partizan was no problem at all with the Caracal running flawlessly for the full case.
After the first 250 rounds of the steel cased ammo the gun began to feel sluggish and the slide felt a bit sticky. I let it cool completely followed by the reapplication of the Frog Lube. after the next 57 rounds the Caracal began having extraction issues with the extractor jumping over the lip of the case and leaving the empty brass in the chamber. At this point, not wanting to blame it all on the gun or the ammunition, I field stripped the gun and scrubbed out the chamber, breach face and extractor using a copper brush and Hoppes powder solvent. I dried the gun, re-lubed it and put it back to the test. From this point on I noticed a marked improvement in the way the gun was running over all; especially in the consistency of the extraction and ejection processes. I included cleaning the chamber, breach face and extractor as part of the 250 round interval process.
The time spent with the Wolf Steel Cased ammunition was less than enjoyable and took a lot longer than expected due to the increased cleaning requirements for this ammunition.
In the end, I had 2000 round of brass cased ammunition with significantly different levels of chamber pressure run without any trouble at all. The steel cased ammunition, of infamous repute, yielded slightly less positive results with a total of 18 failures to extract between rounds 307 and 1000. I am not going to come right out and blame the ammunition for those issues. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
I will keep you updated as I add more rounds towards my goal of 10,000. I think there is some frangible in this gun’s future. I’m sure there won’t be any more steel cased Wolf ammo anytime soon.
Stay Safe & Keep Training!
Have you got used to the rear sight yet? I’ve been reading they kinda suck.
The rear sight is far less than optimal. It is integrated into the rear plate on the slide and that is all you get. I blacked out the white dots on the rear sight and that made it easier/faster to find the front sight. Unfortunately, this is not a great solution. If people can set aside the xenophobia stemming from where the gun is made, the rear sight is really the only thing holding this gun back.
I do not see it ever catching on in great numbers here in the US. The price point at $450+ is too close to that of both Glock and M&P pistols. Neither of which come with the alleged terrorist affiliation of the Caracal F. Too bad. It could be a great gun. For now, it is just a good gun that needs some redesign.
Too bad really. Its a neat little gun. I’ve been considering picking one up whenever the next shipment gets state side. And i learned the hard way not to talk about where its made.
What would you prefer the M&P or the Caracal?
The M&P all day long. It’s US made, of higher build quality, and tremendous aftermarket support for holsters, sights, parts, mags. Good luck finding any of that for the Caracal.
The M&P wins hands down when it comes tot he choosing between it and the Caracal F. For all the reasons Hilton stated as well as it is much more adaptable to the individual shooter.
The Caracal is a good second tier gun, but is not my first choice for anything serious. The only reason I have one is because it is the issue gun for a group that we train and I want to be able to fully understand what they have to work with on a daily basis.
Thanks to both of you for your comments and stop my looking for a Caracal and start for the M&P
As I approach 5k rounds through my own Caracal F it’s nice to see my results are not an anomaly. I especially appreciate the heads up on the Tula steel cased ammo! I’m at 950 rounds through my Caracal C and it’s been as reliable as the F and is now my edc.
When the recall/replacement is all through, I’ll have a local gunsmith open the rear sight notch 0.012″ or so. Caracal USA is offering to upgrade the front sights on replacement pistols to a red fiber optic for $29 I think I’ll give one of those a try as well.
I look forward to the next installment of this review.
I was just thinking about doing something like this if i could find a Caracal. This sounds like a really good idea. Black out the white dots with a fiber front sight. Although i was thinking about getting the sight cut into a U notch, Although i haven’t seen one up close to see if that is possible.
The dot is very close to the notch. In order to U notch the rear you would have remove the rear white dot, drill, tap, install a screw, file it flush,, and then mill the notch. IMO, a lot of effort for little upside.