I've been looking at the Steyr M9-A1 and L9-A1 pistols and wanted to get some opinions from anyone that owns either. I know they've had some reliability issues in the past, both factory and aftermarket parts are almost non-existent and Steyr doesn't do the greatest  job when it comes to marketing or importing them. I just want to know if current owners are pleased with their newer ones and just give me some pros and cons of them.

I have both a late model M9 and an M9-A1 (which are almost indistinguishable from each other except for the markings).

It (they) is (are) one of the most comfortable guns in the hand of any that I've ever tried (and I've tried a lot).  As many have mentioned in other places, the high placement of the web of your hand on the grip means that there is appreciably less muzzle flip than most other guns of the same type.  The only grip that I find to be more comfortable than the M9-A1 is the Beretta Cougar 8000F.

In addition, currently CDNN has the 15rd 9x19mm M9-A1 mags available for cheaper than the mags of most other double-stack 9mms...

You can also find night sights available, advertised on Amazon (of all places to find hard-to-find night sights).

Forrest

I had both the older M9 and a S9-A1.

My only complaint was that both had a bad habit of hitting me in the head with an empty case at least once a magazine.
The S9A1 was largely cured by removing the tip from the loaded chamber indicator.

I have the s9a1, great little gun. I have 500 rounds through it with no hiccups. I owned the original M40 before this and sold it because i didn't like the cartridge.

It fits my hand perfect, and i really like the factory sights.

Make sure you get one with the roll pin under the rear sight, it is supposed to help the trigger pull.

Also the holsters for one of the xdm's fit the steyr perfectly.

also, hicok45 did a review of the m9a1

mine are gtg

I bought an m9a1 last week, the dealer had 3 sizes in stock.  
I went ahead and made a kydex holster with the RTI wheel attachments and one for concealed carry.

The gun feels great in the hand, I do love the ergonomic feel (slide stop and magazine release feel very well placed, the lower portion of the grip is reduced which seem to act as a secondary way to help grab a jammed magazine) and the trigger is great, but reset is not tactile and only a quiet click
Not sure if I like the pyramid sights yet, they feel good just playing around at the house doing quick sighting drills. The sight picture seems fast to acquire for quick shots, but I did not draw from a holster as I was at an indoor range. I usually use black/black sights on glocks, and I found when I was trying so slow aimed shots, I had to second guess where my focus should be. To keep the pyramid framed, I had to look at the sights more than I usually do. But I anticipate that will change with more shooting and getting confident in the sight alignment on target.
I usually shoot outdoors on paper/steel; so I felt my quickie range trip was not a valuable comparison.
I shot a few mags of my reloads thru it and it functions fine, but I didn't not seem to be as accurate at the back of the range as I would have expected. (I blame myself for this one)
I did feel like the gun lacks a bit of texture, granted I had the dry winter hands going....but I felt like my support hand was not able to grasp as firmly as I like; I went and put grip tape on the needed spots when I got home from the range.

Overall, I like it a lot so far; one of those guns that just feels good in the hands and great trigger.

It's a great gun for women. The grip is tiny and the trigger is easy to pull with no creep. Recoil is nil, and limp-wristing seems not an issue. I'm thinking of getting myself a new one so I can give my CDNN one to my Mom.

There's just one thing I hate about mine- the trigger is not consistent. Every once in a while you'll get a crunchy feeling pull. I already polished the crap out of my gun. I might order those delrin striker spring cups to see if that smooths it out. New guns aren't supposed to have that issue.

Customer support from Steyr has vastly improved, and they have parts available, and take care of issues quickly.  I have an L9, and put a lot of rounds down range with an M9, no issues with either.  If SAI would do more marketing, they would take quite a bit of market share away from the other manufacturers, and after market parts would be available.  My 16 year old loves my L9, and tried to claim it as his own.

The grip on my older Steyrs (m9 and m40) is the smallest I've ever encountered.

If you have small hands or know someone who does, take a look at these.

I picked up a Steyr L9-A1 at a shop yesterday.
It was used, and I got it for $459+ tax.  
Look's like it's only had 1 box of ammo through it.
Shop said the previous owner just bought it a few weeks prior, but lost his job recently, so he sold it back to the shop.
Can't wait to shoot it!

love my M9A1 getting L9A1 in near future!

I picked up a new 9mm C9-A1 about 7 weeks ago and it is now been at Steyr's repair facility for 6 weeks. I emailed about the status this week, as it was only suppose to be a 3-4 week turnaround, and they haven't even started the repairs due to a faulty piece of equipment.

Oh well, I guess I will stick with my Glocks.

Thanks for all of the replies.

I took a nephew out shooting with my M9A1 and he was trying it left handed since he's left eye dominant.  He was so focused on the sights and trigger that he didn't realize that he was limp-wristing it.  It jammed at least twice as a result before I realized what he was doing wrong and told him to hold his wrist and hand more firm.

It's a great gun, but limp-wristing can still be an issue for the Steyr M9A1.

I have relatively short fingers, and the grip of the M9 really is a good one.

Picked up an S9-A1 last month, and love it.   Put 330 rounds through it across 4 different Steyr magazines.  It ate PMP, Sellier & Bellot, Remington Golden Sabers, Federal Classic Hi-Shoks, Federal Hydra-Shoks and Speer Gold Dots without any complaints. The Golden Sabers had too much flash, so the Gold Dots became my carry choice.  The Gold Dots also seem to have a more solid recoil, and less muzzle flip.  I have smaller hands, and it's one of the very few double stack magazine handguns that fit me well.

Now it's time to go look for a M357-A1.

MAJOR,

Didn't you sell yours a few months ago?


I bought a brand-new L9-A1 off of GB.  Absolutely love it.  The trigger is nice and crisp, especially for a striker-pistol.  The look and finish are very nice.  I love shooting it, and as many have said, it just points naturally and shoots well in the hand.

I don't know why they aren't talked about more here honestly.

I've thought about doing the reverse, but from what I'm reading, maybe I should be looking a a C9?  Have you looked at these.  The full grip of an L9/M9 with the barrel length of an S9, kinda like the Glock 19.

I picked up a new M9 last week during the open house event at Steyr.  Put three hundred + rounds through it and didn't have any issues what so ever.  Loved everything about it especially grip and trigger.  Sites take some getting used to but I started adjusting after a bit.

Yes, I sold mine as soon as it came back from Steyr. It took them almost two months to replace the sticker and spring as listed on the repair order. I found out from another Steyr employee after I sold it that the barrel had been replaced. That wasn't on the repair order and the one they replaced it with looked as if it had more wear.


They aren't a very high demand pistol due to lack of proper marketing and limited supply. There's more talk of them on the Steyr forums, That's where I found others that were having the same issues I was having.

After I bought mine, I joined the Steyr forum too.  Not a lot of regular discussion there though.

I've had my M9-A1 for several years; actually bought it used.  Never had an issue with it and the trigger is the shortest reset I've had...very fast shooter.  The stock sights take some time to get use to, but they're standard cuts and can be switched out if desired.  

The only downside is Steyr sucks at marketing in the US.  Their website is okay and I've had quick responses, but fortunately I've never had to test their customer service.  The railed versions are blockier than Glocks, but I do like the grip angle and ergo feel of the Steyr.  



ROCK6

S9 vs Glock 30

I just got my M9-A1 here about a week or two ago.  At first, I had 6 failures to extract and/or eject in the first 200 rounds.  The majority of these rounds were WWB 115 grain ammo from Wal-Mart and the majority of the stoppages were earlier on and tapered off as firing went.  Firing hotter 124 grain USGI M882 ammo and even now going back to the cheap blasting WWB, steel cased Wolf and S&B ammo now, she's got no problems so I attribute this to a break in period it was going through.  
Really though, I like it, even if it is a 9mm (yeah, that's a .45 guy talking! LOL).  It's a very comfortable gun to shoot and while they were pretty strange at first, I 'm really growing fond of those sights!  The low bore axis and great trigger make it for a fast shooting gun and if you have small hands, it's really up your alley.  The grip angle does take some getting used to but that's a training and muscle memory issue more than anything else.  I know some folks will gripe about the lock (not like I will ever use it anyways) and others will complain that it's not as simple to take apart as a Glock but seriously, how mechanically inept do you have to be to figure it out and I can't say I've ever heard of "speed stripping" being that critical.

My friend has one in 357 sig I really like the gun if it was a 9mm I'd own it.

traded for a gen3 M9-A1, zero complaints. great sights & trigger right out of the box, really impressed with the ergonomics + build quality.

I agreed to purchase a like new M40-a1 recently. After handling one at a show I'm anxious to shoot one for myself, they've always intrigued me since I first saw them. I'm slightly worried about the extractor issues I've read about in the later 2000's model but I suppose I wont know until I try. It seems like most people who buy them love em, so we'll see...

Hope you've had a chance to get your Steyr to the range.  I bought an S40-A1 in November and have shot it a good bit. Most amazing out of the box trigger.

On the extractor issue, StyerClub.com is a great resource for all things Steyr.  I believe that the problem was found to affect just a few hundred pistols and the serial numbers are know to Steyr.  

You can contact Jeff Reece at Steyr Arms in Alabama - [email protected] - he should be able to tell you if your gun is affected.  Jeff is well-known on the forum as a great ambassador of the brand.  Great customer service make owning a lesser known marque more comforting.

Also found that Galco makes a beautiful leather OWB holster.   For a few $.

Cheers.

Chef

Here's an update.  While my M9-A1 was coming out of the problems I had during the initial break in period, I decided to add a little insurance by installing a 1911 plunger spring inside the extractor spring to add a little extra tension on the casing under the extractor.  A quick order to Midway for a new 1911 plunger spring arrived in a few days and after watching the videos on how to get the extractor out, I had cut down the plunger spring and installed it although it did take a bit more effort to get the extractor back in due to the additional spring tension.  Now it might have been that it was through with the break in period but ever since the addition of the extra spring, I haven't had a problem with its function even at the cold winter time temps we get here in ND.  Of course as they say, this post is worthless without pictures so here's a couple.





Blade Tech makes a pretty good duty/range holster for this pistol and until I am 100% satisfied with it's reliability (give it about another 1,000 rounds) it will remain a range gun and after it passes that test, another Blade Tech open top holster is what I plan on getting for CCW use.



Now I love the G-Code RTI holsters but they don't have one for the Steyr.  However, they offer an adaptor for Blade Tech holsters to work with their mounting system.  However, they are made with the open top holsters in mind and the hood from the Blade Tech holster gets in the way.  However, a few longer screws and some spacers leave it working with the G-Code wheel with no problems at all.  NOT something for CCW duty but for range use, I really like this setup.

I had multiple failure to extract with my M357A1 until I installed the 1911 plunger spring.  Since then I've put 400 trouble free rounds through it.  That seems to be the fix.

I really love this pistol.  Great trigger, ergonomical grip and low bore axis.  The only downside to these pistols are the magwell is kinda tight/small and ill suited for speed reloads not that it can't be done but it will take more practice than with other pistols.  Also aftermarket gear for the pistol like holsters and sights are kinda slim pickings.  Especially sights.  The trapezoid sights are ok but I really want to try something more traditional with a fiber optic yet none exist.  Trijicon does make night sights for them though.  Hopefully as they become more popular companies will start to make products for them.

There are some M9's @ SOG that have 3 dot sights and they are $400. I think they are Gen 3 because the picture shows that there is no roll pin under the rear sight. Maybe the cuts of the front sight are the same as a common cut?

Edit: I do understand those and the trap sights probably use the same dovetail cut but there could be a chance that they do not.

I have a Gen 1 M40-A1 that I picked up used in 2005, an L9-A1 that was picked up new in 2014 and an M357-A1 picked up last summer.  All are superbly accurate for a service weapon, comfortable to shoot and very reliable.  

My only gripe is with the old M40-A1, it's loaded chamber indicator scars the crown of the brass during cycling; I don't get many reload cycles based upon the advanced wear.  I've put thousands through the M40 with only two 'stove pipes' to my recollection, both were an experimental handload.  The 357 had one problem with a factory new cartridge that wouldn't go into battery on the first box of ammo, but several hundred later it's never missed a beat.  L9 has been flawless.