I've been reading about the Caracal, and have to say that I am serious considering buying one. It looks to have the lowest bore axis that I have seen since the HK P7. 18+1 capacity (a little more than my P7 ) is nice also. I have found a place to order one, but have yet to see one in the wild. I'd really like to play with one before buying. Does anyone have one yet?

I'm interested in this pistol as well. If you haven't seen it yet, MAC did a decent review of one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnpprZgirKs&feature=plcp

Thanks for the review. The rear sight is definitely going to hurt them, but at least it isn't the standard 3-dot set-up. I actually prefer the dot over dot, so I can live with not being able to change it for the time being. I've also read that the front sight is too wide for the rear notch. Can you widen the rear notch with a file to correct?

Rumor has it that they are going after a top shooter to use the Caracal (Edit: JJ Racaza is now shooting the Caracal in Production). If Caracal is looking to make a splash linto the competition shooting world, I would think that the aftermarket support would follow. We'll see.

I was an early adopter of the HS2000 sight unseen, and it turned out to be a mistake (for me). Do I risk it again...

Definately money to back the Caracal product.

I heard about the shooting team they are putting together, comming out
with a big name. I suppose the first question the shooters will have is:
Hey guys, can we do something about these sights?

Then we will have sights at our disposal.

Let us know how the Caracal is doing.

Ok. Having shot some rounds through it, I can give my initial impressions.

The grip was odd feeling at first. Not feels like a 2x4 at a weird angle odd, but it is fat at the front and tapers down to be much more narrow at the back of it. I got used to it pretty quickly. I would say the texture of the grip is a little more aggressive than that on my Glock.

Some pics of the grip:



The trigger pull is very smooth. I've owned S&W M&Ps and currently own a Glock 19, and out of those three I would say this is the best trigger out of them. The reset isn't as positive as the Glock, but better than the M&P. The dingus, or safety, on the trigger of the Caracal also seems to be much less noticeable when firing as compared to the Glock. Also, I've found with my Glock 19, that the trigger guard would rub at the knuckle of my middle finger of my firing hand. I am happy to report that this doesn't happen with the Caracal.

Pic of the trigger area:


I've seen people say how the bore axis on it is very low and they weren't lying. It is very easy to shoot this thing quickly as you can get your grip real high up on the gun. Very little muzzle flip and you get back on the front sight fast.

Here are a couple pics I took of me holding my Glock 19 on the left and the Caracal on the right, trying to show the difference in the heights.


Another feature of the Caracal is the cocking indicator on the rear of the slide. It sits flush with the back plate when the striker is cocked and ready to fire. What I like about it is when pulling the trigger the indicator comes out of the slide as the striker is pulled rearward. I started out shooting Sigs and when holstering them I would rest my thumb on the hammer so if in the unlikely event that something got caught in the trigger while holstering you would immediately feel the hammer being pulled back, giving you the chance to stop before possibly having an AD. The Caracal gives you that same ability.

Pic of the cocking indicator as the trigger is being pulled:


The slide catch lever protrudes very noticeably from the rest of the gun and it is very easy to operate. I usually just use the slingshot method of putting the slide back into battery after a reload, but with the position and ease of use of the slide catch, I've taken to just using it. For some though, this will be a negative as it is easy to bump the lever when firing causing the slide to lock back with rounds still in the mag or the slide not locking back after an empty mag. Coming from shooting a Glock, you will have to train yourself to slightly modify your grip so as not to hit the lever when you don't intend to. I use the same grip as when I shot Sigs.

Pics of the slide catch:


The magazines that it uses are steel and the finish seems very similar to the one used on M&P mags. They use a metal tab that sticks out of the mag to engage the mag catch. Some have questioned the durability of such a setup, but I haven't put anywhere near the use on it to even address that. I've also read someone that said you will cut your finger while doing reloads. Now you could do that, I guess, if you keep your finger pressed against the mag as you insert it into the pistol. I haven't found that to be the case as I index my finger at the bullet tip, locate the mag at the mag well and my finger moves as I slam the mag home.

Pic of the mag nub:



There is a lot to like about the Caracal. If you want a Glock-like pistol without the negatives that come with a Glock (for me it was ergonmics), the Caracal is a good choice.

Now, my original plan when buying the Caracal was to put 200 rounds through it and then clean it and start the 2000 round challenge. I was unable to do this because of the biggest gripe I have about MY pistol. It will sometimes eject brass straight back into my face. It did this pretty frequently in the first 200 rounds I put through it, so I decided to shoot it some more to see if it would break in and stop throwing the brass into my face. I'm at 650 rounds fired and although it does it less frequently now, it still does it. I've E-mailed Caracal USA and I didn't get a response back, so I called them today to see if I could get a RMA and see if they would do work under warranty. I got transferred to their gunsmith, who was apparently out because I got sent to voicemail, and I left him a message. Hopefully I get a return call sometime soon.

I hope I can get the brass ejection issue worked out, as I really like the pistol and want to get on with doing the 2000 round challenge with it. I've already got the ammo I am going to use and everything.

Thanks for the great review. How does the grip angle compare to the Glock? Glocks have never pointed naturally for me; I'm worried that the Caracal will be similar.

Very interested in this gun, but can't find one anywhere to fondle. Their website lacks some. It doesn't even show the C, which is what I'm interested in.

How is the width compared to a G19 or HK P2000?

Woh! $399. It was $550 last time I checked. That certainly makes a difference...

Stevemc, Suprised to hear about brass being thrown into the face. Mine
seems to shoot them out to the 4 oclock range every time, one brass
streak on the slide port. None of my other pistols are this consistent.

Looking at the pictures of the SC on their website now. Whats the deal with the rear sight channel?

I do like the forward serrations. But did you notice the rear sight?

Edit: just saw the SCs reported thickness is 0.9 inch with a 4.4 inch height and 13+1 capacity. Looks like I will be waiting for it to come out.

I finally saw the elusive Caracal in the wild yesterday (at a gun show). I love it. My biggest concern was that the grip angle would be wrong for me since the pistol shares a lineage with Glocks and Steyr, but I was happy to find that the pistol pointed naturally for me. The grip felt good in my hand which is another plus since their isn't changeable backstraps. The last area of concern was the sights since the rear isn't changeable. I really like the Heinie Straight 8 sights, so I figured that I would like the ones on the Caracal. They are OK; I can live with them. I think that the rear dot is too large, the sights are too low, and the rear notch is too narrow. I can always widen the notch with a file and posibly fill in the dot with paint if it proves to be a problem. Definitely not a deal breaker though. Overall, I was very impressed with the pistol. I didn't have the cash to swing the deal yesterday, but there is another show in a few weeks that the same vendor will be at. I'll be picking one up then.