Sterling Arms R9 MK1 Review: A Powerful new PC Carbine To Hit the Canadian Market

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Sterling Arm’s new R9 MK1 PC carbine is undeniable proof that the firearms industry, although under constant attack, is still alive, flourishing, and filled with remarkable Canadian innovation.

The R9 is sleek, tactical, and highly functional, making it the hottest rifle to hit the Canadian market this year.

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R9 MK1

RATING

SPECS

FEATURES

PRICE

IS THE STERLING ARMS R9 MK1 WORTH YOUR HARD-EARNED CASH?

The R9 MK1 is worth buying and spending your hard-earned cash on.

Sterling Arms International (SAI) has done a fantastic job of meeting the Canadian public where they’re at by bringing the cost of the R9 down from where the R18 was at $2700.00 to $1600.00.

They also managed this without sacrificing what SAI is known nationally for: superior quality.

OVERALL

Overall, the R9 MK1 is an extremely solid-functioning rifle. It fires great, runs and operates smoothly, and, best of all, it’s just a lot of fun. The R9 performs very well and is a great addition to anyone’s firearm collection.

Being chambered in 9mm and having an 18.5-inch barrel means there is very little recoil, making the R9 an extremely good platform for anyone to use and learn shooting basics on.

That being said, it is also an excellent platform for your experienced shooter to hone their skills.

The trigger has a smooth pull with a crisp break, making for a good, clean feel as you fire. The charging handle slams home smoothly and forcefully when the bolt catch is pressed.

Sterling Arms chose an ergonomic grip that feels great in the hand. The six-position stock allows you to easily adjust your length of pull.

That being said, there are a couple of design features that I believe could be improved: the shape of the paddle mag release and the placement of the button mag release.

Outside of those two issues, I had no other problems with the R9’s structure, design, and performance.

One thing I’ll continue to monitor with the R9 is how much of an ammo princess it is. Although it didn’t perform horribly with cheap bulk Remington ammo, stoppages were not uncommon.

They became less common when I stepped it up to a bit better, although still bulk ammo. So, I’ll continue to track that.

Ultimately, the R9 MK1 was a solid performer, a ton of fun, and should be in everyone’s home.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

When you first purchase your R9, it will be accompanied by a customized numbered trigger lock, one small tube of gun grease, and a single 5/10-round mag in the box.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

When I opened the box, as seen in the video below, my first thought was, “WOW.” At first glance, the R9 MK1 is an impressive-looking piece of hardware.

The handguard, the receiver set, and the stock are all rock solid, with no movement anywhere there shouldn’t be. The body is firm, the bolt is snappy, and the trigger is crisp.

The stock was initially a little hard to get on, but after a few attempts and a little gun grease, I had no problems.

The six-position sliding stock was stiff as I switched between the different positions. However, this quickly worked itself out as I slid it back and forth.

The side cocking handle is on the small side but is contoured nicely to the hand and moves efficiently and smoothly. The magnet holding the handle forward is incredible and a nice little touch.

I was pleased to see a push-button mag release on top of the paddle mag release, although I noticed the button was too far away for my right hand to reach.

The paddle mag release also had sharp edges, and when I played with the R9 for the first time in my unheated shed, pressing the paddle very quickly started to hurt my finger.

In the end, although I wasn’t a huge fan of several build aspects, the R9 was still extremely impressive.

It’s incredibly comfortable in the hands. The steel MP5 mags lock nicely into the mag well; there’s not an ounce of movement in the body, and the whole firearm feels high-quality.

HOW DOES IT HANDLE IN THE FIELD?

In general, it handled like a gem. It fires excellently, with minimal recoil, making it easy to track and stay on target.

The paddle mag release functions great, dropping the mags with no problem, and the slightly flared magwell makes mag changes easy and smooth.

It was a pretty cold day when I first went out, but with the military practice of applying lube, applying more, and then applying even more lube, the R9 never froze up or had trouble firing outside the cheaper ammo I was using.

I did run into some initial issues with my mags staying in the rifle due to the fact that the screw in the button mag release was quite loose, and the mag catch wouldn’t hold the magazines in.

This was odd, as this was my first time firing the R9. Eventually, when we discovered the issue, we were able to tighten the screw and keep firing.

Although from that point forward, we had to tighten the screw every couple of mag dumps.

Other than the screw issue and a few rounds not ejecting correctly, which could have been related, the R9 ran like a dream.

QUALITY AND DESIGN

BARREL AND MUZZLE BREAK

The R9’s barrel is 18’5 inches long and made from SAE 4140 steel, which gives it great wear resistance, toughness, and abrasion and impact resistance.

The interesting aspect of the R9’s barrel, and a trait that really shows the ingenuity of the Sterling Arms team, is the last 6.5 inches.

The last 6.5 inches have been slightly widened and back-bored, making it essentially a thin, smooth, hollow tube similar to that of a shotgun. Slots cut out of the front provide an integrated flash suppressor.

So why did Sterling Arms do this? And why is it so ingenious?

Well, for a couple of reasons.

The slots were cut to lighten the end of the barrel and naturally create a flash suppressor. However, the two main reasons were legal purposes and performance.

One, to keep the R9 unrestricted in Canada, it needed an 18’5-inch barrel made of one solid piece of steel.

Two, to maximize the efficiency of 9mm ammo. In general, the powder of a 9mm round is burnt up between 9-12 inches and a 9mm reaches max velocity between 10-12 inches.

So, any material touching the round after 10-12 inches is more likely to slow it down than continue to increase its velocity.

This innovative design ensures the R9 delivers the absolute max performance a PCC can give.

HANDGUARD

The hand guard is made from 7075 T6 aluminum, an extremely durable, abrasion-resistant metal that is comparable to steel in strength.

Sterling Arms’ choice of 7075 allows them to make the material much thinner while still maintaining strength and losing weight on the front half of the gun.

The hand guard has a full-length integrated Picatinny rail on top and MLOK the entire way around.

Customization is key to a solid rifle platform, as a person’s rifle setup is as much a representation of their individuality as their clothes are.

SAI has ensured that you can place what you want, where you want, on the R9 handguard.

I am also a huge fan of the handguard’s shape. Many traditional AR-15 style handguards are circular.

For the R9, Sterling Arms chose a more oval-shaped hand guard than a circular one. I find this provides a much more comfortable and secure grip on the rifle.

RECEIVER SET

Like the handguard, the upper and lower receivers are made from 7075 T6 aluminum, which makes them very strong, durable, and lightweight.

The upper and lower receivers are generally well-designed yet pretty standard in form and function. They contain the ejection port, mag releases, safety selector switch, mag well, and trigger group.

SAFETY SELECTOR

The safety selector switch functions perfectly. It switches between safe and semi-automatic easily and with an excellent snap.

It’s a good size that maintains the sleekness of the rifle while still being easy to use.

The safety selector is ambidextrous, although not at the same time. There is a small screw in the center of the switch, as seen below, which can be removed, and the switch can be placed on either the right or left side of the firearm.

MAGAZINE RELEASE

Sterling Arms gave the R9 dual mag releases: an ambidextrous paddle mag release right in front of the trigger guard and a standard push-button mag release on the right side of the gun.

Both mag releases function well, allowing the mag to fall free of the rifle when depressed.

The button mag release, however, is too far away from the grip and can not be reached by your firing hand while maintaining your grip on the handle.

Relegating you to having to use the paddle mag release.

The button mag release has a screw in the center of it that needs to be checked and have lock tight applied to it.

This screw holds the mag release and mag catch securely together, so if the screw comes loose, magazines are not securely held in and can fall out.

TRIGGER

The R9 has a standard yet solid mil-spec trigger. It offers minimal creep, good take-up, and an excellent crisp break. I had no problem using it and maintaining solid hits within fifty feet.

Being mil-spec, the R9 trigger has a general pull weight of about five-eight pounds.

This is perfectly acceptable for standard plinking, but a much lighter trigger is required for anyone looking to use the R9 for precision shooting and competitions.

CHARGING HANDLE

The charging handle on the R9 is non-reciprocating and side-mounted. Its shape is comfortable and ergonomic. When pulled back, it feels nice in the hand, never creating discomfort.

A strong magnet holds the handle forward while firing. It’s very effective, as I have not had the handle come dislodged once.

GRIP

Sterling Arms chose an excellent grip for the R9. It’s ergonomic, so it sits nicely in the hand and feels good and secure.

Although arguably a less critical aspect of the gun. When you see the thought and detail in the more minor things, I would say that it speaks to the quality of the more essential things.

I was very pleased to see that SAI didn’t go with a standard blocky grip.

BUTT STOCK

Sterling Arms went with a Magpul six-position, buffer tube style, adjustable butt stock. Overall, it’s comfortable, functions well, and looks good.

The excellent part about the rear of the R9 is the Picatinny rail SAI put on it. This allows you to swap your stock with any other Picatinny interchangeable stock.

And, as I said before, customization is key.

MAGAZINES

Sterling Arms’ choice to use MP5 mags over Glock mags has everyone excited. The steel MP5 mags are stronger and more durable and will last a much longer time.

The R9 and its magazines have two crucial and solid aspects. First, the R9 can accept any MP5 magazine, so you are not restricted to a proprietary magazine.

Second, Sterling Arms produces its own MP5 mags with a last-round bolt hold open. So, although you can use any MP5 mag, SAI’s mags are a step up from the rest.

WHAT I LIKE BEST

FIT AND FEEL

Hands down, my favourite aspect of the R9 is its general feel and fireability.

The R9 feels excellent in your hands and on your shoulder. It’s not heavy, and there’s nothing awkward about it. Yes, the mag change buttons aren’t my favorite, but in general, it’s great to use and just a ton of fun.

It flows nicely and functions smoothly, and if you put the effort in to become proficient with the paddle mag release or simply put on a button mag release extender and a lighter trigger, the R9 is a solid competition rifle.

The R9 has a long future ahead of it.

OVAL HAND GUARD

The oval hand guard I found just fit my hand extremely comfortably. As I said earlier, it allowed my hand to remain closer and tighter together, providing a much more stable grip.

The tighter grip was also less taxing on the hand after hours of shooting, making it easier to shoot for longer periods of time and remain comfortable in stance, which ensured increased performance over time.

CONCERNS AND CRITICISMS

BUTTON MAG RELEASE POSITION

I do not like that I can not functionally use the button mag release. Don’t get me wrong; it works well, but it is simply too far away for me to reach with my grip hand.

Since I can not reach the button with my right hand, I cannot conduct a speed mag change as easily or quickly while simultaneously grabbing and inserting a second mag with my left hand.

Now, maybe I am being a bit of a princess because, yes, with some practice, I could probably get just as speedy in my mag changes with the paddle mag release.

However, I would still argue that just because you can use different tools to do the same job, the job is always best done with the right tools, and the button mag release is the best tool for the job.

There is potential for a button mag release extender, and if I can find one that works, I’ll update the article.

PADDLE MAG RELEASE DESIGN

The paddle mag release works and functions exactly as it was designed, and it does it very well. However, the design of the paddle is where my concern is.

The outer edge is quite sharp and is uncomfortable on the first press and painful on the last press. The paddle design needs some engineering to make it a comfortable press while maintaining functionality.

I can give it some credit. If you choose to change mags and press the paddle with the same hand, as shown below, then your flat thumb on the paddle fits perfectly, and there is no issue.

CONCLUSION

Sterling Arms, maintaining its well-known and well-deserved reputation of producing Canadian firearms of the absolute highest quality, has done it again in the R9 MK1.

It’s extremely functional, highly reliable, customizable, economical, and hands down a ton of fun.

Even though there are a couple of aspects to the R9 that I believe could be adjusted to make it even better, the R9 is a prime example of Canadian Firearm prowess