optic cut

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Derya DY9 Island

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Derya DY9 Island

Review

  Derya Arms established manufacturing operations in Jacksonville, Florida. While the company has its origins in Turkey, the DY9 models are now produced in the U.S. to support the American market, though some components or older versions are still made in the home country. The Jacksonville facility has been dedicated for manufacturing of the DY9 and DY9 Island.

  Now that we have where the Derya is made, let’s talk about what it is. The DY9 is a Glock Gen 3 clone of the G19. Before we all say it’s just another clone, let’s take a look at some of its features.

  • It is a striker fired 9mm

  • Factory 10 or 15 round magazines 

  • 1.81 pounds 

  • Barrel length 3.86”

  • Overall length 6.9”

  • Height 4.56”

  • Width 1.16”

  • Direct mount optic for RMR footprint 

  • Truglo green sights 

  Now that the specs are out of the way, we see it is a Gen 3 Glock clone with a few features right off the bat that are better. This includes the optic mounting and better sights than a standard Glock. It has numerous deep cut outs on the sides of the slide that make gripping it very easy, with bare hands or gloves. It has straight horizontal lines with some angled lines on the grip that appear to be part of the Derya logo on the grip panels. The backstrap and the front strap are basically the same way. It makes for a good feel in the hand. The grip angle is not listed anywhere on the internet as I could find. From shooting it myself it seems to have a unique angle that is not a Glock. It does come with 3 backstraps and 2 magazines that are Glock type but with their baseplate on it. It all came in a nice soft side carry case stuffed into an ammo can. I thought this was a nice touch. 

  Let's talk about how it shot, it shot like a Glock. Well that would definitely be a lie. The grip angle and texture makes shooting it second nature. It has the undercut already on the trigger guard so no Glock knuckle. I mounted a Primary Arms RS-10R red dot on it. Mounting was easy with supplied hardware. After sighting it at around the 7 yard mark, I started shooting for accuracy after getting used to the trigger. It is like a normal striker fired trigger. The weight was around 5lbs. This is where it all fell in place. The recoil was not like a 9mm at all. It was a lot milder, it did not have the flip or muzzle rise of a normal firearm of the size. So what kind of witchcraft are they using? 

  It's an island barrel system. This is seen mainly on high end 2011’s or competition guns. It is a raised central section on the barrel that creates an island. Hence the name. The slide gets to move on more of the barrel’s surface. The barrel has ports in it that help with recoil and muzzle rise. It is meant to give faster recoil and faster cycling time, which improves accuracy. 

  I can’t tell you the exact percentage that it helped, but it was enough that it is noticeable. The slide runs smooth, the firearm sets nicely in the hand and it is a natural pointer. I do have two complaints about the pistol. One is that it is a bit wider than a Glock, so trying to find a holster to fit was not happening. I didn't want to take a heat gun to one of my good holsters just yet. I did find a paddle holster for it on Amazon. It is ok but I am not a paddle holster fan. The second is the mag well. It is stylish and the factory mags have an angled base pad on them to go with the angle of the well. Factory Glock mags and Magpul mags fit, but they will stick out some taking away from the lines of the pistol. Other than that I can not give it a bad review. If you are looking for an American made Glock Clone, that has all the bells and Whistles on it, then the Derya DY9 Island might be your gun. They do have the standard version that is not an island barrel system. You can buy it on the cheap and add the island system later on if you want. 

Firearms Insider Reviews - Key Points

Claim to Fame:

An affordable American made 9 mm pistol that has its roots in Turkey, it blends Glock 19 style ergonomics with an island compensated barrel for flatter shooting and less recoil.

Parts compatibility from other clones

A standard 1913 pic rail.

Target Market:

Those looking for a reliable and budget friendly compensated firearm.

Features, Benefits, and Specifications of this product:

  • Island Comp Barrel system

  • Caliber: 9MM

  • Sights: Truglo Green

  • Capacity: 10 or 15 rds

  • Grip Type: Polymer with changeable back straps

  • Weight: 1.81 lbs

  • Action Type: Striker Fired

  • Barrel Length: 3.86"

  • Finish: Black Melonite

  • Overall Length: 6.9"

  • Overall Width: 1.16"

  • MD Compliant: Yes

  • Overall Height: 4.56”

  • RMR direct mounting system

  • Smooth operation

  • Flat shooting

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Many different colors and finishes.

Link to other reviews:

Athlon Outdoors 

Price point:

MSRP = $599 

Retail = $499

I need it now! Availability:

BattleHawk Armory,  Classic firearms, or your local gun store

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Great shooting

  • Simple operation

  • Glock like 

Cons:

  • Holsters are hard to find

  • Angle of the mag well

Score: 8.00 Great 

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Tisas 1911 Duty B9R DS

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Tisas 1911 Double Stack (2011)

Review

  In the world of double stack 1911 style pistols, or 2011’s as some people call them, there are a ton to choose from. Their prices range anywhere from about $500 up to the $5000'nds. Tisas started making their 1911 double stacks a few years ago. These are value priced, 9mm 2011 style pistols that punch above their price range. Tisas has both a carry and full size version. Since I am not carrying a 2011 style pistol, I opted for the Tisas 1911 Duty B9R Double Stack, which is their full size 5” version.

  The first thing you notice, when you pull the Tisas 1911 DS out of the box, is all the upgrades it has. To start with, the B9R uses a standard style 2011 polymer grip frame with a rail. This means that it is compatible with most aftermarket grip frames available for 2011 style pistols, including metal frames. This frame has a built-in magazine well and some texture around the grip, as do most of these style frames. Being a 1911 style pistol, there is also a high ride, extended beavertail grip safety with a memory bump. Then there is the slightly extended, ambidextrous, thumb safety. This safety has fine lines on it for better grip. The hammer is a commander-ish style. Then there is an extended magazine release. But somehow, the mag release is not checkered or lined, which I did not care for. All of that is followed by a bull barrel and one piece guide rod. The B9R is also cut for a RMSc footprint optic. So as you can see, this pistol has a ton of upgrades already on it.

  Now that we have the base features out of the way, I will get into them a little deeper starting with the slide. The slide on the Tisas B9R resembles any 1911 slide. It has a curved top reminiscent of old school 1911’s. But that is where it stops. Everything else is new school. Tisas put front and rear, angled, cocking serrations on it. These serrations are really nice and grippy so you will have no problems racking the slide. The muzzle end is cut slightly narrower, mainly for looks, because I can’t see any other reason for it. Sitting on top of the slide is a nice set of iron sights. The front is fiber optic and the rear is blackout serrated. The sight picture is nice. Then Tisas cuts the slide for an RMSc style optic. This cut is deep, so much so that the factory iron sights will co-witness with the optic of your choice. 

  The Tisas’ 2011 style frame is nice. Yes, it has a few minor setbacks, but not everything can be perfect in a $800 2011 ish pistol. The only real setback I found is the smoothness of the grip. The texture Tisas uses is a little lacking. I’m not carrying the B9R next to my skin, so give me some more texture. Even the front and rear checkering needs to be deeper. Tisas does offer a “Coarse” grip module, which I may be checking out. The only other disappointment in the B9R’s frame is the non textured magazine release. Please add some texture. The grip also has a small magazine well built into it. It works well enough, but if you are using the B9R for competition, you may want to add a larger one. Everything else on the grip is great. The Tisas has a rail for lights. Both safeties, the grip and the ambidextrous thumb safety, are nice. The grip safety has a memory bump to help always depress it. The thumb safety has a nice texture and size to it. The B9R also has a squared trigger guard similar to most 2011 style frames. 

  Since the Tisas B9R is a 1911 style pistol, we have to talk about the trigger. Tisas uses a flat style trigger on the B9R. It appears to be around “medium” length which works well for this pistol. The trigger broke around 5.5 pounds when I first received the B9R. It has a little take up, maybe 0.100 inch maximum. Then it breaks clean with a little bit of over-travel. It is definitely everything a typical 1911 trigger is. After some use, the trigger breaks about 5 pounds now. The trigger is non-adjustable. For a base model 2011 style pistol, the trigger is better than I expected. 

  The Tisas Duty B9R DS uses industry standard magazines. Any 2011 pattern magazine will work. Anything from the cheaper $25 magazines, up to the elite $100 ones, they all work. The B9R comes with 2 high quality, flush fit, 17 round magazines. I have used a bunch of different magazines, including some 26 round ones. All have run flawlessly in the B9R.

  I found the Tisas 1911 DS to be quite accurate. Okay, I didn’t put it in a rest at 25 yards, but I can consistently hit the headbox of a USPSA target at that range. At 7 yards I can get a 1”, 10 shot, round ragged hole. This accuracy has to be from the fact that Tisas uses a bushingless bull barrel in the B9R. They also use a 1 piece guide rod. Of course, the guide rod does make disassembly of the B9R a little more complicated, but nothing terrible. I was pleasantly surprised at how accurate the Tisas was out of the box.

  Here are some of my thoughts on the Tisas B9R. It is great for the price point it is at. I got great accuracy from the factory bull barrel. It uses standard 2011 pattern magazines, which all worked flawlessly. I have had zero malfunctions in the 956 rounds I have shot through it. That was using about 7 different brands and weights of 9mm ammunition. Are there things that bother me? Yes. The iron sight cuts use 2 different styles. The rear is a Glock style dovetail, but the front is a Tisas dovetail. So good luck getting aftermarket iron sights that work together. But since I expect that most people will put an optic on it, and it is cut for a Holosun K / RMSc footprint, this doesn’t matter too much. I did like the iron sight picture, it gave me light on both sides of the post as opposed to other sight pictures that basically give you no light on the sides of the post. I ended up mounting an Aimwin PE330 red dot on it. Originally I had one of the Primary Arms Classic series on it, but the PE330 came in and has a larger window. Speaking of optics, I was informed, by a friend, that if you use one of the super large window optics like the Gideon Judge XL, you will need a small riser plate so that the optics window doesn’t hit the top of the slide. SDS Arms has this spacer, but it is not listed on their website. I was impressed with how well the B9R felt while shooting it. It is not as smooth as a $2500 2011. But, after about the first 200 rounds, the slide smoothed up nicely and still has a fairly tight slide to frame fit. Probably my most favorite aspect of the Tisas B9R is that it has aftermarket parts compatibility with most 2011 style pistols. So if you want to upgrade the trigger, or that non-textured mag release, you can.

  The Tisas B9R has proved itself to be a fantastic pistol. With all its extras and the way it performs, you can’t go wrong. If you are looking at getting into the double stack 1911 game, I don’t think you can go wrong with the Tisas Duty B9R DS. It performed fantastic for me, with great accuracy and function, all at a great price. Definitely go look at the Tisas firearms and see what you think. They used to be imported by SDS Arms and Tisas’ are made in Turkey, but don’t let that scare you away from a great pistol.

Firearms Insider Reviews - Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Value priced 2011 style firearm that uses machined parts, 2011 style magazines, has a bull barrel, and is optics ready

Target Market:

Those wanting a 1911 double stack that doesn’t cost a fortune, but still has tons of features

Features, Benefits, and Specifications of this product:

  • Forged Steel Frame & Slide

  • Polymer grip

  • 70 Series + Colt/STI® 2011 Compatible

  • Target‑Crowned Bull Barrel

  • Skeletonized Hammer & Trigger

  • Optic‑Ready Co‑Witness Sights

  • Caliber: 9MM

  • Frame/Receiver - Slide Finish: Cerakote

  • Sights: Fixed - Black Rear - White Dot Front

  • Optics Ready/Cut: Holosun K - RMSc

  • Capacity (2 Included Mags): 17 + 1

  • Barrel Length: 5"

  • Barrel Finish: QPQ Tenifer

  • OAL: 8.6"

  • Height: 5.7"

  • Width: 1.5"

  • Weight: 32.5 oz unloaded

  • Safety: Ambidextrous thumb & grip safeties

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Carry Version     

What others are saying?:

5 out of 5 Stars at Battle Hawk Armory   

Benjamin A.

Fantastic Budget "2011" So far this has been a great purchase for the price. Currently at 750 rounds 100% flawless

Link to other reviews:

The Truth About Guns  

Price point:

MSRP = $879.88

Retail = $650 - $750

I need it now! Availability:

Battle Hawk Armory, Guns.com, Primary Arms, or your local dealer

Our Rating: 

Pros:

  • Price

  • Uses 2011 parts and magazines

  • Shoots fantastic

  • Optics ready

  • Bull barrel

  • Light rail

  • Decent trigger

  • Ambi safety

Cons:

  • Grip needs more texture

  • Smooth magazine release

  • Hard to disassemble 

Score: 8.50 Great

Favorite Link:  AimWin PE320 Review 

Zaffiri Precision P320 Compact Slide and Barrel

  Zaffiri Precision is well known for making aftermarket slides. Starting out with Glock parts and slides, they have moved into doing Sig accessories as well. This includes their Sig P320 Compact slide and barrels. 

  As mentioned, the Zaffiri slide I received was for the Sig P320 compact. This slide would also be great for anyone building a P320 compact off of the Sig P320 FCU. Zaffiri also sent along one of their threaded and non-threaded barrels, more later on the barrels. I was looking for a compact slide so that I could run it on the Strike Industries modular 320 chassis with some accessories that needed a compact slide. I also installed it on a standard P320 compact grip module to see how it performed as a standalone slide.

  The Zaffiri ZPS.2 P320c slide is very nice. You’ll notice that the slide is lightened with, what I like to call, the Zaffiri slide cuts. These slide cuts consist of some small rectangle windows on the side and some angled smaller cuts on the top. It makes for a nice look. Then, as per any slide, there are some rear cocking serrations. A big feature about these slides is that they are cut for an RMR footprint. The slide has bosses to rest the optic on, as opposed to just screw holes. Zaffiri also supplies screws that they say to use for optic mounting. A cover plate comes installed on the slide, in case you don’t want to mount an optic.

  Zaffiri Precision has 4 standard color options for the ZPS.2 P320c slides. They are: FDE, OD green, Sniper grey, and Armor black, which is the one that was sent to me. In the custom line of P320 slides you have a vast selection of colors and patterns. Camo colors only add around an extra $90, total, over the standard 4 colors. The Armor Black is beautiful, probably a testament to the applicators. It’s smooth and didn’t even chip or wear off when installing the iron sights. The top notch machining used to produce these slides, also aids in the fact that the coatings look so good.

  Now let us discuss the Zaffiri Precision P320 compact 9mm barrels. Zaffiri actually sent me both a threaded and non-threaded (Flush and Crowned) barrel. The flush fit was needed for the Strike Modular Chassis, and the threaded is for future add-ons. Both came in a black nitride coating. SS, TiN, and Spectrum are also available. All the Zaffiri barrels have a swirl pattern on the outside. The threaded barrel comes with a thread protector and is threaded ½-28. Both barrels have conventional rifling and a polished chamber and bore. One can definitely tell that the bore and rifling is polished when looking through the barrels. From shooting both of these, they appear to be very accurate. Or at least better than my shooting ability.

  This Zaffiri slide and both barrels performed flawlessly. Both in the Strike Chassis and in a standard grip module. The P320 slide has way more time in the Strike chassis with the standard flush fit barrel. But this doesn’t take away that it works nicely in a grip module. In the Strike chassis, I used it without a slide mounted red dot. When in the 320 grip frame, I mounted up a Swampfox Liberty green dot. The slide functioned great with or without the optic. Lock up with the barrel is super tight. Slide to frame fit is not sloppy. Essentially, in both applications, the performance was good. Plus, the slide and barrel look good, which we all know that looking good is key. 

  If you are in the market for some aftermarket Sig P320 stuff, Zaffiri Precision has what you need. The ZPS.2 P320c slide and barrels are really well machined and just beautiful to look at. But that’s not all, they perform well too. So if you are building out a P320 compact, or just upgrading the one you have, I would recommend that you check out the stuff from Zaffiri Precision.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Compact Sig P320 slide with RMR footprint optic cut

Target Market:

Anyone building or upgrading their P320

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

Slide:

  • 17-4 Stainless Steel

  • Black anodized cover plate

  • Supplied optic mounting screws

  • RMR optic footprint cut

  • Tighter tolerances

  • Made in USA

Barrels:

  • Fit: SigSauer® P320 Compact compatible – Drop in fit – 9mm

  • Twist: 1:10

  • 416R Stainless Steel

  • Stress relieved and heat treated to RC 40-42

  • Target crown and oversized lock up area.

  • Fully supported chamber (SAMMI spec) and improved feed ramp design

  • Conventional rifling with a polished chamber and bore to perform well with lead, plated and jacketed bullets

  • Finish Options: Stainless Steel, Black, Titanium Nitride TiN (Gold)

  • Large “ZP” Logo machined on the Port Side of the lockup.

  • Made in USA

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

FDE, OD Green, Sniper Grey. Custom cerakote colors are also available

What others are saying?:

Nothing found as of publishing

Link to other reviews:

Nothing found as of publishing

Price point:

MSRP:

Slide = $349.99

Barrel = $169.00 - $179.00

Retail = Same

I need it now! Availability:

Zaffiri Precision

Our Rating:

Pros:

Slide:

  • Tighter tolerances

  • Excellent machining

  • Custom options

  • RMR footprint cut

  • Made in USA

Barrel:

  • Polished chamber and bore

  • Coating options

  • Threaded barrel has thread protector

  • Made in USA

Cons:

  • Slide fit could be slightly tighter

  • Cover plate machining doesn’t match slide machining

Score: 9.00 Amazing

Favorite Link:  VIRIDIAN RFX 35 REVIEW  

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