Anyone here have shot both in competition? What is your takeaway, which one do you prefer shooting most? What upgrades have y'all done? I currently have the TP9 SFX which I just recently acquired from a fellow shooter. I just shot 2 local night matches with it and still getting the hang of the gun. So far I am loving it and I may need to concentrate more on getting a good reloaded ammo for it. Only upgrades the previous owner have done was installing a Galloway precision guide rod with 20# recoil spring and a FS trigger. I am planning on getting the tungsten rod with a 14# 1911 com recoil spring. With that said, the Rival just cool af, but if yall don't see any difference, besides the looks of course, then I'll just stick with my current setup. Thanks in advance.

I mentioned this before, no matter how good the new Caniks are, I can't imagine a more accurate, fast, fantastic trigger (FS, vs the merely great stock Canik trigger), that shoots everything (once you ruin the 100% reliable stock operation with tinkering and then finally get it back to 100% later - in my case with the W74 guide rod).

I really like the Elite/Mete slide release, but that is the only reason to upgrade. If you are a slide racker, even that reason goes out the window.

All that being said, I don't trust myself if they bring out an SFx Mete in tungsten...

I was shooting a TP9 SFx in USPSA CO, then I got a Rival SFx and shoot that now, in CO. The TP9 rides around in mag as a backup, in case my Rival ever breaks during a match.

I did all the same mods to both. Tungsten guide rod, changed all the springs, TF (Taylor Freelance) brass back strap, Talon granulate grips, FS trigger, TF mag release button, and TF brass +4 base pads on all the mags.

I definitely like the Rival better. The trigger is better. The ergos around the beavertail area are more comfortable.

I've shot both extensively in competition. Both are more than adequate to shoot at a GM level. The Rival is better for the ergonomics, specifically the little bit better magwell, the more grabby slide. But if you are relatively new to competition shooting and have an SFX in hand, just continue to use that and spend the money on practice ammo or a competition class with a top shooter. Remember if you buy the Rival you will need to spend more on the mods you already have on your SFX and on a new holster (the Rival factory holster is actually reasonably ok, but long terms you'd probably want a little bit better competition holster).

I shoot the SFX in competition, I do not have the Rival but have a METE SFT. The main consideration not yet mentioned here is the different slide locks. If your grip favors the "thumbs high" style that some instructors out there advocate, you will have last round lock back issues with the SFX. The SFX slide lock sticks out and is perfectly positioned right where my support hand thumb needs to go (I'm right handed). This is not an issue on the Rival and METE, it is way more flush (and ambidextrous to boot).

That being said, I have already spent money to have my SFX frame stippled, the beavertail recontoured (original beavertail gave me a callous on the lower thumb knuckle) and a double undercut with more stippling added to the trigger guard (way nice). I won't be getting rid of it anytime soon, but if and when it ever does wear out, I will transition to the Rival or its descendent. Bonus advice to my fellow Canik competitors: find a gunsmith that does good frame stippling - you will never go back to grip tape.

My gunsmith does excellent stippling. He did it on the custom 45 he built for me.

But, when I shoot my TP9 or Rival SFx, with Talon granulate grip tape, I don't miss the stippling. It has been pretty hot here over the summer. I've had some really sweaty hands at times when shooting. The Talon granulate just works. And it was only $20 per gun.

I feel like stippling is more of a Gucci/luxury thing.

I agree that Talon tape is the cheaper option, however I do not agree that anything that enhances your grip on the gun is a Gucci thing. My wife and I even use the liquid chalk that rock climbers use when we shoot in competition. Talon tape wears out in about a year for me and needs to be reapplied. It doesn't help that in the action pistol competitions we do, we have to put our pistols in a bucket of water sometimes. I also like to give my frame a bath in the ultrasonic cleaner once in a while, so grip tape is not an option for me in that case.

I might even say that getting an aggressive stippling job is better spent money than playing around with the gun's spring set-up, but I'm afraid I might get kicked off the forum!

Why do you have to put your pistol in a bucket of water?

BlasterRick2 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 12, 2022 6:19 pm I also like to give my frame a bath in the ultrasonic cleaner once in a while,....

How does this work out for you? I have a small ultrasonic cleaner and I keep thinking about doing it but I have "doing it for the first time reservations".

I clean brass and small parts in to all the time.

Not trying to hijack this post. Just a quick question. We can start a new thread if there's a lot to discuss on this topic.

I use a Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaner, which is big enough to do at least a couple frames with the grips sticking up. I also use the Lucas solvent (pricey, but smells like grape soda and doesn't stink up my garage). A couple of cycles with light scrubbing produces great results IMHO. The most annoying part is getting the solvent back out - I hang my frames to drip-dry, but am considering using compressed air to speed things up. I originally got the ultrasonic cleaner for my monolithic .22 suppressor, but now I use it for barrels, RSAs, and even slides (as long as they don't have a red dot or night sights). You might be able to do slides with an optic if you use a low enough solvent level to keep it high and dry, but I'm not that brave.

As for the previous question, the local pistol competition we shoot in is run by a particularly "imaginative" individual. You can expect about anything, and you will still be surprised. One stage, called "shooter's choice" involves either starting with your pistol field stripped on the ground in front of you, or fully assembled in a bucket of water. Everybody picks the bucket. There is another stage where you have to shoot prone in a half-filled kiddie pool. Refreshing on a hot day!

I dunk my parts, including frames with Talon grips, in Simple Green, give them a good swish, hit what I can with an old toothbrush, and move on (to stuff like a bore brush, etc.).

The bucket of water sounds fun. I like innovative stages. I figured that might be the case.

I shoot a Tp9 Sfx in IDPA, USPSA. I've looked at the rival and do think it is a little nicer. However, I undercut the trigger guard and rounded the the frame at the top of the backstrap. I also knocked the knobs off so a talon grip sticks better and lays flat.

Main advantage I saw was the slide stop.

13lbs recoil spring and 5.5lbs striker spring worke well for my 124grn reloads. They are about 1050fps. I really like RMR match winner bullets.

I have been shooting comp for awhile now and have shot pretty much all the divisions except revo. Shot many guns in comp as well from 2011 open/lim, glocks, S&W, tanfo, CZs, Sigs and even shot a Hi-point at one time for shits and giggles. If the only the mags/feeding were not a problem, I would've been in the top 5 . Since CO came about, I've been shooting either my 320 legion or CZ S2. Then a couple of months ago my buddy had asked me to check his TP9 SFX and shot it. I was actually impressed by the stock trigger. I then swap out the trigger with the freedomsmith for him. So, fast forward a couple months, I then bought it from him for a deal I could not passed. During the time I bought the gun, I didn't know that they came out with the Rival or else I would've bought that instead. So, F#%& it and bought a Rival Dark Side anyway. Swapped out the guide rod to a tungsten off the TP9SFX with 15# recoil spring as soon as I got the gun and have been shooting a couple of matches with it already. And using the holster that it came with it as well. Man oh man, first impression, they sure hit the design of that gun, for comp, right out of the park. Trigger is by far the best in the plastic gun world. What amazes me is the accuracy of an inexpensive gun is crazy and not to mention the accessories that it comes with it is ridiculous. It's definitely way lighter than the S320 and CZS2 but so far, I am loving the light setup for setup. I am running it with a RTS2 dot. I also scored a good deal on a RHT holster for TP9SFX and with a little adjustment with a heat gun, and now works perfect with the RIVAL. Now I am hunting a thumbrest for it, so who's making one?

Jimdoe wrote: ↑Thu Aug 18, 2022 2:05 pm Anyone here have shot both in competition? What is your takeaway, which one do you prefer shooting most? What upgrades have y'all done? I currently have the TP9 SFX which I just recently acquired from a fellow shooter. I just shot 2 local night matches with it and still getting the hang of the gun. So far I am loving it and I may need to concentrate more on getting a good reloaded ammo for it. Only upgrades the previous owner have done was installing a Galloway precision guide rod with 20# recoil spring and a FS trigger. I am planning on getting the tungsten rod with a 14# 1911 com recoil spring. With that said, the Rival just cool af, but if yall don't see any difference, besides the looks of course, then I'll just stick with my current setup. Thanks in advance.

I have and shoot the TP9SFx in USPSA CO, and am very happy with it. I've done a few mods, not many, and I don't think I'll ever get to the point where I will outshoot the gun. I also like the larger footprint for optics; I have SwampFox Justice on mine. One suggestion, pick out your load first, then adjust your recoil spring to match the load. You're probably going to want the brass to go about 4-5', much more than that can cause possible damage, IMHO. Good luck, good shooting, and most of all, have fun!

It's unfortunate Canik and others are still aboard the long slide train. There's no need for it when you have an optic. So they are wasting material, wasting machine setup and time making lightening cuts in slides, just to give us something that would be better served by a basic TP9 SF length gun.

Rival SF 4.5" ? Sign me up.

Ben W. wrote: ↑Fri Oct 14, 2022 12:10 pm

Jimdoe wrote: ↑Thu Aug 18, 2022 2:05 pm Anyone here have shot both in competition? What is your takeaway, which one do you prefer shooting most? What upgrades have y'all done? I currently have the TP9 SFX which I just recently acquired from a fellow shooter. I just shot 2 local night matches with it and still getting the hang of the gun. So far I am loving it and I may need to concentrate more on getting a good reloaded ammo for it. Only upgrades the previous owner have done was installing a Galloway precision guide rod with 20# recoil spring and a FS trigger. I am planning on getting the tungsten rod with a 14# 1911 com recoil spring. With that said, the Rival just cool af, but if yall don't see any difference, besides the looks of course, then I'll just stick with my current setup. Thanks in advance.

I have and shoot the TP9SFx in USPSA CO, and am very happy with it. I've done a few mods, not many, and I don't think I'll ever get to the point where I will outshoot the gun. I also like the larger footprint for optics; I have SwampFox Justice on mine. One suggestion, pick out your load first, then adjust your recoil spring to match the load. You're probably going to want the brass to go about 4-5', much more than that can cause possible damage, IMHO. Good luck, good shooting, and most of all, have fun!

How are the dots on the Justice? I've tried SRO, DPP, Sig Max and RTS2 for CO and for me the RTS2 hands down. The RTS2 dots just more pronounced and crisp compared to the others. My buddy who is a biachicup shooter was trying to convince me to see the accuracy of the gun at 50, I know we dont really shoot that far during running and gunning matches, but made me curious and will give it a try. When it comes to load data I haven't really sat down and find a perfect load for or vice versa with the springs. Just found one that will cycle the gun and went with it. But for sure will give that a try.

2strokeYardSale wrote: ↑Fri Oct 14, 2022 8:06 pm It's unfortunate Canik and others are still aboard the long slide train. There's no need for it when you have an optic. So they are wasting material, wasting machine setup and time making lightening cuts in slides, just to give us something that would be better served by a basic TP9 SF length gun.

Rival SF 4.5" ? Sign me up.

I was actually looking at getting the PDP 4.5 but opted with the Rival since I already have all the mags with extensions and other goodies for it. I am with you on the 4.5 rival.... Nils 4.5 rival next please

How are the dots on the Justice? I've tried SRO, DPP, Sig Max and RTS2 for CO and for me the RTS2 hands down. The RTS2 dots just more pronounced and crisp compared to the others. My buddy who is a biachicup shooter was trying to convince me to see the accuracy of the gun at 50, I know we dont really shoot that far during running and gunning matches, but made me curious and will give it a try. When it comes to load data I haven't really sat down and find a perfect load for or vice versa with the springs. Just found one that will cycle the gun and went with it. But for sure will give that a try.
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I find the dots on the Justice are just fine. At full illumination there can be some blurring of the dot, but I use a lot less than full on illumination so the dot is quite distinct. Also remember, you're not looking at the dot, you're looking at the target and seeing the dot superimposed on it. In that context, even if the dot isn't a perfect circle, it doesn't really matter.