Stoeger STR-9 Review

Here’s a polymer framed striker fired pistol which had completely caught me off guard. Stoeger is a name which I attribute to various models of shotguns, the sort of which I typically don’t get a lot of exposure to. Then seemingly out of the blue they joined the ‘Wonder Nine’ scene with a familiar looking fifteen round handgun.

The STR-9 isn’t anything new in itself but my interest in this pistol had more to do with the brand rather than its operating mechanics or features list. In addition the STR-9 is priced very competitively and as much as I enjoy reviewing fancy expensive firearms or unicorns I think that this one could be of interest to a much larger audience. This month I’m going to see how well the newer Stoeger stacks up to the competition.

Size-wise the STR-9 is almost identical to a Glock 17 save for a slightly shorter barrel and slide. A replaceable grip panel covers the back and part of the sides to help fine-tune how it feels in the hand. Subtle finger grooves up front and a thumb indent nicely index the primary hand while a more aggressive texturing in the back helps to lock the frame into the palm. I do like the grips on this pistol but the backstrap might start to bother me after a longer range session.

Up front is the typical Picatinny rail with three slots for mounting a light or laser. The trigger guard has a generous undercut and you can get a pretty high grip overall. Three dot white sights are plain but clear with the rear sight nicely contoured at 90 degrees on the front face for one handed operation. A subtle loaded chamber indicator also hides within the top of the slide.

Many of the features of the STR-9 are going to be familiar to anyone who has spent time in the striker-fired community. The trigger has a drop safety, the magazine catch is reversible, disassembly involves a trigger pull then hooking the slide back slightly and depressing the takedown catch located ahead of the trigger guard. The very low profile slide catch is only available on the left side of the frame. Under the hood the STR-9 looks, unsurprisingly, identical to a Glock. It wouldn’t surprise me if there’s some parts compatibility here.

The guide rod is a nice solid piece of polished steel with a single captive spring. The barrel has traditional land and groove rifling. Magazines only drop free partway, a feature which some may appreciate as it makes mag retention a breeze. Out of curiosity I checked to see if a mag from a Glock 17 would fit; It did not.

So far it’s looking good, however there are two concerns which must be addressed.

The first, and by far the most notable for me, are the slide serrations. Up front and in back are four generous angled cuts which give the pistol a sleek and modern look which I quite like. My concern comes in actually gripping these serrations, those four points are so finely machined that for my softer hands it felt like I was gripping a metal file. They are quite possibly the sharpest slide serrations I have ever encountered. They should work very nicely with gloves.

Then comes the trigger, which while not horrible is also not stellar. The first half of travel is on the heavier side and has a somewhat mushy feeling like the polymer pieces are fit a little too tightly together. The second half of travel is shorter and with a bit more weight, still a little mushy feeling but when it reaches the breaking point it’s decent and decisive. It caught me off guard for the first few shots but I learned its nuances fairly quickly.

Reset is fairly short with an audible and tactile click, again feeling just slightly mushy overall. If there was any single point where I feel this pistol would really benefit from an upgrade it would be the trigger, a little work here could turn the STR-9 into what I think would be a pretty darn good and economical shooter.

My range session with the Stoeger was at 40 feet and went pretty well. Again it was the trigger which caused the most trouble with my groups, that last half of travel before the break caused me to dip the muzzle a few times due to anticipation. Despite this I was able to keep all five shots within each group in a fairly compact space with my best group measuring about 1.9″.

For those on more of a budget the STR-9 is a very solid contender. I could see this pistol being great for home or vehicle defense. For me it would be too big for concealed carry use but I know plenty of people who carry double stack nines without any difficulty. Overall it seems to be a solid design without any unnecessary features and feels very “down to business.”