A few months ago, I had the chance to shoot and review Canik’s new for 2023 fully metal striker fired pistol, the SFx Rival-S. I really enjoyed shooting that gun so much that I kept shooting, practicing and competing with it even after finishing the original reviews. My earlier accounts linked above only covered approximately the first 300 rounds I put through the pistol.

At some point after those 300 rounds, the gun started having malfunctions more and more frequently. Initially I ruled out my own handloads, tried different factory Canik magazines, etc. I made my best effort to try to cancel out all possible variables by process of elimination. I kept up this trial and error process for almost another 300 rounds or so. After participating in a match where the gun malfunctioned at least once in every stage and also had it interrupt a different practice session, I decided to contact Century Arms. While not an exact count, I estimate that by this point the pistol had just shy of 600 rounds since I took possession. When I reached out to them, I took the time to write a detailed email and send several photos explaining what my issues were. They responded the following day with a pre-paid label, so I shipped the gun back to them. Almost exactly a month later, FedEx dropped off my repaired SFx Rival-S at my doorstep.  

RIVAL-S MALFUNCTIONS

I had three distinct issues with my malfunctioning pistol. The first was that every time I inserted a freshly loaded magazine and hit the slide catch, the slide wouldn’t bring itself into battery automatically. It would drag and I had to push the slide into battery more often than not. When I first started shooting this gun, this was not happening as much and I had just assumed that both the brand new gun and brand new mags needed some time to “break-in”. Obviously once this kept happening well after the 300 round mark, my opinion changed.

The second issue was that the gun kept jamming in a very specific way: the nose of any FMJ bullet would get caught at the bottom of the feed ramp and block the slide from moving forward. I can best describe it as the bullet’s nose becoming lodged in a nook between the magazine and the bottom edge of the feedramp. Initially I wondered whether this was an issue with my handloads as I like to seat 9mm rounds with an overall length of 1.150”. That measurement is on the longer side but it’s well within SAAMI specifications. When factory rounds started jamming this way too, I figured it probably wasn’t my handloads. At the time, I also assumed that this was part of the reason why I had to push the slide into battery. I assumed that on the times when the rounds didn’t outright jam and seize the gun, that the bullet’s nose would still drag enough to prevent the slide from going into battery on its own.

Inconsistent extraction was my last issue. Sometimes I’d get a double whammy with a malfunction like the one I described above while also have an un-extracted fired casing that got left behind in the chamber. Other times, when shooting the last round in a magazine, the slide would lock back and the spent casing would merely be resting on top of the magazine’s feedlips (as if the slide didn’t have enough spring power to bounce the spent casing off the ejector).

Initially I tried troubleshooting everything myself with a common sense approach. Was it my handloads? Let’s try factory ammo. OK, maybe try different mags (I have a total of five factory Canik 18-round magazines made by Mec-Gar). When I was shooting this gun, I stole some OEM Mec-Gar +2 extended basepads off some Mec-Gar Beretta 92 mags I had to use with the Rival-S. Those actually ran fine at first before the set of problems began to manifest. Eventually, I ruled out these +2s as well. Regardless, I had issues with bone stock brand new Mec-Gar Canik mags anyway. At the time of the troubleshooting, I had a Trijicon SRO mounted to the slide using the provided Canik #2 factory plate. I checked to see if any of the mounting screws were protruding and getting in the way. Nope. Not that either.

HOW CENTURY ARMS FIXED MY RIVAL-S

After Century Arms returned my repaired gun to me, they also included a work order summarizing everything they did to that pistol. My Rival-S was stripped down and inspected and they polished the feed ramp. All critical springs were replaced with stronger upgrades including the original extractor and recoil springs. Outside of the gun, Century Arms replaced each basepad on all 5 of my factory magazines. The work order also claims that they test fired it with 90 rounds. After receiving the repaired handgun, it was oiled and lubricated, and returned to me in a basically in like-new condition. Because the gun had the same external wear and handling marks as before, I knew they sent me the same gun. The weight of the new recoil spring was certainly noticeable when racking the slide.

BACK TO THE FIRING LINE

To save myself some time, instead of mounting and zeroing the SRO back on, I decided to just shoot it with the already dialed-in factor rear iron sights. When I sent the gun back, its round count was a little less than 600. The work order claims that they fired 90 more rounds to function test it. Since having the gun in my possession again, I’ve fired at least 156 rounds (+/- a magazine loaded with loose rounds). All of these rounds were factory loaded ammunition including 124-grain South African PMP, 124-grain Federal American Eagle FMJ, 124-grain Fiocchi FMJ, 115-grain Blazer Aluminum and 115-grain Winchester White Box (USA9MMVP)*. This puts the current round count between 800-850 rounds. Merely blasting away at the same target with all that ammo would be boring and a waste of time, so I did as much as I could get away with at the indoor range in lieu of a proper shooting bay. I shot at least 50 rounds at 25-yard NRA B8 targets. The rest of the ammo was used for Bill Drills or for doubles. Honestly, I’ve not had any issues with the Rival-S since they fixed it. I think it’s ready to go back to USPSA.

IN SUMMARY

Around the same time I was having issues with my own specimen, I started hearing about others’ issues with these guns as well. Not all Rival-S shooters were equally affected. Some people at my club who were breezing along just fine with their pistols and round counts way higher than mine. At the same time, I wasn’t the only one having issues either. Whether it was factory ammo or handloads didn’t matter too much either. Honestly, I don’t have enough information nor have I been in touch with Century Arms since they sent me the RMA. If you know something, I’d actually like to learn more because I wasn’t sure if this happened to certain batches or just a handful of pistols. Even with the issues, I’ve had a lot of fun reviewing and shooting this gun. Its a full-size, heavy gun that has a more than decent match-ready striker fired trigger and it lends itself quite well to accurate shooting. Because the Canik’s action and semi-automatic mechanism borrow from the Walther’s tried and true designs, I knew the issue wasn’t some type of fatal flaw from a new design. Every gun manufacturer has had and will have issues that come up–what matters is how a company handles and fixes things. In my case, Canik and Century Arms did right by me and they deserve credit.

PS

**That specific Winchester 115-grain factory load is on the warmer side and “feels” like a +P from the way it recoils. With as warm as it is, it was giving me problems prior to sending the gun in. I decided to put aside the remainder to test it in the gun again. No issues. It actually groups fairly decently at 25-yards. Aside from the issues discussed in this article, I’m still of the opinion that the Canik SFx Rival-S does need a light break-in period.

The Magazine Over-Insertion Issue

^{This is a last minute addition to this post, as I just found out about this particular issue. (7/23/23)}

After looking over a few YouTube videos like this one, it seems that some Rival-S shooters are experiencing reliability issues due to magazine over-insertion. That could obviously cause the slide to drag on the feedlips and interrupt proper cycling. Maybe it explains why I had to push the slide into battery sometimes. I’d like to note that every magazine I had did have its basepad replaced with a thicker one (presumably to prevent over-insertion). I sincerely have no idea to what extent this is an issue on the entire fleet of Rival-S pistols. If you have one of these guns, this is probably something to keep in mind and look over on your particular pistol. Where it gets tricky is that sure, adding a thicker basepad to a standard mag will prevent over-insertion–but what about when you run magazines with extensions for Carry Optics, Limited, Limited Minor or Open? Using the o-ring or the spacer would seem prudent, in any case.

Springfield Armory® is proud to announce two new variants of the Hellion™, offering enhanced ballistic performance with 18” and 20” barrel length options and unique features true to the original VHS-2 design.

Based on the internationally proven bullpup employed by the Croatian armed forces in demanding environments ranging from Iraq to Africa and beyond, the Hellion offers American shooters a semi-automatic version of this highly capable and fully ambidextrous firearm. The newly released variants feature extended 18” and 20” barrels, resulting in a 5.56mm that still offers the compact handling characteristics of a bullpup, but with enhanced velocity and downrange performance.

In addition, the 20”-barreled version of the Hellion features an overall configuration similar to that of the Croatian VHS-D2, a designated marksman version of the VHS-2. The 20” Hellion is outfitted with a distinctive ribbed forward section of barrel for enhanced cooling as well as an integrated bayonet lug.

Now, why did I say LongPup? Well the VHS-2 has an adjustable length of pull on the stock and it is… more than average to begin with. I like the feature in concept but the actual dimensions are for NBA and NFL proportioned folks.

That ribbing aside (and the barrel cooling ribbing on the 20 is neat) I like that the bullpup offerings in the US, especially of actual service rifle designs, is expanding. The VHS-2 Hellion has some ergonomic quirks to be sure, but it is an eminently runnable rifle. I still want to see Lithgow bring in the F90 updated AUG variants into country too. Get the whole updated mix.

I’m ultimately looking forward to seeing the Hellion and its aftermarket join strong offerings like the leading X95 in being 5.56 NATO for everyone.

Earlier this year, Greybeard Actual, also known as Matt Little, published his book The Way Is In Training. Mr. Little penned this treatise in 2022 and it covers everything and anything that pertains to learning, training and cultivating martial skills. The Way Is In Training should be an obvious interest for anyone interested in the topics of firearms skills development, competition, martial arts, physical fitness and most importantly the philosophy that accompanies these topics.

The Way Is In Training can be described many different ways. At the aggregate level, it’s like a textbook with so many different topics, chapters and sections relating to life, applied violence, fitness, mindset etc. Unlike the typical textbook, this isn’t a boring dry tome. The whole book is full of things like Mr. Little’s photos, personal details, along with recollections of colleagues, comrades and competitors. 

Mr. Little and I became acquainted while attending the same local USPSA matches. Funny enough, I bought my copy of this book from him in the parking lot after a match one Saturday. At the next match, I told him, “Man, I wish someone would have bought this book for me when I was 18 years old.” And that’s the best way to concisely describe what The Way Is In Training is all about. If you’re interested in guns, training, shooting and everything else about that world, this is the book you wish you had when you were a young man. Its pages are packed with plenty of lessons and examples or things to critically focus on. I’m confident I’m not speaking only for myself when I say this, but a roadmap on showing you how to best circumvent the bullshit when I was younger would have been nice.

The fact that The Way Is In Training is laden with philosophical references and motifs is probably my favorite aspect about this book. Mr. Little readily illustrates the influence of works like Miyamoto Musashi’s Book Of Five Rings or Yamatomo Tsunetomo’s Hagakure have had on his life. Besides those, other luminaries like the Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius are discussed. The philosophical content of The Way Is In Training resonates with me deeply because I’ve reached a point in my own personal “skills journey” where I’ve recognized its true value. In fact, in order to advance even higher in skill you have to truly embrace this stuff. Mr. Little covers Musashi’s concept of “no-mind” or mushin for example. Understanding this concept isn’t too complicated but it’s mandatory in order to level up. 

Both the first and last parts of The Way Is In Training cover philosophical concepts and mindset. That said, the “meat” of this book is full of concrete and practical information and lessons. And it’s quite comprehensive too. Topics covered include things like daily nutrition, tactical medicine, striking, tactics or even how to teach others. There are too many examples to list here, but from cover to cover, The Way Is In Training covers nearly 150 different topics divided across five sections. The boon for the reader of this book is getting to enjoy a neatly packaged collection of Mr. Little’s lifetime of experiences.

In addition to his own experiences, Mr. Little includes many useful lessons and materials from other sources too. Throughout the book, a plethora of high level shooters and their useful drills are mentioned. Names like Frank Proctor, Les Kismatorni, Todd Luis Green, Bill Wilson, Alex Acosta and Hwansik Kim among others come to mind. Although Mr. Little himself is an instructor who teaches classes of his own, he still includes other instructors and their shooting standards such as Scott Jedlinski from the Modern Samurai Project or Mr. Gabe White.

Besides all of the philosophical concepts covered (which I think are useful to anyone who reads this book), all of the practical knowledge contained in the book is neatly organized so that anyone can keep coming back to it as needed. It’s there for those wishing to refresh or looking for the next steps as they figure things out along their training journey. Once again, a work like this one would have been so useful for my younger self. 

About The Author

Matt Little is a career US Army Special Forces soldier who concurrently served as a career Chicago PD SWAT officer. Either line of work afforded him with a wealth of knowledge and experiences which he poured into his book, The Way Is In Training. Now retired from two careers of service which have spanned most of his adult life, Mr. Little still remains active as an avid dynamic pistol competitor both in USPSA and IDPA. He and his wife Angela run a training company, Greybeard Actual, that offers shooting and tactics courses to both civilian and Law Enforcement students. Please click here to learn more about Greybeard Actual.

The Way Is In Training is available from Amazon in many formats including paperback, hardcover, kindle or audiobook. Alternatively, if you run into him at a match, he might sell you one from the trunk of his vehicle. ;) 

The old saw goes, ‘Beware the man with only one gun.’

It’s a phrase that harkens back to a simple time of classic gunfighters who, if they carried something that worked, they stopped messing with it. Simple 6-guns, bolt or lever action rifles, a pump shotgun. Even in the age of evolving auto-loaders it was generally one and done, you carried your issued piece and it worked well enough.

However this is 2023, my perspective on the situation has evolved beyond that quaint saying. I’ve chosen to embrace diversity, if you will. It is certainly a necessity to be proficient with the handgun or rifle you carry, it is your issued equipment and likely to be in your hand, or as close to it as feasible, when you need it. That is its purpose. It is the firearm you will grab to do the job you’ve been entrusted with.

From an an expanded standpoint, outside the additional sworn duties of a service member or law enforcement, the everyday carry is another item that should absolutely be familiar in your hands. This now also applies to we civilian defenders who do not have civil duty as well as those with duty. As proficient as you are at driving your car, at doing your job, at engaging in your favored hobby, you should be as competent with the firearm and its handling to protect yourself.

Thinking beyond the normally abnormal – your gun is out of reach.

A gunfight or a simple DGU is a rare enough event. But what if the gun you have in the fight isn’t your preferred gun? What if that specialty AR with its top of the line optic suite and gucci trigger is safely ensconced in your house? What if you are sitting with an out of the crate WASR and a web sling because you’re at your friend’s place or with the in-laws? What if you just snatched a stolen patrol rifle from a thief who smashed it out of a cop car?

In short, what if it isn’t your rifle at all?

The ‘man with one gun’ implies a specialist. But it also implies near universal access to the firearm you specialize in, which is truer and easier for a law enforcement type in their own space. It does not account well for the modern items of air travel, variable firearms regulations, and most of the very real world social situations we must navigate. Being able to fight with something you pick up locally is a greater assurance of success, and if the gun doesn’t need to be an 18″ gas tuned, LPVO with offset dot, silent buffer, 17.7″ handguard clad race gun, then all to the better when you grab the whatever-is-available MK1

I’m not implying everyone has a tricked out competition rig as their rifle at home. I am saying we like what we like, and that we tend to get comfortable and complacent with that gun and the ancillaries we selected. That makes us naturally suspicious and uncomfortable with other gear, it isn’t comfortable. That will get in our way if that other gear is all we have at our disposal. If I travel far out of state and don’t want to check and risk firearms in the not-so-secure shipping and handling that airports sometimes represent, then I can ask a friend to have stuff ready for me at the destination instead. I find that far easier to manage when the option exists. Outside that scenario travel in general is easier when we are not required to manage firearms.

Learning how to run the rifles you don’t know will make picking up local that much easier. It will make it a viable option. In addition, it will make you a better and more rounded shooter. It forces the fundamentals you know within the platform you prefer to reconform to fit a new mold.

Agnostic Fundamentals

The AK or the Steyr AUG are dramatically different when compared against each other, or the AR-15, but as autoloading rifles they are all in the same fundamentals group.

Supporting a rifle and managing a trigger do not change as principles, but the way to support an X95 or an AUG are physically different than an AR or SCAR. Placement of the hands, where to support, how the rifle balances, and the delivery of recoil to the shooter are all going to feel different.

The trigger in an AUG is heavy straight pull (actually push) transfer bar where the X95 has a trigger pin like many other carbines. Add into the mix all the aftermarket options and you cannot easily predict how any trigger at random will feel, but you can know how to manage it regardless. A few dry presses should suffice if you have the time. If you don’t, don’t worry about it. Get to shooting.

Lean outside your preferences

The first formal course I took outside uniformed service was on the MP5, it was also a handgun course and my experience there had been up to that point… state CCW curriculum.

A carbine, an old one too, I knew next to nothing about that Die Hard didn’t teach me and a handgun curriculum pushing harder and further than anything I had shot or taught in a 2 to 3 hour period.

I. Learned.

The things I learned about managing a new gun came back to improve my M16/M4 work too. I had 10 years on the AR at that point, but the NCOs of various competencies and limited structured range time had ingrained some goofy habits. Remember ‘The Groucho’ walk/stance? Pepperidge Farms remembers. The formal training on the MP5 (and I will admit a fixation on watching Art of the Tactical Carbine) helped break the bad habits and improve my efficiencies on all the guns.

Then I learned another. Then another after that. I borrowed weird guns from friends who had them to see what they did. I figured them out. I have my preferences, we all will, but making what you have at the time work could be as crucial to your safety as knowing the gun that you bought. They could be different. Be ready for what’s at hand with what is on hand.

I have enjoyed single action revolvers every since my first handgun shot. This was at a young age firing my father’s .22 caliber Herbert Schmidt revolver. As a working gun for many chores from dispatching pests and vermin to hunting small game a .22 caliber revolver a good choice. In a single action revolver with the optional .22 Magnum cylinder things get more interesting. The single action with its relatively heavy frame and rock solid base pin is reliable. A favorite of all time is the Ruger Single Six .22. A price check in early August 2023 found an average price of $699 for the Single Six. While a well made revolver that isn’t chicken feed for the man or woman with obligations. An inexpensive revolver, Ruger’s Wrangler, was at Cheaperthandirt.com for $208.40. The Wrangler doesn’t have adjustable sights or a .22 Magnum cylinder. The Super Wrangler was found at $283.40. What is a Super Wrangler?

Using non ferrous alloy- perfectly well used to a low pressure .22 Long Rifle cartridge- and using stronger metal in certain high stress areas the Wrangler is a trouble free revolver. There is no spare cylinder as .22 Magnum is deemed too hot a loading for use in zinc alloy  frames. Cerakote finish provides good finish and metal protection. The Wrangler’s accuracy potential cannot be realized at all distances when fixed sights are used. The Super Wrangler is a true outdoorsmans revolver while the Wrangler is more of a plinker for recreational use. The Super Wrangler isn’t an expensive revolver but it is more like the Single Six than the Wrangler.

The Super Wrangler may use shot shell, low and high power .22s, .22 Short, Long, and Long rifle loads in one cylinder. With the Magnum cylinder the longer and more powerful Magnum may be used. (The cartridges are dimensionally very different the .22 Magnum isn’t mrely longer. It is dangerous to fire .22 LR in a Magnum cylinder). The .22 Long Rifle is affordable and offers a great deal of utility. By offering a spare cylinder in .22 Magnum the Super Wrangler increases the usefulness and versatility of the revolver. The new cylinders will not fit in older Wrangler revolvers. The steel frame is stronger than the alloy frame of the Wrangler. With a 5.5 inch barrel the Super Wrangler features good velocity and accuracy. The balance and heft of the revolver are very good. Fast shooting and practice for cowboy action shooting is a good choice!

With the Super Wrangler’s adjustable sights to the Super Wrangler may be properly sighted in for a wide variety of loads and the revolver is accurate to at least 25 yards. The grips are inexpensive checkered plastic grips. The Super Wrangler features transfer bar ignition. When the hammer is at rest a bar between the hammer and firing pin prevents the hammer from moving forward to strike the firing pin. As the hammer is cocked the transfer bar moves into place and as the hammer falls the transfer bar is smacked by the hammer and fires the cartridge under the hammer. This is a safe and reliable system. The Wrangler and Super Wrangler as well as all modern Ruger revolvers may be safely carried fully loaded. To load the revolver open the loading gate and rotate the cylinder as you load one round at a time. To eject spent cartridges the chamber is lined up with the ejector rod and the rod is pressed to eject the cartridge. The trigger action is smooth and crisp. The trigger breaks at  3.5 pounds compression. I rounded up a good mix of .22 Long Rifle and .22 Magnum ammunition. I was distracted a bit by plinking and fun shooting at range debris on the 50 and 100 yard line. This is a fun gun! I settled down and fired accuracy results and chronographed a few loads. 

Accuracy testing was undertaken at 50 feet firing from an MTM Caseguard K Zone firing rest.  

For versatility value and fun shooting the Super Wrangler is a fine modern revolver.

Weight 37.0 ounces
Length: 11 in.
Barrel Length: 5.5 in.