U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- I met the Buffalo Cartridge Company gang at the Media Day at the Range event at the SHOT Show this year. They’re an ammo company but in talking to Ken, one of the co-owners, he told me that they wanted to expand and get into the firearm business as well. Long story short, they are now offering a super economical, well-built 9mm called the BRG9 Elite. It is being built in Turkey.
It is a 4-inch polymer pistol with a 16+1 capacity. Upon picking it up, I loved it. It is a heavy-duty, stout feeling pistol. They had them available to test fire at the range and upon firing it I knew that I had to get one.
As I said, I loved the BRG9 Elite right upon picking it up and firing it. When Ken told me the price, it really floored me. It comes with more accessories than pistols costing twice as much. It comes with a plastic case with laser cut foam cut-outs to hold all of the items-an extra magazine, three backstraps, four cleaning brushes, oil, rag, trigger lock, and a mag loader. Unbelievable.
And it has a good trigger. A lot of polymer pistols are well known for… well, bad triggers. The BRG9 Elite has a good trigger. Short take-up, crisp 5-lb. trigger with a short reset. It has two safeties: A trigger safety and a grip safety.
Ken had shown me at the range how to disassemble it for cleaning but of course by the time I got home I had forgotten how. So when I received my new BRG9 Elite I ran down to my local gun shop and asked them how.
He looked at it for about 2-seconds and said it resembles a Springfield XD and with that disassembled it in a New York second. So it is easy to tear apart to clean. I oiled it up, reassembled it, and was ready to run out on the high desert and shoot it. Next, I ordered two Alien Gear holsters, an IWB and an OWB model which I will cover in a later article.
I ordered holsters for the corresponding sized Springfield XD pistol and they were a perfect fit.
The starting MSRP on the BRG9 Elite is $399.99 and as is usual, we will close with the specs.
BRG9 ELITE Specifications
A. Ergonomics and Comfort
- Slight finger impressions, great contour, very comfortable in the hand.
- Easy to reach all controls, especially the PERFECT-TOUCH slide release that is perfectly oversized, perfectly positioned, and requires the perfect amount of pressure to release the slide… Very easy to operate with nominal pressure.
- The beefy dual-stage recoil spring eats so much of the recoil… it’s extremely comfortable to shoot and allows you to get back on-target quickly
- These features all make it a very popular option for the female shooting crowd
B. Materials and Construction
- The industry standard is 4140 steel, BUT…
- The BRG9 ELITE uses 4340 steel… higher nickel content = more durable, more wear-resistant, longer life
- That 4340 steel is used in the barrel, slide, and slide rails
- Notice the rear slide rail is NOT polymer, like most pistols. Instead, it’s 4340 steel.
- Also, notice the front rails are longer than most competitors
- These factors ensure an extremely stable shooting experience, and they also reduce wear and extend the life of the firearm
C. Other Features
- Dovetail slide-cuts for the sights make this gun very customizable
High visibility ramp sights (orange front, white rear)
Ambidextrous mag release
Rear slide plate is made of aluminum (not plastic)
Charged striker indicator
Loaded chamber indicator
Trigger safety
Grip safety
Complete kit… gun, 2 magazines, 3 backstraps, load-assist, 4-brush cleaning kit, gun oil, swatches, and trigger lock… all in a plastic case with laser-cut foam
Offered in black $399.99, two-tone $419.99, and FDE $429.99.
Imported by the Buffalo Cartridge Company under the new company BRG USA. The new-to-the-U.S. BRG9 Elite is a striker-fired, polymer-framed 9mm pistol is made in Turkey. Showing some clear aesthetic similarity to the very popular, Croatian-made Springfield XD series.
About Tom Claycomb
Tom Claycomb has been an avid hunter/fisherman throughout his life as well as an outdoors writer with outdoor columns in the magazine Hunt Alaska, Bass Pro Shops, Bowhunter.net, and freelances for numerous magazines and newspapers. “To properly skin your animal you will need a sharp knife. I have an e-article on Amazon Kindle titled Knife Sharpening for $.99 if you’re having trouble.”
I’m old with poor eyesight and have acquired most items in the case but no matter how good the gun is if it isn’t optics ready I have to pass.
Optics were my first thought too Royce. They seem to have addressed many shooter desires in the gun but failed to read the tea leaves of industry trends and offer a slide cut for optics. Face it, it’s a base line Glock, M&P, Springfield XD, but with a new name. Good thing is that’s a pretty easy fix if they want.