Prepare Yourself: The CANiK Apocalypse is Upon Us!

We’re living in turbulent times! Illegal immigrants have more resources than our veterans, and criminals are back on the streets before police finish their reports. Nothing makes sense!

It’s the same country where squatters are given more rights than tax-paying homeowners. Liberals chastise meat eaters and encourage us to eat insects. And electric cars make perfect sense, but nuclear power plants don’t. These are dark days and the pessimists among us might even swear this is the beginning of the Apocalypse.

To commemorate these uncertain times CANiK USA has just released a new limited run of guns called The Apocalypse.

The CANiK Apocalypse

Part of CANiK’s Signature Series, the new gun is based on the tried-and-true METE SF pistol. Limited to a run of just 5000 pistols, the Apocalypse also comes with a custom-angled knife and Zippo lighter. Both are numbered to match the gun!

CANiK gives the Apocalypse a custom Cerakote finish and a uniquely styled carry case. The case includes two magazines, two optics plates, a magazine loader, an extra backstrap, and a cleaning and tool kit.

CANiK even includes a Kydex holster that can be used IWB or OWB for competition. In fact, it is legal for all action pistol sports!

METE and Greet

If you’re not familiar with the METE SF pistol, it’s a gun that you’ll want to familiarize yourself with ASAP. These guns have been tremendously popular—mostly because they are very economical yet serviceable.

In fact, the late James Yeager of Tactical Response told my classmates at his Fighting Pistol Class in Tucson several years ago to buy a CANiK rather than a popular Austrian-made 9mm striker gun. Then, use the money saved to buy a case or two of practice ammo. That was and is some solid advice because the METE pistol is not short on features.

Like the famous Austrian striker gun, the CANiK METE uses a polymer frame. However, it uses a double-stack, tapered steel magazine with a capacity of 15 rounds. Its slide features cocking serrations fore and aft and a loaded chamber indicator on the top. Likewise, there’s a cocking indicator at the rear of the slide that can be observed while taking a sight picture.

CANiK dovetails the 3-dot iron sights into the slide. Additionally, an optics mounting platform is located under its cover, just in front of the rear sight. The METE SF has a barrel length of 4.19 inches, and, of course, it is a supported barrel with an integral feed ramp.

The Apocalypse in Hand

Southpaws will appreciate that the gun comes equipped with a reversible magazine release and bilateral slide locks. CANiK spent a great deal of effort making the METE pistol as ergonomically friendly as possible.

The METE places the shooter’s hand as close to the bore axis as possible to help minimize muzzle flip. Likewise, its trigger guard is undercut where it meets the frame to allow the shooter to get a higher hold.

For speedy reloads, the METE SF has a flared magwell. The guns also come with an extra backstrap for the shooter to individualize the gun. However, probably the biggest selling point of these Turkish-made guns is their triggers.

Over the years, I have had a chance to shoot more than a dozen CANiK pistols. There wasn’t a bad trigger in the bunch. On the whole, I find their triggers to be consistently crisp with a short and firm reset. In other words, if you want to shoot the pistol quickly this is the trigger for you!

With all of these features, it’s no wonder that the METE SF is wildly popular. I’m certain that’s why CANiK chose this pistol to build its Signature Series Apocalypse on.

Signature Series

I had the opportunity to chat with CANiK USA’s Adam Ruonala, VP of Business Development and Marketing, at the Athlon Outdoors Rendezvous last October. Our publisher, Athlon Outdoors, invites over 30 firearm and related companies to its 3-day event. While there, these companies get to meet and spend time with Athlon’s content creators.

It gives us all a chance to visit in a relaxed and unhurried atmosphere and actually shoot their guns.

According to CANiK

I asked Ruonala about CANiK’s Signature Series.

“The first one we ever did was the ‘White Out,’ and then we did the Miami Days and Miami Nights. We did 7500 of the White Out and then did 3050 of the Miami Days/Nights series with matching serial numbers,” said Ruonala. 

“Believe it or not, both of those sold out within a day!”

Ruonala then turned on his phone. After a couple of seconds of scrolling, he found pics of what only existed at that point as a prototype.

“Here’s a pic of the Apocalypse that I’m going to send you, Mike. It comes with a fixed-blade knife and an exclusive Zippo lighter, both of which are numbered to the gun. We’re also including our cool cleaning and tool kits and a really awesome case. It will also have a holster, a mag carrier, and two mags.”

“But get this- the Apocalypse package will retail for just $799. We’re limiting the Apocalypse to a run for 5000 pistols, so don’t delay if you want one of these guns!

“The reason I think this is so unique is not just the collectible side of it. Nowadays people either love it or hate it. But these guns help show off your personality.  People personalize cars. Why can’t you do it with guns?

“With the Miami guns, people say, ‘Oh, I grew up in the 305, or I watched Miami Vice as a kid.’ These guns are a conversation point and make the shooter more approachable. Sure, it’s untraditional, but at the same time, it’s embraced by the gun community,” said Ruonala.

The Apocalypse Arrives

A couple of months after our Rendezvous, the CANiK Apocalypse arrived for an in-depth evaluation. One of the impressive things is that CANiK guns have always had an amazing package. And the Apocalypse is no different.

Not only does the padded carry case securely hold the pistol, lighter, holsters, and magazines, but it also contains the cleaning and tool kits. Even the outside of the case possesses dramatic end-of-world art!

The pistol itself has a “distressed” Cerakote finish to make it look like, well…it has been through the Apocalypse! On the right side of the slide is the gun’s number, which is also on the knife and lighter.

Dotting the Eye: The Apocalypse Gets an Optic

Just prior to the Apocalypse arriving, I received a sample of the new Burris FastFire C red dot. Boasting “Always On” technology, Burris claims to get 25,000 hours of run time from a common and inexpensive CR2032 battery. Its low deck height allows it to co-witness with the Apocalypse’s iron sights. Correspondingly, the optic has an auto-bright system in addition to manual illumination settings.

Designed for compact and sub-compact guns, the sight weighs less than an ounce and uses the Shield RMSc footprint. After two laser eye surgeries for cataracts in my right eye I have yet to see a red dot that looked perfectly circular. Most of the time the dots look elongated and sometimes with a slight starburst. However, the FastFire C is different.

For whatever reason, the FastFire C’s dot looked perfectly circular to my eye. With my targets set out at 15 yards, the 6 MOA dot fit nicely inside the 2-inch diameter Shoot N C paster.

Shooting the CANiK Apocalypse

Resting the Apocalypse’s picatinny railed dust cover on a Millett BenchMaster for support, I was able to concentrate on placing the perfectly circular dot inside of the black target. Then, I added the 2.75 pounds necessary to break the shot. All shots were fired from a seated rest utilizing a DOA Tactical portable shooting rest.

Honestly, the red dot and crisp trigger made shooting tiny groups possible, and I claim no responsibility for their size. It was just so easy! Hornady’s American Gunner placed five shots into a ragged group that was just .54-inch, again at 15 yards.

I fired three groups with each of the listed ammunition, and the chart (below) reflects the very best group fired. The Black Hills and Doubletap loads are serious defense rounds, and both produced nearly identical groups.

The aggregate group size for the five ammunitions tested was just .81-inch! I wish I could say I was surprised by these small groups. But the truth of the matter is that every CANiK gun I’ve tested has possessed this kind of excellent accuracy.

I used the included Kydex holster, set up in its OWB configuration, to do some draw and fire exercises. For this, I set my steel targets out between 15 and 25 yards.

Thanks to the short and firm trigger reset, my doubletaps and controlled pairs were fast—even for me! I was also able to pick up the FastFire C’s dot easily on presentation. During my short 200-round evaluation, the gun ran flawlessly!

End of Time

CANiK’s Signature Series’ Apocalypse is a gun that fills many roles. It has the accuracy and reliability needed for defense and competition use. Not to mention, it also makes a powerful statement about the current state of affairs in this world.

It’s a collectible gun that’s a definite conversation starter and a solid performer for any intended use. Priced at $799, the Apocalypse provides the user with a great deal of gun for the money!

For more information, please visit CANiKUSA.com.

CANiK Apocalypse Specs

Performance

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