Buying a gun is a lot like buying a car. As you peruse your options, you’ll be made aware of features that you might not have even known existed. This leads to many questions and concerns, such as if you’ll need said features down the road and if they are worth spending the extra cash on. The gun-buying experience would be terrific if these extra features come standard; the European American Armory (EAA) Corporation thinks so, at least anyway. Its latest release, the MC9 Disruptor, proves this as it comes with options that many gun owners will find themselves upgrading to in the future. Although the striker-fired polymer 9mm Luger market is crowded, this pistol promises it all for less than the price of most box-stock handguns out there. I love adding gadgets to firearms, so when I first laid eyes on it, I just knew I would need one back home … for science, of course.
Let’s begin with a little housekeeping, and that is that EAA isn’t so much a manufacturer as they are an importer. So, to be completely accurate, it’s really a Girsan MC9 Disruptor. However, if we’re going to focus on nomenclature, it’s the “Disruptor” portion that deserves attention.
What's with the name? It’s actually a nod to the “disruption” the gun causes the market. Essentially, EAA is giving away features like an optics cut, threaded barrel and even a custom paint job for free, and that’s going to cause some waves. The MSRP for this pistol is set at $394, but you can likely ring one up for $379+tax with some careful shopping.
The Disruptor is available in either a Black or Olive Drab camo that is created through a unique Cerakoting process. This finish is far more durable than paint or enamel, and has little chance of being rubbed or scraped off. It also lends itself better to detailed patterns, making it the perfect choice for the job. While a fancy finish might seem trivial, it’s particularly helpful when you are first starting out because it makes it that much easier to pick out your handgun on the firing line. It’s not super common, but occasionally, folks do leave the range with somebody else’s handgun. In some states, it’s just an embarrassing mistake, while in others, it’s a felony offense. My test sample arrived with the Black camo finish, which I enjoyed because it’s unique while still remaining unobtrusive.
As I unpacked the hard-sided case it came in, I noticed the pistol also included interchangeable backstraps. These little pieces of plastic go a long way toward fitting a pistol to your hand. There was also an action lock, cleaning brush and a printed owner’s manual in the box, which is certainly refreshing in this digital age. What wasn’t included was a spare magazine, but they are available from a few different sources, so that’s not a complete tragedy.
After locking the action to the rear, I examined the sights and noted they leaned toward combat use, as they were large, non-adjustable, and accented with brilliant white dots. By removing the rear sight, the optics cut is revealed, which I promptly capitalized on. Its native screw pattern accepts any red-dot optic built with the Shield RMS footprint, which includes Shield’s RMS2—a reboot of its original. The newer RMS ditches the battery door while keeping the automatic brightness feature and staying perpetually. After just a few twists of the wrist, I mounted the optic. From here, it was onto ammo selection.
There are two ways to reduce recoil: Use a lightweight bullet loaded to a moderate velocity; or a heavy one at a reduced velocity. I chose one from each column because trying out new ammo is just as important to me as working with a new firearm. For the flighty fodder, I decided on Remington’s new Range Clean load. This ammo is built with a 115-gr. bullet that is fully enclosed at its base to eliminate most, if not all, airborne lead while firing. It’s also built with lead-free primers for the same reason. For slow and heavy, I selected Ammo Inc.’s Subsonic Stelth (yes, that’s how it’s spelled) 165-gr. load. I’ve had great success with these in pistol-caliber carbines and was curious if they would get the job done in this handgun as well.
I began by zeroing the optic with the Remington load from a bench-rested position. Once I was on paper, I was quite impressed. At 25 yards, my average groups hovered around the 2” mark, with the best one of the day measuring 1.48”. The Ammo Inc. rounds shot even tighter, with no groups breaking the 1.75” mark and the best measuring a scant 1.18”. The Remington did beat it out in the reliability department, though, as at just 679 feet per second (fps), the Stelth didn’t quite have enough punch to completely cycle the slide. Tuning the recoil spring on the Disruptor could likely remedy that.
Bringing it over to my plate rack, I found that I could run through all six targets as fast or faster than most pistols which cost twice as much. Here, I also had an opportunity to appreciate the snappy reset on the trigger. Although the pull weight was close to 7½ lbs., it returned quite well for follow-ups. The overall geometry of the pistol was excellent as well, as it recovered right where it was initially pointed and let me drive controlled pairs into the small, 8” plates in less than half a second.
I wrapped things up by screwing a Silencer Central Banish 45 suppressor to the muzzle and giving the Stelth another go. Cycling was greatly improved, and the noise was so minimal that I was completely comfortable shooting without my earmuffs on.
At that moment, I was reminded of how perfect a pistol this would be to introduce new shooters to the sport. The inherent low recoil of subsonic ammunition coupled with the further reduction a can adds makes it one extraordinarily easy-to-handle pistol. That, along with an unobstructed hearing, makes communication between the shooter and instructor just that much better. Lastly, the addition of a red dot eliminates any sight alignment issue that might exist and helps the teacher to better determine if the missed shots are from poor shooting fundamentals or misunderstanding a sight picture. With that said, maybe it’s not just a great pistol for newcomers but perhaps an excellent training tool for old hats as well. EAACorp.com
Specifications:
Caliber: 9mm Luger
Capacity: 17+1
Height: 5.5 in.
Width: 1.3 in.
Overall Length: 7.9 in.
Barrel Length: 4.61 in.
Weight: 29.6 oz.
Front Sights: White dot, fixed
Rear Sights: White dot, fixed + optics cut
MSRP: $394.00
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