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Yes, it's another Glock design-based gun, but this one retails for as little as $199 after being made in Turkiye for a Phillipine company, then imported to the US and distributed. How that is profitable for anyone, or what quality the gun might have got me curious so I bought one.
Unfortunately GrabaGun has misleading advertising and the pistol shipped does not match their advertised specs, but does match specs advertised by the manufacturer. We had issues in the past with GrabaGun wanting to steal magazines (which happen to also be sold on their site), they've stopped that, but it seems their advertising can still be misleading so please be cautious when purchasing from them.
What Is It? The Derya Arms DY9 is a Gen 3 Glock 19 parallel with a 4" barrel and 15-round capacity. This compact size is part of what made the Glock 19 the standard for so long as it tends to be the Goldilocks of small enough for most to carry, but also large enough to be enjoyable on the range. The DY9 accepts Glock-pattern magazines and internally appears to be so close that it may also accept some parts. With a retail price below some 2024 grocery tabs it's an intruiging offer.
Who's It For? As stated above this is a great form factor for new shooters and at a price that also helps reduce some of the entry barrier to enjoying one's ivil rights. Although Derya Arms is a relatively unknown brand in the US, they've been around since 1998 and I've seen them at international trade shows. The potential ability to accept Glock-pattern parts should help ease any concerns about having a product from a lesser-known brand.
Take a Look at the Derya Arms DY9 in the tabletop video below.
From what I could see in tabletop handling, there's nothing wrong with the Derya Arms DY9, it looks to be a decent firearm that just happens to be ultra-affordable.
Specifications have been pulled form Derya Arms' website where this particular model is identified asthe "DY9 C111". Rock Island's website does list the DY9, but not through their menu, and specs found there didn't seem to line up with this model either.
General Model: Derya DY9
Specific Trim: DY9 C111
Caliber: 9mm
Capacity: 15+1
Barrel Length: 4.02"
Overall Length: 6.9"
Weight: 23.63oz
MSRP (Rock Island): $399
Prices around the web as of date article was written.
Click links for current pricing:
I've not seen a new gun hit the market with such a wild variance in pricing. That combined with the mixed specifications makes me think Rock Island isn't taking the gun very seriously, but as a shooter who takes all firearms seriously I of course had to subject the gun to the stnadard GBGuns range protocol to see how it performs including:
Cold Shots: Truly the first rounds through the gun. No warm up, no practice.
Multi-Mag: Since the Derya Arms DY9 appears to take Glock-pattern magazines we test a variety of options including ETS, Glock, Extar, Bul Armory, KCI, Jagemann, and Fab Defense for basic function.
Full Magazine +1: Suprisingly some modern guns still struggle with this. It's a test of how much play is in the magazine as well as how the slide cycles with pressure. This is also when I do my best to learn the trigger.
What's For Dinner™: A test to see what ammunition the gun will eat. Does the gun feed the round from slide lock, will it cycle and feed another round of the same type, does the slide lock to the rear on empty, and is there any notable point of impact change with different loads.
For this gun we used the following ammunition:
Priced and linked where found at the time this article was written
65gr Norma Frangible
70gr Federal Frangible $31.99 / 50 direct from Federal
90gr Winchester Super Clean $20.49 / 50 at Bud's Gun Shop
115gr Hornady American Gunner $18.35 / 25 at Global Ordnance
115gr Blazer Aluminum-cased FMJ $11.99 / 50 at True Shot
124gr Federal Premium Tactical HST $39.99 / 50 at Target Sports USA
124gr PMC SFX JHP $22.99 / 20 at Bud's Gun Shop
135gr Federal Hydra-Shok Deep $37.99 / 20 direct from Federal
147gr PPU Defense Line JHP $23.74 / 50 at Sportsman's Guide
165gr AMMO, Inc /stelTH $24.99 / 50 at Palmetto State Armory
Range Ammo was Browning 124gr Belom $12.99/50 at TrueShot
Sights & Trigger Control: on a 6" spinner target at a distance of 12 yards. We got this from Titan Great Outdoors and use it to gauge how learnable the trigger is and usable the sights are for forced, timed, precise shots.
Practical Accuracy: Five shots from a distance of seven yards at a one inch target. This isn't so much about printing a tight group as it is a culmination of our shooting experience and time for us to collect thoughts prior to making a conclusion.
After Shots: Final impressions and reflections from the range session.
Watch the Process and hear the feedback from two shooters in the Shooting Impressions video below:
Ammunition seen in our Shooting Impressions video was made possible by our Patrons and supporters of our ammunition savings account through Ammo Squared.
On the Range The Derya Arms DY9 performed well, but we did have a few notes that might help you decide if this is something for you and to get the most ouf of the DY9:
The fiber optic tubes are FAT. This makes it easy to get a general sight picture, but may obscure target view or make it difficult to aim precisely for target shooting.
The removable magazine well is a welcome addition for those with larger hands, but also means some magazine baseplates aren't compatible.
Larger-handed shooters may need to ease up on firing-hand pinky pressure as the angle of the magazine well amplifies pressure, resulting in low hits.
The trigger isn't bad, but isn't inspiring either. Those wanting finer trigger control may need to explore compatability with aftermarket gen 3 Glock 19 parts.
The pin holding in the backstrap on our example was so tight that it couldn't be budged with impromptu tools. You'll want a proper punch and hammer to change back straps.
Overall it was a good experience. Not amazing, but no real complaints to be given, especially for the price. I hope this is the beginning of more options from Derya Arms in the US in the future.