Over 600 comments, mostly detrimental, were entered on the original review of the C9 in 2011. There was a follow-up review written by one of the more vocal critics and now 9 years later I have another C9, the special Yeet Cannon G1 edition.
There was certainly an abundance of CAPS LOCK commandos hitting quite hard as well as plenty of the “I’ve fired 1000,000 rounds with no failures,” meme. Hopefully you fine folks will be a bit more receptive to my take on the new Yeet Cannon.
Speaking of memes the Hi-Point pistol is a bit of a meme all on its own. It’s a big, ugly gun that is incredibly affordable and the hundred dollar bill edition secured its place as internet fodder and fun with people my age.
It’s funny that the 2011 article and the nature of many of the responses to it have become one of the reasons the gun is so popular with people my age. That’s why the name Yeet Cannon became a thing.
Hi-Point hosted a contest to name their newest model, a move which the company soon learned is not without risk. The Yeet Cannon moniker quickly edged out the competition.
Following that, Hi-Point nearly made a massive mistake by throwing those votes away. The internet threw a fit, and even HK stepped in to advise Hi-Point to listen to their consumers. Luckily, they did and the new YC9 will be premiering later this year.
In the mean time, Hi-Point, wanting to cash in on the meme, has released the special edition Hi-Point Yeet Cannon G1 edition of their C9 pistol until the YC 9 premiers. To be clear, this is just a standard C9 pistol with “Yeet Cannon G1” laser engraved on the slide. Still, I saw one in my local gun store and instantly snapped it up.
Hi-Point offered to send a G1, but it was quicker to just buy one, and for 160 bucks it wasn’t much of a sacrifice. Prior to this, I had only fired a Hi-Point carbine and never handled a C9 or any other Hi-Point I can remember.
First Impressions of the Yeet Cannon
First thing first; I was surprised at how comfortable the G1’s grip is. It conforms to the hand especially well and feels great in the hand. It’s a hefty beast for sure but not punishingly so. It’s an ugly gun, and the slide is massive to accommodate the blowback action.
The slide will lock to the rear when empty, but the only way to drop the slide is to insert a loaded mag or remove the mag and then manipulate the slide. There’s no slide release lever. It’s annoying, as is the gun’s magazine safety…you can’t fire the C9 G1 with the magazine removed.
The magazine release is actually very well placed. I can activate it without radically changing my grip on the gun. Just a quick thumb movement and the magazine drops out freely and cleanly, loaded or not.
It also snaps into place in a very sure, satisfying way. Inserting a fully loaded magazine with slide closed requires a solid slap to get the magazine seated into the gun.
The rear serrations on the Yeet Cannon G1’s slide are short and shallow. The slide itself is massive and Hi-Point could have taken better advantage of that by making them bigger deeper. Sadly, they chose not to.
The Yeet Cannon G1 comes in a simple cardboard box with a trigger lock, a rear peep sight, and a tool for the sights that doubles as a key for the trigger lock. You also get the typical instruction manual.
The Yeet Cannon model is no different than the standard C9 mechanically or even as a package. The differences are purely aesthetics. It says Yeet Cannon G1 in silver lettering on one side and on the chamber. Other than that, they’re identical.
To the Range with the Yeet Cannon
I was a little apprehensive about the range. I’d never handled one of these pistols and the online world is split into three general categories, declaring that the C9 is . . .
- Beloved, affordable, and reliable
- Absolute crap, a big ugly boat anchor
- LOL, a Hi-Point
I approached the range session with an open mind and was nearly disappointed. In my first magazine, I had a failure to extract, three rounds in. I caught myself thinking this was going to be a shit show.
However, that was the last failure that day and for the next 200 rounds. The next day I picked up a 20-round RedBall extended magazine and ran into two problems with it, but those were tied to the magazine because the rounds nose-dived and the gun simply cycled over them.
It’s Okay Though!
The gun itself ran perfectly after that through hundreds of rounds. Not a single issue using the OEM magazine that’s included with the gun.
I utilized mostly Remington 115 Grain Military and LE training ammo, and a single mag of 124 grain 9m +P Speer Gold Dot JHPs. The gun is +P rated so, why not? Then I finished up with some very old Winchester Ranger 115 grain JHPs and they ran without issue.
The biggest issue with the C9 Yeet Cannon G1 is the virtual lack of texturing on the grip. It’s the middle of summer and I’m in a southern state. My hands start sweating fast and the little gun shifted easily in my wet hands.
You can swap the factory grips for a pair of heavily textured grips that are available on Amazon and that might be a worthy and necessary upgrade.
Given its fairly heavy 29 ounce weight, recoil is very mild and comfortable with the Yeet Cannon. It’s less than most other compact guns, but the C9 is hardly compact.
That massive slide is heavy and absorbs the blast associated with a blowback system. The high visibility sights with contrasting red (rear) and yellow (front) are a nice touch that makes focusing on the front sight easy. Accuracy-wise the gun gets the job done.
Admittedly the sights were dialed in way too low from the factory. I was hitting 4 to 6 inches below point of aim. A quick adjustment of the rear sight had me on target.
At 20 yards I had no issues dropping rounds into the vital zone of a Sage Dynamics Headshot target. Beyond that things get a little more iffy.
Color Me Impressed
The Yeet Cannon G1 handles better than many guns that cost twice the price of the Hi-Point. Nothing about the gun is exceptional, but most things are serviceable and very functional.
The C9 trigger is only okay, but better than a $160 gun has any right to be. The manual safety, though, kind of sucks.
The good news is it’s easy to deactivate in a hurry and won’t accidentally engage. However, it’s hard to activate while in a firing stance, and requires a total movement of the firing hand or the use of your off hand.
Overall, my complaints are mild when you consider this gun is so easy on the wallet. It’s functional, dependable, accurate enough, and affordable for almost everyone. The Yeet Cannon G1 is no tuned 1911, but it reliably spits lead and that has me impressed.
Specifications: Hi-Point Yeet Cannon G1 C9 Pitol
Barrel Length – 3.5 inches
Overall Length – 6.75 inches
Weight – 29 ounces
Caliber – 9mm
Capacity – 8 rounds
MSRP – $179 (about $160 retail)
Ratings (out of five stars):
Reliability * * * *
Outside of one failure, the gun has run perfectly. I’m not counting the two problems with the Redball mag because I believe those are magazine-related failures. It did fail once so I can’t give it a perfect five stars.
Accuracy * * *
I shoot more accurately with most other guns. I find myself limited to about 20 yards — self-defense distance with the Yeet Cannon G1 for effectively placed shots on target.
Ergonomics * * *
In nutshell, the ergonomics aren’t bad at all. It’s a functional, pain-free design that works. The gun’s on the heavy side (six ounces more than a comparably sized GLOCK 19) and the grips could use a bit more aggressive texturing, but we got what we got. The safety is also a downside, but a minor one.
Customization *
You can swap grips out or buy aftermarket extended magazines. That’s about it.
Overall Rating * * * 1/2
I was torn here. I was thinking four stars because the price is so darned good. Like other Hi-Points, the G1 does what it’s supposed to do. It’s reliable, has decent ergonomics, and goes bang when you pull the trigger. The C9 Yeet Cannon G1 is far from great (or streamlined, or refined), but it’s a very functional, affordable 9mm handgun.