Self Defense

EAA Girsan MC14 BDA .380 ACP

By: Massad Ayoob

“I have to call this gun a damn good buy”

For the last several years, American shooters have been learning that Turkey produces some remarkably nice guns thanks to cheap labor there. Girsan’s forte thus far has been clones of classic pistols designed elsewhere: their take on the Beretta 92, for example, or their copy of the Browning Hi-Power that was so good many American shooters thought it was equal to the real thing, if not better. Now comes another homage to Beretta, Girsan’s MC14 series.

Here, we test the EAA (European American Armory) Girsan MC14 BDA. The names get a bit confusing, so bear with me for a moment. Back in the 1980s, Beretta introduced a line known variously as the 80- and 81-series. The Girsan is cloned from the Model 84 with a double-stack magazine and chambered for .380. Now, some model name curiosities. Our pistol is stamped “MC14 BDA” on the slide. Interestingly, back in the day, Beretta produced a variation of this pistol for Browning that was also a BDA, which stood in that case for “Browning Double Action.” The .380 branded for Browning had a slide-mounted safety/decock lever similar to those of Smith & Wesson and Walther autos of the time, while the Beretta 80-series guns had frame-mounted safety levers that worked like a 1911 or a Browning Hi-Power.

Once we’re past the interesting factoids of yesteryear, let’s avoid another mistake: don’t confuse this MC14 with another Girsan pistol that closely resembles it and is getting more attention from the gun press, the MC14T. The “T” apparently stands for “Tip-Up,” describing the barrel operation of the gun that model is cloned from, the Beretta 86. Long touted by many, including me, as an answer for those with weak or crippled hands who couldn’t reliably rack an auto’s slide, it popped the back of the barrel up with a push on a lever on the frame so a cartridge could be hand-fed into the chamber — no slide racking required.

Given its price point, one of the surprising aspects of the Girsan MC 14 is its very smooth double-action pull and crisp single-action pull. The pistol’s ambidextrous safety provided positive on/off operation. Mag and slide releases operated smoothly, the former being easy to access thanks to a deep scallop in the grip panel.

Unloaded but with the empty mag in, our test gun weighed 24 ounces on the nose. Girsan has wisely chosen Mec-Gar to make the critically important magazines, of which, unfortunately, only one came with the test gun. However, a Beretta 84 mag will fit and cycle (I tested one). The grip panel style appears to have been influenced by a Wilson Combat motif. The sights are decent size with three white dots and can be hooked against the edge of a gunbelt or holster to run the slide one-handed in an emergency. The thirteen-round mags weren’t hard to fill all the way up and easily inserted and locked in place even full with the slide forward. The ambi safety was positive on and off and not at all hard to operate. The sights did have sharp edges, palpable when racking the gun.

Shooting the MC14

One reason you might want this pistol’s sibling with the tip-up barrel is that being straight blowback, it needs a strong recoil spring. Working the slide doesn’t require Arnold Schwarzenegger but may be more than old or crippled hands can do. Like its Italian inspiration, this Turkish pistol is selective double action, giving you the option of three different modes of carry. Hammer down on a live round with the safety on, it’s like a double action revolver: point and shoot. In the same mode but with the safety engaged, there is an extra margin of safety, particularly if an unauthorized hand gains control of the gun. Finally, there is cocked and locked, sometimes called Condition One, hammer back and the ambidextrous safety engaged.

I would personally go with the latter. Lacking a decocking lever, double action with a torpedo in the launch tube requires lowering the hammer on a live round, which means pulling the trigger on a live round. If you’ve not taken your finger off the trigger when the sear releases and the hammer slips out from under the thumb, you’re going to get a very unpleasant, loud surprise. Simply going cocked and locked eliminates that while simultaneously giving some proprietary nature to the user if a bad guy momentarily gains control of the weapon.

EAA wisely chose to use top-quality magazine producer Mec-Gar to supply the one 13-round magazine that accompanies the MC 14. Mas also tested the pistol with Beretta 84 magazines, which also fit and functioned reliably.

That said, both double and single-action pulls are surprisingly nice for a low-priced gun. I picked it up at the ProArms Gun Shop, where manager Allen Davis greeted me with, “You’re gonna love the trigger on this thing.” He was right. The double action stroke is admittedly a bit long, but in a smooth single stage that weighs an average of 9.18 pounds on the Lyman digital gauge and feels lighter due to the mechanical advantage of the longer pull. Single action averaged a sweet 4.59-pound break with a reasonably good reset, all measurements being taken at the center of the trigger where the shooter’s finger actually makes contact.

Incidentally, one legacy of the original Beretta design is that on each side of the Girsan .380’s frame, the takedown button (left) and lever (right) form handy “resting spots” for a trigger finger in register.

The MC14’s frame features deep serrations on the front and rear straps. Polymer grip panels are comfortable, hand filling, and feature a pattern reminiscent of what you’d find on a Wilson Combat 1911.

Off the Bench

The testing protocol was at 25 yards for accuracy. Yes, we know many gun magazines test .380s as close as seven yards, but we’re not aware that criminals have yet signed a treaty promising close-range shots. This gun is almost the size of a service pistol and was tested to the commonly stated service pistol accuracy minimum, four inches at 75 feet.

Some recommend full metal jacket “ball” to guarantee adequate penetration in this caliber, the problem being that this was the load that earned .380 ACP its reputation for feeble “stopping power” in the first place. Our exemplar was 95 grain Winchester, which put five rounds from a Matrix rest on a concrete table into 4.90”. However, the best three of those – generally a good predictor of what all five would have done from a machine rest—was a less disappointing 3.15”.

Field stripping the MC14 BDA is as fast and simple as any modern striker-fired pistol design. The pistol’s slide is machined from steel, while the frame is aluminum; neither displays heavy tooling marks or other signs of poor machining.

Standard “cup and core” jacketed hollow point .380 will usually not penetrate to the 12” minimum ballistic gelatin standard demanded by FBI, though it may expand in diameter. MagTech 95 grain jacketed hollow point shot better: five shots in 2.85”, with the best three in a stunning 85/100ths of one inch, the “tightest trio” of the test.

If I have to carry a .380, my preferred load is Hornady’s American Gunner XTP 90-grain hollow point. In gelatin testing, it comes close to the FBI penetration minimum and generally delivers at least some expansion. It also delivers accuracy: 2.45″ for all five and, in this case, 1.60″ for the best three.

Shown in Mission First Tactical’s (missionfirsttactical.com) ultra-comfortable Ultralite Belly Band holster, the Girsan .380 offers three fire control options: double action, off-safe, ready to shoot like a revolver; double action on-safe; and author’s favorite, “condition one” cocked and locked, all with live round in chamber.

Accuracy has two components: precision grouping, discussed above, and point of aim/point of impact. For precision, I used a post-in-notch (PIN) sight picture, which put the bullets a bit low. Three-dot sights like those on this gun sit below the top edges of the sights, so when you aim by “driving the dot,” the point of impact is raised. In this case, it brought the MC14 spot on and allowed us to race a Bianchi Plates table with fast, clean “six for six” shot strings.

Reliability? We had one failure to eject, which was instantly cleared with a slide tug, and one misfire due to a light hit on a Winchester round. The latter was discolored and may have been a victim of careless storage. In any case, it went off on the second try.

Hornady’s American Gunner 95-grain XTP load — the author’s choice for .380 carry — did well at 25 yards, printing this 2.45-inch five-shot group.

Best of All

This is a gun with a nice trigger, good accuracy, some useful handling options, and best of all, a suggested retail price of $360 for the all-black one we tested or $381 for the two-tone one. The “T” model with a tip-up barrel is priced somewhat higher, presumably due to its more complicated construction.

Bottom line: The two malfunctions occurred during the break-in period and one was apparently due to the ammo, so I have to call this gun a damn good buy. It has an excellent trigger, is easy and fun to shoot, and gives the user three fire control options. For the person who’s comfortable with a .380, that’s hard to beat. Fluted bullets such as those by Lehigh are one ammo option that might improve the caliber’s fighting potential. See the Girsan MC14 BDA at your nearest dealer, or for more information, contact EAA Corp; E-mail: [email protected]; Web: www.eaacorp.com.