Shear_stress
Member
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2005
- Messages
- 2,728
Finally got the chance to tote my new-to-me Arcus 94 to the range today. To recap, the Arcus 94 is a 9mm, all forged, single-action Browning High Power knock-off made in Bulgaria. The frame is hard-chromed (often erroneously described as "stainless steel") and the slide finished in some of kind of thin, matte-black treatment prone to scratching. The grips are a comfortable rubber, wraparound, Hogue-ish affair.
Considering the above features, these guns are seriously cheap. My used example set me back $170, not including the little festival of fees and taxes piled on by the good folks in the state government. Even a new Arcus won't blast too big a hole in your bank account. They continue to be imported in a few variations (compact, full-size, single- and double-action) by Century Arms, and don't sell for more than two and half bills or so.
To me, even that amount of money is too much for a gun that doesn't shoot well. I've got enough paper weights. The object for today, therefore, was to determine whether I got me a deal or a dud.
All shooting was done at the 15 yard line using 150 rounds of Sellier&Belllot 115 grain FMJ. Accuracy with the fixed, three-dot sights was very good. The trigger, newly freed of its magazine safety, was still a little heavy but had a smooth pull and crisp break. This, combined with the tight barrel/slide and slide/frame clearances made keeping the rounds in the black on a 25 yard NRA rapid fire target pretty easy. In addition, though the slide is of a beefier, more angular contour, the Arcus retains the classic BHP handling and pointability. Apparently, the cloning process went well.
Not so well were the few extraction problems I experienced. Roughly ten percent of the time, the gun would not fully eject the empty case. The extractor seemed to do the job of extraction, but it was like the slide did not move with sufficient force to properly slam the case head against the ejector. As a result, the fired round would sort of hang up in the ejection port, still clinging to the extractor. Interestingly, using the same ammo, I had an FTE on the normally dead nuts reliable CZ P-01 I also brought with me.
After I got it home, I stripped the gun down. There didn't appear to be any grime under the extractor hook that might have prevented it from getting a firm grip on the cartridge's extractor groove. Also, with the slide off the frame, the extractor had enough tension to positively retain a loaded cartridge against the breech block. Perhaps the problem could be caused by a too-heavy recoil spring (?)
Overall, I still was very impressed with the accuracy and handling characteristics of the Arcus. I am a little conflicted about the FTEs. However, I did see the same problem with the same ammo on my CZ, albeit much less frequently. So, at the moment, the Arcus is a conditional "deal".
Considering the above features, these guns are seriously cheap. My used example set me back $170, not including the little festival of fees and taxes piled on by the good folks in the state government. Even a new Arcus won't blast too big a hole in your bank account. They continue to be imported in a few variations (compact, full-size, single- and double-action) by Century Arms, and don't sell for more than two and half bills or so.
To me, even that amount of money is too much for a gun that doesn't shoot well. I've got enough paper weights. The object for today, therefore, was to determine whether I got me a deal or a dud.
All shooting was done at the 15 yard line using 150 rounds of Sellier&Belllot 115 grain FMJ. Accuracy with the fixed, three-dot sights was very good. The trigger, newly freed of its magazine safety, was still a little heavy but had a smooth pull and crisp break. This, combined with the tight barrel/slide and slide/frame clearances made keeping the rounds in the black on a 25 yard NRA rapid fire target pretty easy. In addition, though the slide is of a beefier, more angular contour, the Arcus retains the classic BHP handling and pointability. Apparently, the cloning process went well.
Not so well were the few extraction problems I experienced. Roughly ten percent of the time, the gun would not fully eject the empty case. The extractor seemed to do the job of extraction, but it was like the slide did not move with sufficient force to properly slam the case head against the ejector. As a result, the fired round would sort of hang up in the ejection port, still clinging to the extractor. Interestingly, using the same ammo, I had an FTE on the normally dead nuts reliable CZ P-01 I also brought with me.
After I got it home, I stripped the gun down. There didn't appear to be any grime under the extractor hook that might have prevented it from getting a firm grip on the cartridge's extractor groove. Also, with the slide off the frame, the extractor had enough tension to positively retain a loaded cartridge against the breech block. Perhaps the problem could be caused by a too-heavy recoil spring (?)
Overall, I still was very impressed with the accuracy and handling characteristics of the Arcus. I am a little conflicted about the FTEs. However, I did see the same problem with the same ammo on my CZ, albeit much less frequently. So, at the moment, the Arcus is a conditional "deal".
I believe that, and the use of the crappiest ammo he could find, contributed heavily to the problem. It really is a shame.