Bilson Arms Carbines Serve Up a Fast Malfunction Fix
Eve Flanigan 09.27.23
Billy Angers, a Louisiana oil man, is all about inventing new ways to solve old problems. In recent years, he’s added competitive and recreational shooting problems to his purview. Last year, I reported on his Pivotal AR Buttstock that allows seamless transitions between a top- and 45 degree-mounted optics, and eases the task of shooting from around cover or in a number of unconventional stances. This year, at the Lucid Optics Ballistic Summit in New Mexico, Angers and his operations partner Jeremy Buhr presented two new devices/guns that solve the problem of time lost to clearing double feed malfunctions.
The double feed most commonly presents as a combination of failed extraction of spent brass and a round bridged between the magazine and breech, rendering the gun inoperable until the brass is removed and a fresh round chambered, requiring breaking apart most of the physical components of good marksmanship – a solid cheek weld and sights that leave the target as the support hand moves from the forend to the charging handle.
Answering the question of “how can I stay on target and clear the double feed while not breaking from my physical firing position?” caused the inventive mind of Billy Angers to create not one, but two innovations that are Stoner platform-inspired, but different in function.
When a double feed occurs in either of these models, the firing hand can simply break away to remove the magazine, the support hand stays in place to pump and clear the problem, followed by reinsertion of the mag and charging. The difference is where the charging mechanism is. Think pump action shotgun or rifle. Angers developed a semiauto and true pump action design to accomplish the stated goal.
The newest of these innovative products is a pistol caliber carbine called BA-9FC. It’s chambered in 9mm, with a 10mm model in the works. It functions as a semi-auto like others in its class, but with the significant difference that there is no rear charging handle. Charging is done by pump action. Similar to a pump action .22 or shotgun, chambering is accomplished by pushing the forend grip forward. It then continues to function as a semiauto, and like many PCCs, it has no last-round lockback. There remains plenty of room for optics on the full-length Picatinny rail on top. We didn’t get to try hollow point ammo at the event, but Angers states that the BA-9FC is one of the only PCCs that will reliably cycle HP. For defensive purposes, that’s quite significant.
Second in the lineup is an AR15-style rifle that uses a regular AR lower, but the upper renders it a single action pump action rifle. As with the BA-9FC pistol caliber carbine, in the event of a double feed, the shooter can release the mag, run the pump, and reload to fix it, all while maintaining the sights on target with a firing grip. It’s called BA-15C.
I got to try both products at the Summit. Both functioned as promised. With the PCC, we set up a double feed to experience clearing it with a pump. It worked well. It was a little odd, but very enjoyable to run an AR with pump action. As with any firearm, smooth running of each requires time behind the gun and familiarization. For example, I realized that changing my focus from running the pump to staying on target prevented me from dipping the front of the BA-15C off target.
Bilson Arms offers multiple finish and barrel choices depending on the model. If you’re an early adopter of novel designs or, in the case of the BA-15C, are fond of AR style but live in a gun control-plagued area where they’re prohibited, the BA-15C can represent a reasonable compromise and with practice, can attain nearly the same rate of fire.
For any competitive shooter who uses a PCC, the Bilson Arms 9F-C , chambered in 9mm, is worth a look. If you’re more interested in a PCC for home defense, a 10 mm version is on the drawing board. Those who want an AR that’s not like anyone else’s, or live in a restrictive locale but still want the advantages of an AR, the Bilson Arms 15C may be just the ticket.
Specifications: BA-9FC
- Caliber: 9mm Luger
- Lower and Mag Release: 6061-T6 billet aluminum with FDC Cerakote
- Upper: 6061-T6 billet aluminum, MIL-A-8625 Type II Class 2 Anodized black
- Handguard: 6061-T6 billet aluminum Ultralight Free-Float M-LOK, FDE Cerakot
- Barrel: 16″ 1:10 twist stainless steel Shaw barrel or nitride-coated chrome moly steel
- Trigger: Mil-spec
- Bolt Carrier Group: BA nitride
- Flash Hider: A2 style
- Buffer: Mil-spec tube; AR15 buffer spring, 9mm buffer
- Color: Cerakote FDE and anodized black
- Length: 32.5″ – 36″
- Weight: 7.4 Lb
- Price: $1,550 – $1,590
Specifications: BA-15C
- Cartridge: .223 Remington/5.56 NATO
- Lower and Mag Release: BA 6061-T6 Billet Aluminum FDE Cerakote
- Upper: BA 6061-T6 Billet Aluminum, MIL-A-8625 Type II Class 2 Anodized Black
- Handguard: BA Ultralight Free Float M-Lock FDE Cerakote
- Barrel: 16″ 1:7 Twist Shaw Barrel SS (or) Nitride Coated Chrome Moly Steel
- Trigger: Mil-Spec
- Bolt Carrier Group: BA Nitride
- Muzzle Device: A2 flash hider
- Buffer: Mil Spec Buffer Tube, AR-15 Buffer Spring, 9mm Buffer
- Color: Cerakote FDE and Anodized Black
- Length: 32.5″ – 36″
- Weight: 7.4 Lb
- Price: $1,750 – $1,790
