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Weight (With Mag):
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Front Sight:
Rear Sight:
Manual Safety:
Grip Safety:
Mag. Well:
In the last five years there has been an increase in the 1911’s use in professional tactical operations from the Marine Corps to Special Forces teams. One of the primary requirements for their missions is the ability to attach accessories such as strobing flashlights and lasers. The BCA Tactical Operator is built to the same uncompromising standards as our Signature Series platforms, but includes an integral Piccatinny rail milled into the frame apron. This provides the flexibility to adapt the “Operator” to Piccatinny and Weaver compatible accessories to insure the success of your mission.
Fire Control System
Some people call it a Trigger, but they’re missing the target. A great feeling trigger is the result of six parts that must work together like the components of a Swiss watch. Each of the components in BCA’s fire control system are hand fit to engage each other in perfect timing and balance. Our fire control systems minimize trigger take-up and provides just enough over travel to ensure the trigger resets rapidly and reliably. This hand tuning produces a crisp, quick, response that makes activating the trigger a precision movement which can’t be adequately described by using the word “Pull”.
Sights
To be useful and enjoyable, your handgun must have excellent sites. Handguns are often carried in harsh environments like between truck seats or in the map pocket of a door. They’re also dropped more frequently than we would like to admit. Your sites need to be durable enough to handle the rigors of the environment. They also must be visible to “YOUR” eyes no matter how young or old they may be. Most importantly, they must actually line up with your guns point of impact so you can shoot where you’re aiming. After 21 years of building 1911’s, Bill’s Custom Automatics has seen which sites meet all these demands and which don’t. No matter which configuration you choose, all BCA guns come with sites that will meet your needs. From traditional black blades, to today’s most modern Tritium powered fiber optics, BCA will install the appropriate sights to keep you on target. Fiber optic front and Bo-Mar style adjustable rear sights are standard on Signature Series pistols.
Barrel
Your 1911’s reliability and accuracy hinge on the quality of the workmanship and materials used in the guns barrel system. BCA custom guns use only Cathode Electro Discharge Machined Barrels. Made from “Barrel Grade” 416 stainless, these barrels vary less than .0002 from end to end and have an internal finish that is mirror smooth. Each of our barrel systems are COMPLETLEY CUSTOM FIT to the slide and frame. Only “True Match Grade” links and pins are fitted into our barrel systems. Radial lug engagement is kept to a maximum to provide lifetime durability and excellent lockup. Barrel chambers are headspaced on the minimum side for the appropriate platform you are shooting. You can be sure whether it’s a race gun or a defensive carry gun that your barrel has been chambered to maximize both reliability and accuracy for the mission it was designed to serve. Signature Series guns come configured with bull barrel systems unless otherwise requested.
Grip Safety and Mainspring Housing
The grip safety and mainspring housing are the components that have the greatest contact with the shooters hand. A “World Class” gun must provide the shooter’s hand a world class grip. Your hand should mate up with the gun like a custom fit driving glove. To achieve this union, the grip safety must be fit to near zero tolerance. The upper portion of the grip tang must be ground for the highest possible grip while maintaining a natural symmetrical contour. The mainspring housing must be fit for absolutely zero movement vertically or horizontally. The frame from top to bottom should meld with the contour of the grip safety and mainspring housing as if they were made in one piece. BCA guns deliver the best fit to your hand achievable so you and the gun can function as one.
Safety Contour
In addition to its primary role as a safety device, the Safety Lever serves as the resting place for your thumb. With a proper grip, your thumb presses against the Safety Lever and provides much of the leverage necessary to control the gun under recoil. If the safety doesn’t mate with your thumb properly, or has sharp edges, it makes the gun difficult to control and painful to shoot. Bill’s Custom Automatics takes great care to de-edge and re-shape the safety into a comfortable platform that won’t gouge or bite your thumb. This small detail is essential to making a world class 1911 that can be shot like a champion.
Grips
1911 grips must straddle the fine line between providing a positive, no slip, grip and being gentle enough not to make your hands raw after a thousand rounds of shooting. That’s no small task. In addition, they must also be durable. They should not break down, discolor, or require constant maintenance. Grips also provide a great deal of the gun’s cosmetic flare. While there are an endless array of 1911 grips available today, very few simultaneously meet all these demands. BCA guns are available with specially selected Aluminum, Carbon, and Composite grips to meet your style preferences while delivering the ultimate performance, reliability, and beauty.
Tri-Topped
While our Tri-Topped slides are cosmetically beautiful, their form is matched only by their function. Tri-Topping reduces the weight of the slide, WITHOUT MAKEIGN IT MORE SUSEPTIBLE TO DIRT AND OTHER FORIGN MATTER. Lighter slide weight means faster cycle times and less felt recoil. Tri-Topping provides you these benefits WITHOUT the reduction in reliability that porting and scalloping introduce by increasing the weapons exposure to dirt and other contaminants.
De-Edge
De-edging is one of the most overlooked and undervalued attributes of a handgun. This is probably because de-edging doesn’t radically change the way the gun looks or provide the shooter a gizmo he can manipulate. If so, what’s the big deal?
All production guns, and many so called “custom” guns, have sharp edges. You’ll find these edges around the ejection port, on the back edges of the slide, around the front of the frame apron, on the edges of the safety levers etc… If you undergo formal training and do “Tap-Rack-Bang” drills, you will aggressively rub your hand across these areas dozens of times. Truly “Operating” a gun in this professional manor will leave you ripped and bleeding if your gun hasn’t been de-edged. Being a “World Class” gun means these refinements have been attended to. If you operate a BCA gun in the aggressive manor that firearms professionals are trained to, you WON’T end up with scars to show for it. That’s the difference between “World Class” and the “Status Quo”.
Finishes
Rust never sleeps! Whether it’s between the truck seats or in contact with the salt on your skin, all guns are under constant assault from the environment. Your guns finish is its armor against the elements and will determine how long the gun lasts and how good it looks. All BCA signature series pistols come plated in Hard Chrome. We feel Hard Chrome is the most corrosion and scratch resistant finish available. We have Hard Chromed competition guns with over 100,000 rounds fired and thousands of draws from the holster, that still look excellent. In addition to Hard Chrome, BCA also uses Melanite coatings for people who prefer black guns, DuraCoat which can be used for multi-color finishes, as well as traditional hot tank bluing. No matter what your application, Bill’s Custom Automatics can apply a finish that will keep your gun functioning and looking excellent.