U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Franklin Armory is one of those companies that does not rest on their laurels. Over the past several years I have fired rifles equipped with their Binary Trigger numerous times, starting with an AR and progressing through AK-47s, MP-5s, Ruger 10/22s, and most recently their latest in a Ruger PC Carbine. While some writers or reviewers might try to point out tactical applications or defensive scenarios with a binary trigger; I like them simply because they are fun and the Ruger PC-9 proved no exception.
The Franklin Armory BFS III PC-C1 has three settings: Safe, semi-auto, and binary. The binary setting fires one shot when the trigger is pulled and a second shot on the release when the trigger moves forward again.
The Ruger PC Carbine
In case you’ve been living under a rock the past few years, the Ruger PC Carbine is a pistol caliber carbine that outwardly resembles Ruger’s popular 10/22 carbine, except it is chambered in 9mm. This is Ruger’s second outing with this platform. The originals hit the market nearly 30 years ago (PC-9 and PC-40) and took the same magazines as Ruger’s metal-framed semiauto pistols at the time.
While at the time, it made sense from a manufacturing standpoint as well as brand loyalty, it limited shooters to either 10 or 15-round magazines. If you wanted more ammo you were at the mercy of aftermarket magazines that were less than perfect. Add to that the fact that we were dealing with a ban on magazines that held a greater capacity than 10-rounds, Ruger’s factory magazines manufactured before 1994 were verging on prohibitively expensive.
When Ruger relaunched the rifle design they made some improvements such as a better rail atop the receiver, a threaded barrel, and the ability to take the most popular pistol magazine available in the US: those that fir the Glock 17/19.
In addition to magazines being available and affordable, there are 30-round factory Glock magazines out there that actually work.
If you are a fan of pistol caliber carbines, the PC-9 might be the one you have been looking for. There is also a pistol version with a shorter barrel and the provision to add a stabilizing brace. Or you can bite the bullet, pay the $200 and make a short-barreled rifle (SBR).
It’s not a sub-MOA tack driver by any means, but accurate enough (3”-4” at 100 yards) to be considered interesting. It’s perfect for indoor ranges that restrict rifle calibers, too.
The BFS III PC-C1
Installation is just a little bit more than replacing your factory 10/22 trigger with a new one. Most significant will be installing the new “selector”.
The Ruger PC Carbine like the10/22 uses a cross-bolt safety mounted in the trigger guard. Obviously, this would pose a challenge to using the existing safety with a binary trigger as you need three positions to make it work. The engineers at Franklin Armory redesigned this into a three-position ambidextrous safety and selector. To the rear for safe, straight down for semi-auto and forward for binary mode.
My loaner rifle had the trigger installed but I was told that the installation was a bit easier than adding one to a Ruger 10/22.
Franklin Armory includes a bright red sticker to affix to your PC-9 in order to remind you which setting does what.
Shooting the Ruger PC Carbine with the BFS III PC-C1
As stated previously, in Binary mode, the firearm will discharge one round on the pull of the trigger and one round on the release of the trigger. All BFSIII triggers feature the ability to negate the release round in Binary mode by moving the safety selector back to Semi mode or Safe. Additionally, all BFSIII triggers are engineered to prevent the shooter from moving the selector to Binary mode while holding the trigger back in Semi mode.
While it sounds simplistic on the surface, running a binary trigger to run as fast as you can is a bit of a learning process. After a few minutes (maybe 10-20 but it can take more) the shooter will gauge the feel of the trigger and the release. Forget about “shooting to reset” just get on it and start working it lightly back and forth. Don’t overthink it and it will sound almost like full auto.
The length of a standard round of 9mm is shorter than a round of 5.56 and longer than a round of 22 lr. While not as fast as a .22 you can run this trigger faster than an AR or AK because the bolt has a shorter distance to travel in order to go into battery.
Recoil is extremely mild and if you have a PC Carbine, this makes a fine platform with which to enter the realm of shooting a binary trigger.
While I had no issues with the factory stock, for those who want to dress their carbine up a bit there are aftermarket stocks available from TANDEMKROSS and MagPul and possibly others that will allow you to change things up a bit.
I have yet to see one like the old school Butler Creekside folders that were available for the 10/22 or Mini-14/30 in the 1980s and went out of vogue with the formerly mentioned 1994 Assault Weapon Ban and never really came back due to the rise of the AR in the post-ban years.
With an MSRP of $299.99, this is an affordable binary trigger that promises hours of fun for your Ruger PC.
For more information, check out Franklin Armory.
About Mike Searson
Mike Searson’s career as a shooter began as a Marine Rifleman at age 17. He has worked in the firearms industry his entire adult life as a Gunsmith, Ballistician, Consultant, Salesman, Author and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1989.
Mike has written over 2000 articles for a number of magazines, websites and newsletters including Blade, RECOIL, OFF-GRID, Tactical Officer, SWAT, Tactical World, Gun Digest, Examiner.com and the US Concealed Carry Association as well as AmmoLand Shooting Sports News.
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Affordable? Not to me it isn’t.
I put one in my PC Charger, the pistol version of the PC 9 carbine. It is a blast to shoot. Doesn’t seem like $300 worth of trigger in the box, but it is definitely $300 worth of fun.
$300??? The mark up on that must be close to 1,000%. Pass!