This article first appeared on AmmoLand News on October 27th, 2024, and appears here now with fresh updates.
The Turkish company Girsan has been throwing out some fascinating guns lately. Girsan has been around for decades and has always been just another Turkish manufacturer. However, in 2022, they were part of the Hi-Power renaissance. That’s where they got my attention, and guns like the MC 14T held my attention. Nothing about the MC 14T is necessarily new to the wide world of guns, but the MC 14T series provides a fairly interesting weapon for the end user.
Girsan MC 14T
Live Inventory Price Checker
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Girsan MC 14T Tip-Up .380 ACP 4.50" Compact Pistol 13rds, Black - 390850 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 511.99 $ 460.99 |
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Girsan MC 14T Tip-Up .380 ACP 4.50" Compact Pistol 13rds, Flat Dark Earth - 390860 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 649.99 $ 480.99 |
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Girsan MC 14T 380 ACP 4.50" 13+1 Gold Plated Black Polymer | Ammunition Depot | $ 599.99 |
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Girsan MC 14T Tip-Up .380 ACP 4.50" Compact Pistol 13rds, Stainless - 390855 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 533.99 $ 480.99 |
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I stumbled upon a few variants when searching for the MC 14T online. Barrel lengths ranged from 3.8 to 4.5 inches. My variant has a 4.5-inch barrel, and according to EAA, the importer of Girsan only shows the 4.5-inch variant online. I’d assume the current crop of MC 14T handguns is limited to the 4.5-inch barrel variants.
One of the more exciting aspects of the MC 14T is the tip-up barrel design. With the press of a lever on the right side of the gun, the barrel pops up and out of the gun. This allows you to clear or load the chamber very quickly. They produce a base plate that can hold a single round of .380 ACP and allow you to load the chamber directly.
The gun uses a 13-round staggered magazine, which is a fair amount of ammo for a .380 ACP pistol. The gun also has a rail for a light or laser. The grips are polymer and heavily textured. Impressively the front and backstraps of the grip are also textured.
The gun uses a DA/SA action and has a manual frame-mounted safety. At first glance, it’s easy to see that Beretta influenced it, specifically the Cheetah model.
Don’t Call It a Clone
The MC 14T is influenced by Beretta, but it’s not a clone of any specific Beretta model. The Cheetah or 80s series guns influence it. The open-top slide, the exposed barrel, and the tip-up design. Beretta produced a gun called the Model 86, which is quite similar to the MC 14T. The Model 86 featured a single stack 9-round magazine. Models like the 84 had double-stack magazines but lacked the tip-up barrel.
Beretta never produced a tip-up 80 series gun with a double-stack magazine. The Girsan MC 14T stands alone in that realm. It also has a rail, which, outside of the newer 80X, wasn’t a feature on the original 80 series guns. The Girsan MC 14T is directly influenced by the Beretta designs but is clearly not a Beretta.
The MC 14T – Going Live
Ergonomically, the gun feels pleasing in the hand. Its grip is fairly thin for a double stack. The grip panel and the texturing all score high in the feels department. The grip feels excellent, and the safety is easy to engage and disengage. The safety is ambidextrous and clicks up and down with excellent tactile feedback.
The rear grip has a beavertail that allows for a good high grip on the gun. It’s nice but oddly wide. You start to see why 1911 beavertails taper off and become thinner. The barrel tip-up lever is large and easy to press. The slide lock/release is also quite large and nice. I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but the magazine release is also large and easy to reach.
The ergonomics line up fairly nicely once we start shooting. The MC 14T offers you excellent control over the gun. The grip doesn’t slip, and the gun shoots flat with little muzzle rise. A big, heavy .380 ACP with a 4-inch barrel doesn’t have a whole lot of reason to jump upward with each shot.
Rearward recoil is very present. The tip-up design necessitates a blowback-operated action. Blowback-operated guns will have increased recoil, and each shot will be felt. It’s not painful, but the rearward recoil is more than your average short recoil-operated 9mm. I shot this gun side by side with a Glock, and the Glock had more upward recoil but less rearward force slapping my hand.
Lead Meets Steel
The accuracy of this gun blew me away. I didn’t know what to expect, but the gun proved to be exceptional. The barrel tip-ups, so I don’t think we can label it fixed. However, it doesn’t move during firing, which must help the accuracy department. The MC 14T can create very small groups at 15 yards, and in my hands, they were all smaller than two inches. Some sat around the 1.5-inch line.
At 25 and even out to 50 yards, I was able to ring steel consistently with just a basic set of iron sights. The MC 14T pulls it together. The smooth double-action trigger certainly lends itself well to accurate shooting, and the short and sweet single action allows for accurate and quick shots. If you can handle the bit of discomfort from the gun’s recoil, the light trigger and flat shooting design make it really easy to dump several rounds quickly and accurately into the target.
The little gun worked quite well with the 95-grain Fioochi I was throwing through it. The MC 14T ate it up without complaint. I fed a little more than 300 rounds through the gun with only a single malfunction. The malfunction was a failure to eject that turned into a double feed.
The gun lacks an extractor and uses blowback to eject the cartridge, making fixing malfunctions a hassle. There is no tap rack bang with these guns. You have to pop the barrel up and free the malfunction yourself.
Worth the Moola
These gut retail for around 400 to 450 dollars. That’s not necessarily expensive, but that’s expensive for a Turkish gun, at least as far as I’m concerned. For less, you can get a Glock 19, which is a well-proven gun with a more potent caliber. The Girsan MC 14T, by all accounts, is a decent gun, but the price point seems to be a bit high.
If you are like me and just want a fun, interesting gun, the Girsan MC 14T is that. If you want something for self-defense or concealed carry, then spend a bit more money and get something a little more modern from a more proven brand. I don’t think the tip-up nature is as beneficial for those with weak hands as the Shield EZ series or the Ruger Lite Rack designs.
Those guns have less recoil and are easy to manipulate. The Ruger Security .380 ACP series offers lighter recoil and a lower price. While the Girsnas are neat, there are just better options out there. However, it is a ton of fun, and if you find one on a deal, snatch it up!
About Travis Pike
Travis Pike is a former Marine Machine Gunner, a lifelong firearms enthusiast, and now a regular guy who likes to shoot, write, and find ways to combine the two. He holds an NRA certification as a Basic Pistol Instructor and is the world’s Okayest firearm’s instructor.
I don’t think “Travis Pike” is a real human. He’s an AI program. The articles are too shallow, with too many mistakes.
“More modern”? Meh.
I own one of these. Bought it for my father-in-law. He has weak hands. This gun is excellent for people with weak hands who are not able to rack a slide. Just insert mag, pop the barrel up, insert round, close barrel and ready to go.
It is a DA pistol, NOT meant to carry cocked and locked. Don’t know why they show that in the photo.
Not necessarily a clone. More of a hybrid of a Beretta 92 and the Beretta Bobcat/Tomcat which had pop-up barrels.
I don’t see this being a big seller. A large-given the caliber hand gun, that’s bigger and heavier than dozens, maybe hundreds of 9mm’s? I don’t see it.
Plus, in today’s economy, is .380 worth the cost? 9mm is king these days, like it or not and cheaper.
He doesn’t say, but judging from the pictures it looks like it can be carried cocked and locked? I’m not sure.
I just don’t see this being a big seller.
Good report Travis. I like the concept and design, but I am a little skeptical of the design execution. If it were made by Ruger, in an American factory, I’d be all over it. Isn’t Turkey where those two Marines were attacked recently. The crowd swarmed our off duty Marines and put plastic bags over their heads, so that they could not breath. Yeah, Turkey. That was the place. No business for you Girsan.
Decent design but, unfortunately, it’s made by Turks – I couldn’t ever trust it to be better than their garbage shotguns or Sylvania electronics.
But it is a clone!