EAA Girsan MC 14T 380 Auto

The typical 380 Auto pistol has evolved from compact guns like the Walther PPK/S and Beretta 84 to subcompact pistols like the Glock G42 and Ruger LCP. A few manufacturers, such as Kimber, SIG, and Springfield Armory, shrunk their 1911 designs, too, and retrofitted these guns in 380 Auto. With most of these guns there is a compromise. If you wanted a more compact concealed-carry gun, the trade-off is a harder-to-operate and tougher-to-shoot pistol with limited-capacity single-stack magazines. 

However, there are some higher-capacity 380s out there, so we wanted to take a look at a trio of double-stack 380 Auto pistols with larger ammo payloads. The three handguns in this match-up are the re-introduced Glock G28, a Bersa Thunder 380 variant named the Combat Plus, and a Beretta Model 86 knock-off, the Girsan MC 14T imported by EAA.

All three of these pistols use simple blow-back operating systems, feed off double-stack magazines, have open sights, are compact in size, and are chambered for 380 Auto (also called 380 ACP for Automatic Colt Pistol) ammunition.

How We Tested

We tested this trio of 380s from 15 yards and used a rest to gather accuracy. For defense-shooting drills, we set USPSA targets at 7 yards and shot Mozambique Drills. This drill is also called the Failure Drill for those who are politically correct. From a low hold, fire two shots to center of mass as fast as possible then place a third shot in the A-zone of the head outlined on the target. We fired Hornady Critical Defense rounds loaded with 90-grain FTX Flex Tip eXpanding bullets, and TulAmmo and MagTech ammo, both loaded with 95-grain full metal jackets.

Our top-line summary is this: All the guns performed flawlessly after extensive shooting; however, there was a choice to be made. Choose an oversized gun, a traditional design, or a gun with unique capabilities? The Glock G28 is oversized for a 380 Auto. Why get a G28 when you can get a G26 in 9mm for the same size and same round count? The Bersa is a traditional DA/SA metal-frame pistol design that is nothing remarkable, but is very well suited as a concealed-carry gun. The Girsan, with its tip-up barrel design, is easy to operate, especially for those shooters with compromised hand strength. Following are more details.

EAA Girsan MC 14T 380 Auto,

$387

Gun Tests grade: A-

The Girsan knock-off of the Beretta 86 is unusual due to the tip-up barrel, which makes loading and firing the gun easy, especially for those who find racking the slide difficult to manage. 

The Girsan MC 14T is imported from Turkey by EAA and is a knock-off of the Beretta Model 86, which was introduced in 1991. The MC 14T debuted in 2024 and is not the usual subcompact 380 Auto pistol. The MC 14T is equipped with a tip-up barrel. When the shooter presses a lever on the right side of the frame, the barrel breech pivots up, allowing the user to load a cartridge directly into the chamber. Press the barrel back in place, insert a loaded magazine, and you are ready to shoot. No need to rack the slide to chamber the first round. With the barrel in the closed position, you can also load a magazine and rack the slide to chamber the first round. This tip-up barrel feature makes the MC 14T a good option for those who have trouble racking the slide on semi-auto pistols.

The frame is aluminum, so the Girsan is light weight, 26.6 ounces with a fully loaded 13-round magazine. The grip size allows all three fingers to grasp the pistol, and there is a finger rest built into the magazine floor plate. The back and front grip straps are serrated, and the plastic grips have mild texture, so they are smooth, yet not slippery. A thumb relief is cut into the left-side grip that allows swifter access to the magazine button. Oddly, there is a lanyard loop built into the butt. There is an accessory rail built into the dust cover of the frame for a laser pointer or tactical light.

An ambidextrous safety is built into the MC 14T with low-profile paddles that are easy to flip off, but they are more difficult to flip on with your shooting-hand thumb. The slide stop is also minimal in size and is easily manipulated by the support-hand thumb of a right-handed shooter.

This slide, similar to open-top Beretta pistols, does not cover the barrel. It is pinched in at the muzzle for a press check, and at the rear of the slide is a small strip of medium serrations. This means it is more difficult to grasp and rack the slide, which is a common trait of many open-top-design pistols. A good reason to have the tip-up barrel, in our opinion. The fixed three-dot sights are retro at worst and intuitive at best. We did get some good accuracy with them. 

The barrel is 4.5 inches in length, which makes the Girsan 7.6 inches long, which is long for a pistol chambered in 380 Auto.

The DA/SA trigger pulls measured 7.5 and 6 pounds, respectively. The DA pull was smooth with bit of creep, and reset was short. The small hammer offered just the right amount of texture and size for the shooter to safely cock it back.

Accuracy was very good. The smallest group measured 1.30 inches with the 95-grain FMJ MagTechs; average was 1.51 inches. Second best was TulAmmo’s 95-grain FMJ with a group measuring 1.50 inches and an average of 1.71 inches. Hornady 90-grain FTX rounds had a best group that measured 1.82 inches and an average that measured 2.35 inches. The MC 14T had the best average accuracy of all three pistols. We attribute the accuracy to the longer sight radius and lighter trigger pull.

The defensive shooting drill showed the Girsan had stuff. Punching the center-of-mass A-zone was easy to accomplish quickly. The Girsan also had the precision needed for the third shot to the top A-zone. There was some muzzle flip, but it was easily controlled. The Girsan ran without issue.

Loading the magazine to the 13th round was easy on our thumbs, and the tapered magazine made reloading smooth and fast. The finger-rest floorplate kept our fingers in place. One thing to note is the barrel gets hot with extensive shooting, and closing a hot barrel bare-handed is not a pleasant experience. The tip-up barrel also makes cleaning the pistol much easier. There is no need to disassemble the pistol to give it a good bore brushing.

Our Team Said: The Girsan MC 14T is an unusual pistol that allows easy loading without having to rack the slide. This would be a good choice for those shooters lacking hand strength to rack a slide. Accuracy was great.

To collect accuracy data from the bench, we fired five-shot groups at 15 yards using a rest. We used a Garmin Zero C1 Pro Chronograph to record velocities.

Written and photographed by Robert Sadowski, using evaluations from Gun Tests Team members. GT