Tara 9mm Pistols And FN BDA's

I managed to find a couple of FN BDM 9mm magazines, which although for a later version of the BDA9, wiĺl apparently fit and function fine in the new/old-stock pistol. They weren't cheap at just under $100 CAD delivered apiece, but unfortunately judging by the chatter on US discussion boards that is the "fair" going rate for those 1980s magazines!

Sadly, there appears to be no new source of magazines for the FN BDA9s that Frontier has sourced. More's the pity, as the older BDA9s are supposed to be the best of the 9mm single/double-action "Hi Power" variants, which includes the FN BDA9 and the later BDM.

I'll just leave this BDA9 photo here....


1067px-Bda9.jpg
 
Max Owner said:
Mark; can you say where you got them?

Any left?
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I got them from a small Canadian retailer named "Canada Brass" based on a Google search. I snagged the only 2 that he had and one of those was used.

There are quite a few BDM mags on eBay, but none of the US sellers I contacted would ship cross-border. Wouldn't hurt to try. Otherwise there are a few US retailers who might ship to a US-based 3rd Party Importer, but by the time you pay the fees, shipping and conversion you will be over $100 per mag...
 
Notwithstanding the current lack of spare magazines, I am surprised that there is not more excitement surrounding the availability of these brand-new 1980s manufactured FN BDA9 pistols. This Single/Double-action design effectively addressess the key shortcomings of the earlier Single-Action-Only Browning Hi Power. It permits a double-action first shot from a Hammer-down posture and facilitates safely lowering the Hammer on a chambered round using a Decocker with Firing Pin Safety. In addition to the mechanical enhancements, conventional wisdom says that the BDA9 is better designed and built than its successor the BDM, which has a peculiar Dual-Mode of operation and counter-intuitive controls.

If the 30+ year-old FN BDA9 lives up to its reputation I can see me selling off my Hi Power Mk 3 in favour of the more flexible and capable BDA9. If Frontier Firearms can just crack the mag shortage problem, they ought to have a real nostalgic hit on their hands!
 
I got my TARA in the mail this morning - bare bones pistol for sure, but stolid and stiff. My DARE trigger is NOT resetting in dry fire, you need to push it out another 2/3 mm for it to reset, is this normal? There is no manual or documentation, but I don't think the trigger is working correctly. Should I be returning it now, or attempt to 'break it in'?
 
I got a response to the same message I sent in PM - it's not sounding normal, and I'll call into the store tomorrow.
xdmer said:
I got my TARA in the mail this morning - bare bones pistol for sure, but stolid and stiff. My DARE trigger is NOT resetting in dry fire, you need to push it out another 2/3 mm for it to reset, is this normal? There is no manual or documentation, but I don't think the trigger is working correctly. Should I be returning it now, or attempt to 'break it in'?
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I didn't call in because I know what the issue is. The way the mags are dented instead of pinned, causes the follower to tilt-up a bit from the feed lips, this causes the trigger bar to rub causing friction and not allowing the trigger to fully reset.
 
Frontier Firearms said:
We are down to our last 3 of these. We will be out of guns before we can locate extra mags.
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Extra BDA9 mags that are already manufactured to hold only 10 rounds are quite plentiful on ebay and at various US vendors. They are actually FN BDM magazines, manufactured for the more plentiful, later model of double-action 9mm Hi Power known as the FN Browning Dual Mode (BDM) pistol. The trick is to not become confused or side-tracked by the Browning BDA .380 ACP pistol and its unique magazines....

If you grind off the rearward-facing tab on the FN BDM Magazine's Floorplate (which was intended to engage a screw-slot in the pistol's Slide-mounted "Mode Selector"), this will leave you with a fully-functional BDA9 magazine. This is because the later FN BDM based it's magazine off of the BDA9 Magazine, with the addition of the Screw-Tab. Grinding off the extra polymer flush with floorplate's rear edge is a simple job that takes literally seconds with a dremel grinding wheel. Unfortunately, I no longer have any original FN BDM magazines to photograph, as I have modified all of mine which are now identical to a BDA9 Mag.

All of that to say that a solution does exist to the lack of BDA9 magazines in Canada. Unfortunately however, US vendors will not ship pistol Magazines to Canadian individuals due to ITAR. So, what we need is a business with the appropriate license to purchase and import a half-dozen or so FN BDM magazines to see how they sell to purchasers of those BDA9s....(hint, hint, Frontier Firearms!).


E.T.A. These 15-rounders at Midway USA don't even have the Tab that must be ground off of original BDM magazines, but they would have to be pinned. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/100624834?pid=716175 Yeah, they're not cheap at $50 USD, but where else are you going to find mags for the BDA9? They are cheaper on eBay if you order in bulk and you can get 10 round versions. BDA9 Magazines typically cost in excess of $100 CAD when they rarely appear North of the Border, so that is the going rate anyways. I'm sure you would sell at least a half-dozen. Heck, see if there is interest and take deposits if necessary. At the end of the day, we need Mags to go with the guns!
 
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