Bulgarian Arcus 98DAC 9mm Compact 4.0" 13+1 Two-Tone HG1015T-N

Customer Reviews

Rough, Tough & Reliable. Outstanding value
Review by Tim on 3/28/2015

I made the video for my wife (she's on the wrong side of the pond) while test firing some reman HP ammo so it was mostly about the ammo.

The Arcus however, is a fantastic shooter and an easy EDC. I carry it daily in a Fobus paddle holster that fits it perfectly and it CCs quite well.

I bought it because of the price and because its an M & P service sidearm, which means its rough, tough & reliable and ready for just about anything. The finish might be rough, but its built like a tank and I have no qualms about trusting my & my family's life with it. In fact my wife is going to have one as well.

I carry 13+1 safety off, half cock.
As expected the DA pull is stiff, but I find it manageable and can get the first round on target consistently. After that the SA trigger pull is pretty smooth and crisp. Recoil is no big deal as the weight of the slide dampens it quite a bit so anyone should be able to enjoy shooting. For being a service pistol the accuracy is pretty good too. It's not as match grade pistol so don't expect those kinds of results.

The only thing I really wish it had is a decocker.

Over all a fun shooter and I would highly recommend it to anyone, whether they be a new shooter or an old hand at it.

Arcus 98 DAC 9mm
Review by Adams on 8/24/2016

Bought a used Argus 98 DAC on sale at Cabelas priced $209 in factory box with papers, 2 mags and cleaning rod. Not pretty outside and even worse inside. This gun is a tank that will shoot anything. No kidding, shooting a .380 FEG pistol and switched to the Arcus loading 2 mags with .380acp instead of 9mm, son grabbed worse box. One 50 round box of PMC later and not one FTF or FTE. Discovered the mistake and shot 100 rounds of 9m 115 grain and ran the ammo like you know what thru a goose. Great gun period regardless of price.

Excellent sidekick
Review by Alan on 12/29/2015

I received a week ago but couldn't get to range until yesterday. Some reviewers have said it's great or UNBELIEVABLE for the price. Scratch out the conditional phrase "for the price" this is a great gun period. Good sights, trigger, grip, etc. Put 100 downrange and not 1 burp or fart. I got it when on sale and they ran out right aftetward. I would have been pissed had I not ordered before they ran out. Plenty to say pro, nothing con. If you are undecided get it when it comes back in stock. You won't regret it, guaranteed. Just do it.

Awesome purchase all around price quality accurate!
Review by JoeRod on 11/30/2015

You've done it again Classic... This weapon is UNBELIEVABLE for the price! I ran 150 rounds of factory reloads. Not once did weapon jam and the accuracy is unbelievable. The feel of the grip is the best I have found yet. This grip feels as if it is part of my hand just an extension. Recoil? What recoil? Four of us shot this weapon and it received 8 thumbs up! Seriously contemplating a second purchase of this weapon , just because the price and quality!

Great value
Review by Michael on 11/21/2015

Great pistol for the money. Classic was great, shipped fast to my FFL. Got this to the range last week and I performed flawlessly with cheap 9mm ammo. Would recommend this pistol and will definitely order from classic again

Exelent and better than stupid glock
Review by Vladimir Putin on 10/15/2015

This gun is awesome, you have to try it to compare, i dont know why people get brainwashed by advertisement of some BS glock . There is Pistol of Stechkin (made in Russia) that outnumbers glock in 3-4 times .. But us gov made it illegal here,,, eahh, welcome to brainwashed USA

Wow!
Review by Charles on 10/2/2015

I ordered this gun because of positive reviews and because of fond memories of my Bulgarian Makarov. I wasn't disappointed. It's actually better looking than I expected but the best thing is how it shoots. Cycled everything; no malfunctions at all. Lots of people, including me, find that Hi-Power style pistols are easier to point and aim, and this gun is true to that. One of the most remarkable things, however, is how mild the recoil is. It's the lightest shooting 9mm I've ever shot. Takedown is easy too. I look forward to shooting this guy many years to come

I forgot
Review by JFern on 9/9/2015

I forgot to mention in my previous review that the single action trigger is about as good as it gets, and a surprise in this price range. It weighed in at near 5 pounds. I took a BHP hammer spring and cut it to fit the Arcus and reduced the single action trigger to a little over 4 pounds. Just where I like it. The revised hammer spring reduced the double action trigger weight to about 10-12 pounds. Please note that I am not recommending this modification to anyone. I am just saying that the gun can be improved by a competent gunsmith.

Great Value
Review by JFern on 9/9/2015

I purchased this gun from Classic a couple of weeks ago. The first thing I did was take it down and clean all the grease out of it with charcoal lighter fluid, then re-lubed it and greased the slide rails. I then put some nice wood grips on it that are meant for a Browning Hi Power. Because this gun has a double action option that the HP and clones don't have, the grip had to be modified slightly. I took it to the range last week and put about 50 rounds through it without a problem. The sights are adequate, but nothing special. The accuracy is good for a compact 9mm. The double action trigger is heavy, but that is what it is supposed to be. The slide lock/release is a little far forward to reach without moving your grip. The safety is well located and easily released for cock and lock lovers. The beaver tail is a little longer and more curved down than necessary. (I would cut some of it off, if I could duplicate the finish.) The finish on the gun looks good if you don't look too close. All in all, this is a great value for $279, if you want a reliable pistol for home defense that will fit anywhere.

this is a sweet weapon. Every bit as smooth as a High-Power.
Review by Steven on 3/9/2015

Bought this from Classic. I am a big Browning Hi-Power fan. I had my doubts that it would be up to that standard. I was wrong!! This is one of the smooths working gun, right out of the box. Took it to the range and pumped 50 rounds, in groups of 5 at 15 and 20 yards. Groups stayed at 1 - 11/2". Not bad at all!!
It was everything the reviews, description said is would be.

Solid Value
Review by Gun Bunny on 2/10/2015

I already owned the full side model and am highly impressed with it and when I saw the compact on sale, I said why not?

After wiping off the packing grease, I took it to the range and commenced firing almost 200 round through it and I can honestly say I like it better than the full size.

No failures to feed or extract with Remington green or Winchester white box ammo (115 grain) .

Great value for your money, buy one.

Nice Handgun!
Review by Jon on 7/25/2014

I read and watched a lot of reviews on this handgun before making the purchase. It was either this or the CZ999. Most people said the CZ999 was too bulky (even the compact model) so I got the 98DAC.

I have not shot this guy yet.

I don't really care for wrap around grips, so I cut the finger grooves off.

Out of the box, it cycled very smoothly.

DA trigger was stiff. SA was nice!

After cleaning it, I oiled the crap out of it, and over the past month pulled the trigger in DA mode A LOT! It is very smooth now and I can't wait to actually shoot this thing.

I may buy another!

Great Deal
Review by wayne on 3/30/2014

Got the Arcus 98DAC and a Canik TP-9 at the same time and took both out to the range. The Arcus is a wonderful gun. Shot great with only 1 FTE in 150 rds. Looks good and feels great. Has some hest so it feels like you're carrying a real gun. Finish is OK but not up to the level of a higher priced firearm, but what do you expect for $299.99? Would highly recommend this firearm to anyone looking for a quality weapon at a really reasonable price.

Outstanding!
Review by Tim on 3/22/2014

When I say outstanding I’m understating the Arcus. So that said, WOW, this thing is built like a tank all steel and built to last. I have now bought both the Arcus 98DA all black & 98DAC two-tone. The balance of both are very nice, the sights are ok, and have now put 300 rounds of different ammo through each with zero problems.

Trigger pull on both the 98DA & 98DAC is just right, nice and easy but firm enough not to discharge the weapon unintentionally. Now for note: the double action is a bit harder to pull but most shooters will never use this feature.

Accuracy of the Arcus out of the box, I’m still at awe. 1st Mag on the 98DAC 7 out of 13 rounds at 40ft hit the 8” target, 1st Mag out of the 98DA 8 out of the 15 rounds hit the 8” target. A couple of cleanings and more rounds accuracy even got better.

Fit and feel is very correct. My wife loves the 98DAC and I like the 98DA. Very little recoil from either. The 98DAC is aprox ¾ inch shorter in length and ½ inch shorter grip than the 98DA. They both have a very nice rubber like factory grip. Simply they feel good in your hand.

These both came in some very cool boxes you don’t see theses days, included are two mags, cleaning rod tool and instruction book. The ease of taking these 98’s apart to clean is amazing, no kidding it takes less than a 60 seconds to break it down to clean.

Classic firearms Is one of the best at communication, service and speed of shipping quality firearms in today’s market. I’m very pleased with them and like the Arcus 98DA and 98DAC I highly recommend.

FYI: Get your 98 before they are gone !

Solid shooter
Review by ZE on 2/23/2014

Gun arrived and I cleaned it, put 80 rounds through it, I let it set for a week and put another 80 through it and then cleaned it again. Not a single problem and the more I handle it and shoot it the more I really like it. Replacement grips are hard to come by but the default wrap around grip will do until I can change them out to something more Hi Power looking. Either way I think for the price this is a solid 9mm. Im glad I got the compact size.

Hi Value Hi Power
Review by 6Wiskey3 on 1/15/2014

I got my ARCUS about five years and 2000 rounds ago. I love what they did for the hi power platform. It is a durable gun that will shoot anything and do it with relative accuracy.
Like others have said the factory finish sucks. I carried mine for a time in a in-the- pant holster and found that I started to get a little bit of rust forming on the trigger guard. A good Duracoat job fixed that and now it is a sweet desert sand color.
I like the size of the DAC and the fact that my Browning HP mags work in it. I wish there were some options for after market sights out there. The factory ones do an passable job but are not anything to write home about.
All told for the price point you can't go wrong. It is well worth the money and every bit as good and dependable as a gun at twice the price. If you are looking for a 9mm and don't want to break the bank I'd recommend the ARCUS DAC.

Great Solid Pistol
Review by Guns for Fun on 1/4/2014

OVERALL: Great pistol! Browning Hi Power clone. Definitely built for military/police use in Eastern Europe. It has a metal frame, has some weight to it, and eats all types of 9mm ammo (steel case, brass case, FMJ, JHP, various weights). It looks and feels indestructible. I've run about 300 rounds so far, and no problems feeding or cycling. The grip is wide enough to be comfortable with standard rubber grips with a slightly thinner slide. It could be concealed if you wanted to. (Comparable in size to a mid-sized Glock 19, but a little heavier and more comfortable in the hand to me.) Accuracy is fine.

I have medium sized hands for a guy, and the grip fits me great. My wife really enjoys shooting it as well! The recoil is very mild due to the weight and nice hogue-style grip.

The finish is not pretty on the outside, and it's even rougher on the inside (underside of the slide, machining marks, etc), but none of that affects the function of the pistol. The SA/DA trigger has a little play, but the pull is good and it releases fine. A good cleaning got everything operating smoothly.

Parts may be hard to find if you need them, but Browning Hi Power Mags will fit the DAC model.

The ONLY real negative I ran into, which is rather IMPORTANT if you like to dig into the inner workings of your gun:
(If all you do is take the slide off and on for cleaning, you probably will NOT have this problem. However, If you start digging into the springs/hammer/trigger assembly, you may run into this issue):
When I took the gun out and first shot it (after cleaning it), everything was fine. I took the slide off and on multiple times with no issues. It cycled quite smooth for a $300 gun! I wanted to tinker with it, and take the hammer and springs out (hey, $300 gun right?). When I put the springs and linkages back together, the firing pin safety release stuck up about a half millimeter too high (it was previously flush with the top of the frame). It stuck up high enough to catch the slide and would have hindered it from properly cycling. I tried disassembling and reassembling several times with the same result every time; Sticking up about a mm too high. (Yes, I was reassembling correctly) After doing some research online, I discovered that this exact issue has occurred to many people when taking the hammer springs off and then back on. The fix? Use a small rotary sander (Dremel) and shave off the part sticking up, to make it flush with the frame again. After filing the extra metal off and cleaning the gun, it works perfectly again.

NOTE: If all you do is take the slide off and on for cleaning (normal cleaning routine), you should not run into this issue. This was only when I dug down beyond the normal take-down. If someone is mechanical enough to take the hammer springs, shims, and connectors out of the gun frame, they are probably mechanical enough to shave off .5 mm of metal.

In the end, it's a $300 gun that's comfy, fun to shoot, and should last more than a lifetime.

Really like it and I am a pistol instructor
Review by Ramsey on 2/19/2013

Mine is 5000 rounds old. Finish was never pretty(mine is not the 2 tone) and I.ve threatened to Duracote it for the past three years.lol Strong, concealable, accurate,eats anything,doesn't like/need babying.Not a plastic pistol.Some Browning parts interchangeable. Arcus parts cam't be found, apparently.This is my carry gun...my duty gun is a Sig and the Arcus is my fave.!!