In previous articles, three Bulgarian-made pistols were considered. With this article, I propose to end the series by talking about another version of a short-barreled weapon from Bulgaria, especially since it has a direct relationship to the Bulgarian version of High Power, since it is, in fact, its further development, or a copy of one of the options. In general, this weapon can be viewed in different ways, but I propose to look at this model of a pistol as a result of the development of arms business in Bulgaria. This is an Arcus pistol with the designation 98DA and its various variants.
As the name of the weapon implies, this is a further development of the Arcus 94, to which a double-action trigger was added, which went to the benefit of the weapon. An automatic firing pin safety was also added, which prevents the weapon from firing if the trigger is not pressed. If we take external changes, then the upper part of the shutter casing has become more rounded, and the so-called "beaver tail" has appeared on the back of the frame. The basic model was fed from a magazine with a capacity of 15 rounds, had a weight of 950 grams, a length of 203 millimeters with a barrel length of 118.5 millimeters.
In addition to this sample, a little later, a compact version was also created, however, the decrease in size was insignificant. This pistol received another letter in the name, namely "C". The total length of the weapon was reduced to 186 millimeters, the barrel length to 101.5 millimeters. The height of the weapon also became smaller, because the magazine began to hold 13 rounds. The weight of the weapon has decreased by only 50 grams. For the civilian market, both models of weapons are produced with magazines with a capacity of 10 rounds.
The location of the controls and their shape completely repeat the previous model, as well as the model 94, the Arcus 98 can be equipped with a two-way safety switch, but in its basic version it has only a switch on the left side of the weapon. Considering that the weapon was supplied not only to the army and police of Bulgaria, where, by the way, it is in service, but also for the civilian market, the execution of the pistol can be very diverse, separately it is worth paying attention to the fact that the company went to meet the potential buyer and it was possible pre-order weapons with a stainless steel frame or a shiny chrome toy, art finish was also available. In general, "any whim for your money."
Weapon automation, naturally, remained the same - an automation system with a short barrel stroke and locking the barrel bore due to protrusions on the barrel that fit into the grooves on the inner surface of the bolt casing.
In their normal position, the barrel and the bolt casing are interlocked, but as soon as a shot occurs, the powder gases not only pushed the bullet along the barrel, but also forced the barrel and bolt to move back, as they also pressed on the sleeve, which was propped up by the bolt. As a result, the barrel and bolt moved back together, since the barrel had a tide under the chamber, in which there was a figured cutout through which the axis of the slide delay lever passed, the breech of the barrel was lowered. Accordingly, the protrusions above the outside of the barrel came out of engagement with the breech casing. As a result, the barrel stopped, and the shutter casing moved back, removing the spent cartridge case and cocking the hammer. On the way back of the casing-bolt, a new cartridge was sent, the bolt rested against the chamber and pushed the barrel. Conversely, due to the interaction of the axis of the slide stop lever and the figured cutout in the tide under the chamber, the breech of the barrel rose and the protrusions on the barrel entered into engagement with the slide casing. In general, inside the weapon, nothing has changed except the trigger.
In general, the weapon has established itself as a reliable and unpretentious sample, easy to maintain and accurate enough for a short-barreled sample. As proof of this, we can cite the fact that the pistol is in service with the army and police of Bulgaria, and also enjoys a fairly large popularity in the civilian arms market. It remains only to wait for the further development of this weapon, although it seems that there is nothing to improve, except to make the barrel clutch with the casing - the shutter behind the window for ejection of spent cartridges in order to simplify production, but the gain from this will be insignificant.
