Thanks, Boss!

Installation of the B&T APC45 trigger would have been a real pain in the rear had it not been for the detailed instructions provided by TFB’s editor Pete in his review off the same trigger for the APC9.  Not only are the instructions hard to follow, there are errors in the diagrams!  Specifically the diagram mixes up the trigger and hammer pins.  For a layman attempting to install this at home, this could result in the wrong length pin supporting each assembly.  Not good.  Furthermore, I discovered that someone at Franklin installed the selector switches on the wrong side of the selector drum at the factory (leading to some confusion until I figured out their error).  Nevertheless, after 1/2 an hour of muddling through the installation I was successful in the install.

Inner workings of the BSF trigger

Weight, weight

After installation, I measured the new trigger pull weight with a Lyman Digital Trigger Pull Gauge.  The factory pull weight on my APC45 was 3lbs 12oz.  The new pull weight was more than double, measuring 7lbs 9oz in semiauto and 6lbs 12oz in the rearward portion of the binary firing mode.  Both pulls with the BSFIII exhibited significant grittiness and creep, and the release portion has some creep as well.  Overall, this resulted in a definite downgrade in trigger feel and weight.  It will take some polishing to get this trigger to where I want it to be.

The suggested sticker to place on your receiver when the BSFIII is installed

Franklin Armory seems to have changed hex screw suppliers from their previous models. Older models had screws from Fang Sheng screw company, marked “YFS”

Range time

I headed to the range with the B&T and 400 rounds of .45, in both FMJ and JHP.  This author is glad to report that the BSFIII trigger did not impact the solid reliability of the APC45 in any way.  I did not have one malfunction in either firing mode.  The binary trigger did exhibit some impressive split times.  The fastest split times (time between each shot fired) were .09s, with .1s being the average throughout the day.  The fastest mag dump was measured at 2.35s for 25rnds.  This results in a 636rpm cyclic rate.  This is faster than an M3A1 (450rpm) but much slower than a true APC45 SMG (1000rpm).  While it was easy to keep all 25 rounds on a silhouette at 25 yards at full speed in binary mode, shots further out required more concentration due to the grittier trigger pull.

…This one’s for fighting, this one’s for fun

That, in a nutshell, is how I would describe my experience between the stock B&T trigger and the BFSIII trigger for the B&T APC45.  For trips to the range where I want to loosely simulate the experience of a full auto .45acp SMG at 1/60th the cost of a true transferrable one, the time it takes to swap it out is well worth it.  For defensive purposes or precision PCC competitions, I will keep using the stock B&T trigger.

MSRP: $499.00 (Can be had on sale for $449.00)

Thanks to Hughston Shooting School for range time and logistical support