Are you in the market for a 9mm pistol different from the rest? Tired of the same old polymer-framed guns of the last decade? Another North Carolina company, Bear Creek Arsenal, has its take on a unique pistol with the Genesis II (Stylized Bear Creek Arsenal Genes1s II).
This gun has a unique take and has the bonus of being Made in the USA.
One might think this gun is a direct competitor with the PSA Dagger or the Glock 17, but it’s actually more in line to compete with the Rock Island STK100.
Features
Features can make or break any handgun, so in our reviews, we try to give you the most comprehensive overview of what seems like even the most mundane part of the gun.
Magazine Capacity
The magazine capacity of the stock magazines is 17 rounds. This gun accepts any Glock 17 magazine and comes with KCI magazines.
KCI magazines are okay, but I would have liked to have seen Magpul magazines included with this. KCI magazines are made in Korea, whereas the Magpuls are Made in the US.
KCI magazines can be found for $8-14, whereas the Magpuls are slightly more expensive at $11-19.
The Bear Creek Arsenal Genesis comes with two magazines in the box.
Sights and Optics Mount
I’ll start with the good… the slide comes pre-cut for a pistol red dot sight. Featuring the popular RMR cut, you’ll have no problem finding an affordable red dot sight to top this slide.
The bad… the stock sights, which are metal sights with photoluminescent dots, are hard to see even in the daytime.
They are a dark greenish color that makes it hard to see. It would be nice to have, at the minimum, the front sight done in white.
The night sights aren’t great either. They aren’t highly defined when compared to tritium sights.
Rail
The Genesis features a 1913 rail so you can attach a flashlight or laser to use with your pistol.
Anyone who likes to run a flashlight or laser will love this 1913 rail. It’s well done and if you don’t attach anything to it, it adds a nice aesthetic to the gun.
Threaded Barrel
If you like shooting suppressed, the Bear Creek Arsenal Genesis has you covered with its included threaded barrel.
The thread pitch is 1/2×28, which is your standard 9mm thread pitch, and has a 4150 chrome moly barrel.
Side note, I didn’t shoot this gun suppressed yet but when I do I’ll report back.
Ergonomics
While this isn’t a direct “feature” of the gun, it is imperative how the gun feels in your hand.
For those of you who are familiar with a Glock 17, this gun feels very similar but with a metal texture.
The grip feels a bit wider than a traditional glock or polymer pistol. If you love a metal handgun, you’ll probably love this.
The texture on the grip is nice and does hold in the hand well. Since it’s all metal, you do lose the ability to change backstraps for smaller hands.
Controls
Controls are key and knowing your guns controls is the first thing any gun owner should do before they head to the range.
I’ll dive in and give you my feedback on the Genes1s controls.
Safety
Like any good handgun, the Genesis has no external manual safety. Like the Glock Safe Action system, it’s built into the trigger system.
These guns aren’t meant for safeties and I’m glad the Genesis uses the safe action style system.
Magazine Release
The magazine release matches the rest of the gun and is aluminum. It’s touted as an ambidextrous magazine release. However, if you want to run it on the right side of the gun, you’ll need to change it using an Allen key.
You’ll need to decide which side you want to run the magazine release on, which is standard for pistols.
This is a nice feature for the wrong-handed (lefties) among us.
The only thing I can’t figure out is why the magazine release is a different color than the rest of the gun.
That is nothing more than an aesthetic question rather than a performance one.
Slide Stop
I LOVE the slide stop that Bear Creek uses on the Genesis. It’s the one I wish came standard on all guns.
It has a slight hump on the rear of the slide stop and makes it that much easier to use both engaging the slide stop and disengaging the slide stop.
Take Down
The take-down levers on this gun stick out a decent amount and make it very easy to take down the slide and get to the interior to clean this gun.
Anything that makes it easier to clean is always a plus to me.
Trigger
The trigger is pretty good for a stock trigger. The reset is a little different than more pistols in this range.
The take up is smooth and the wall is clearly defined with very little squish. The break is clean and crisp. The reset is just past the wall and there’s a tiny bit of take-up back to the wall.
Overall, the trigger is good for a stock factory trigger and worked well when shooting it on the range.
Aesthetics
While I’ll admit aesthetics are subjective and vary from person to person, this is my opinion on the aesthetics of the BCA Genesis.
Personally, one side of this gun looks great but on the right side of the gun, you have screws that hold the all-metal frame together. To me, that’s not my favorite look.
The slide and slide cuts look fantastic and the left side of the frame looks good as well. The screws and holes in the frame for the screws may not bother you and if they don’t, then ignore everything above!
Shooting
Shooting the Genes1s is fun and pretty smooth for a 9mm pistol. The gun is heavier than its polymer counterparts which helps reduce some of the felt recoil and muzzle rise.
The sights are the only negative for me, but those could always be changed to something better.
Overall, it shoots well. I had one minor issue with feeding but could correct it and keep shooting without issue.
This gun may take some shooting to break in the springs and other metal components much like many of the Kimber guns.
Ammo
I mostly shot 115-grain CCI Blazer brass but had no issues when I switched to some other 124-grain ammo.
Overall
This gun is tough and that’s mostly because of its price point. Going in, I thought this might be a Dagger competitor but quickly realized the only competition for this gun was the Rock Island STK100.
These two guns must be put head to head to determine the winner. I have no experience with the STK100.
The Genes1s, to me, is a fun range gun and if it’s in your budget, it might be one to consider adding to the collection.
I personally would not carry it for concealment, but I don’t think BCA created this to be a concealed handgun.
The Glock 17 footprint and weight make it more of an OWB carry or fun range gun.
If this gun checks all your boxes, you might consider picking one up for your collection.
Bear Creek Arsenal Genes1s FAQ
Here are some of the most common questions about the BCA Genesis.
Who makes Bear Creek Arsenal barrels?
Bear Creek makes their barrels in-house at their facility in Sanford, NC.
Who owns Bear Creek Arsenal?
The Moore Family owns Bear Creek Arsenal and the CEO is Eugene Moore.
Where is the Bear Creek Arsenal?
Bear Creek Arsenal is located in Sanford, NC.
I have now tried three separate Genesis handguns. The first shipment had defective trigger bars that did not allow the triggers to reset. They were returned to BCA and an attempted repair was made wherein the trigger bars were replaced. I’ve just received my three Genesis firearms back and find no improvement. I have run two magazines through one of them and had the same trigger malfunction on every other shot or every third shot, consistently. They are being returned since I don’t choose to sell these from our store.