Firearms and ammunition

100 years of handgun expertise
The pistols from FN HERSTAL represent 100 years of handgun expertise. Rugged designs from advanced manufacturing processes, built to rigid specifications assure that these pistols are ready for action, regardless of conditions.

The BDA9 and BDAO pistols
The BDA9 and BDAO are semi-automatic pistols that operate by short recoil of the barrel. They share the same mechanism and benefit from the same ergonomy.
Compact versions are available for both BDA9 and BDAO pistols.

Ready to fire, safe to carry
Both the BDA9 and BDAO can be immediately fired when drawn from the holster.
All you need to do is press the trigger.
All safeties are engaged at all times except when the trigger is pulled.
The BDA9 features an ambidextrous decocking lever and both the BDA9 and BDAO have a reversible magazine catch.

One Weapon, Two Models
The BDA9 and BDAO pistols have a lot in common. They share the same reliable mechanism, offer the same superb egronomics and are both manufactured to FN HERSTAL’s stringent quality standards. At the same time, they are different in function as they are each intended to satisfy different basic mission requirements. The BDA9 was conceived for military applications while the BDAO is perfectly suitable for law enforcement use.

BDA9
The BDA9 is a double/single action, high-capacity, semi-automatic pistol that operates by a conventional and reliable short recoil of the barrel. It uses a classic double action trigger which cocks and then releases the hammer. The recoil of the slide recocks the hammer, and all consective shots are fired from the single action mode.
The BDA9’s visable and accessible hammer can be cocked manually if the user wishes to fire the first shot in the single action without first cycling the slide (i.e. after the pistol has been decocked). The BDA9 features an ambidextrous decocking lever and a reversible magazine catch.

BDAO
The BDAO is a double-action-only, high-capacity semi-automatic pistol that, like the BDA9, operates by a short recoil of the barrel. The rearward pull of the trigger cocks and then releases the hammer which is automatically decocked following each shot. The BDAO’s magazine catch is reversible for left- or right-handed use.

Hammer position after first round fired

Safe to Carry, Operate and Handle
The BDA9 and the BDAO both feature a firing pin safety which automatically blocks the firing pin and is released only when the trigger is pulled to fire. Immediately after a round is fired, the safety reengages itself even if the trigger is not released. When the hammer is released from the cocked position either by actuating the decocking lever (BDA9) or when the slide closes (BDAO), it is caught in the safety notch by the decocking safety before it reaches the firing pin.
All safeties are connected at all times except when the trigger is pulled.

Technical Specifications