SAR 18#6
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SAR 18#6

graciewingert
from graciewingert More from this publisher
21.09.2015 Views

VP9 Above: The weapon is easily operated but does take some time to get the feel of it. This is not, however, an obstacle to easy use. muzzle end so the weapon can be fired while still being in the case. When the weapon is disassembled it fits nicely into the case as well. On The Range During the preparation of this report B&T was in the process of conducting firing tests of the VP9 in one of their inhouse shooting ranges. In this test there were a total of 500 shots fired from the test weapon to see what potential problem might develop in either accuracy or functioning. Every stoppage was analyzed and logged so that it could be discussed with engineering to see if there was the need for some modifications in the design. Such tests need to be completed during the development phase of the project before it gets turned over to production. This is an important part of the development because despite the entire CAD design process and simulations these experiments provide valuable insights to the actual performance of the product. With a weapon like the VP9 it is not required to do a 20,000 round torture test to see what failures may or may not develop as with a select fire weapon like the APC or MP9. The author was present during this test and fired the weapon quite a bit and can state that after about 200 rounds one could feel the fact that the grip is not an ergonomic miracle. The fact that the gun is a bolt action pistol, there is no opposing recoil force to mitigate the recoil impulse. However, in training, only about 20-30 rounds would be necessary as distances would be so short and in service, use would only be one or two rounds at a time. Precision The barrel length of the VP9 is only 50 mm, of which 16 mm of that is the chamber, so actually the barreled part is only 34 mm. In addition, the bullet must still pass through the 4 polymer discs, so with respect to the precision one cannot expect too much. It isn’t a sporting gun… On the other hand, one must understand that such a weapon will rarely be fired at distances more than 5 meters. We conducted a test by shooting at a target at a distance of 10 meters. The primary concern was to determine the accuracy; a laser aiming module was mounted. There was no Ransom Rest possible. We shot a 5 shot group at 10 meters with both the training suppressor and the field suppressor. The groups were: 37mm with the training suppressor and 48mm with the field suppressor. The difference with the synthetic discs is evident. For a closer distance of say 5 meters the accuracy would be half for a head shot of an immobile yet wounded animal. Conclusions The B&T VP9 is a very interesting product that meets a wide variety of applications. In this sense it seems to be more of a tool than a weapon. In conversations with some of the B&T employees they would sometime refer to it as the “Device.” The two weapons used in these tests are pre-production samples, one of which has already been shot more than 500 times. So it is not possible to say anything regarding the surface treatment. In the past however everything that B&T has produced has performed well so there is no reason to expect the production series will not perform as well. Another point that takes a bit of getting used to be that to eject an expended shell and before chambering a second round one must turn the device 90 degrees either to left or right so the round can be ejected. With a little training it goes quite fast but it does take some getting used to. This is surely is an interesting item and let’s just hope that where such devices are not considered legal, the legislation soon changes. It makes sense in terms of animal welfare and to protect the hearing of users and bystanders. SAR Vol. 18, No. 6 48 Nov., Dec. 2014

www.smallarmsreview.com 49 SAR Vol. 18, No. 6

www.smallarmsreview.com 49 <strong>SAR</strong> Vol. 18, No. 6

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