Personal Defense Weapon

BT9 is basically a 9mm pistol with a shoulder stock to aid in accurate shooting. In semi-auto form, it works well to 200m, especially with an optic like the Trijicon Reflex 2 shown. Nearly no felt recoil. A great defensive tool for people who lack the strength to operate a full-size carbine and who cannot control a hard-recoiling pistol.  Naturally, it’s heavily regulated in the US as a “short-barreled rifle”.

Swiss shooters are trained to use the same stance with all shoulder-fired weapons, hence the “elbow up” position. As with the other Swiss-made guns I tried, this one was 100% reliable and very accurate.

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12 Responses to Personal Defense Weapon

  1. David E says:

    Nifty. I’d like to see more pistol caliber carbines in a serious SMG caliber like 10mm, more downrange punch, IMHO.

  2. Tim says:

    DSA import(ed?) the semi-auto variant into the US as the TP9; I’ve been looking to get ahold of one. It is true with a stock, collapsible or otherwise, it gets categorized as a SBR and thus slapped with a $200 tax stamp. However, there are slings available that supposedly perform almost as well as a stock, and you can put a forward grip on it for only a $5 AOW tax.

    • Wesley says:

      Adding a forward grip is making an AOW, thus a $200 tax stamp. $5 tax stamp is only for AOW transfers. Fun with NFA!

  3. JA Goodwin says:

    Id love to see these stateside, though Id prefer it in .45ACP or 10mm

  4. Gregory says:

    I want to get my hands on one. Any idea if they will be available in the US?

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  6. Other Steve says:

    I think I’m qualified to comment on this subject… I owned a TP9…. AND SOLD THAT CRAP.

    1. The TP9 is light, it’s a decent gun, and it’s accurate. But so are Glocks more so in every aspect really. There is ZERO reason to own one of these as a pistol. A Glock 17 vs a TP9 as a pistol is a non-starter, Glock hands down a million times over.

    2. So they suck as a pistol, what about as an SBR? Well, they are shorter, lighter, more accurate, and cheaper than an MP5-K. But… the stock sucks badly. Cheek-Slap is putting it mildly. It’s a snappy action (remember that) and that stock is not meant to really dig into, it’s just there for support. I will say for hitting targets it’s better with the stock than a sling as I saw written above, but neither are comfortable. My MP5 A3 stock is better (and that sucks too!). The way the stock attaches has you screw into plastic, immediately loosens itself out after 20 or so times opening the stock, strips itself after 4 or so times of tightening this back down. Best to just let it spin, loctite isn’t going to help.

    3. The action of the TP9 is NOT cheap or simple. It’s a very complex, very expensive to machine combination of tight fitting parts. It can best be thought of as an AR-15 bolt that is also the barrel. The barrel twists and moves with the action, the guide on the outside stays still. It’s very complicated, because of this… see my next point…

    4. THEY SUCK SUPPRESSED. Probably the worst gun I’ve ever shot suppressed. There is absolutely no way to adjust the timing (such as weight in a blowback gun, or locking piece in an MP5, or gas volume in a gas gun), so it gives what I would consider an extreme amount of gas in the face. So much so with 3 different suppressors I tried including an Osprey45, Multimount 9, and an MK-9K subgun can, that after two shots I was LITERALLY unable to open my right eye for a moment. I’ve never been gassed that badly by any other gun. To make matters worse, it was LOUD suppressed.

    5. The trigger is nothing to write home about, although its slightly better than my MP5 trigger. Not as good as Glock. Nothing at all like a Walther PPQ. Not as rigid as even an AR trigger. Always gritty by the way it works, it “rides” on the housing of the gun and just collects grit under there.

    6. Replacement and spare parts are a non-starter. The action is comprised of a sort of Uzi style bolt, barrel that looks like a lengthened and hollowed AR bolt, a splined barrel guide, some pieces to lock it all together. The barrel guide alone (just a splined tube, is over $400 to replace. This is the part a suppressor actually attaches to. So if you have the threaded one and want the three lug version or vice versa, good luck! No option for any spare parts except to buy an entire spare gun. In the photo, that side rail, you’re going to be well over $200 to swap that on without having to drill your upper.

    7. The sights are absolutely useless. Optic required. Likewise, the charging handle is AR-15 style except cheap, plastic, and loose.

    8. The foregrip you’re allowed to have… Sucks as well. The M&P9 has a nice built in angled foregrip. In semi-auto this would still be considered an AOW. So the grip can’t be added until you have a tax stamp, but… Even when you do, it’ll be mounted straigh up and down, and it sucks. I tried a couple grips before I gave up and settled with a magpul RVG. Someone with more time to waste could angle the pic rail on the bottom of the gun, but bleh. With so many other issues why bother!?

    Among other issues. It wasn’t all bad. It was accurate when unsuppressed (because you could still see the target). It started off cheaper than an MP5-K clone, but I moved to that next, and also sold that. I’m still waiting to see if I try the SIG MPX, that might be a winner if it’s a modernized MP5-K. I kept my fullsize MP5 because it’s awesome. The B&T would be something very cool in full-auto. But for civilian carbine, it’s VERY limiting. I’m very glad I sold mine. If you’re at all interested in one, just wait for the SIG MPX or consider a fullsize MP5 clone (skip the K, they run a little too rough for me). Maybe if it ever comes, the AK in 9mm might be a simple or cheapish option. If you can get by with the weight of the Mini-Uzi, those work well. Skip the AR in 9mm, ask me how I know! I don’t know…. if it’s something you want for actual protection, consider an 8″ 300blk. If you want something to use and share rounds with your handgun, I like pistol carbines.

    I would skip 10mm like the absolute plague. Anyone that sees a PDW and immediately says it needs more power, isn’t really understanding the concept.

    • Oleg Volk says:

      I have to agree on the stock — it’s flimsy. Suppression is problematic for the same reason as AR15 — the charging handle requires an opening in the back of the receiver.
      I tried it in auto mode, it was not even remotely controllable. Much better in semi-auto.

      Keep in mind that PDWs are made for very narrow user base with all the corresponding problems. I commented on that back in 2006: http://olegvolk.livejournal.com/61133.html

    • Tam says:

      It was a wretched pulsating ball of suck and fail when it was still a Steyr, and nothing has changed. 😉

  7. Geodkyt says:

    Which is why I am glad to know several SOT manufacturers as friends. Who would perfectly happy to have me transfer a Title 1 handgun to them, mail them a foregrip, “manufacture” an AOW by attaching the foregrip to the Picatinny rail, and transfer the AOW back to me for little more than the $5 (well, doing the paperwork is certainly worth their time).

    Unfortunately, I have to add shipping and local transfer dealer fees, since none of my SOT buddies live in my state. But still cheaper than the $200 “making” tax. (And it’s not even illegal, as per SCOTUS — tax avoidance is not the same as tax evasion; tax avoidance is simply rational people doing ration things within the law.)

  8. Will says:

    The MP-5K is worthless without the PDW stock, by Choate. I would use the steel end cap to mount it, not that plastic thing. The first two versions look nearly identical, as the difference is the early one locked open and closed, and the later had a cam lock that was pull-to-open, but locked open the same. There is a new version that has LOP adjustment, but it is shorter. I’ve seen it, but not used it, yet.

    The Choate stock can also be used on the rifles. The -91 uses a rubber bolt carrier cushion in place of the stock spring plunger unit mounted inside the fixed stock. Only caution is that the hinge assembly can bump the nose of a left-handed shooter, which can be distracting, but not harmful. Much better stock than the A3 sliding stock, but not as compact width wise when folded. IIRC, the price when the logo says “Choate” is 1/3 of what you pay when it says “HK”.

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