I have a bit of a fascination with pistol caliber carbines (PCCs). The compact & lightweight nature, along with the ability to more easily maneuver indoors, makes them an attractive choice for home defense, or even as a truck gun. No, I’m not likely to make a 200 yard shot with one, but if I need a defensive tool at close range, a PPC is potentially a great solution.
After doing some searching for one, I ended up narrowing the field down to the Brugger & Thomet (B&T) APC9. Why? To be honest, what sold me was touching and feeling one at Shot Show 2020. They feel like very well made weapons. After learning that B&T was coming out with a “Pro” version with fully ambidextrous controls, non-reciprocating charging handles, and utilizing AR style grips, I was sold.
I would have preferred the APC9SD, but it was difficult to find one in the “Pro” configuration. Mostly due to availability, I ended up purchasing the APC9K
After purchasing from Modern Warriors in Utah, the pistols was shipped to my FFL, from where I recently picked it up.
My particular pistol is configured with the folding arm brace. I also decided to separately purchase the Glock lower, accepting standard Glock double stack 9mm magazines. This just makes sense given that Werkz focuses on pistol holsters, and we sell a ton of holsters for folks running this magazine configuration. It’s what I run. So my carbine shares magazines with my carry pistol.
Initial impressions of the pistol? It’s as well made as those I picked up at Shot Show. It’s finely machined, and I expect it to be super reliable. Controls feel good. Arm brace feels solid. The magazines insert into the lower with a solid feel, and drop freely. With the stock folded, the whole pistol feels tiny. It’s really small. This would work well in a nice leather briefcase or messenger bag. Unfortunately, I’ve not had the chance to shoot it yet, so these are only bench impressions.
What do we plan to do with it? Plenty, including:
- Add the Cloud Defensive OWL
- Form 1 and switch over to the B&T retractable stock
- Add an optic, probably the Trijicon MRO HD, but possibly the Vortex UH-1 Gen II
- I’m looking to purchase a suppressor
- Add a sling
- Carry it around in a compact bag of some sort
Beyond all that, I’ll use it as a test platform to develop mag carrier solutions for those super long 33-round Glock 9mm magazines.
This gives me more to do… as if I wasn’t busy enough already. 🙂
