Force lights, LED Lenser Lights,. FOX Knives and Survival Tools,. Arc'teryx, Peltor
, Aimpoint, ASP,. TCH Handcuffs, Blackhawk,. Streamlight, Schmidt & Bender,.
december 2012
Partner Update Latest news from B&T
new retail store a hit... 300 m2 of Retail Space Marks New Direction and Quick Success The biggest news around B&T over the last few weeks has been the new B&T retail shop. It is imaginably called the B&T Shop, (we really had to think long and hard about the name). The store is over 300 m2 of space dedicated 100% to professional users. It is conveniently located in the basement of the old building across the street from the new facility. In it one will find a nice stock of all the latest product lines that B&T works with for the Swiss market. This includes 5.11, In Force lights, LED Lenser Lights, FOX Knives and Survival Tools, Arc’teryx, Peltor, Aimpoint, ASP, TCH Handcuffs, Blackhawk, Streamlight, Schmidt & Bender, Hoernecke SIMUNITION® many brands of ammunition and the complete line of B&T accessories. The unique point is that the shop has a full service gun shop on the premises that contains almost 200 different types of firearms for the
customer to choose from. This includes rifles, shotguns, pistols and revolvers of most producers, makes and models.
There is also a full-time gunsmith on duty from 13h30 to 18h00 every day, Tuesday to Saturday for repairs or custom modifications of weapons. It also has a test firing range for customers to testfire weapons before they buy. The whole idea behind the shop was that the since B&T had the
extra space available it was wise to use it in a productive manner. This was truly a customer driven decision because in spite of the fact B&T was not set up for retail sales the office was consistently inundated by police and military customers coming from all over Switzerland to buy items that B&T imported for the domestic market. This created some disruptions in normal office activities as someone had to be on hand to service these individuals. The idea was launched and though it is early it can be said that it is a success only after the first few months. There has been no advertising as of yet and all the solicitation has been by word of mouth. An advertising campaign in the Swiss media has just begun for the Christmas season. It still is diffcult to say how much this will bring to the shop but we are hopeful it will prove fruitful for 2013.
A few views of the shop
Agent Activity B&T partner in the Netherlands, TBM in organized a demonstration of the full line B&T product line for a combined group consisting of the military and Police. In total there were over fifty persons invited and participated.
in the system. We have to work hard to establish the same good relationships with the new decision makers that we have had in the past with their colleagues in the same institutions. If we don’t then our competitors will.”
All B&T products were presented and the items that created the most excitement were the APC45 for the Marine boarding teams and the SPR300 for the sniper team that have a mission within cities or built up areas.
The event was scheduled to start at 09h30 for coffee and informal chit-chat. The actual speaking started at about 10h00. B&T started its part of the by a presentation on each existing product and then in more detail on the new products. The MP9 was listened to very closely as now it is officially in the Dutch procurement system. There was a coffee break that lasted a few minutes the group then was divided into two sections. One went to the 25 meter range to fire the MP9, APC and GL-06. The second group went to the 100 meter range to fire the APR308, APR338 and SPR300. After 60 minutes there was a short break for lunch of sandwiches nicely laid out by the TBM staff. In the afternoon the groups switched over to the different ranges until firing was finished at about 15h00. There was a short question and answer session and everyone was on their way home by 16h00.
As a side note B&T also presented a B&T MP9 Operators Course in the Netherlands for the firearms instructors of the Koninklijke Marechaussee (KMAR) BSB. The MP9 has been officially adopted by the Dutch MOD and the BSB has been the first unit to adopt it for use both inside the Netherlands and on missions abroad. Thanks to this procurement the MP9 now has a NATO Stock Number (NSN) 100517-122-0790. “This exercise has been very helpful for us,” said Evelien Kienhorst, Managing Director or TBM, “Over the past year or so we have seen many of the people that we have worked with in the Army, Navy and Police retire or go to other jobs
It was a day very well spent...
Keep in touch with the Dutch...
APc product line continues to expand with many new accessories
new products APC Brass Catcher As with all firearm products B&T produces there is a new brass catcher for the APC. It will fit all models of the APC this include the APC9, APC45 and APCFX. This product is indispensable when using the APC in or around vehicles and especially aircraft. The last thing anyone needs is a piece of hot brass distracting a pilot or driver at the most inopportune moment. It is also handy in a shooting range when the shooters are close to each other. It saves lots of time when cleaning a range after a shooting session. The device just clips onto the NAR located on the right side of the weapon. One of the unique features of the brass catcher is that it is hinged so the operator can just pivot the bag to clear the eject port if there is a stoppage. The bag at can be easily emptied without removing it from the weapon by unsealing the Velcro bottom. The capacity of the bag will accept empty cases. The top of the catcher is ventilated to allow gases to escape from the chamber which is import when firing with a suppressor.
The APC FX® and APC M Training Versions of the APC The important point to remember about these products are that: A) The APC is the only modern competitor to the MP5 that has a version that fires the FX®, Force on Force® and UTM® training ammunition. The MP7, P90, EVO3, UMP, KRISS or anything else that we know of just does not exist. If an agency cannot train with their weapons system then it does no good to adopt it. B) The FX® and M (Manipulation) version of the APC are the exact weight, ergonomics and feel
of a real APC but cannot be made to fire live ammunition. It is completely safe to use in scenario training. Make sure your customer knows these points…
The final shot... FAQ Suppressors Weapon Suppressors are starting to become a growth area of our industry. The conflict over the past decade has really demonstrated the real need for this technology for soldiers not only in the Special Forces but also for the green army. This may be one of the few growth product areas conventional forces may experience in the near future. B&T can honestly say it is the leader in Europe when it comes to this technology. It can also be said that from what we have seen from US producers there is no one that is superior to what B&T produces. Some are very good but no one is better, different in some ways but not better. It is critical that we keep this momentum and constantly remind the customer of our leadership in relation to this technology. That being said, it is in the interest of our entire partner team to become well versed in the sales arguments for suppressors and of course in B&T suppressors. From time to time B&T has questions from partners or end-users about various reasons why a product is designed or behaves in a certain way. In this section we will try to pick the more common questions and explain why because we are sure your customer will ask the same questions. This month it is about sound suppressors for firearms.
1. Why does a firearm actually need a suppressor? A suppressor on a firearm performs certain important functions. The obvious one is sound reduction which provides the operator a tactical advantage but this also assists comrades who happen to be in close proximity. Some other reasons are: ii. Command & Control – This will enable a small unit commander to ensure that his orders are correctly understood. This is especially important in fighting in cities and urban areas because sounds in building will be louder than in the countryside. It is very difficult for a small unit leader to make his voice commands heard and understood if everyone is distracted because of loud gunfire and if they are now suffering from hearing loss and ringing ears.
i. Muzzle Flash Reduction – Over the last ten years B&T has worked with some of world’s best known special operations and antiterror teams. These well trained and experienced units all had a common request and that was for a maximum reduction of muzzle flash. These units were willing to suffer less sound reduction for maximum flash reduction. There are some very good reasons for this; namely the human ear cannot tell the difference between a noise that is at 137 dBA and one that is at 139dBA. On the other hand the human eye is immediately attracted to light or a flash, especially at night. It goes to reason that if the enemy sees the muzzle flash of a weapon they will know where to direct fire even if they are unsure of the sound.
iii. Friend & Foe Identification – The best way to explain this would be if everyone on a team used weapons with suppressors and the last sound a unit leader hears is pop, pop, pop… this is good as the last shots fired were from a friendly. If the last sound was bang, bang, bang then this is bad sign because this means that there is an unfriendly element in
The final shot... FAQ Suppressors the immediate area and it must be dealt with.
iv. Hearing Protection – Hearing loss is the single largest reason medical discharge or for being declared medically unfit for combat. The reality of the situation is that the soldiers who are the most experienced and the most value to a service, thjkhjke mid-career sergeants are the ones who are being declared medically unfit because of their long term exposure to loud noises
v. Concealing the position of the operator – By using a suppressor the enemy will not be able to judge from which the direction of the fire is
coming from. What the enemy will hear actually is the bullet passing nearby or striking an object in the vicinity. His attention will be drawn to that location which is actually in the opposite direction of the shooter.
3. Will a sound suppressor affect the function of weapon?
2. Will a suppressor make my weapon totally silent? No, there are three sources of sound from a firearm. One is the movement of the bolt as the empty case is ejected and a live round is chambered. Two, is the sound of the escaping gases as these exit the muzzle and ejection port and the third is the supersonic crack as the bullet breaks the sound barrier. The purpose of the sound suppressor is to reduce the pressure in which the gases escape the muzzle. One can further reduce the sound by choosing subsonic ammunition which does not break the sound barrier, bearing in mind the limitations of such ammunition when used in rifles.
Yes, when using a suppressor on a rifle an operator can expect several reactions that the weapon will exhibit. These are: the weapon will become dirtier faster. This is caused by the burnt gases being trapped in the action of the weapon thus resulting in a buildup of carbon. The quality of ammunition propellant in this case becomes evident as certain brands of ammunition result in more carbon build up than others. The rate of fire will be increased as more pressure is being built up in the weapons thus speeding up the function of the weapons. The result will be a high cyclic rate. The weapon will become hotter faster, this is cause of the above two items. The firing rate of a gas operated system may rise as much as 15%. Since this increases the firing rate of the weapon it is reasonable to expect that the weapon will wear out sooner if fired consistently with a suppressor.
Holiday Schedule For those who may like to know B&T will be closed from Friday Dec. 21 until Monday Jan. 7. We will have inventory from 7 to 10 January and nothing will be shipped during this time unless it is critical (which it is normally the case). All the team at B&T would like to thank our partners for all the support in 2012 and that we are looking forward a great deal to some exciting times in 2013.
B&T wishes everyone happy holidays and a very prosperious new year!
