Published in GUNS Magazine March 2008
By John Taffin
DS Arms TP9
Is This The Ultimate Truck/Home/Tactical Pistol?
Is This The Ultimate Truck/Home/Tactical Pistol?
of the TP9. Still. Do you wanna try and floral carve it?
Recently, our editor went past a typical window of opportunity and instead sent me reeling and rocking through wide-open double doors. He didn’t even allow me time for a little kicking and screaming. Even the manufacturer’s representative said this firearm was far removed from the norm I am usually associated with, however, he thought I would certainly enjoy it.
He was definitely right! We are not talking typical plastic guns here, the DS Arms TP9 is what the mainstream, or drive-by media would probably unknowingly refer to as an assault pistol or, with their most ignorant reporters, even a machine gun. It is neither. What it is, is a high-capacity 9mm semiauto, totally out of the ordinary, black polymer, pistol. It won’t fit in a traditional leather holster, it can’t be fitted with ivory stocks, it can’t even be engraved. What it can do is provide a whole lot of security as well as some just plain old simple fun shooting.
Why would anyone want such a pistol as this? I can answer that in one word: “Katrina,” and anyone who doesn’t understand that must be suffering from Rip Van Winkle syndrome. I have a good friend living in Slidell, Louisiana, which is across the lake from New Orleans. All during that hellacious time he sat on his front porch with a loaded shotgun protecting his home and family from looters. A shotgun is a real take charge kind of weapon, however, the DS Arms TP9 with a 30-round magazine and a couple back up magazines would be all mighty comforting in such a situation.
There was a time, not too many years ago, when such thinking would be regarded as paranoid. Those times have changed and much of the change in attitude of those who realize they are the only ones who can protect themselves and their families has come about because of 9-11 and Katrina. I like what Clint Smith says about paranoia. To paraphrase him, “Why does anyone have to be paranoid if they have a gun?”
It’s the anti-gunners who are the true paranoids. Recently, a local radio talk show host questioned why you’d live in a neighborhood if you thought you needed a .38 under your pillow, but the 1950s are long gone and welcome to the brave new world. Actually he was right in one sense — my bedside gun is a .45 not a .38.
Self defense and surv ival is the serious side of the DS Arms TP9. There is also a fun side. Shooting a 9mm semiauto pistol, which actually feels like a mini carbine two-handed from the hip, is a real hoot. Gallon jugs at 10 yards don’t stand a chance. Remember the dreams of Walter Mitty so wonderfully portrayed by Danny Kaye in that old movie? I defy anyone to pick up the TP9 and not think of outdoing Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone. We can’t really, but then again, they do everything with blanks. The TP9 shoots real ammo quite effectively. If it hasn’t already shown up in movies, I’m sure it will soon. I’ll never know unless someone tells me, as the last movie I saw was Open Range.
But we’ve talked a lot about uses for the TP9, so let’s examine it and see what we really have here. We might as well get the aesthetics out of the way first — there are none. All black polymer pistols and carbines are basically ugly to my eye and the TP9 is certainly no exception. It is a very far distance, eons of pistol time from the first high-capacity 9mm, the classic Browning Hi-Power, to the TP9.
The grip frame, although comfortable, is square and blocky as are both the upper and lower receivers. The top of the receiver is punctuated by a full length Picatinny rail while an abbreviated version is found in front of the triggerguard. Sights are big and square with the rear being adjustable by using opposing screws on both sides and the front is adjustable, but only accessed from beneath the upper receiver when it is removed from the firearm.
The TP9 has two safeties, the trigger safety now found on so many black polymer pistols and also a manually operated safety behind the triggerguard. The barrel is threaded to accept a suppressor and protected with a bushing. The TP9 functions with a locking rotating barrel system in a locked closed bolt action. The bolt does remain open after the last shot. Magazine capacity is 15, 20, 25, and 30 rounds with our test pistol being supplied with one 15-round magazine and two extra 30-round magazines.
The TP9 US is produced by Brügger & Thomet AG in Switzerland and I would guess in that country where the government trusts their honest citizens, the Swiss version is fully automatic. At the back of the TP9 frame there is a slot for a carrying sling and it also looks like it is machined/molded to accept a folding stock, which we can’t have on a pistol in America. A polymer competition holster is also available from Safariland and this is one carefully thought out and sturdy holster/holder. Although the test gun is basic black it is also available in green and coyote tan. This particular test gun will be given away in one of our “Gun of the Month” drawings and it will come complete with the three magazines, the carrying sling, holster and padded polymer case. We will even throw my test targets.
The TP9, at first, is not the easiest semiauto to fieldstrip. The problem is not the gun, but directions which say press the guide rod protruding through the back of the frame “gently.” Gently will never get it done. Both my friend Denis, who is a retired engineer and commented how nicely the steel parts were machined when we finally did get it stripped, could not push hard enough with a finger to get the guide rod depressed enough to release the upper receiver. I used the tip of my pocket screwdriver and finally got it to release. By the time we had taken it down five times it could be done with finger pressure.
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TP9
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Manufacturer: Brügger & Thomet AG,
P.O. Box 42 3608 Thun Switzerland www.brugger-thomet.ch Importer: DS Arms P.O. Box 370 Barrington. IL 60011 (847) 277-7528, www.dsarms.com |
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| Action Type: | Semiauto | |
| Caliber: | 9mm | |
| Capacity: | 15-, 20-, 25- or 30- round magazine |
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| Barrel Length: | 6" | |
| Weight: | 44 ounces | |
| Finish: | Black, green, coyote tan | |
| Sights: | Adjustable | |
| Price: | $1,327 | |
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