Unfortunately you can only purchase the pistol version, but from what I understand you can SBR it.

The problem is that in semi-auto it is basically a 9mm pistol with a really heavy trigger.

A fun plinker I'm sure, but I don't know if it performs in home defense as well as it looks.

 

My local shop has had the semi-auto version hanging on the wall for some time and it keeps catching my eye. The reason why the trigger pull is so long is because the full auto version has a two stage trigger rather than a selector switch which, I'm assuming, is a full squeeze for full auto. When Steyr created the SPP semi-auto, the predecessor to the TP-9, they just removed one of the stages leaving the gun with a long pull for semi-auto. I had heard that B&T had refined the trigger some but a recent Guns & Ammo review mentions a long pull breaking at 9.5 pounds, which is the original description for the SPP. I will try the trigger pull for myself and see if it's acceptable. The thing is that when they were shooting the gun with the single point sling they were shooting groups in the 1.2 to 1.8 inch range at 25 yards, so while the pull may be machinegun-like, that ain't bad and perfectly is funtional. While a nice smooth trigger is always desirable the bottom line to me is performance.

If I do go with this gun the plan is to go the SBR route, adding the B&T folding stock, jumping through all of the hoops associated with that.

But, just as a plinker I agree that it will be fun. I just heard from a buddy of mine who has shot the gun and he said that it was a lot of fun. So, at the very least, the gun will be that.

Buzz

 

Have no idea if it's available, but if there is a 16" replacement barrel for the TP9, then you could legally put the buttstock on without having to go the SBR route, at least under the fed BATF regs. Unfortunately, state regs may be stricter than the feds, so be sure to check that out. But I seem to recall you hinted something about being a lawyer, so I'm sure I don't have to tell you about the laws.

One reason the TP9 would be attractive to me is the top rail ready for a scope. I'm looking at converting my M357-A1 into a carbine with a 16" barrel and buttstock from IGB, but then I find they don't have the scope mount to fit the bottom rail so I have to look elsewhere for that. As Doc Watson sings, "Life sure gets tedious, don't it?" :mrgreen:

 

Hey Netfotoj-

Yup, a mostly retired lawyer and full time artist. As a lawyer I'll definitely be looking into the Georgia Code although thankfully Georgia tends to be very rather permissive on gun issues. A 16 inch barrel may come along down the road, if the gun survives (marketability and the politicians) but I'm not holding my breath. It's not a common gun. If I go with the gun I will eventually do a Form 1 AOW and add the folding stock and front foregrip. The SBR would only allow the stock but the AOW would allow both the stock and the foregrip.

Today after I get some work out into the mail I'm going to go over to the shop and make a final decision on the TP-9, if it's still there. I feel confident that it would provide a very nice platform for a carbine type weapon system but still need to evaluate the gun further as a handgun. Part of the desirability of the piece is that with a few (hopefully) simple moves I can go back and forth between handgun and carbine, so the handgun aspect needs to be viable. I also want to be able to determine how easy it will be to install and remove the folding stock.

Buzz

 

Obligatory photos below:

 

Does this mean the TP-9 followed you home? If so, looking forward to a range report, long-barrel, stock, grip, et c. :mrgreen:

 

Yup, it followed me right home! A knowledgable gentleman at the Walther Forum, based on his experience with the gun's predecessor (the Steyr SPP) had raised some concerns about the trigger quality, so I had some real reservations about making the buy. I found great disparity between his expereince with the SPP and what I was hearing about the TP-9. I went back to the shop and found the trigger to be somewhat "Glock-like" as I had been hearing and not nasty like the old SPP. Once I had that cleared up I pulled the wad of bills out that I just happened to have in my pocket :twisted: and made the buy.

Afterwards I called up the distributor, DS Arms, and got a good part of the story. There were so many complaints about the Steyr SPP trigger that they completely re-designed it creating a two-part trigger much like the Glock's. It still isn't a match grade trigger or anything like it, but it's perfectly workable and not at all objectionable for this type of gun. You have two stages with maybe 1/4" take-up and then a break that while not especially crisp is probably in the six pound range. There is no over-travel. I won't be able to assess the reset until the gun is fired.

I hope to shoot the gun next weekend during the men's family post-Thanksgiving Saturday shoot. And for the record, the gun won't have all of that Super Mall Ninja bling on it when I shoot it. I was laughing like crazy when I put the knockoff Aimpoint and Glock light on it. When I do have the gun registered with the BATFE for the folding stock and foregrip I'll have the new Micro Aimpoint on it along with the Surefire combination light and foregrip. That said, the gun does look pretty cool that way, but I was configuring it that way for now for a good laugh.

Another plus for the gun is that all accounts indicate that there isn't a 9mm Luger round that it won't take. Everything feeds, and subsonic, +P, and +P+ are just fine.

By the way, despite being a plastic gun there is nothing cheap or chintzy about it. With its Austrian and Swiss origins the quality isn't surprising. It's as solid and well built as one could hope for. Retailing for $1250 (not what I paid) it should be. The AR style charging handle concerns me a bit, but I'd bet that it couldn't be broken if I tried. That said, I'm still going to order two spares.

There is one issue with the gun. The front lower rail covers the serial number. There is a semi-circular opening over it but one still cannot read the serial number I couldn't care less, but I'm amazed the BATFE allowed that one to get by them. I'm betting it is on the same location as with the old SPP but when B&T added the rail they failed to move the number plate. At any rate, I fully expect this gun to be banned within a few years, so it will all be a moot point.

Buzz