For 2015, KRISS has made some improvements to its well-known Vector line of .45 ACP carbines, SBRs, pistols, and SMGs. In fact, one of these changes — I won’t taunt the caliber commandos by calling it an improvement — is Vector availability in 9mm and, due to the existing design, the capability to easily switch between 9×19 and .45 ACP. Other changes and improvements are detailed after the jump. Also on display at the KRISS booth aside from SPHINX pistols (SPHINX booth tour video here) were airsoft guns and .22 LRs from KRYTAC, including the War Sport LVOA rifle designs that they recently licensed. These are meant for realistic, but inexpensive training. Just don’t confuse the airsofts and the .22s. . .
2015 changes to the KRISS Vector:
- Improved trigger — pivoting instead of sliding
- Accessory barrel shroud — nicer aesthetics
- Cerakote in FDE and OD Green
- 9mm version, compatible with GLOCK magazines
- Additional texturing on front of receiver as well as on pistol grip
- Safety selector in easier-to-reach location
I’ll see if I can’t get my hands on War Sport GP or Top Hat compensator for the second muzzle brake shootout installment, if for no other reason then I think they’re pretty cool looking.
So does this mean that you can buy 9mm and .45 versions of the Gen 2 Vectors and then buy conversion kits for the other caliber? If so, I think I know where my tax refund is going…..
That’s what I got from it, but I’m not really sure how they’re going to do it. The serial number is on the “receiver” (front/lower) part — the part that houses the actual barrel, action, magazine, etc — rather than the part with the rail and the trigger and the grip and buttstock, etc. That receiver is the part that pops off by pulling those three pins and then could be rapidly swapped out for one in the other caliber. But again, that is the firearm according to the gov’t. So at least as things are today you’d have to purchase a second firearm from KRISS, but hopefully they’ll be selling it as a standalone receiver without the entire “upper” part and obviously at a lower price.
I appreciate the training possibilities of an Airsoft AR, but I don’t see an application for the Vector. What does it do that an Uzi carbine or an HK-94A3 doesn’t do better?
Exactly my thoughts as well. Price is still too much in the ‘botique’ category for rich guys with lots of cash to blow on new toys. Not really the kind of gun I can justify buying at present.
Yeah but the question of “why would you get X when Y does the same basic thing for less money?” doesn’t apply in real life. If it did, we’d all be shooting really cheap, but functional firearms like a Canik or something. Why would you buy a Glock or an HK or a Sig when a $189 Hi-Point is just as reliable? Why would you purchase any car that isn’t the cheapest Kia model when that Kia will get you where you need to go at least as reliably as any other car out there and for a lot less money than your 328i? Americans like choices and that choice isn’t always getting the least expensive thing that’s still functional. By nothing more than the fact that the Vector looks different than an Uzi, it will find a market. It also happens to be totally different in almost every other way except for the fact that it also (now) spits out 9mm rounds. There are a million different ways to send 9mm rounds downrange, and they all appeal to somebody whether or not an Uzi is a good choice also.
I hear ya, Jeremy….it will definitely find a market. But that market still strikes me as your basic ’boutique’ high end gun for guys that don’t mind blowing a cool chunk of cash on a ‘cool’ gun! Once you repeat “$1500 for a gun that shoots 45ACP” (or 9mm for that matter!) a dozen or so times to yourself and still want to buy it, you’re in an *extremely* niche market. Hey, if people are buying them, I’m all for free-market choice. But I know a lot of guys that spend a lot of money on guns, and when KRISS comes up in conversation, the word seems to be the same: “Nice gun…but not something I’m gonna buy!” It’s like a $125k custom Hennessey Corvette — sure I’ll drive it at the track for a couple of hours on a Saturday with my buddies, but no way am I buying that bad boy!
You’re Canik/Hi-Point analogy has some truth to it….but I still think the KRISS has a bigger $$$ discrepancy inertia working against it. And I think that proves Charlies Uzi/HK-94A3 analogy. Some really steep competition here at the price point.
Believe me, as Glock 21 owner, I want to like the KRISS! 🙂
Maybe KRISS can do enough business to keep going like this, and if so then more power to them. I’d be curious to see how their sales have been affected by dropping AR prices.
A $189 Hi-Point is not equivalent to a Glock no matter how you care to stretch it. You do in fact get your money’s worth on occasion. The issue with the Vector is that despite it’s price tag it does not offer functionality superior to the alternatives.
Anyone who names their product the Top Hat….
I already want to buy it!
Nah, I’ll pass.
War Sport ARs are, hands down, the coolest ARs I’ve ever seen.
As a Glock owner, I like the vector over the uzi for mag commonality.
But the price tag has kept me away. Now that it’s the same caliber as my Glock it will be harder to say no to but I can’t drop $1500 on a toy.
For 9mm, I’d rather have a Tavor.
For 45 ACP, a Kriss SBR would be cool.
As far as the Kriss carbine in 45, maybe paired with a slidefire stock to experience the advanced recoil system.
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