Weapons, like other tools, are often built with a specialized purpose in mind. Some, however, may have an officially-stated purpose that differs from how they’re typically used. Take the icepick, for example — it might be marketed for chipping pieces off a block of ice to cool a drink, but it serves a totally different purpose on the street. The B&T VP9 Veterinary Pistol seems to fall into this category.
As the name indicates, the official purpose of the bolt-action Veterinary Pistol is to quietly euthanize animals. Its barrel includes ports to slow down a standard supersonic bullet to subsonic speed, and it comes with a matching suppressor that includes consumable discs that enhance noise reduction for the first few shots. The end result is a very quiet weapon that can put an injured animal out of its misery without alerting the nearby populace. But as you’ve probably guessed, it’s capable of being used on more than animals.
The B&T VP9 bears a clear similarity to the Welrod pistol that was developed by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) for use in assassination missions during WWII. Like the Welrod, the VP9 is a single-shot, bolt-action gun that’s easily dismantled and concealed. In the RECOILtv video above, B&T founder Karl Brugger explains the pistol’s origins, and RECOIL Editor in Chief Iain Harrison test-fires this unique weapon.
