For years, people have said that with the advent of the compact assault rifle and the introduction of PDWs, that the sub-machine gun has now become an anachronism in modern weaponry, and that no one (in the first world) would be using them anymore within a few short years.
Well, here we are in 2013, and admittedly, there has been very little news regarding major developments in true sub-machine guns, and even fewer major users announcing that they adopted a new one. The little news that we have gotten has been relatively ho-hum as well. The only things that stick out in my mind being the 9mm offering from CZ, another 9mm from India, and both of those (if I'm not mistaken) are closely based on the HK MP7 or UMP, and neither have any truly remarkable features to them.
Then last year we hear snippets about the SiG MPX, and now we have videos of it in action with full press releases. I am pretty exited about this gun for a few reasons. First off, even though a short stroke gas piston system is nothing new to SMGs, it's the ergonomics that really got me. SiG did a great job of emulating the ergonomics of the AR15 as close as possible, which should make training easier for those familiar with it, thus increasing it's appeal to potential users. The second thing that really interested me was that they have an option to chamber it in .357 SiG. It is an amazing high velocity cartridge that is far too underutilized, and can really negate some of the downsides to using a pistol cartridge. Lastly, they love to tout that most modifications to the gun can be made in the field, without the need for any special tools, making it a truly modular system.
Like I said, most of these features aren't new, but as far as I can tell, it's the first time they've all been wrapped up in one package. When used together, it gives this gun a real chance at being a big seller, and re-introduce the SMG to many arsenals. Not only that, but I just found out they'll be offering an integrally suppressed variant. Color me impressed. Now, let's see if they can hurry up and ditch the "zombie gun fad" to regain their credibility.
Well, here we are in 2013, and admittedly, there has been very little news regarding major developments in true sub-machine guns, and even fewer major users announcing that they adopted a new one. The little news that we have gotten has been relatively ho-hum as well. The only things that stick out in my mind being the 9mm offering from CZ, another 9mm from India, and both of those (if I'm not mistaken) are closely based on the HK MP7 or UMP, and neither have any truly remarkable features to them.
Then last year we hear snippets about the SiG MPX, and now we have videos of it in action with full press releases. I am pretty exited about this gun for a few reasons. First off, even though a short stroke gas piston system is nothing new to SMGs, it's the ergonomics that really got me. SiG did a great job of emulating the ergonomics of the AR15 as close as possible, which should make training easier for those familiar with it, thus increasing it's appeal to potential users. The second thing that really interested me was that they have an option to chamber it in .357 SiG. It is an amazing high velocity cartridge that is far too underutilized, and can really negate some of the downsides to using a pistol cartridge. Lastly, they love to tout that most modifications to the gun can be made in the field, without the need for any special tools, making it a truly modular system.
Like I said, most of these features aren't new, but as far as I can tell, it's the first time they've all been wrapped up in one package. When used together, it gives this gun a real chance at being a big seller, and re-introduce the SMG to many arsenals. Not only that, but I just found out they'll be offering an integrally suppressed variant. Color me impressed. Now, let's see if they can hurry up and ditch the "zombie gun fad" to regain their credibility.
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