As seen in Part 1 of the KRISS Vector test with the DeSoto Police Department, I promised a part two with the guys you call when the expletive hits the proverbial fan: SWAT.

After testing with DeSoto was concluded, the Sheriff’s SWAT team pulled up in two squad cars. This was the only time in my life when I have been shooting machine guns, seen two squad cars pull up, and had no fear of having to provide a lengthy explanation!

It was extremely cool getting to see these guys do their thing too. They could move and shoot, communicate, work as a team, and they were all expert marksmen. From 50 yards away they were able to pick up a gun they had never shot before (the Vector) and land all thirty rounds on the 6 inch steel ringer (and then modestly brush it off like it was not big deal). For privacy I have decided to obscure faces and names for this test.

Again Mike did his thing and gave the officers a crash course in how to operate the Vector.

It is worth nothing that these guys all use MP5s and M4 carbines on the job, so the Vector’s layout was very foreign to them all. Nonetheless they took to it quick and were drilling the steel on semi, burst, and fun.

I had them perform the same back-to-back style UMP/Vector test to get some feedback from men who could potentially use these firearms to save lives and stop the bad guys.

I must say this gentleman shot the guns by bursting a few times, turned around and proclaimed, “what can I say, I’m an H&K guy”. It is understandable that someone who has used an MP5 for years might gravitate to the UMP a bit more, but not to be outdone Mike asked for one more full auto mag dump on both weapons to show where the Vector’s recoil mitigation really shines:

After this the officer then grew a bit more enthusiastic about the Vector and said that he would not be ashamed to show up to the ball with either platform.

Officer two then had a go on both systems:

And the UMP:

This officer’s opinion was the same as the former. Again, they have drilled so many times with the MP5 that the layout of the UMP is just familiar to them. They were more or less equally accurate with the two platforms as well, and I imagine they would be equally dangerous to a bad guy with either.

Again I got in on the action with the Vector too:

While I will probably never use either of these guns for anything but punching holes in paper, I personally believe the Vector is a better SMG when it comes to full auto controlability.

To sum up this test, I guess it comes down to what you have trained with. While the officers from the previous test did not have many preconceived notions about either gun, these guys are so used to the HK platform that familiarity was the name of the game. They were equally accurate with each gun, but probably would have chosen the UMP because of ingrained muscle memory. They did however agree that the Vector was more pleasant to shoot, and that with some practice and training they could easily become as good with it as they are with their duty weapons.

For what my opinion is worth however, I will take a Vector please!

Continue Reading Part 3 Here.