Earlier this year in Istanbul, Turkey, the company called TRB Bratunac presented the second generation of their RS 9 Vampir pistol. TFB published photos of the first version of the TRB pistol back in 2017 when it was presented to the public for the first time at the defense expo in Belgrade.

Both first and second-generation RS 9 “Vampir” pistols have DAO/SAO trigger mechanisms and aluminum frames with steel slides. At first glance, this pistol resembles the classic SIG Sauer P226.

However, if you are familiar with firearms of ex-Yugoslavian countries, you know that the main predecessor of RS 9 “Vampir” is not SIG, it is “Crvena Zastava 99” (CZ 99). Apart from the overall design, both “Vampir” and CZ 99 have a pretty unique feature – a slide stop that also works as a decocker.

CZ 99, made by Zastava Arms factory in Serbia, note the slide stop/slide release/decocking lever

On CZ 99, when you want to decock the hammer, you push this lever down all the way. If you need to engage the slide stop, you push the same lever up. When you want to release the slide, you push the lever down just slightly. It might sound confusing, but it works pretty well for most people.

But there is one more pistol that has the same feature. Slovenian AREX Zero also has a decocker that works as slide stop/slide release, because it shares the same roots.

Just like Serbia and Bosnia, Slovenia was also part of Yugoslavia before 1991, and the legacy of Zastava CZ 99 lives in all of those pistols.

REX Alpha pistol made in Slovenia.

Basically, based on CZ99 heritage, three different factories in three different countries developed three pistols.

Serbia created EZ9 and Top XX models that are imported into the US by Zastava USA, and EZ9 was reviewed by Hop on TFB TV.

Slovenian AREX created several versions of REX Zero and the first generation was reviewed by James Reeves. He visited the factory and tested several versions of the pistol and actually struggled with the signature decocker that works as slide stop/slide release.

At the same time, RS 9 Vampir from Bosnia did not get much publicity so far.

RS 9 Vampir at the IDEX exhibition in 2019. Photos by fellow TFB writer Giorgio.

The TRB Bratunac factory was founded in 1955 in Yugoslavia, in the region that is now Bosnia and Herzegovina. Initially, TRB was the maintenance and overhaul repair shop for military vehicles, but over time it grew to become the main depot for the entire Yugoslav Armed Forces, with over 1,500 employees and 22,000 square meters of manufacturing and warehouse space.

At the time, the Yugoslav army was one of the strongest militaries in Europe, and it was preparing to defend the country from both Soviet and NATO invasions. With the collapse of Yugoslavia and the subsequent Bosnian War (1992-1995), many defense factories in former Yugoslavia ceased to exist.

After the peace agreement was signed in Dayton, Ohio, the entire country of Bosnia was separated into two entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina with a predominately Muslim (Bosniak) population, and Republica Srpska with a majority Christian Orthodox (Serbian) population.

TRB RS 9 Vampir first generation pistol, right side

After the war was over and the new country started to recover, TRB Bratunac was privatized and became the largest defense company in the entity of Republica Srpska. This factory is mostly famous for armored personal carriers such as “Despot“, but they also produce fuzes and ammunition manufacturing equipment.

Last year, I had a chance to visit the TRB RS 9 shooting range in East Sarajevo. The range looked like a dream that many gun enthusiasts have – it was located right on the family estate in the suburbs of the country’s capital. Basically, it is a 15-second walking distance from the front porch of the house to the firing line.

It is a nice little range, with three shooting lanes, and it is managed by Stefan and Nemanja Maidov, two famous Serbian judo champions. They decided to open a range to give their community a chance to safely practice shooting and try out different handguns. There are no other indoor shooting ranges in East Sarajevo, so the RS 9 “Vampir” range is pretty busy most of the time.

TRB RS 9 Vampir first generation pistol, left side

I shot a few hundred rounds from various versions of RS 9 and liked it. It is an honest metal frame pistol with good ergonomics and an impressive magazine capacity (18 rounds)

While I was at the range, we spoke about potential improvements to the pistol, and I am happy to see that the factory actually made it happen. Gen2 RS 9 Vampir will have two main versions: standard one and LUX with threaded barrel.

Specifications of RS 9 Vampir LUX Gen2. Photo from the TRB catalog.

So far there is no information regarding potential sales in the US. The first version was only available in stores in Bosnia and Serbia and was tested by several LE agencies in the Middle East. Maybe the second generation will find more clients in the international market.

At the end of the day, not everyone is a fan of polymer guns. In a beloved Guy Ritchie movie “Snatch”, the great Yugoslavian actor Rade Serbedzija once said: “Weight is a sign of reliability. I always go for reliability”. And as long as some people share this opinion, there will be a place on the market for metal frame guns.