Swiss Precision: Meeting Karl Brügger of B&T Guns

“Under the watchful eye and technical direction of original co-founder Karl Brügger, B&T has evolved into more than a supplier of its own renowned suppressors and tactical rail systems to police, special forces, and elite, military units around the world. B&T designs and manufactures some of the most technologically-advanced, high-performance weapons in the business…B&T’s mission is to provide professional operators with complete, mission-adaptable, advanced weapons systems that perform without fail, under the most demanding conditions possible.” — From the B&T website, 2022.

Advertisement

The world-famous Swiss defense-supplier firm of Brügger and Thomet, now officially known as B&T, was founded in May 1991 by Karl Brügger, the current owner. A few years ago, in April 2022, this author traveled to picturesque Thun (pronounced “Tune”), Switzerland, in the majestic, Swiss Alps, where B&T headquarters is located, and received an unprecedented, private, facility tour and lunch with founder and CEO Karl Brügger himself, a very rare honor, indeed, on April 26, 2022, since the company does not normally offer factory tours or interviews.

Brugger and headquarters — Karl Brügger and B&T headquarters in Thun, Switzerland. Photo by the author.

My wife and I were initially greeted by Andy, B&T’s sales and marketing manager, formerly a German soldier for 10 years, and working for Karl Brügger for the past six years. He guided us through the B&T Shop, just one block southwest of the headquarters building, essentially a retail gun store open to the public, and selling B&T firearms, as well as all types of accessory items, ranging from backpacks to bipods, ballistic vests, scopes, and other shooting supplies from various manufacturers. They maintain two indoor shooting ranges, one for pistols and one for rifles (25 meters), with walls of white, polymer blocks backed by steel plates, and computerized settings for target lighting conditions, or moving targets.

In the same building as the B&T Shop, the company was expanding its machine shops and other office space. This is where we met Marko, a production supervisor, who expertly assembled a GL06 40mm grenade launcher as we watched.

All of B&T’s weapons are assembled by hand by the men and women of the production branch of the company, and each firearm is tested-fired at the factory with at least 20 rounds of ammunition, at an indoor range where they can check the weapons for accuracy, muzzle velocity, muzzle flash, acoustics (for suppressors), and other characteristics.

Then, we returned to the main headquarters building at Tempelstrasse 6 in Thun, a five-story, 54,000-square-foot, ultra-modern factory constructed in 2012, and we met with Karl Brügger in person. He’s a very high-energy person, direct, focused, and extremely knowledgeable on all aspects of his company’s operations, with a sense of humor, as well. While marketing is always important, and B&T representatives attend the annual SHOT Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, in January of each year, Brügger receives more orders by word of mouth from very satisfied customers, and his main philosophy is “Demo, demo, demo!” meaning demonstration of the firearms, constantly building, testing, and improving them.

B&T currently has 105 employees, of whom about 40 are actually involved in the manufacturing processes, monitoring 17 CNC (computer numerical-control) workstations and nine conventional workstations. The rest are involved in design, marketing, engineering, distribution, or global trade (import/export). They work very closely with companies such as Heckler and Koch, Beretta, Steyr, Aimpoint, Trijicon, and Surefire during all production and marketing phases. The company began producing its own line of complete weapons in 2004, the first of which was their very compact MP9 submachine gun.

In 2020, the U.S. Army wanted to purchase ultra-compact, 9mm submachine guns for the very first time since 1943, for their Personal Security Detachments (PSDs), armed bodyguards for high-ranking officers, and a number of leading manufacturers submitted their own designs, with B&T offering their APC9 and APC9K Advanced Police Carbine models. The Army rigorously tested each gun by completely disassembling it down to the last, tiny part, mixing the pieces, and then reassembling the weapons to simulate austere, field conditions.

Only B&T’s guns worked flawlessly after being reassembled, due to the high precision and attention to detail that goes into producing each separate component of each firearm. As a result, they were awarded the contract to produce 350 APC9K sub-compact models with 4.3-inch barrels for the Army, with an option for 1,000 more weapons, and the U.S. Air Force purchased a further 85 APC9Ks for their PSDs in 2020.

At the factory, we watched one of the B&T technicians using a three-dimensional, computer-aided design program to verify the precise fit and attaching point of a suppressor to one carbine, including the slots for turning the device with a wrench, and a tiny ratchet for holding the rear of the suppressor in place. B&T had initially produced high-quality suppressors for the domestic Swiss market, which had no sales restrictions at that time, even for civilians, motivated by the need for quality suppressors for the Heckler and Koch (H&K) MP5SD submachine gun.

Two ways to continue to read this article.

B&T’s first major success was gaining the contract to supply the German Army’s KSK (Special Operations Command) with Impuls (“Impulse”) IIA suppressors for their P12 (modified H&K USP45 Tactical) pistols, after a grueling, 10,000-round endurance test with absolutely no damage to either the P12 test pistol or the suppressor. As a direct result, H&K, universally recognized as producing the very best firearms in the world, now exclusively uses B&T suppressors on all of their weapons with threaded barrels, and B&T supplies many suppressors to Fabrique Nationale (FN) in Belgium and other European arms manufacturers. In order to learn from the excellent design features of major arms manufacturers, B&T maintains an extensive collection of approximately 500 different types of weapons for reference purposes in designing and developing new products. As we shall see, they have greatly improved upon several existing, European designs, and achieved tremendous success in the process. B&T USA is their American affiliate and importer, with a staff of 75 people, based in Tampa, Florida, which is also the headquarters of the U.S. Special Operations Command. We continued discussing B&T products over lunch at the nearby Restaurant Kreuz, where Brügger generously treated us to a typical, Swiss/German lunch of schweinebraten (roast pork) and polenta (ground corn, actually a northern Italian dish), with a few tiny, Swiss chocolates for dessert, and he admitted that his only regret was not entering the American market sooner. The recent Army contract has made the company much more well-known in the United States, and now its U.S. sales are skyrocketing, especially over the past few years, and its production capabilities cannot keep up with the huge demand for B&T firearms. Karl Brügger in Thun, Switzerland, with the Swiss Alps in the background. Photo by the author. Now, let’s examine some of their best products: SUPPRESSORS Impuls-OLS: Current versions of the Impuls-OLS are manufactured from black-anodized, aircraft-grade, aluminum tubes, with six unusual, conical, stainless-steel baffles. There is an impulse module (hence the name, Impuls), also called a Nielsen device, which can be easily adjusted to change the bullet’s impact point without adjusting the weapon’s sights, so the operator can accurately shoot to the same point of impact whether the suppressor is attached or not. Sound reduction is 32 decibels. Impuls pistol suppressors are produced in .22 LR, .32 ACP, .380 ACP, 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP. Since 2019, B&T USA is producing the complete line of B&T suppressors in Tampa, Florida. Even the basic material is imported from Switzerland, and the quality-assurance standards as implemented are identical. B&T also manufactures quick-detachable (QD) suppressors for various submachine guns in 4.6mm (for the H&K MP7A1) and 9mm, assault rifle suppressors in 5.56mm and 7.62mm, sniper rifle suppressors in 7.62mm, .338 Lapua Magnum, and .50 BMG, FN Minimi machine gun suppressors in 5.56mm and 7.62mm, and hunting rifle suppressors in numerous sizes, from .17-caliber to 9.3mm. Suppressor prices range from about $400 to $1,100, depending upon the caliber. PISTOLS SIX9 (2021): The true purpose of this weapon is abundantly evident from its roots, as a modernized, modular version of the World War Two, British Special Operations Executive’s (SOE) Welrod silent pistol for special operations raids. The Welrod was a bolt-action, magazine-fed, integrally-suppressed pistol with a 3.25-inch barrel in either .32 ACP or 9mm, with a six-round or eight-round magazine, with the sound level reduced to just 122.8 decibels in .32 ACP, quieter than a CO2 pellet pistol. It was literally the most-silent pistol in the world. In comparison, the B&T SIX9 is also an utterly-simple, manually-operated, bolt-action, 9mm repeater, using modified, five-round, SIG P225 magazines, although a .45 ACP version, the Station SIX-45, is also available, using M1911A1 magazines. The outer tube is machined, stainless steel, with a black, anti-glare, corrosion-resistant finish. The operational suppressor is manufactured from a machined, aluminum tube, using field-replaceable, silicon-rubber buffers and a front seal for maximum sound reduction. Field replacement takes about three minutes. The barrel is only three inches long (6.1 inches, including suppressor), and the retail price is about $2,000 to $2,300. Overall sound level is reduced to less than 125 decibels (the noise of a car door being closed), not quite as good as the Welrod, but exactly the same as the “world-standard,” H&K MP5SD3 9mm submachine gun, which is still quite remarkable, and was advertised on the B&T website as “probably the quietest pistol in the world.” SUBMACHINE GUNS MP9-N Machine Pistol (2004): This was a development of the selective-fire, Steyr TMP machine pistol in 9x19mm, adding a side-folding stock, a rail system for mounting sights, and a new trigger safety. B&T notes that it is, “Probably the smallest, 9mm submachine gun in the world.” It has a 5.1-inch, threaded barrel, and transparent, polymer magazines that hold either 15, 20, 25, or 30 rounds. Two of the most-noteworthy users are the Royal Netherlands Air Force, for their F-16AM Fighting Falcon jet pilots deployed to the Middle East (usually in Jordan), and Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) Spetsgruppa Alfa elite, counterterrorist unit (suppressed models.) Retail price is about $2,500. Another variant has been designed and produced in .45 ACP (the MP45 machine pistol.) MP9-Ns are now used by various units in France, India, Malaysia, Netherlands (F-16 fighter pilots, and special operations unit), Portugal (armed forces), Russia (the famous, FSB Alfa unit), Switzerland (armed forces, as the Mp. 14 personal defense weapon), and the United States. Karl Brügger with the SCP9 PDW submachine gun. Photo credit: B&T. APC9/10/40/45 Pro Advanced Police Carbines (2011): This is actually a fairly compact, 9x19mm submachine gun with a 6.89-inch barrel, also produced in 10mm as the APC10, in .45 ACP as the APC45 Pro, or suppressed APC45-SD Pro, and there is a .40 S&W as the APC40 Pro. It’s an updated and re-engineered variant of the moderately successful H&K UMP9/40/45-series (Universal Machine Pistol) submachine gun, already in active service with 28 nations worldwide. The APC9 fires from a closed bolt at a rate of 1,080 rpm (18 rounds per second), with translucent, polymer magazines holding either 15, 20, 25, or 30 rounds each. They come standard with an Aimpoint TL1 optical sight. A suppressed version, the APC9-SD, is also available as a modernized successor to the venerable H&K MP5SD3. Retail price is about $2,350 to $2,600. In 2020, the U.S. Army purchased 350 APC9K sub-compact models with 4.3-inch barrels for their Personal Security Detachments (armed bodyguards for high-ranking officers), with an option for 1,000 more weapons, and the U.S. Air Force purchased a further 85 APC9Ks for their PSDs in 2020. These weapons are only 15 inches long, with the stock folded. RIFLES APR308/APR338 Advanced Precision Rifle sniper rifles (2005 and 2007): This is a bolt-action, sniper rifle in 7.62x51mm NATO (.308-caliber) or .338 Lapua Magnum, based upon the French-made, PGM Mini-Hécate 2 (Hecate, or Hécate in French, was the Greek goddess of magic and witchcraft) design, but B&T has made major improvements. It’s a modular design, with a side-folding, polymer stock, 10-round, detachable magazine, and free-floating, forged, fluted, 24-inch barrel, with a muzzle brake that reduces felt recoil by 40 percent, although a quick-detachable suppressor, the APR308 GRS, may be used for a sound reduction of 36 decibels. A Schmidt and Bender PMII 3-12×50 LP scope is provided as standard, and the rifle’s accuracy is below 1 MOA, with a 99-percent hit probability against head-sized targets at 400 meters and torso-sized targets at 800 meters. Retail price is about $4,000. Other variants include the APR308S (Suppressed) with a 15.7-inch barrel and integral suppressor, and the APR338 in .338 Lapua Magnum with a 27.2-inch barrel, introduced in 2007. An APR338 GRS suppressor reduces sound levels by up to 25 decibels. Retail price for the APR338 is a whopping $9,735. It is used by military and police forces in Georgia, Luxembourg, Romania, Singapore (army), and Ukraine. APC223 Advanced Police Carbine, with a 10.4-inch barrel. Photo credit: B&T USA. APC556/APC223 Advanced Police Carbine (2015): This relatively-new weapon is produced in numerous variants, including the selective-fire, APC556 assault rifle, the semi-automatic APC223 for police, and the very-compact, APC556 PDW assault weapon, with cold-forged, barrel lengths available in 12.1 inches (standard), 10.4 inches (compact), 16.6 inches (APC223 Match or Sport models), or 8.7 inches (APC556 PDW), with 30-round, polymer magazines, although standard, M16/M4/AR15 magazines may be used. It’s based upon a classical configuration, with a short-stroke, gas piston located above the barrel, an aluminum-alloy upper receiver, a polymer lower receiver for reduced weight, and a hydraulic buffer to reduce recoil. The skeletonized, SIG-influenced, polymer, shoulder stock folds to the right, as on the SIG SG551/552/553 series. This is a huge advantage in compactness and overall length over the ever-popular M4/HK416 carbine series, which has no such capability, due to its rearward-protruding, recoil-buffer design, which mandates the use of a sliding stock, instead. Retail price is about $4,000, very steep, indeed. The French Army Light Aviation (ALAT) service definitely received small numbers of APC556 PDWs for the 4th Special Forces Helicopter Regiment (4e RHFS), which already employed the excellent HK416F short carbine as an aircrew, self-defense weapon. The APC556 PDW is an absolute, top-quality weapon with a telescoping stock, which makes it at least seven inches shorter, handier, and more compact than an HK416, while hanging low over a pilot’s chest, within the tight confines of a helicopter cockpit. APC300 Pro Advanced Police Carbine: This weapon is very similar to the APC556, but with an 11-inch barrel, chambered in .300 BLK (Blackout), with a standard, Rotex-IIA suppressor. Sound is reduced to 121 decibels, which is very quiet by modern standards. The .300 BLK cartridge (7.62x35mm) is the same length as 5.56mm ammunition, in order to use the same magazines, and is available in either lightweight, supersonic loads or with heavy, 220-grain, subsonic bullets for enhanced noise suppression. Retail price is about $3,000. U.S., British, and Dutch special operations forces have already used this round, mostly with the new SIG MCX carbine, which achieves energy levels slightly greater than the Russian AK-47 (7.62x39mm) cartridge, while using standard M16-style magazines in converted carbines. APC308 Pro Advanced Police Carbine: This is essentially an APC556, but with a 14.3-inch (13-inch in Europe) or 18.9-inch barrel, chambered in 7.62mm NATO, with 20-round, polymer magazines. The shorter version is a direct competitor for the HK417A2 or FN Mk. 17 SCAR-H CQC, both with 13-inch (#BT-361693) barrels, while the longer version is more of a designated marksman rifle (DMR), similar to the HK417A2 Sniper model. A hydraulic buffer reduces recoil forces. Retail price is about $4,000. APC308 Pro in 7.62x51mm, with red-dot, optical sight. Photo credit: B&T Guns. APC65 Pro Advanced Police Carbine (Summer 2022): This is an APC308, modified with a 6.5mm Creedmoor barrel, and introduced into the U.S. market in Summer 2022, due to the increasing popularity of the 6.5CM after its adoption by the U.S. Special Operations Command. It has an 18-inch barrel. SPR300 Pro Suppressed, Precision Rifle: This is a bolt-action, suppressed, special-purpose rifle in .300 BLK, with a 9.84-inch barrel and integral suppressor, producing a sound level of only 121 decibels with no muzzle flash, which is more silent than most air rifles. A 10-round, transparent, polymer magazine is standard, and its accurate range is about 150 meters. B&T advertises it as “The most-discreet, urban sniper rifle on the market.” Retail price is about $5,800. In conclusion, B&T is a small but high-quality, high-technology arms supplier offering legendary Swiss precision for military and police applications. With a growing number of successful contracts, especially in Canada, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, the United States, and at least 40 more nations worldwide, fulfilling the growing needs of modern, armed forces and police units, as well as a booming, civilian market, their future continues to look very bright, indeed. Author with a suppressed APC556 carbine. Photo by Karl Brügger.