Concealed Carry Handguns – August 2019

TheBondArms

Bullpup9rideswell

inthisAlienGearin-

sidethewaistband

holster.

these loads are well suited to personal

defense use. Over a period of time, I

have fi red well more than 300 rounds

through the pistol, including a number

that are not on the approved list. The

pistol has never failed to feed, cham-

ber, fi re or eject.

As testing progressed and I decided

I would keep this test gun, I tested

more types of ammunition. One of

these was the Federal 124-grain HST.

This load breaks 1,098 fps from the

Bullpup9. By comparison, the same

ammo clocked 1,132 fps from a larger

Glock 19 on hand.

The Bullpup design has accomplished

the design target of producing good

accuracy and velocity from a sub-com-

pact pistol. The best accuracy I have

yet coaxed from the pistol is a 1.5-inch

group at 15 yards and I have fi red a

singular group of 3.5 inches at a long

25 yards, fi ring from a solid braced

position.

A load not on the approved list is the

Black Hills Ammunition 124-grain JHP.

This loading breaks 1,121 fps in the

Bullpup9 and 1,150 fps in the Glock 19

for comparison. Function is good and

accuracy excellent. A caution: Watch for

bullet movement in the casing if you

repeatedly chamber, unload and re-

chamber cartridges. Even bullets from

loads on the approved list sometimes

suffered a very slight but measurable

movement in the cartridge case. I

never experienced a malfunction of

any type, but if you push your luck and

load, unload and rechamber a cartridge

several times you may have a problem.

This is true of many handguns, but in

the usual case the bullet is bumped

further into the cartridge case while

the Bullpup design stresses it outward.

Accuracy has generally been good. The

pistol is capable of placing fi ve rounds

into 3 inches or less, sometimes as

small a group at 1.5 inches at 15 yards

when fi ring from a solid benchrest.

WORTH THE PRICE

There are many slim line 9mm pistols

available. The Bullpup 9mm isn’t inex-

pensive—research, development and

SOURCE

BOND ARMS

WWW.BONDARMS.COM

execution are expensive. So, it must

have advantages if it is to compete.

The Bullpup9 is an unusual design with

many good features. It is well made

of good material, a pistol that conceals

easily and a pistol that comes with

plenty of pride of ownership. The sights

are more than adequate for personal

defense. The trigger action is smooth

and relatively light for a double-action.

The slide racks easily; it isn’t a chal-

lenge to anyone to make the pistol

ready. The pistol is light enough at just

under 19 ounces. The handgun is com-

fortable enough to fi re and handle.

Those who purchase this handgun for

use as a concealed carry, hideout or

EDC pistol are the same who might

choose a high-grade Kimber or a

custom shop revolver. The Bond Arms

Bullpup9 is a good handgun well worth

its price. CC

AMMO

CHOICES

Ammunition selection is critical for

the Bullpup 9mm. It isn’t about

cycle reliability or conventional feed

reliability. It is about cartridge integrity

and the strength of the bullet crimp.

The odd type of feed requires a strong

crimp or the bullet may be ripped from

the cartridge case during the feed cycle.

This isn’t a real problem when feeding

into a conventional feed ramp.

The Bullpup 9mm subjects the cartridge

to unusual stress during the feed cycle.

During the development of a new pistol

many thousands of cartridges are fi red.

Bond Arms has done the groundwork

for us and recommends a number of

loads for the Bullpup 9mm. This isn’t

a small list; well over a dozen readily

available loads are listed.

128 CONCEALED CARRY HANDGUNS  FALL 2019