I got a chance to shoot the Kriss Vector CRB today. I’d seen it on Resident Evil: Retribution, so when I saw it on the Blackstone Shooting Sports rental wall, I couldn’t resist.
It was chambered in 9mm Luger, so I got 100 rounds. As a general rule, I don’t like 9mms. Don’t get me wrong, they’re enjoyable enough to shoot, sort of like a .22, but not what I consider useful in a self-defense caliber. And no, I’m not going to sit here and argue. I carry a .45 semi-auto. I can even operate it proficiently with left (weak), single hand grip.
Let’s shoot!
On the range, my two favorite range officers welcome me. They’re both over age 50 and I’d wager have military and/or law enforcement experience. I was curious to see what they thought of the gun.
Loading:
The Kriss Vector uses a standard Glock (yuck) pistol mag. You have to angle the rounds and push them just so to stuff them in. And the 9mms are so tiny! I didn’t have a speed loader, so that was a pain. However, using a fairly common pistol mag is a great idea.
The mag release is in an awkward spot: right behind the vertical foregrip on the left, way in front of the trigger.
Aiming:
I set the target at 10 yards in the indoor lane.
The Kriss Vector came with a red-dot sight. They’re not my preferred sights, night use aside. I like my iron sights, ghost rings, or traditional scopes.
I had to futz with the adjustable stock to get it to the right size. Once I did, the red dot settled in, but I still found myself having to correct up and to the right. I’m not as accurate with the dots as I am with my irons or ghost ring. There’s just something distracting about the dot.
Overall, though, the weapon feels comfortable. I find myself using a no-thumb grip on the forward grip.
Standing in my usual tactical AR posture/platform didn’t seem as comfortable. Neither did the traditional rifle shooting stance.
Shooting:
It’s a 9mm, so you barely know you fired the thing: minimal recoil and bang. There’s also hardly any recoil because it gets channeled down the angled bit in the front, which is called the “Super V recoil-mitigation system.” Thus, it’s easy to get the sight back on target quickly. It has a full auto variation, which is where this system shines. Or it should. According to this review on The Truth About Guns, it doesn’t.
Accuracy:
I advanced the target to 15, 20, and 25 yards. I was best at the 15, but that’s largely due to my dislike of and unfamiliarity with the dot sight. I only shot a few using stabilization; the rest were from standing.
In short, with stabilization, it was spot-on, punching the bull’s eye out.
Fun:
I blasted through 100 rounds in 35 minutes, which should say something! It was fun to fire, especially doing rapid fire, since it was so easy to get back online with the target. Shooting what one of my range officers called a “space gun” is always neat just for the sheer “look at me!” factor.
Outside opinions:
The range officers thought it was an interesting weapon, but the oldest of the two said he really wasn’t sure what the weapon was designed for.
I shrugged and said, “It’s for looking cool.” He agreed with that.
I said I liked my AR-15, which is chambered in 5.56mm, better. They were approving of this.
The guys at the desk outside, who are in their 20s, liked it more. They were more interested in the “fun” aspect than the practical uses.
When I said I preferred my AR, the young guy at check-out said the Kriss Vector was useful in “certain situations” by “some police and military units.” I didn’t ask what they were. I think they probably the BSAA storming Umbrella Corp. BTW, I don’t believe any official organization – law enforcement or military – uses the Kriss Vector.
Final Thoughts:
For the 9mm version, I think you’d do just as well with an AR carbine or the Sig MPX.
