B&T USA is announces the State of Florida’s Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) has purchased B&T APC9 PRO platforms equipped with Glock lower receivers, folding stocks, Aimpoint Micro T1 sighting systems, 22mm B&T quick-detach mounts and Vertx Ready Pack 2.0 carriage systems. These compact packages are destined for use within the department’s School Resource Officer program, Detective Bureau, and other specialized units within the Sheriff’s Office. 

Statement from B&T USA and HCSO

“HCSO has well-earned reputation for professionalism and top-tier service to its substantial population. B&T could not be more honored to provide the hardworking Deputies of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office with our specialized equipment to help them with their challenging assignments as they effectively serve their communities.”

Irving Luce, President, B&T USA

Additionally, the Sheriff’s Office added this statement.

“Many of our specially selected Deputies have been employing B&T USA APC9 models for several years now, and the feedback I have received from them is they couldn’t be more satisfied with the performance of these modern, compact and versatile 9mm platforms. Given the complex nature of some of the more specialized calls for service we have been responding to, expanding the issuance of this high-performance platform provides Deputies with a necessary tool to ensure the security of those we have been entrusted to protect.”

Sheriff Chad Chronister, HCSO

About the B&T APC9 Pro

The APC9 PRO is a lightweight, compact, versatile platform utilizing a hydraulic buffer system to drastically reduce felt recoil and muzzle rise and is the workhorse of the APC PRO line. The platform offers functional features to include dual auto-folding, non-reciprocating and ambidextrous charging handles, ergonomic lower feature sets that include a side positioned bolt hold open/release and a replaceable M4 compatible grip.

Editor’s Thoughts on the HCSO Purchase of APC9 Pros

This is an interesting purchase, especially an agency like Hillsborough County. For those that don’t know, Hillsborough County is the county in Florida where Tampa is located. Their area has about a million residents. This isn’t like some rural department ordering sub-machine guns because they think they’d be cool to have. HCSO is a major agency that does serious work with all types of violent crime. That’s why this purchase is…well it’s interesting.

The 9mm sub-machine gun fell out of vogue a while ago. Afghanistan and Iraq taught a hard lesson that if you want to fight people, you want a rifle. That’s a big part of why every tactical team transitioned away from the legendary MP5. Almost universally, today’s tactical units carry some variant of an M4 carbine. However, the press release states these are for “special” units. In that context, the 9mm sub-gun starts to make sense.

Obviously, for a unit like the detective bureau, you’re not going to have uniformed officers rolling around with M4s. However, HCSO purchasing the APC9 gives those officers access to a platform that’s easier to get hits with than a pistol, while still being more compact than a full size M4. However, the most interesting use case for these is for the School Resource Officers. We’re assuming that the APC9 will be in a trunk, and you won’t see uniformed school officers rolling around schools with slung sub-guns. But what it does is give those officers better odds if responding to an active shooter. Increased ammo and more inherent accuracy are never a bad thing when you’re trying to stop an active killer.

This is a sound purchase for HCSO, especially when applied to the use cases above. – Caleb