Suppressors

B&T USA Hush Puppy

By: Dave Bahde

Like you were never there

Over the years, I have tested hundreds of various firearms and suppressors. Most companies are focused on the bottom line, with an eye toward what’s trending, and it’s pretty rare to see a company that will venture outside this standard protocol — especially without some guarantee of sales. Occasionally, you will see small numbers of certain specialized guns for very specialized military or federal law enforcement, but they will never see the light of day outside of those units. Thankfully, there is at least one exception to this rule — B&T USA. While B&T USA does build for specific clients, it can be for very low numbers, and — more importantly — anything they make is eventually available to anyone who can legally possess the product. Their new Hush Puppy Glock 19 is a perfect example.

The overall length of the Hush Puppy pistol/suppressor package is just slightly longer than a Glock 34, lending itself to a level of concealment not possible with most suppressed pistols. The suppressor itself measures only three inches long and weighs a not-even-there three ounces.

So, what’s a “Hush Puppy”

The Hush Puppy idea is not a new one; it’s based on a military need for a super-quiet suppressed pistol and is mainly limited to what I refer to as “Special Missions Units.” The concept is anything but mainstream. For the most part, as wars ended, so did the need for highly specialized tools, but platforms that followed the same idea as B&T’s Hush Puppy really came into their own with the Navy Seals during the Vietnam War. A couple of different semi-auto pistols were used, and suppressors generally used replaceable wipes instead of fixed baffles. While these platforms’ uses can vary, their stated purpose was to shoot sentry and guard dogs in Vietnam, resulting in the name “Hush Puppy.” Over the years, the concept proved its value, and several other specialized military units created their own versions. Recent versions were single-shot pistols, including one of the latest — B&T’s VP9 (Veterinary Pistol), essentially a suppressed bolt-operated repeating pistol.

Helping to put the “Hush” in Hush Puppy, B&T USA machines the slide for a lock-out switch. This effectively turns the pistol into a single shot and deletes the sound of the slide cycling. Flip the switch up, and the pistol will function like a normal semi-auto Glock 19.

B&T USA’s Hush Puppy

A request was made to B&T for something that was not solely a single shot but also capable of firing in semi-automatic when needed, preferably in a weapon they currently use. At the same time, the platform needed to have the ability to lock the slide, essentially rendering it a single shot and avoiding the sound of the slide reciprocating and leaving evidence of a spent casing. In short, it needed to provide the ultimate in sound reduction when required but operate as a standard pistol when necessary. Starting with the concept of a slide lock switch seen on the Glock G19 from the Hush Puppy Project, B&T created its own version to meet the requirements of the request. While concepts are similar, everything on the B&T Hush Puppy was designed from the ground up, including changes to the locking switch and the suppressor, resulting in the new Hush Puppy G19.

This pistol starts with a stock Gen 5 Glock G19 non-M.O.S. pistol. All the alterations are to the slide — the lower is completely untouched. In fact, you can swap this slide onto any G19 — it fit perfectly on both my standard G45 and my highly modified GSP (Gunsight Service Pistol). The slide is machined and equipped with a switch on the left-side rear that will lock or unlock the slide from reciprocating. Press the switch down, and the slide is locked in place. Push it up, and it operates like a regular Glock. The barrel fitted to the Hush Puppy is a factory Glock unit threaded to a 13.5x1LH metric thread pitch. The suppressor itself is new, super short (three inches), and uses a modern replaceable polymer wipe system. Wipes can be changed easily with a supplied tool, and wipe kits will be available for purchase. Given the suppressor’s next-to-nothing weight, there is no need for a Nielsen Device for reliable cycling. The agency making the request for B&T’s Hush Puppy wanted a suppressor that would be effective for what amounts to a 15-round G19 magazine and a spare 17-round G17 magazine, which is basically the standard issue for that unit at 32 rounds. The Hush Puppy, with the suppressor attached, is short enough to wear in an IWB (Inside the Waste Band) holster in appendix carry.

An Aimpoint ACRO P-2 optic is included in the Hush Puppy package, and the slide cut is deeper than typical for mounting it. This allows for a co-witness sight picture with standard-height Glock sights. In order to get the ACRO to ride this low, a new rear sight dovetail needed to be cut forward of the optic, and the rear sight relocated.

B&T wanted a proven RDS mounted directly to the slide that did not require suppressor sights, and the included Aimpoint ACRO P-2 is the leader in closed emitter pistol optics and has been proven in almost every condition. Maybe the best part of the Hush Puppy system is that the slide is machined deeper than typical for the ACRO, allowing for a co-witness sight picture with standard height Glock sights. To accomplish this, a new rear sight dovetail needed to be cut forward of the optic and the rear sight relocated. Remove the suppressor, and you have a perfectly usable everyday carry pistol with the best possible optic and BUIS (Back Up Iron Sights) that co-witness perfectly.

The Hush Puppy suppressor uses user-replaceable polymer wipes to obtain excellent sound suppression in an ultra-compact tube size. A hex tool is included for removing the end cap. Should the situation call for it, the suppressor’s performance can be increased even further by adding ultrasound gel (the preferred material) between the wipes.

Range Time

Having tested dozens of suppressors and suppressed weapons over the years, my basis for comparison is extensive. Locking the slide prevents any gas or noise escaping from the ejection port, instead sending everything forward, and except for some rimfire guns, you just don’t get any quieter than the Hush Puppy. Push the switch up, rack the slide, and it runs nearly as quietly, functioning perfectly on rapid-fire strings. Switch placement makes it highly unlikely you would accidentally activate it during firing. Until the wipes needed replacement, the Hush Puppy remained quiet, and after that, it was only marginally louder and about what you would expect from such a short suppressor. Using Wilson Combat 135-grain subsonic ammunition paired with fresh wipes, this is about as quiet as you can make a 9mm pistol.

Some have stated the suppressor wipes are supposed to be pretty well done after a magazine, but B&T USA designed the Hush Puppy to run effectively for at least 34 rounds. Shooting mostly subsonic ammo, it was still working at 50 rounds, a little louder for sure, but well within its design parameters. If your intent is to shoot long strings of fire, I’d probably suggest threading on a wipe-less suppressor.

Function was impressive, which is to say, with standard ammunition, it ran pretty much like you would expect a Glock G19 to run. Accuracy was also what I would expect out of me and a G19. Overall group size was about the same whether firing five separate rounds with the slide locked or unlocking the slide. My best subsonic group (suppressed) was with 158-grain SAS from SBR Ammunition, and removing the suppressor, it really liked Wilson Combat’s 125-grain HAP; both were in the 1.5 to 2-inch at 25 yards. Many seem to think wipes will impact accuracy severely, but that just was not the case here, and never really has been for me with a duty pistol. Per the design specifications, this setup was plenty accurate and about as good as it gets for me with a G19. My large hands have always been an issue with the G19; the grip size just doesn’t fit me well. Swapping the slide over to my custom G45 lower made a difference both in comfort and controllability.

Suppressed (left) and unsuppressed performance at 25 yards was nearly identical, with a very slight point-of-impact shift. The best five-shot groups from the ammunition used for testing ranged from 1.5 to a little over two inches.

Bottom Line

There is a ton to like here, especially the slide cut for the ACRO P-2. Outside of the slide-lock switch it is just a Glock 19, making it incredibly versatile and reliable. B&T allotted 250 pistol packages for initial sale outside government agencies. It includes the pistol, suppressor, ACRO, and 100 rounds of 147-grain subsonic ammunition from Super Vel, all in a presentation case. As one might expect, those were all pre-sold. Once those have been delivered, you will be able to buy it in separate pieces, with or without the ACRO, etc. The exact cost is still being worked out, but given the retail price tag of $2800.00 for the entire package, it’s likely to be reasonable. Either way, this pistol is a blast to shoot and is sure to be hit overall, even without being part of an elite tier-one military unit! For more information, contact B&T USA; Tel.: (813) 653-1200; E-mail: [email protected]; Web: www.bt-usa.com