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Angstadt Arms Vanquish
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- Design Features
- Build Quality
- Recoil
- Fun Factor
4.2/5Overall Score
Specs
- Caliber: 9mm
- Weight: 6.4 lbs
- Overall Length: 26.5”
- Magazine: Glock Mags
Pros
- All in One Package
- Compact Setup
- Great CQB Package
Cons
- NFA Wait
Are you in search of a firearm that combines suppression, precision, and portability like never before?
Look no further than the Angstadt Arms Vanquish, a revolutionary weapon that will change the way you approach self-defense, tactical situations, and recreational shooting.
This gun is not only a great range gun but has a ton of practical applications in both home/self-defense and its small footprint is a huge benefit.
Overview of the Angstadt Arms Vanquish
So what is the Vanquish? Simply put, it’s an integrally suppressed AR9. But there’s more to it than that and it packs quite a few notable features that set it apart in the already crowded AR-9 market.
The Vanquish has been in development for some time now and was just released a week ago as of the writing of this article.
I was lucky enough to get my hands on one to bring you my opinion on the complete build. I was able to shoot both the SBR 10.5″ option and the full-size 16″ rifle option.
Keep in mind you can buy just the barrel (NFA Rules apply) and put it on your AR-9/Pistol Caliber Carbine.
Ergonomics
I’ve shot quite a few AR-9’s like the PSA AR-9, Aero Precision EPC9, and the Angstadt UDP-9 just to name a few.
The ergonomics of the Vanquish are very much those of the UDP-9. The Vanquish uses the same lower receiver and upper as the UDP-9.
The biggest difference in the ergonomics of the Vanquish and the UDP-9 is the handguard which is larger to house the barrel shroud for the ISR barrel.
Overall, the feel and ergonomics of the Vanquish are fantastic I’ll talk more about the ergonomics of this gun in the shooting section of this review.
Safety
The safety is fantastic because it’s the Radian Talon which is a high-end ambidextrous safety selector.
The Talon features the ability to have a 45° or 90° throw, this allows you to customize it to your preferred throw.
I like both degree options and the SBR version of the Vanquish I was shooting was great at 45° because when I was resting my trigger finger on the side of the gun the small through on the right side of the receiver didn’t interfere with my finger.
Pistol Grip
The pistol grip on any gun is a big deal because it’s what you interact with the most. On the Vanquish it’s the B5 Systems Type 23 P-Grip.
I like this grip a lot because it has good texturing and a fantastic grip angle, I’d put the Type 23 P-Grip on nearly any gun I own.
If you don’t like the grip the good news is you can put any AR-15-style pistol grip on this gun you’d like.
Magazine Release
The magazine release is a unique design by Angstadt Arm that they use across their lineup including in the UDP and MDP series.
It works well but is not an ambidextrous design, which doesn’t bother me but for the lefties, you might wish this came with a left-side magazine release drop.
Magazine Well
The magazine well is well done, see what I did there? But in all seriousness, the magazine well is extremely flared, and the magazine funneled in well.
I wouldn’t use 15 round magazines as they might be harder to get out and the 17 round magazines are just a much better fit.
If you are going to run a 15-round magazine getting a +2 attachment for your magazine is also a good idea to increase the capacity.
Bolt Hold Open and Bolt Release
Charging Handle
The charging handle is another product made by Radian Weapons and is the Radian Raptor charging handle.
This charging handle quickly became the gold standard for charging handles are works extremely well.
It’s not marked for Angstadt but it looks and works great in this gun even without the markings.
The nice thing about having this included is an upgrade is unneeded for the charging handle and there isn’t much better out there.
Trigger
The trigger is the EMT-9 Enhanced Mil-Spec trigger which is a polished nickel Teflon trigger made from 8620 alloy steel.
In terms of feel it’s a standard curved trigger and functioned flawlessly. While I love flat triggers overall feel there are some reasons I think Angstadt went with the enhanced mil-spec trigger.
I understand why it’s a standard mil-spec curve trigger and not something flashier.
These guns are being sold and marketed to more than just the civilian market and I’m sure governments of all kinds have more basic requirements for things like triggers.
The good news is if you want to upgrade to something like a Rise Armament trigger you can easily make that swap as this lower accepts mil-spec triggers.
Configuration and Stock Options
You can buy this gun in two basic configurations directly from Angstadt Arms.
The first, my favorite, is the 10.5″ Short Barrel Rifle model which is a compact and fantastic shooter.
It comes with a B5 Systems stock and is compact and works great, but the B5 stock is okay. It does have a nice surface area for your check.
The 16″ model is the same configuration for the stock but with a much longer rail and barrel.
Optics Mounting
I personally loved running the Angstadt Arms Vanquish with the Trijicon RMR on a scalarworks mount.
The good thing about this gun, like most AR platforms, you can mount anything you see fit.
Since this is a pistol-caliber carbine you likely will want a red dot and not something with lots of magnification.
Accessories Mounting
Since the Angstadt Arms Vanquish rail comes with the M-Lok mounting system you might think you can mount anything you want.
Well, I think you should be warned, the suppressor and rail are extremely close together. So not all m-lok mounts will work.
The Vanquish comes with an M-Lok QD mount in the box that will work on the rail for a two-point sling.
Shooting
Where this gun really shines is shooting it, which might be a duh statement, but it’s pretty awesome to shoot. I got to shoot both Vanquish models so I’ll talk about shooting each of them.
SBR
The Short Barrel Rifle Vanquish shoots very flat and I got no gas back, which is one of the biggest advantages of the Vanquish.
I like how the 10.5″ Vanqish is such a smaller package compared to other guns in this range. To get the same length with a can you would have to compromise barrel length.
16″
The 16″ version shot about the same but was a bit quieter however I got gas back on the first two rounds of the gun but then none after that.
The 16″ gun is nice becasue of the single stamp needed for NFA reasons but I would go for the 10.5″ version that’s where this platform really shines.
Comparison
I ran the Vanquish dry and wet as well as beside a UDP-9 with a GSL Fatman suppressor. This will give you an idea of what to expect with this platform.
Keep in mind the Vanquish was run with Supersonic 9mm rounds and the GSL Fatman was run with subsonics.
Aesthetics
As you can see reading through this article this gun looks fantastic and comes in a number of different color options.
I really like the lines and milling on the Vanquish and think you’d be hard pressed to make it much better.
Final thoughts
This is such a fantastic platform I plan to get one to repalce my other PCC’s.
I mostly shoot suppressed so fressing up suppressors and making the overall length of my go to pistol carbines is a win-win, no brainer.
I like the lack of gas back and the baffleless design of the Vanquish.
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