VKTR Industries VK1 5.56 NATO Pistol

The VK1 is VKTR Industries' 5.56 NATO pistol. Putting a rifle cartridge in a pistol sized package is a format that has taken over a large share of the market, and the reason comes down to overall length. A gun built this way goes into a truck, a pack or a closet where a carbine will not fit, and it still runs the same cartridge from the same magazines an AR owner already has stacked in a range bag. Handling is familiar too, since the controls and the manual of arms carry straight over from the rifle side.

5.56 NATO is the most common centerfire rifle cartridge in the country, and that availability matters more than any single line on a spec sheet. Practice ammunition is easy to find and cheap enough to shoot in volume, and load selection runs from plain range fodder to serious varmint and defensive bullets. Short barrels do give up velocity against a 16 inch gun, though ammunition makers have spent years building projectiles that still perform at the lower speeds a compact barrel produces. VKTR is a smaller shop than the household names in this corner of the market, and the VK1 is their take on the platform.