007 James Bond Seen With New Sidearm In ‘Spectre’
$SNE
James Bond, known for carrying a Walther PPK handgun since his film debut in Y 1962, is shown packing a pistol from rival arms producer Heckler & Koch GmbH in his latest film.
007’s apparent switch in ‘Spectre’ opening in theaters Monday, comes as the German government, Heckler & Koch’s # 1 customer, drops it as chief supplier of army rifles after concluding that the G36 model used for almost 20 years doesn’t shoot straight in “hot” conditions.
Fiction’s best-known spy is not alone in turning to H&K’s 15-shot VP9.
US gun enthusiasts are flocking to the $719 pistol, providing a vital boost after the rift with German forces saw the Oberndorf-based company’s bonds fall to the lowest in 3 years in April, when the concerns became public. The government said on 8 September that it would buy a new army rifle by open tender.
Introduced in June 2014, the VP9 fires 9-millimeter rounds, the automatic pisto took 4 years to develop and marks a return to a striker-based firing mechanism without a protruding hammer that makes the gun easier to draw, according to experts.
“American Rifleman,” the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) official journal, awarded the VP9 its Golden Bullseye award for “2015 Handgun Product of the Year.”
The model is leading H&K’s North American sales, alongside the VP40, with bigger .40-in ammo, and the “concealed carry” P30SK. Buyers span the top end of the civilian market to law-enforcement authorities.
Heckler said in April it would focus more on the US, where US President Barack Hussein Obama’s push for stricter gun laws is credited with increasing demand among people concerned that it may become tougher to buy weapons.
US gun sales this year could pass a Y 2013 record, with 15.6-M applications made in the 1st 9 months, according to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
Heckler & Koch’s pistols helped operating profit more than double to $15-M in 1-H of this year, when sales rose 40% according to data.
The VP9’s appearance in ‘Spectre’ should help raise H&K’s profile among enthusiasts, though it will not be clear until the movie’s release whether the gun is issued to Daniel Craig’s Bond or comes into his possession through other circumstances. Stills showing the weapon suggest it may have been seized from an adversary, according to websites devoted to the James Bond film franchise.
Heckler & Koch said it did not collaborate on ‘Spectre’ while confirming that stills of a black-clad Daniel Craig (James Bond) on a hillside do show the VP9.
Sony Corp. (NYSE:SNE) and MGM Studios declined to comment, and Eon Productions did not return a call.
Have a terrific weekend.
HeffX-LTN
Paul Ebeling
The post 007 James Bond Seen With New Sidearm In ‘Spectre’ appeared first on Live Trading News.