Innholdsfortegnelse for February - March 2017 i Handguns

R51 Advice I just finished reading James Tarr’s review on the second generation Remington R51 (December/ January), and I agree with most of his comments. However, he did not address a magazine problem with the R51. I have had a continuous problem with racking the first cartridge into the gun with a fully loaded magazine. He also did not address the difficulty of breaking down and reassembling the R51. Aside from this trivia, I love shooting the gun. It eats everything I put in it—although I have to put one cartridge in the mag, rack it, then load the magazine. JOE BLACK COPPERAS COVE, TX Mr. Black: I didn’t notice this problem during testing, but after reading your letter I went back and was able to replicate the problem if…

I’VE MENTIONED HIGH THREAT CONCEAL- ment holsters in this column before. The company is most well-known for developing an integrated belt/holster/ pouch Low Profile System where the Kydex pieces interlock on an easily removable outer belt. The outer belt with its attached pouches secures to the inner belt threaded through your belt loops with the use of Velcro. While a bunch of gear stretching from hipbone to hipbone designed to carry pistol and AR magazines, radio, first aid kit, holster, handcuffs and/or whatever else you think you might need might be a bit overkill for most Handguns readers, HTC has now come out with a convertible inside-the-waistband/outside-the-waistband holster designed to appeal to everyone—the HTC EVO. A little background first. The founders of HTC were working as contractors in Afghanistan about…

I was just 17 when blacksmith and knife maker Chris Petersen told me he had a new favorite smallbore handgun. Even at that age I was perceptive enough to know one had better pay close attention when Petersen got a twinkle in his eye—especially because I knew he disdained small cartridges. Cautiously, I asked about this “smallbore,” and he simply suggested we should go shoot it. Out in central Utah’s dusty hills, Petersen uncased a single-shot .45-70 handgun. “It’s just right for squirrels,” he offered. “The other day a corn-raiding squirrel stopped behind a railroad tie back of my shed. Shot right through the tie and killed it.” Instructing me to clench it hard and brace one foot well back when I shot, he loaded the 10-inch .45-70 with one…

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had an interest in law enforcement. In my early 20s, I began to seriously consider becoming a police officer. My dad, an electrical foreman at the nearby power plant, did his best to dissuade me. I remember him saying, “Why would you want to deal with the scum of the Earth every day?” It’s a fair question. As a police officer you do tend to deal with the same people, or at least the same type of people, day after day. They’re called criminals, and interacting with them on a regular basis gives you a keen insight into their behavior. When you’re around liars, thieves and predators long enough, you learn to spot certain “tells” that could indicate trouble is afoot.…

RUGER HAS SOLD MORE THAN 1.5 MILLION LCPs. In fact, one of the executives at Ruger recently admitted to me that the success of the LCP was one of the leading reasons for the shortage of.380 ACP ammo in the last few years. Just do the math. If every LCP owner simply bought one 50-round box of ammo, that’s 75 million rounds of a caliber that historically was never in demand. The LCP was quietly upgraded about three years ago with incrementally larger sights and a slightly shorter trigger pull, but even so, there were people, including myself, who weren’t fans of the design for various reasons—usually the long trigger pull and equally long reset. With the introduction of the LCP II, Ruger has addressed all of the complaints about…

THESE DAYS, AMERICA’S SHOOTERS are clamoring for more handgun information—more articles, more television shows, more website info. Outdoor Sportsman Group—which publishes Handguns as well as bringing you the Sportsman Channel and Outdoor Channel—has answered that call with the new MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app. It’s a resource like no other, a curated treasure trove of firearms-and outdoor-oriented television shows and videos. Think of it like your own personal Neftlix—except instead of re-runs of “Walking Dead” you’re treated to episodes of “Handguns & Defensive Weapons” (hosted by Handguns magazine’s own James Tarr and Richard Nance), “Guns & Ammo,” “Shooting Gallery” and many, many more. It’s an incredibly deep library containing more than 4,000 HD episodes of outdoor television shows, as well as short-form video encompassing how-to instructional and gun history topics you can…

THE .32 S&W LONG WAS BROUGHT OUT in 1896 as a lengthened version of the .32 S&W Short. It was originally loaded with blackpowder, but smokeless replaced it a few years later. The police commissioner of New York City at that time was Teddy Roosevelt, and he liked the .32 S&W Long so much—it was hailed for its accuracy—it was adopted as the police round. At one time, various revolvers were chambered for it, including Colt, Harrington & Richardson and Iver Johnson. I have a Colt Pocket Positive with “.32 Police CTG” stamped on it’s barrel. According to the serial number, it was made in 1920. It is a double-action revolver, and the rear sight is a groove, which was common with those guns. On the frame it is stamped…

 I OFTEN FIELD QUESTIONS FROM PO- tential students such as, “Hey, I wanted to run my carry gun in your close-quarter pistol course, but it’s a subcompact pistol that only holds six rounds. Is that okay?” It seems many would rather leave the range feeling good about themselves than leave feeling more prepared to win an armed encounter. Of course it is. Why would you pay for a course designed to help you prevail in a deadly confrontation at arm’s length and use anything but the gun you will actually be carrying? I scratch my head when a shooter practices with a full-size pistol with umpteen spare mags then stows them in a range bag before strapping on a subcompact pistol with a single, reduced-capacity magazine to go out and…

DoubleStar is located in Winchester, Kentucky, and while you might not recognize the name, you may have heard of J&T Distributing, which has been selling AR-15 parts and accessories for more than 25 years—including many the company designed and manufactured itself. Soon just making parts wasn’t enough, and the firm began offering complete ARs and 1911s through its spinoff company, DoubleStar Corp. The PHD is DoubleStar’s first complete 1911. PHD is a clever moniker for a pistol, and in this case the letters stand for Personal Home Defense. It is meant to provide defense shooters everything they need and nothing they don’t. The question, of course, is whether the company succeeded. DoubleStar makes only .45 ACPs, and the PHD is a full-size, five-inch, all-steel pistol. It has a businesslike manganese…

SIG SAUER ADDED THE TACOPS TO ITS line several years back and recently released a new version: the SIG TacOps 1911R in .357 SIG. In our law enforcement training courses, we see a number of the SIG .45 ACP 1911s in use, and my initial thought was why the.357 SIG? The short answer is power and performance. The TacOps is an enhanced 1911, the “R” designation indicating the gun includes an integral dust cover rail to mount accessory lights or lasers. It has a five-inch barrel with the standard barrel bushing. The all-steel TacOps is finished in a matte black Nitron that proved durable and resistant to wear. Empty weight is a bit over 40 ounces, putting it into the heavyweight division of both duty and concealed-carry pistols. I prefer…

PRODUCTS COME AND GO, AND THE COLT Python came to us in 1955, the same year as the S&W Model 29. Sadly, all good things end, and in October of 1999 Colt terminated the production of this famous revolver after a production run of more than 40 years. It was literally a handcrafted gun—cited by many as one of the most challenging and difficult handguns to manufacture—so rising costs and a changing market made the decision easy for Colt. Yet surprisingly, the custom shop was making Pythons on special order for several years thereafter—ceasing, I assume, after its stockpile of frames and parts ran out. My Python was made in late 1977, and it came with a letter detailing the serial number, barrel length, caliber and other items signed by…

FEDERAL LAW CLASSIFIES MARIJUANA as a Schedule I controlled substance deemed to have “no currently accepted medical use,” lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and has a high potential for abuse. Federal firearms law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) provides that no person “who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” may “possess…or…receive any firearm or ammunition.” In addition, it is unlawful to sell any firearm or ammunition “to any person knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the person is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance.” This law, as recently clarified, extends to users of medical marijuana in states that allow it. Nevada, among 24 other states and the District of Columbia, legalized the use of medical marijuana…

GORILLA AMMUNITION’S SILVERBACK LINE is loaded with solid-copper hollow-points, manufactured on Swiss-style lathes. Wait, what—“Swiss” lathes? Yes. Monolithic-material bullets, what we confusingly call solid-copper hollowpoints, have to be produced on a lathe. Copper is too strong a material to be hydraulically shaped, at least when it comes to bullets. So they have to be turned on a lathe: A bar of copper is clamped in the chuck, and the end of it gets cut by the tool, guided by the computer controlling things. The finished bullet falls off, the bar is extended, and the sequence is repeated. The only problem is the pressure of the tool can flex the bar out of alignment. This is not a problem with materials like steel, as it doesn’t flex much, but copper does,…

COLT COMPETITION .38 SUPER Colt’s dedicated Competition 1911 adds the popular .38 Super, a big favorite among many top shooters. The gun features a dual-spring recoil system for less felt recoil and less muzzle rise. Ergonomics include undercut trigger guard and upswept beavertail. It comes with Novak adjustable rear and fiber-optic front sights. Blue finish. {$999, COLT.COM } REMINGTON UMC RANGE BUCKET Bulk is the way to go if you shoot a lot of factory, and now Remington UMC’s line of Range Bucket full-metal-jacket ammo—already available in 9mm—has expanded to include.380 Auto (95 grains), .40 S&W (180) and .45 ACP (230). All feature reloadable brass cases and Kleanbore primers. Plus you end up with a handy bucket when you’re done. { $203 (.380, 500-round count), $113 (.40, 300), $93 (.45,…

I was sitting around a campfire one night with a crew that included cops and ex-cops. Eventually the topic turned to—what else?—favorite carry guns. I expected to hear a lot of votes for high-capacity 9mms, but to my surprise, many of the LE guys said their favorite off-duty carry gun was a J-frame revolver. And when you think about it, it makes sense—not necessarily the platform but the size. Smaller guns are more comfortable to carry, and when your everyday non-work life involves running around town doing chores, it’s a heck of a lot easier to drop a gun into your pocket than it is to strap on a belt holster and change your clothes. Not that you don’t need a holster or to dress properly with a pocket gun,…

IN RECENT YEARS THERE’S BEEN A STEADY rise in female shooters, and in response the industry has been marketing certain firearms to women. Far too many of those guns take stereotypes into account with pink grips, small calibers and diminutive frames. With the Amethyst Ultra II, Kimber has taken its “what all guns should be” slogan to heart by creating a gun any and all shooters will want for an everyday carry gun. In ancient times the amethyst was known as the “gem of fire.” Medieval knights wore the gem into battle for protection, and travelers used it to stave off surprise attacks. Its purple hue has long been associated with nobility, and in 1782 George Washington assigned the color to the forerunner of the Purple Heart, the medal currently…