Innholdsfortegnelse for February/March 2019 i Handguns

In Defense of the .32 I respect the opinion expressed in the “Misleading” letter in the December/January issue, but I must strongly disagree. A .32 ACP pistol is probably not the best choice for an everyday primary carry weapon for someone who is capable of carrying a 9mm or .45 ACP pistol. However, it may be the ideal choice for a lady’s purse or a man’s pants pocket on his way to the convenience store. It certainly beats the heck out of harsh words or fingernails! Regarding the statement that someone who is being beaten is not entitled to shoot the attacker in self-defense, many people are unable to defend themselves against an attacker who is younger, larger, stronger than they are CLETE DAVIS ELMHURST, IL I teach concealed-carry classes,…

THE COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY, ADopted by the military in 1873, is without doubt one of the most iconic firearms in U.S. history. It has a long list of admirers. The late, great Elmer Keith had a long association with the SAA, calling it Colt’s best revolver. He wrote about starting with the .32-20 WCF as a young man and, finding it terribly inadequate, moving on to the .45 Colt. Early in his career, Keith said if he had to rely on factory ammunition, he would choose the .45 Colt over any other cartridge. (Of course, he later developed the .44 Magnum and left the old .45 behind.) Production of the Colt SAA ceased in about 1940, but the gun did see some action in World War II and was…

PINFIRES AND SOME OTHER HANDGUNS come in small sizes, typically measuring about an inch in length and weighing less than an ounce. One that is hard to beat is the 2mm pinfire. Some fire a projectile at a listed 1,000 fps, producing a single foot-pound of energy. The projectile size is about the same as a small shotgun pellet. While very anemic, it could injure someone if shot in the eye, so respect is needed. I saw a 2mm being fired at a soda can at one foot, and it dented it deeply but did not fully penetrate. Still, I for one would not want to get shot in the eye with it. A keychain was a common way of carrying them. That way they were inconspicuous and handy to…

LEHIGH DEFENSE IS A SMALL AMMUNItion company that thinks outside the box, and its unique approach to projectiles has gotten it a lot of attention—as much from other ammunition makers as the general public. The company’s Xtreme Penetrator bullets caught the attention of Jeff Hoffman, president of Black Hills Ammunition, a company that has its own reputation for challenging preconceived notions on ammunition and for recognizing the potential in other firms’ bullets. Working with Lehigh, Black Hills helped design a new version of the Xtreme Penetrator specifically for a line of pistol ammo that ultimately was called Honey Badger. If you’re wondering where the name comes from, Black Hills borrowed this licensed name from AAC, which produces a gun by that name. Do yourself a favor and search for a…

As I first gripped the Dan Wesson Enhanced Commander Pistol or ECP, it felt like the handshake of an old friend. But on inspection I discovered that friend had received a makeover. Dan Wesson Firearms of Norwich, New York, started more than 50 years ago as a manufacturer of high-quality revolvers. Acquired by CZ USA in 2005 the company has gained a solid reputation in the 1911 pistol market and the new ECP is the latest proof of that The Commander name denotes the shortened four inch slide and barrel but the gun still retains the full-frame size of the original five-inch Government model The ECP exemplifies the superior handling and shooting qualities of the 1911 system. The ECP sports a matte black anodized aluminum frame that’s “bobtailed” at the…

THIS IS A SIMPLER, MORE COMPACT VERsion of the Box Drill, but it accomplishes the mission of teaching shooting on the move as well as one-handed shooting. Because it involves some complex techniques, I strongly recommend you do this with an experienced partner who can monitor your movements. GEAR Traffic cones or other markers, spare mag or speedloaders DRILL Place an IPSC/IDPA target five yards from the front edge of the box with five-yard spacing between the cones—firing three to five shots in each segment, depending on gun capacity. Begin at the front right corner, raise or draw the gun and move backward, firing with a two-hand hold. Go around the rear cone and switch to strong-hand-only, firing the same number of shots. At the left-rear cone, do a reload…

There are currently 16 million CCW permit holders in the United States, and that number is growing every year. To meet the needs of this growing market, pistol manufacturers have been working overtime to develop the perfect carry gun—if such a thing exists. Springfield Armory is one of those gun makers that’s set its sights on the carry gun market, and its lineup of single-and double-stack striker-fired guns has been well received by the CCW crowd. But the carry gun market is evolving quickly, and there are always new competitors in this already crowded field. To keep pace, manufacturers must have a revisionist attitude. To that end, Springfield examined its single-stack polymer-framed carry guns, the XD-S family, and decided that, despite its popularity, the gun was due for a refresh.…

NO OTHER GUN COMPANY HAS A LOGO as iconic as Browning’s Buckmark. You see the stylized deer head on trucks, clothing, even body parts. And while the firm’s Buck Mark pistol may not be quite as famous, it has a lot of fans—no surprise for a .22 pistol that’s been in production since 1985. Over those three decades, the Buck Mark has grown into an extensive series, currently numbering 22 models. The moniker for the subject of this review, Buck Mark Plus Camper UFX Suppressor Ready, is a mouthful, so let’s break it down. The Buck Mark is an alloy-frame, direct-blowback pistol. As a Camper, it features a six-inch tapered bull barrel, and Plus indicates it comes with upgraded sights—a white-outline adjustable Pro Target rear and a TruGlo/Marble Arms green…

PISTOLS MOUNTING MINI RED-DOT optics are the new hot trend. In just the past year there have been 40 new pistols introduced that were equipped with or designed to accept miniature red dots. One company that has embraced this trend is Ed Brown Products. It offers numerous models equipped with Trijicon RMRs and offers these red dots mounted on many of its other models as an option. Ed Brown offers several versions of the FX1, and O selected the FX1 RMR to test. It comes from the factory with a mounted Trijicon RMR. The Ed Brown FX1 RMR is available in .45 ACP, .38 Super and 9mm, and I chose a 9mm. There is a choice of two finishes: a brushed stainless, which Ed Brown labels Industrial,”and the one I…

EVERYONE WANTS A FAST DRAW STROKE. Whether you’re concerned with defending your life, winning a match or just looking a little more like John Wick, getting your gun out of the holster and on target quickly is pretty darn important. It’s certainly easy to see how when faced with an imminent threat a fast draw stroke could save your life, but even a lightning-fast draw is not the solution to every dangerous criminal threat. When you’re able to detect a potential problem early, you would be wise to draw your gun covertly. For cops, this is a daily occurrence. Dispatched to a burglary alarm call at a business? Gun comes out as you approach the building. Stopped a vehicle with a violent, armed criminal occupant? Gun is out as soon…

It’s amazing how the landscape can change in just a few short years. When the SIG P320 was introduced in 2014, I received one of the first models and reviewed it in these pages. I was somewhat unimpressed with the gun. Basically a striker-fired version of SIG’s modular double-action/ single-action P250, the gun was reliable and had a nice trigger, but I thought it could have been so much more. Even before the U.S. Army adopted a version of the P320 as its new M17 service pistol, I realized I had underestimated the P320. Then SIG introduced the X-frame models (X-Five and VTAC), which seemed to address every complaint I had with the platform, however minor. SIG’s X-Carry model is meant to be the P320 tweaked to ultimate concealed-carry perfection.…

For a long time, Remington was a maker only of rifles and shotguns. Bolt-action, pump and self-loading rifles and pump and self-loading shotguns. When I began gunsmithing, if someone had said, “Someday, Remington will be making handguns,” we’d have laughed coffee all over ourselves. That day arrived a few years ago, and now Remington is making handguns for all the self-defense market segments. That’s how we come to the RP45, a striker-fired, polymer-framed pistol that holds a lot of ammo. OK, let’s get right to the crux of the matter: This is a big pistol. You can’t have a 15+1 capacity in .45 and replaceable backstraps without going big. So it is not a deep concealment pistol, unless your idea of daily wear is a parka or a serape. But…

WHEN OUTLAW FRANK JAMES SURrendered to Missouri Gov. Thomas Crittenden in 1882, he was carrying a Remington Model 1875 revolver, reportedly chambered in .44-40 Winchester. It was appropriate, then, that when Uberti developed the “Frank” sixgun as part of its Outlaws & Lawmen series, the company built it in the distinctive style of that Remington. Known officially as the 1875 Single Action Outlaw, the Frank is a nickel-plated .45 Colt with a 7.5-inch barrel. The Frank is an Italian-made replica revolver built by Uberti and imported by Stoeger. Remington’s 1875 was based on the earlier Model 1858 New Model Army cap-and-ball revolver which, unlike the Colts of the percussion era, featured a solid frame. Though the Remingtons don’t have the Hollywood cachet of the Colts, they were their equal in…

MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE HANDGUN IS THE Smith & Wesson Model 52 target pistol. I love its clean lines, grip that is perfect for me, light trigger pull and excellent sights. I purchased my Model 52 in 1979, roughly 18 years after its introduction. In History of Smith & Wesson, author Roy Jinks notes production was slow due to the fact tolerances within the gun were tighter than regular production guns. In fact, so slow that in the first year of production only 90 pistols were made. The gun got its excellent grip frame from the Model 39, and initially the lockwork of its double-action trigger came from the Model 39 as well. That did not sit well with competitive shooters, so Smith & Wesson redesigned the trigger as a crisp…