Innholdsfortegnelse for October/November 2019 i Handguns

AS SOON AS RUGER INTRODUCED THE GP100 in .44 Special, I bought one. A five-shot revolver with a three-inch barrel, I find it an excellent field gun—not heavy like my five-inch S&W .44 Magnum but with plenty of punch. I’ve shot it a ton, both at the range and on the set of “Handguns & Defensive Weapons,” and it’s well-behaved and accurate. But I love to tinker with things, even though I’m not particularly good at it. One day the notion popped into my head to install different grips on it, just for something to do. I settled on Altamont. The company offers both full-size and compact grips for the GP100, and since I already knew what the full-size grips felt like, I figured it would be interesting to see…

THE SPEER GOLD DOT 124-GRAIN 9MM +P has been considered the defensive round against which all others should be judged for almost two decades. But almost two decades is forever when it comes to ammunition. And Speer knows it, which is why it began looking for a successor a few years ago. Enter the Speer Gold Dot G2. The G2 has actually been around since 2014 or so, long enough for tactical YouTubers to gel test it. In every test I saw, the 9mm Gold Dot G2 was a failure: lack of expansion combined with overpenetration. So when I received a press release a few years ago about the “new” Speer Gold Dot G2 round, I reached out to Speer and learned the firm had re-engineered the round and was…

DAVIDSON’S IS ONE OF THE BEST-KNOWN firearms retailers in the country, having been in the gun business for more than 60 years, and its Gallery of Guns is one of the best sources for Internet firearms sales. A recent arrival to the 1911 scene is an exclusive collaboration between Davidson’s and Armscor/Rock Island Armory: the 1911-A1 Rock Standard FS DS. I spoke with Bill Bennett, Davidson’s director of marketing, and asked what the concept was for this 1911. He said Davidson’s wanted a full-featured Government 1911 with a unique look that stood out as to price point and performance—one that also gives a salute to those who served in our military. Armscor—a Philippines-based company that markets 1911s under the Rock Island Armory brand—took its 1911-A1 FS DS and added Cerakote’s…

THE VANQUISH IS CHAMPION’S LATEST foray into electronic hearing protection, and the sample I got for test is one of two Bluetooth-capable models. (The Elite version, which I didn’t test, comes with rechargeable lithium batteries and has active noise cancellation in addition to Bluetooth.) At $125 suggested retail, this is a good set of muffs, providing all-day comfort and excellent noise reduction. The omnidirectional microphones do a good job of picking up important sounds around you—like conversation and range commands—while suppressing gunfire noise. The Vanquish doesn’t do quite as good a job of minimizing wind noise as a pair of more expensive muffs I have, but at half the price I can live with that. The controls are nicely laid out. The power button is easy to find with the…

One of Taurus’ newest pistols is the TX22, a polymer-frame striker-fired semiauto .22 Long Rifle that is a very interesting piece. I first got a chance to shoot the prototype of the TX22 in April 2018. At the time, Taurus hadn’t even picked out a name. While the finish work on the pistol was rather rough (prototype, remember), it ran all day without any problems. When production models of the pistol were finally available, I made sure to get a sample because I was curious how the finished gun compared to the prototype I had shot. The TX22 measures 7.1 inches long by 5.4 inches tall, and it’s 1.25 inches wide at the safety. The slide is 7075 aluminum with a matte black anodized finish. Between the polymer frame and…

Carry guns can be curious things. Plenty of shooters own tuned, high-grade 1911s that stay in the safe while less-expensive production handguns fill their everyday carry role. While there’s nothing wrong with this practice—and some practical reasons to adopt it—wouldn’t it be a good idea to stake their lives on the handgun they shoot best? If you are a 1911 shooter, your ideal carry gun just might be a compact and lightweight handgun that retains the performance, balance and controls of America’s favorite sidearm. That’s exactly what Ed Brown Products has developed in its new KC9. Years ago, Ed Brown turned the 1911 world on its head with the introduction of the Kobra Carry. This Commander-length handgun incorporated Brown’s patented Bobtail grip and Snakeskin grip treatment on the front-strap, mainspring…

TODAY, 1911 TARGET SHOOTERS HAVE IT made, with tons of guns from both major makers and custom shops. SIG’s Stainless Super Target, for example, is all set up for the job with special features and precision adjustable sights. Chambered for .45 ACP, it’s superbly made and tight as a drum, and it was a consistent shooter no matter the ammunition I fed it. For shooters who are used to the rounded configuration of the 1911, while the gun has rounded corners, the overall appearance is square. It boasts matte-finished stainless steel with the SIG logo and a “racing stripe” down the middle of the slide on the left side. Topside slide serrations aid in quelling unwanted reflections so you can take full advantage of the sighting system. On the rear…

IT’S OFTEN BEEN SAID THE MORE YOU learn about something, the more you realize how much you don’t know. This is certainly true of my experience with shooting. As a new police officer 22 years ago, I had virtually no shooting experience. I took as gospel what the firearms instructors in the police academy taught. As far as I was concerned, what I was learning was the right way and anything else was therefore wrong. Looking back, I realize I was not only blissfully ignorant but also unjustifiably arrogant. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. As a gun writer for the past decade, I’ve had the opportunity to train with several top-level instructors. It’s been an eye-opening and often humbling experience. It’s easy to think you’re better than you…

The original Walther PP (Polizeipistole or police pistol) has been around since 1931 and has seen use by a lot of police and military officers in its long history. The PP had a 3.9-inch barrel and offered a seven-round capacity in .380 ACP (it was also chambered in .32 ACP). The PPK variant came about shortly thereafter, and it combined a shorter 3.3-inch barrel with a 0.4-inch shorter grip frame, which reduced capacity by one. The PPK/S version made its debut in 1968 and was a direct result of our Gun Control Act of 1968. The GCA banned the import of pistols that didn’t meet certain “sporting” criteria based on size, weight and features, and the PPK was too small. In order to meet the GCA criteria, the PPK/S (the…

For years, Stoeger, a member of the Benelli family of firearms, has offered reliable semiautomatic shotguns at blue collar prices. But recently the Benelli family—of which Franchi is also a member—has been branching out. Benelli now offers a line of over/under shotguns in addition to its ultra-successful semiautos, and last year Franchi entered the rifle market with the new Momentum bolt-action. Now it’s Stoeger’s turn to explore new horizons, and the company’s latest product is the highly anticipated STR-9, a striker-fired 9mm semi-auto pistol. There’s no shortage of competition in the polymer-framed striker gun market, and with so many options available today, Stoeger has to bring something special if it hopes to make the STR-9 stand out from the competition. To do this, Stoeger is borrowing from its shotgun play-book:…

ONCE LEFT FOR DEAD, THE 10MM AUTO cartridge is going gangbusters today. The resurgence started in the 1911 platform, and the round is now moving into striker-fired guns. But wheelgunners aren’t being left behind, thanks to Smith & Wesson’s Model 610. Built on the legendary N frame, the Model 610 I received for testing has a 6.5-inch barrel; a four-inch version is offered as well. The barrel is a one-piece affair and sports a full underlug. The rear sight is fully adjustable and has a white outline on the rear notch. The front is a ramped blade, plain black, that’s pinned to the barrel, and the flat barrel top is grooved to reduce glare. The barrel, frame and fluted cylinder are stainless steel. The grips are black synthetic. I have…