Innholdsfortegnelse for June/July 2020 i Handguns

STREAMLIGHT IS ALWAYS PUSHING forward with its products, and this year is no different. There’s a lot going on in Eagleville, Pennsylvania, and I wanted to focus on what I think is a big deal: the company’s new A-series switches. I’ve had a TLR-8G light/green laser mounted on my bedroom gun, a Smith & Wesson M&P9 2.0 Compact, for about a year, and I’ve been happy with it except for one thing: It’s not easy for me to operate the unit’s side-mounted switch. I can do it, sure, but it requires readjusting my hands from a true firing grip. My wife, who has longer fingers, doesn’t have the same problem, so I’ve just trained with it to the point it doesn’t pose an issue. Now this same light/laser is available…

IF YOU’VE EVER TAKEN A DEFENSIVE shooting course, you’ve seen him—the student who, upon firing, immediately snaps his head sharply over one shoulder then the other, as if posing for the camera. Scanning one’s environment for additional threats after a shooting is important, but many people seem to be more concerned with how they look during the scan than what they are actually seeing. Let’s consider the why and how behind scanning. It’s well established that during a deadly encounter our bodies will undergo numerous physiological changes as part of our hardwired fight-or-flight response. One of the most significant effects is the loss of peripheral vision, a phenomenon commonly referred to as tunnel vision. This occurs because we become hyperfocused on whatever we perceive to be a threat. Tunnel vision…

You just can’t talk about the new Ruger-57 pistol without covering a little history, so let’s very briefly roll things back a couple decades. In 1990 FN developed the 5.7x28mm cartridge in conjunction with its select-fire P90 PDW, similar to what John Browning did with the .45 ACP and the 1911. With the P90, the FN engineers wanted to create a firearm for military and law enforcement that was easier to shoot than a traditional handgun and would penetrate soft body armor (dedicated armor-piercing ammo is not available commercially) but was substantially smaller and lighter than a traditional rifle. Once the P90 was introduced, the engineers then started looking for alternate platforms for the interesting new cartridge. They ultimately realized that while it was long, the cartridge would still fit…

In the 1911 world, the definition of the term “custom” can vary significantly. Everything from mass-production guns to pistols hand-built by sole proprietors can carry the title. Reasonable minds can disagree as to what constitutes a custom handgun, but by anyone’s definition, Nighthawk Custom’s products fit the bill. The company that boasts “one gun, one gunsmith” has grown significantly over the past 16 years, but the one-gunsmith policy has not wavered. Among the company’s newest creations is the Vice President, a Commander-length 1911 destined to turn heads. When Nighthawk Custom opened its doors in 2004, the entire employee roster had just four names on it. Today, the company employs more than 65 workers who design, build, test, package and ship the company’s line of custom handguns and shotguns one by…

WILSON COMBAT ACP While it’s still a hand-built gun, the American Combat Pistol series doesn’t offer as many customer options—hence it’s less expensive than Wilson’s other pistols. The ACP is available in 9mm and .45 in full-size (five-inch), Commander (4.25-inch) and Compact (4.0-inch) configurations. Features include carbon steel frame, Eagle Claw frontstrap and mainspring housing serrations; Bullet Proof thumb and grip safeties and magazine release; and contoured mag well. Customers can choose finish, sights and grips. All come with an accuracy guarantee. {$2,495 (.45), $2,595 (9mm); WILSONCOMBAT.COM } GOLD DOT CARRY GUN Designed for compacts and subcompacts, Carry Gun employs modified Gold Dot G2 bullets in lighter grain weights to provide reliable expansion and barrier performance out of shorter barrels. The Gold Dot G2 features a shallow, dished nose filled…

The demand for concealed-carry handguns is huge and growing, and Smith & Wesson has already staked out a sizable corner of the market. Year in and year out, Smith & Wesson’s revolvers and pistols rank among the top-selling defensive handguns in the country, and the reason for that continued success is simple. The company continues to deliver firearms that meet the demands of their buyers. Take, for instance, the new M&P9 Shield EZ, the newest member of Smith & Wesson’s family of defense pistols. Last year the company released the M&P380 Shield EZ, and some shooters viewed it as just another .380 carry gun that would blend into the sea of single-stack defense pistols already in existence. But the M&P380 Shield EZ isn’t the same as all those other guns.…

RUGER SECURITY-9 COMPACT SEMIAUTOmatic is now available with a Viridian laser mounted on the trigger guard. Thanks to a double-stack, 10-round magazine, the glass-filled nylon grip feels full, and the grip has stippled panels on all sides including the grip extension. The stippled panels are neither harsh nor aggressive, but just right to allow good purchase. The backstrap has a little arch to it, which I like. The alloy steel slide has cocking serrations fore and aft and is matte blue. The frame features a hard-coat aluminum chassis with full-length guide rails to keep everything running smooth and tight. The no-snag rear sight can be drifted for windage only. An Allen screw in the center allows the sight to be moved and then locked down. The sight’s notch is large…

SMITH & WESSON’S HUGELY SUCCESSful Military & Police service revolver morphed into the Model 10 in 1957—when the company began numbering its models. It’s since served as the launching pad for a head-spinning array of handguns. Barrel lengths/configurations, calibers, sight types and finishes may change, but the basic template has always been a medium-frame revolver featuring either a round or square butt. The .357 Magnum made its medium-frame, mid-1950s debut in the Model 19—a beautiful, adjustable-sighted revolver envisioned by its champion, Bill Jordan, as the ultimate law-enforcement tool. In 1974, however, a down-and-dirty, fixed-sight, heavy-barreled .357 variation on the Model 10 theme appeared: the Model 13. Originally a square-butt four-inch gun, it was followed later by a three-inch round-butt version that has the distinction of being the last FBI-issue revolver…

BROWNELLS IS THE THE LARGEST REtailer of firearms accessories in this country. In recent years it has also started selling complete firearms, but where it has always excelled is in offering gun parts. In the past few years the company has begun selling “Brownells”-branded parts and accessories, made in-house. Last year it began offering Brownells-branded Glock-pattern slides and barrels, and currently it has two Brownells-exclusive Polymer80 frame models to complete your build. It seemed to me like it was time to build my own gun as I’d never done it before. I obtained a full-size Polymer80 frame from Brownells, as well as just about every other part I’d need to build my own Glock 17-size pistol—all without requiring the services of an FFL. If you’re a bit behind the curve…

His name was James Butler Hickok. He hailed from Illinois, and during his life, he was a gambler, a lawman, a scout, a spy, a showman and more. But he was best known, accurately or not, as one of the greatest gunfighters of the American West. His main guns of choice were a pair of Colt 1851 Navy blackpowder revolvers with ivory grips. Renowned reproduction maker A. Uberti is honoring the legend of “Wild Bill” Hickok with an 1851 Navy conversion in .38 Special as part of the company’s Lawmen and Outlaws series of guns. Other guns in the series include “Frank” (as in Frank James, brother of Jesse), a replica of the 1875 Remington; and three unique replicas of the 1873 Single Action Army named for Jesse James (all-black…

TODAY, SHOOTERS HAVE THE PICK OF the litter when it comes to a 1911 with personality. One of the newest editions to the fold is a case-hardened Model 1911 by Auto-Ordnance ($1,327). The gun is stunning with its unique color case-hardened finish, executed in what Auto-Ordnance calls a “swirling” pattern. The finish is found not only on the frame and slide but also has been carried over to the trigger and controls. It is well done and very even on all parts. All of the slide, slide cocking serrations and frame flats are true, with no over polishing or rounded corners. For traditionalists, the words “Model 1911A1 U.S. Army” are stamped boldly on the left side of the slide. Both the trigger and hammer are serrated for a non-slip surface,…