Innholdsfortegnelse for June/July 2021 i Handguns

Count ’Em Up In the February/March issue your article about the Ruger LCP II .22 LR is exactly what I needed to read, and I promptly (well, when the gun store finally got in a shipment) went out and bought one. However, your article stated that they ship with three 10-round magazines. They do not. They ship with only one 10-round magazine, a pocket holster and a loader, as you also said. Thanks. Love the little gun. AlAn SwAnn You are correct, Mr. Swann. Typically, the guns I get in for test are exactly as they ship from the factory. However, in the case of the LCP II, which was an early sample originally sent to me for use on our “Handguns & Defensive Weapons” TV show, they apparently threw…

MANY EQUATE SHOOTING SKILL WITH the ability to deliver fast and accurate fire. While that may be a fair assessment with regard to competition shooting, it falls way short of conveying the type of skill that will likely be required to defend yourself with a handgun in close quarters. That’s not to say speed and accuracy aren’t important in a gunfight. They certainly are, but so is the ability to retain your gun and employ it effectively in extreme close-quarters environments, where mere inches are all that stand between you and an assailant intent on taking your life. Close-quarters shooting is not a difficult skill to learn. In fact, this type of shooting is, in many ways, much easier than learning to shoot from longer distances. However, if you’ve done…

The hot trend in handguns is high-capacity, optics-ready defense/competition pistols. Our military’s adoption of the SIG P320 M17/M18 pistol is certainly one of the driving forces behind this, but so is the growing popularity of competition shooting and growing awareness—thanks to social media—of the sport’s superstars. Follow a handful of the major USPSA shooters and your Instagram feed is likely filled with customized race guns complete with reflex optics, slide cuts, extended mags, cool slide colors and so forth. This desire for stylish, optics-ready defense/competition pistols has prompted makers to develop civilian versions of the sleek competition pistols their sponsored shooters carry to the line. Ruger, SIG, FN, Stoeger, Springfield and other manufacturers have released guns of this type over the last year, and now FN is joining the party…

FOR THE PAPER PUNCHER LOOKING FOR one of the top-rated .22 guns, the Model 41 is the place to start. I had a Model 41 in my collection with all the four accessory barrels but sold it to an up-and-coming target shooter in his pursuit of the sport. Fortunately, the gun remains in production. The gun made its debut in 1957 and quickly became a favorite among accuracy buffs. Three models are cataloged today: one with a 5.5-inch barrel, one with a longer seven-inch barrel and the newest version from the Performance Center. This gun, the sample you see here, comes with a 5.5-inch barrel that is slightly wider and features a Picatinny rail. The rear sight is of the micrometer target type, and the rakish front sight is removable…

MOST THINK “NEW” WHEN BUYING A defensive handgun, but used can be just as good—and in some cases better. A semiauto’s break-in period is usually over, for example, and some former owners may have upgraded sights or added accessories like custom grips. Plus, the price is generally 20 to 25 percent less than new. Here are some things to pay attention to when you’re looking at a used gun. If you’re not overly familiar with handguns, it can be helpful to bring along an experienced friend to help explain some of the finer points, and be sure to take your time and not be pushed into a decision. It’s best to stay with newer semi-autos built in the last 30 or 40 years and revolvers up to 50. Modern semi-autos…

TRIJICON HAS BEEN A LEADER IN THE reflex red dot market for years, thanks to the gold-standard RMR or Rugged Miniaturized Reflex sight. The RMR is a great sight, but its footprint was a tad too large for today’s micro-compact pistols. Trijicon has responded with the RMRcc, the “cc” standing for concealed carry. Suggested retail price is $699. Really the only dimension different between the RMRcc and the full-size RMR is the width: 0.9 inch for the RMRcc versus 1.1 inches for the RMR. I put a digital caliper on the RMRcc and got 0.95 inch, and the slide on the test bed I chose for the RMRcc, a Springfield Hellcat, has a slide width of 0.88. So the sight and its adapter plate are just the tiniest bit wider…

TAURUS RAGING HUNTER .460 S&W When only the biggest will do…The Raging Hunter has been in Taurus’ stable for a few years now, and for 2021 it adds the .460 S&W to a lineup that also includes .454 Casull, .44 Magnum and .357 Magnum. It features a sleeved barrel and factory-tuned porting, and a gas expansion chamber to reduce muzzle rise. The integrated Picatinny rail makes it easy to mount a scope or a red dot, but the open sights are fully adjustable to handle any load. The .460 is no shrinking violet, and the Raging Hunter’s grips have cushioned inserts to help manage recoil. {$968 (black), $983 (two-tone); TAURUSUSA.COM } VERSACARRY CONCEALED-CARRY PURSE For those who prefer off-body carry, this purse features a center pocket that puts your handgun…

It’s no secret the so-called micro-compact handgun market is a hot segment. Arguably begun by the SIG P365, these guns are incredibly small and compact, but unlike their super-small predecessors, they boast high capacities of 9mm ammo. Last year Springfield entered the fray with the Hellcat: a micro-compact with industry-leading capacities of 11+1 rounds for the standard magazine and 13+1 rounds for the extended mag. Right out of the gate, the Hellcat was available with or without a mounting plate for mounting a red dot, and now Springfield added to this pistol’s capabilities with the RDP model. RDP stands for Rapid Defense Package, and the gun comes stock with Springfield’s new Hex Wasp micro red dot as well as a compensator. The sample I received has ambidextrous thumb safeties, but…

RESURRECTING AND REISSUING A CLASsic handgun is not a new thing. But what Colt did with the Border Patrol double-action revolver was a bit different. Essentially, both the original and the reissue were based on two different models. The original, or First Issue, was a modified Colt Official Police made for the Border Patrol in 1952. It had a short production life of only 400 to 500 guns, and originals are extremely pricey. A minty 99 percent First Issue—accompanied by the Colt factory letter and original carton—went for $18,400 at a 2013 Rock Island Auction. Essentially, it was a heavy-barreled four-inch .38 Special featuring checkered brown plastic grip panels and stamped “Colt Border Patrol .38 Spec. Heavy Duty.” The Second Issue was produced from 1970 to 1975 and was slated…

REFLEX OPTICS ARE THE HOTTEST TREND in handguns, and that has prompted several optics manufacturers to throw their own red dot pistol sights into the ring. While different reflex sights may have their own unique features, most follow a similar design recipe and look much like clones of one another. Enter Leupold’s groundbreaking DeltaPoint Micro, which doesn’t look like anything seen in the red dot market to date. It’s small, even by micro red dot standards, measuring just 2.25 inches long and 1.25 inches high. It DeltaPoint Micro rides on the rear of the slide and locks in place using the existing rear sight cutout, and about half of the sight’s overall length lies behind the slide. On my test gun, a Glock 17, the DeltaPoint Micro rose just a…

You can’t really talk about any single-action revolver without at least touching on Colt. And that’s certainly the case with the new Barkeep single-action .22 rimfire from Heritage Manufacturing because the Barkeep is based on the so-called Storekeeper’s variant of the Colt 1873 Single Action Army. By most accounts, the Storekeeper’s Model name—sometimes also called Sheriff’s Model, and I’ve seen it referred to as Banker’s Model as well—was hung on it by collectors and never used by Colt itself. However, on one Colt collectors’ forum someone had posted Colt manufacturer authentication letters for two 1896 guns: one for a Storekeeper’s and one for a Sheriff’s. So who knows? I’m not a Colt expert by any stretch of the imagination, and I’m sure more than a few readers will set me…

RUGER’S MARK IV PISTOL NOW LISTS 19 models, covering all the categories anyone would want, and the one that appealed to me is the Target, the 10-inch barreled model in particular. It tips the scales at 46.3 ounces, and with its weight up front, dyed-in-the-wool target shooters are going to love it. The bull barrel is cold hammer forged, and it mikes out to a straight 0.875 inch from the receiver to the front sight. This front sight is a blade mounted on a ramp that is removable. Both the barrel and receiver assembly are round, and the barrel mates to the receiver perfectly. The bolt is left in the white, with the extractor mounted in the left side and a mechanical ejector to the right. The rear sight assembly…