Innholdsfortegnelse for December/January 2022-23 i Handguns

Port It I’d like to add something to Brad Fitzpatrick’s wish list for the new S&W M&P 10mm (June/July): a ported barrel. I have the Performance Center C.O.R.E in .40 S&W, and it’s way more pleasant to shoot than the non-ported M&P in that caliber. MICHAEL HIPPENSTEEL Legal Question The “Legal Eagles” article (August/September) used the words “insure” and “insurance” at least once, and the cover asks “Do You Need Self-Defense Insurance?” But it is my understanding that the organizations offering such programs are not licensed insurers, and the products offered are not technically insurance. ALAN SCHROCK, ILLINOIS LawShield responds: “In some states, we are not considered insurance and are considered prepaid legal services. We are considered to be insurance in 28 states. We work with the various states’ insurance…

SPAIN’S ASTRA MANUFACTURED A WIDE range of firearms. From the excellent models 400 and 600 semiautos to the inexpensive Ruby type that was manufactured by the hundreds of thousands during World War I. Much later, it offered the Astra Constable—a Walther PPK-size handgun—and the Astra A80 compact. The company got into the revolver business in the 1950s, and its offerings included the .22 Cadix, the three-inch Terminator .44 Magnum and various large-frame guns in that caliber along with .38 Special and .357 Magnum. All were double actions with swing-out cylinders, resembling Smith & Wesson revolvers. My Model 960 is a pawnshop find. It is chambered in .38 Special, while every other Astra revolver I have seen in this frame size—which I would equate with the Ruger GP100—has been chambered to…

WHEN IT COMES TO CONCEALED CARRY, everyone clamors for the latest micro-compact pistol with a red dot and a magazine capacity in the low teens. I get it. There are a lot of great little semiautomatic pistols on the market. But what about revolvers or, more specifically, the snubnosed revolver—affectionately referred to as a “snubbie”? Is it still a viable option for the defensive handgunner? For generations, snubbies have been getting the job done. The fact that semiautomatics have stolen much of their thunder in recent years doesn’t make them any less effective. In fact, snubbies offer some distinct advantages over semiautos, especially in close quarters. There are two broad categories of defensive snubbies: double action only and double action/single action. (I’m not going to delve into single-action-only guns here.)…

If you’re into muscle cars, you know there’s a huge gap between, say, a standard V6 Mustang and a Shelby GT500. That same chasm applies to the Smith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0 and the Fueled by Ed Brown M&P. The Fueled series of striker-fired pistols takes this proven platform to new levels, levels that only a company like Ed Brown—a well-known maker of high-end 1911s—can reach. If you’re familiar with Ed Brown at all, you might be wondering why, of all the semiauto platforms out there, the company seized on the M&P in the first place. “We discovered that we all shot the M&P, and I think it is because it points more naturally for us 1911 guys,” said John May, Ed Brown’s director of sales and marketing. One of…

THE THE STORY OF THE FIRST REAL magnum handgun from Smith & Wesson starts with the “.357 Magnum,” which made its debut in 1935. This custom revolver was available in five barrel lengths, hand-checkered top frame, Circassian walnut stocks, and a certificate of registration. It was truly a work of art, and apparently Gen. George Patton felt the same way, as he ordered a specially engraved, custom 3.5-inch version. In 1957, the “.357 Magnum” model name was changed to the Model 27, with some changes notable to the collector. One of the most important is the elimination of the large side plate screw. This N frame proved to be a worthy double-action revolver for those who can’t spend the $14,000 to $23,000 commanded by the original “.357 Magnum” but want…

1 | ROCK ISLAND ARMORY AL22 This new series of double-action revolvers features both .22 Long Rifle and .22 Magnum (AL22M) models—the former with nine-shot cylinders, the latter with eight. You also have your choice of stainless or blued metal and four- or five-inch barrels. The guns feature a full underlug and rubber grips, and the sights include a fully adjustable rear and a ramp front. Price: $659–$794; ARMSCOR.COM 2 | SMITH & WESSON PERFORMANCE CENTER SW22 VICTORY TARGET As a target model, this Performance Center version features a fiber-optic front sight and a fully adjustable rear sight—plus a custom muzzle brake. The grips are from Tandemkross, that company’s hiveGrip with honeycomb-style texturing and a target-style thumb rest. Other features include a flat-face trigger, extended magazine release and beveled magazine…

Geneseo, Illinois-based Springfield Armory is a company that keeps me on my toes. Long known for producing 1911 handguns, the XD series and M1A rifles, the company is rapidly expanding into other categories. Recent launches of firearms, including the bolt-action Waypoint and bullpup Hellion rifles, along with the Hellcat series of pistols, came as a surprise to most. I guess I shouldn’t have been shocked when the company released another game-changer: a double-stack 1911-style handgun called the DS Prodigy AOS—DS as in double stack and AOS an acronym for Agency Optics System. The DS Prodigy AOS is a high-capacity, single-action, optics-ready 9mm available at a consumer-friendly price. A bit of history. The first double-stack 1911s appeared in the late 1980s and were produced by the then-Canadian firm Para Ordnance. At…

The .22 Long Rifle is one of the oldest cartridges still in use today, but despite its advanced age (the round first appeared in 1857), the ubiquitous .22 is still a popular choice for shooters of all skill levels. That’s why SIG’s engineers in New Hampshire have been hard at work developing a new semiauto .22 pistol, one that shares both the look and the reliability of the company’s centerfire semiautos. That rimfire repeater has finally arrived, and its name is P322. As you might have guessed, the P322 shares a similar styling with the company’s P320 and P365 semiautos. The aluminum slide features front and rear slide serrations reminiscent of the brand’s centerfire models. The angular slide cuts that grow wider near the muzzle, which had become a signature…

TAURUS KNOWS A GOOD THING WHEN IT sees it, and the TX22 platform is definitely a good thing. Introduced in early 2019, it is a polymer-frame, striker-fired .22 pistol that earned high praise as a great all-round rimfire. Taurus followed that up a couple of years later with the Competition version, which incorporated reversible optics mounting plates that make it easy to add a red dot. Now we have the TX22 Competition SCR, the SCR standing for Steel Challenge Ready. Not familiar with Steel Challenge? It’s my favorite among the action sports: eight stages of five targets, where you simply engage those targets as fast as you can—no moving, no on-the-clock reloads, just shooting. To create the SCR, Taurus added the Game Change Pro Squared 22 compensator from Tandemkross. It’s…

FULL FORGE GEAR IS A RELATIVELY NEW outfit (FULLFORGEGEAR.COM), but one look at a lot of the equipment in its lineup tells you the folks there know their stuff when it comes to shooting. Common features include heavy-duty 10-gauge nylon zippers with stout, corded pulls; and water-resistant heavy fabric—600-denier polyester for everything here except the double pistol case, which is built from 500-denier fabric. All items are stitched together with nylon monofilament. And I’m happy to report these aren’t Henry Ford products in that the only color you can have is black. You can get them in tan, too. STORM RANGE/TOOL BAG This to me is the star of the show, and I immediately incorporated it into my range gear, filling it with staplers, gunsmithing tools and similar items. Adding…

Taurus has invested a great deal of time, money and energy expanding its G3 pistol line, adding new variants and building upon what has become a very successful pistol family for the brand. The latest addition is a dedicated duty pistol: the G3 Tactical. While this gun will undoubtedly appeal to anyone who loves a pistol with all the battle-ready bells and whistles, the G3 Tactical is something of a statement piece for Taurus. The G3 Tactical sure looks the part of a dedicated operator’s pistol with its Cerakote Patriot Brown slide, a Magpul flat dark earth full-size frame, suppressor-height sights and threaded muzzle. The beefy grip houses 17-round metal magazines, and there’s a three-slot Picatinny rail on the dust cover for mounting lights and lasers. Front and rear slide…

IT’S ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO PICK UP A gun that fits my hand just right. Such is the case with Mossberg’s latest entry in today’s still-hot handgun market with its MC2c Optic-Ready 9mm pistol. I have average-size mitts, but even on guns with interchangeable backstraps, that doesn’t mean a given pistol will “feel” right to me. The MC2c does. The well-sculpted curve of the grip shape is only 1.1 inches wide and fits my palm naturally. The short, slim-profile, 14+1, double-stack magazine adds just enough length that I can get all my fingers around the grip. The 16-round magazine has an extension on the bottom that adds an extra 5/8 inch in length for larger hands or where concealment isn’t a problem and higher capacity a plus. The slide is…