Accessories

(GunReports.com)--Mayor Bloomberg urges President Obama to adopt dozens of gun registration and confiscation measures using executive power and bypassing Congress.

(GunReports.com) — Browning has added two new models to its Tactical Safe line-up, the Tactical Series Mark I and Mark II.

(GunReports.com)--South Dakota has become the fifth state to decide that guns made, sold and used within its borders no longer are subject to rules enforced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

That gun is the Winchester Model 1887, a lever-action shotgun originally designed by John Browning and produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The www.callofduty.wikia.com site says of the ancient firepower, "The Model 1887 originally used black powder 12-gauge shells and 10-gauge shells, but replicas made today are often chambered for more common modern ammunition." Further, the site notes that, "The Model 1887 is the only lever-action gun to ever be featured in a Call of Duty game."

Well, yes, because the design isn't a popular choice for shotguns, with semiautos, pumps, and double-barrels being more popular products. But the infatuation with the 1887 lever shotgun doesn't stop there.

In Terminator 2: Judgment Day (a 1991 sequel to Jim Cameron's original film, Terminator), a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) T-800 cyborg is sent back in time to protect Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and son John Conner (Edward Furlong) from the more advanced T-1000 Terminator (Robert Patrick).

Probably the most recognizable weapon carried by Terminator Schwarzenneger is the highly customized 12-gauge 1887 Winchester lever-action shotgun. The character is seen holding this weapon (atop his Harley Davidson motorcycle) on the one-sheet posters and key publicity material. The movie gun was customized with a variety of lever handles used, such as the loop style for "swing-cocking" on the Harley Davidson.

Also, Brendan Fraser used a cut-down pistol-gripped Norinco copy of the Winchester 1887 in The Mummy Returns, most notably in the bus scene.

We understand the use of the 1887 in the Mummy movies—they're period pieces, and the 1887 fits. The initial runs of 1887s were made by Winchester in New Haven, Connecticut. They are notable for a small hammer spur at the top of the action, a solid lever, and a ball-type pistol grip on the buttstock. Most had fluid steel barrels, though some had Damascus steel and were only safe to use blackpowder. They were made from 1887 to 1901, about 65,000 in all.

Coming back to current times—in a way—the 1887 is widely used in Cowboy Action events, but perhaps most fluently by SASS champion "Gunfighter" Lassiter, aka Tom Wildenauer. Starting with an open action, he's able to load two and shoot two in under 3 seconds. Not bad for a design that few have seen and fewer have shot.

So, with all this interest in the 1887, we wanted to compare a couple of current production models to see which one we'd buy for fun shooting. Our test guns were the IAC Imports Reproduction Cowboy 1887 87W-1 lever action, $600; and the Armi Chiappa 1887 Fast Load 930.004, which we found selling under the Puma name by Legacy Sports International for $1229. Both guns have 12-gauge barrels chambered for 2.75-inch modern shells. The IAC has a 20-inch barrel with a fixed Cylinder choke and a five-round-capacity tubular magazine. The Chiappa we tested had a 22-inch barrel and was threaded for choke tubes and and came with a Cylinder screw-in tube. It had a total capacity of two because of an action modification that speeds reloads for CAS at the expense of total round count.

Here's what we thought of them:

(GunReports.com)--According to a Tulsa World story, Oklahoma could be headed for a showdown with the federal government over firearms regulation and the scope of interstate commerce.

A selection of firearms-industry website links provided by GunReports.com

GunReports.com smiles when it finds the newest trend in body armor.

Magazines are the heart of a pistol, and there are a number of competing magazine designs. While all attempt to adhere to a certain price point, some are considerably more expensive than others. We decided to take a look at 1911 magazines and qualify which of them fed and functioned the best in every detail, and then priced them to see if any could be called bargains.Magazines are manufactured by wrapping sheet metal around a form, and the spine of the magazine is welded. There will be a single weld line down the spine. If the weld line is uneven, has been overwelded and ground down, or looks irregular for any reason, the magazine is not high quality.It is difficult to gauge a winner when the magazines in our range box have fired thousands of rounds of ammunition without a single magazine-related failure. There was little need to purchase gun-show magazines to exhibit their problems; we are well aware of them. What we have done here is provide you with the knowledge to choose a good magazine, and we have provided many suitable magazines to choose from. This is a vital self-defense choice, because if the mags you use are junk, then you will soon be as well.We collected a number of samples of each type from various manufacturers and tested the magazines in a half-dozen 1911 handguns.To start, we tested the manufacturer-supplied magazines that came with three of our test guns. Springfield Armory ships two 7-round stainless magazines with slampads with its TRP pistols. The TRP was one of our function-test guns, so we included its magazines, No. PI6085, which sell for $39 on the company website, www.springfield-armory.com. Likewise, we included Kimber KimPro Tac-Mag 7-round stainless factory magazines with interchangeable pads, ($29.95 from www.kimberamerica.com), and Para Ordnance single-stack 7-round magazines that fit the following Para pistols: CX745, CWX745, CCWX745 and PCWX745. They are nickel plated with plastic basepads, and sell for $24.95 (No. PCN745P at www.paraproshop.com).Metalforms contributions included two 8-round units (one blued with flat follower $25.75, Brownells No. 620-245-008); and the Elite No. 45-747H 8-round (stainless body with round follower and Ultramag base, $51.17 from metalformcompany.thomasnet.com).From D&L Sports, we got two magazine models. The first was the 7-round D&L custom 1911 magazine with black phosphate finish, machined dual-legged follower, extra power spring, and flat aluminum baseplate and retainer, $49. The 8-round D&L unit was the same, except it included an extended machined aluminum basepad to house the extra round, $59, both from www.DLSports.com.We rounded out the selections with what are three of the biggest names in the pistol-magazine business. From Wilson Combat, we tested an Elite Tactical Magazine ($36.99, Brownells No. 965-000-050). From Novak we examined the 1911 .45 ACP 8-round blued w/floorplate ($24.65, www.Novaksights.com store, No. NV4508BPF), and the 7-round blued standard magazine ($21.35, No. NV4507BSD). Last, we scrutinized the Chip McCormick 8-round Power Mag Magazine with Base Pad ($24.99 from Midway USA, No. 783573).Most important, after we handled and shot all of these magazines, our team came up with some distinct favorites. Heres what we found:

In Monday’s editorial, the New York Times reported the results of a Frank Luntz poll indicating that NRA members are much softer on key issues than the National Rifle Association itself. Unfortunately, the editorial was rife with filters in the form of hot labels and emotionally-laden words and phrases that immediately impugned the validity of the results of the study.

Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation announced that James Debney has been named as president of S&W’s Firearms Business unit, reporting to Michael Golden, president and CEO of Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has been presented with the Firearms Manufacturer of the Year award by the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers for the third consecutive year.

HIRAM, Ga. -- C3 Defense, a southeastern manufacturer that builds defense products and parts, has added a 22 Long Rifle suppressor to its product line.