Handguns

This month we take a look at three combat pistols that have graced our pages previously, to see if they improved from our previous evaluations. Since last reviewed in December 2007, the Ruger SR9 ($525) was subject to a massive safety recall. Despite its double-action design, the gun could go off when dropped, if the manual safety was not engaged. As a result, Ruger redesigned the entire trigger group. The most visible change was a twin-blade trigger, rather than its original single-blade design. The recall process was far from smooth, and was chronicled on our sister website, www.gunreports.com. We recently looked at the Sig Sauer P250 in the two-tone option back in April 2008. This time we had the Black Nitron No. 2509005 version ($699). Both models recently received a trigger-bar upgrade, said to increase its lifespan from 20,000 to more than 50,000 rounds. The last gun in our trio was the Smith & Wesson M&P Compact 9mm No. 209304, $656. A gun in this series posted a poor grade back in April 2007 when it failed to feed the last round from the magazine, locking open in the process. Other M&Ps had fared well in other tests, so we wanted to look at the Compact once more in hopes Smith & Wesson had fixed what ailed the gun.In the process of the doing the reviews, we found another test could be performed: both Sig Sauer and Smith & Wesson had initial problems requiring factory attention. As a result we could now rate their responsiveness to resolve each guns problems.

An the opinion of many experienced shooters, the 45 Auto is the caliber of choice in self-defensive pistols. However, most of these guns, like the classic 1911 Colt, are big and heavy. Therefore, they often get left behind for a lighter piece, which generally is of lower power. If you still want the power of a 45, why not go to a smaller and lighter gun?

We found three such pistols for this test, and gave them a wring-out. They were a Colt CCO, no longer in the Colt stable but available on the used or new-old-service market for about $1250, depending on condition; the recently introduced SIG Sauer 1911 C3 No. 19GS0031, $1143; and a new PM45-series pistol from Kahr, the PM4543, $855. The Kahr was not quite the same setup but clearly had the same intent as the other two, to deliver big power in a smaller, lighter package.

Both the SIG and Colt had aluminum frames, and they featured the old Colt Officer's Model handle with the Commander-length slide. Most of our test group believes this is the ideal setup for a 1911-type 45 auto, but those with large, wide hands might prefer a gun like the lightweight Commander, which has a bigger grip. The Kahr had its usual ergonomically designed polymer grip with stainless slide, and of course was DAO. We tested with three types of ammunition, Federal 185-grain Hi-Shok JHP, Federal 230-grain ball, and with Cor-Bon 185-grain JHP. We also tried a few groups with Federal Gold-Medal Match, 185-grain TC bullets. Here's what we found.

An the opinion of many experienced shooters, the 45 Auto is the caliber of choice in self-defensive pistols. However, most of these guns, like the classic 1911 Colt, are big and heavy. Therefore, they often get left behind for a lighter piece, which generally is of lower power. If you still want the power of a 45, why not go to a smaller and lighter gun?

We found three such pistols for this test, and gave them a wring-out. They were a Colt CCO, no longer in the Colt stable but available on the used or new-old-service market for about $1250, depending on condition; the recently introduced SIG Sauer 1911 C3 No. 19GS0031, $1143; and a new PM45-series pistol from Kahr, the PM4543, $855. The Kahr was not quite the same setup but clearly had the same intent as the other two, to deliver big power in a smaller, lighter package.

Both the SIG and Colt had aluminum frames, and they featured the old Colt Officer's Model handle with the Commander-length slide. Most of our test group believes this is the ideal setup for a 1911-type 45 auto, but those with large, wide hands might prefer a gun like the lightweight Commander, which has a bigger grip. The Kahr had its usual ergonomically designed polymer grip with stainless slide, and of course was DAO. We tested with three types of ammunition, Federal 185-grain Hi-Shok JHP, Federal 230-grain ball, and with Cor-Bon 185-grain JHP. We also tried a few groups with Federal Gold-Medal Match, 185-grain TC bullets. Here's what we found.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Glock introduced three new pistols at the 2009 SHOT Show in Orlando--the G22 RTF2 with slide serration pattern as well as the G20 SF and G29 SF.

The P220 is available with options that can put the MSRP upwards of $958, but our P220 was the blued base model. Available options include night sights and a nickel-coated slide. The special K-Kote finish is no longer available.

The combination of the white dot on the front sight and the white vertical line inside the rear notch offers fast sight acquisition. If you feel more comfortable with tritium sights, a set of Siglite night sights will cost an extra $100 if sold as original equipment. Send your slide to Sigarms and the factory will install a set of Siglites for $195.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Smith & Wesson Corp. will arm the South Australia Police Force's (SAPOL) 4,000-officer front-line force with the company’s M&P 40 pistols.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence today filed suit in federal court asking that the court strike down a last-minute Bush Administration rule change allowing concealed, loaded firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and seeks an injunction to block the rule, which is scheduled to go into effect on January 9, 2009.

A 22-year-old uniformed security guard who was buying gasoline at a Murfreesboro Pike station on Sunday shot and killed a robbery suspect carrying an air gun.

News of a man dressing up in a Santa suit and murdering nine people in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve dominated cable news headlines for days after the event. News reports suggest Bruce Pardo took as many as four handguns and a homemade flame-thrower to the home of his ex-wife's parents, where at least 25 people were enjoying a Christmas Eve party. Pardo shot at partygoers and burned down the house, murdering at least nine people before committing suicide hours later.

When it comes to describing or categorizing a gun, it is very easy to throw around words like tactical, custom, elite, or professional. The banner we've thrown over the four handguns evaluated herein reads Pro Carry. What makes a sidearm a professional carry gun? Our working definition begins with the second word first. A carry gun is one that lends itself to being on the person for extended periods of time, often in concealment. A professional's gun is one that fits his or her purpose.

For the professional it should follow that every aspect of the gun be absolutely of the finest quality and design. But the reality is that top line guns are too expensive for the average policeman, detective, agent, or bodyguard. However, we think that for about $1000 there should be a grade of firearm that offer features superior to standard models that are just as functional as those found on more expensive custom-made guns. In this test we will try to confirm this theory. Recognizing that handguns are not a "one size fits all" proposition, we will test four different models chambered for four different calibers, each of proven stopping power.

Our first gun was the 45 ACP Sig Sauer P220 Carry SAS 220R3-45-SAS, $1093. Test ammunition included the Hornady Custom 185-grain JXP/XTP and 200-grain JHP/XTP +P rounds. We also tested with a light target round we loaded ourselves. Components were fresh Remington cases (head-stamped R-P, Winchester Large Pistol primers, Winchester 231 powder, and the Sierra Tournament Master 230-grain FMJ bullet number 8815.

Our second gun was the 45 GAP Glock 38, ($685). Test ammunition was the 185-grain Speer Lawman FMC round, Federal's 185-grain Hydra-Shok JHP, and Speer's 200-grain Gold Dot hollowpoints. Our Glock 38 was fit with several handpicked upgrades.

From Springfield Armory we ordered a 4-inch barrel XD40 with the Custom Shop Pro Carry modifications in place, plus a couple of features picked a la carte, $1005. Test ammunition for our XD40 Pro Carry consisted of Black Hills 165-grain JHP EXP rounds plus two choices from Winchester USA. They were the 165-grain full-metal-jacket rounds plus the 180-grain jacketed hollowpoint Personal Protection load.

Our final gun was a high-capacity lightweight revolver. Smith & Wesson's $1082 327 NG Night Guard is an eight-shot .357 Magnum snubnosed revolver built on an alloy frame. Magnum test rounds were 130-grain Federal Hydra-Shok hollowpoints, and Black Hills 158-grain JHP rounds. We also tried a remanufactured 38 Special 125-grain semi- jacketed hollowpoint round from Black Hills.

Our tests were performed in two parts. Outdoors at Phil Oxley's training facility in Monaville, Texas (theimpactzonerange.com), we recorded five-shot groups from a distance of 25 yards. These shots were hand fired, but over a bench with sandbag support. Compact guns are seldom tested from 25 yards, but we were spurred on by the clarity of sight picture afforded by each gun and the perfect shooting conditions (not to mention the fact that since these guns cost more, we expected more). We also visited Houston to shoot at our favorite indoor range, Top Gun (topgunrange.com). At Top Gun we were able to perform rapid-fire tests under a variety of ambient-light conditions. We wanted to know how fast and how easy we could deliver two hits onto a Hoffners ABC16 training target, ($75 per 50-count from hoffners.com, [713] 957-1200). Test distance was 21 feet. Our start position was holding the gun below eye level with our hands pulled in toward our chest. After the start signal from our electronic shot timer, we were looking for perfect hits. By perfect we mean not just two hits inside the A zone and one to the B zone (chest and head respectively), but exactly on top of the 2-inch-high letters themselves. We repeated these three-shot strings ten times for a total of 30 rounds. We wanted to find out what it took to make these guns shoot their best.

To some, spending $1000 for a handgun may seem excessive, but some shooters demand high quality irrespective of price. We should mention that all four guns ran flawlessly without the slightest hint of trouble. We think that most civilian gun owners will never need to use their guns in self defense. But the professional can reasonably assume that relying up his weapon for survival is inevitable. That being said, a lifetime warranty, even one that promises full replacement, could prove useless. An accurate, reliable gun is the best guarantee in our view. Let's find out which guns are right for the job.

TALO Distributors is producing a limited edition Ruger Stainless Vaquero celebrating John Wayne's 100th Anniversary. The stainless .45 LC is a 1000-unit followup to TALO's original blue John Wayne completed in December 2007.

Buy any new FNP-9 or FNP-40 auto loading pistol between January 1 and April 15, 2009 and receive a free Shooter's Pack.