Handguns

Charter Arms has introduced a left-hand version of their popular Pink Lady revolver in .38 Special +P caliber.

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and Smith & Wesson have partnered to create a commemorative revolver designed to recognize the historical significance of the District of Columbia vs. Heller decision and to acknowledge the six original plaintiffs that united to challenge the gun ban in Washington, D.C.

So ya wanna buy a 9mm handgun, eh, sport? Suffice to say, youve got a lot of choices. You might begin your search for, say, full-size autoloaders. Then narrow it down to action type, single or double. Factor in whatever aftermarket items you need or want, and finally look at how much you are willing to pay for the package. All that narrows the choices still more. If you insist on a single-action auto, or more specifically, if you insist on a gun you can carry cocked and locked with the same trigger pull for each and every shot, your choices in 9mm get pretty small. Two prominent choices are the Browning Hi-Power or one of its clones, and the CZ 75.Lest we forget, several makers including Colt have issued 9mm versions of the1911 in various forms. Also, many of the DAO pistols will give you the same trigger pull every shot. Recently we tested the Charles Daly version of the Hi-Power against a Stoeger (Beretta) Cougar, and though we liked the Daly, it lost out to the Cougar because of its painful bite to the hand that feeds it, and because of a few other items Daly could have fixed, but didnt. So we kept looking for better 9mms.We had heard about the CZ 75 for many years. One of our group is good friends with the Colorado gunsmith Don Fisher, who has done extremely well in national-level IPSC competition with the CZ 75. Fisher went so far as to develop his own wildcat cartridge for the CZ 75, which made it "major" caliber, competing with the 45 ACP. The late Jeff Cooper also liked the CZ 75 but for its cartridge, Cooper preferring the 45, in which caliber the CZ is not made. And a certain editor of a magazine dedicated to testing guns indicated he might have a CZ 75 stashed somewhere. So if a gun has that level of fans, we thought it would be a good idea to run a CZ 75 through our mill-but not just any CZ 75. We chose the CZ 75 B SA ($576), the last two letters standing for Single Action. This CZ 75 has features of what ought to be intense interest to those who want to shoot in competition with "minor" caliber, and for home defenders alike, as you shall see.We pitted the CZ against the Taurus 24/7 Pro ($452), a similar-size handgun with similar large capacity. We had a look at a Taurus 24/7 in 2004, and we thought it was time to see if there have been any changes. Another good comparison would be the new S&W M&P, and one is coming, but it didnt arrive in time for this report. We tested with four types of ammunition. They were Black Hills 147-grain JHP Subsonic, Winchester USA BEB 115-grain TC, Fiocchi 115-grain JHP, and with Independent 115-grain ball. Lets see what we found.

So ya wanna buy a 9mm handgun, eh, sport? Suffice to say, youve got a lot of choices. You might begin your search for, say, full-size autoloaders. Then narrow it down to action type, single or double. Factor in whatever aftermarket items you need or want, and finally look at how much you are willing to pay for the package. All that narrows the choices still more. If you insist on a single-action auto, or more specifically, if you insist on a gun you can carry cocked and locked with the same trigger pull for each and every shot, your choices in 9mm get pretty small. Two prominent choices are the Browning Hi-Power or one of its clones, and the CZ 75.Lest we forget, several makers including Colt have issued 9mm versions of the1911 in various forms. Also, many of the DAO pistols will give you the same trigger pull every shot. Recently we tested the Charles Daly version of the Hi-Power against a Stoeger (Beretta) Cougar, and though we liked the Daly, it lost out to the Cougar because of its painful bite to the hand that feeds it, and because of a few other items Daly could have fixed, but didnt. So we kept looking for better 9mms.We had heard about the CZ 75 for many years. One of our group is good friends with the Colorado gunsmith Don Fisher, who has done extremely well in national-level IPSC competition with the CZ 75. Fisher went so far as to develop his own wildcat cartridge for the CZ 75, which made it "major" caliber, competing with the 45 ACP. The late Jeff Cooper also liked the CZ 75 but for its cartridge, Cooper preferring the 45, in which caliber the CZ is not made. And a certain editor of a magazine dedicated to testing guns indicated he might have a CZ 75 stashed somewhere. So if a gun has that level of fans, we thought it would be a good idea to run a CZ 75 through our mill-but not just any CZ 75. We chose the CZ 75 B SA ($576), the last two letters standing for Single Action. This CZ 75 has features of what ought to be intense interest to those who want to shoot in competition with "minor" caliber, and for home defenders alike, as you shall see.We pitted the CZ against the Taurus 24/7 Pro ($452), a similar-size handgun with similar large capacity. We had a look at a Taurus 24/7 in 2004, and we thought it was time to see if there have been any changes. Another good comparison would be the new S&W M&P, and one is coming, but it didnt arrive in time for this report. We tested with four types of ammunition. They were Black Hills 147-grain JHP Subsonic, Winchester USA BEB 115-grain TC, Fiocchi 115-grain JHP, and with Independent 115-grain ball. Lets see what we found.

In this evaluation of 45 ACP subcompacts, we're going to ask how best to package the big bullet in a small concealable machine. We could say that our three test guns represent two-and-a-half interpretations of the subcompact pistol. That's because our first two pistols, Kimber's $1316 SIS Ultra and Springfield Armory's $1031 Loaded Ultra Compact, are both small single-stack 1911s. But there are differences that set them apart. The third gun feeds from a high-capacity magazine with rounds compressed in a staggered column. Furthermore, ignition is via a striker system, and the frame is polymer, not steel. This is the $687 Glock G30SF. If the price of the G30SF seems steep, that is because we ordered the gun with options such as night sights that added cost—but with the price of the Kimber and Springfield Armory pistols north of $1000, we had room to play around. Ultimately, we had a good representation of each manufacturer's smallest high-end 45.

Testing small guns is generally more challenging than testing full-size models. Big-frame guns may offer more than one suitable hand position. A small gun usually offers one grip position, like it or not. Consider the shorter sight radius. A 3-inch pistol may steer quicker than a 6-inch-barreled revolver, but any twitch of the little gun's front sight likely means the shooter will overcorrect.

Our first measure of accuracy was from sandbag support at 15 yards. With little framework to support these guns, our task was more difficult than mounting 5-inch-barrel Government models with longer dustcovers. Plus, a shorter slide means that its travel from battery to fully open provides less time to evacuate and recharge the chamber. We had to be careful not to let the slide touch any part of our support. This could slow the movement of the slide and cause a malfunction.

Our test ammunition was led by two defense rounds. They were Winchester's 185-grain Silvertip HP (hollowpoint) rounds and Federal's 165-grain expanding full metal jacket low-recoil ammunition. This round resembled a truncated cone (a triangle with the point cut off). With the price of ammunition soaring, we had intended to handload our practice ammunition. But we found that a 100-count box of quality jacketed bullets cost about the same as a 100-round box of loaded Winchester 230-grain FMJ ammunition purchased from Wal-Mart.

Loading lead bullets would have saved us money, but the polygonal barrel of the Glock, which once leaded greatly effects accuracy and is difficult to clean, repelled us from that option. We used the 230-grain ammunition in our action test, which consisted of standing and shooting a rapidfire string of seven continuous shots. Our target was the 4-inch bull of an 8.5-inch by 11-inch Caldwell paper target mounted 15 yards downrange.

Seven shots was the common denominator in terms of capacity between our three pistols, so we decided to count how many shots out of seven we could land on the notebook sized paper. This test was performed cold, picking up the gun and performing the drill one time only. Reliability, accuracy, ease of operation and concealment were our primary concerns in this test.

Bianchi International has introducted the new Model 7150 Luminator MCX duty holster to its AccuMold line. The new Model 7150 Luminator MCX duty holster features a ballistic weave exterior with a closed-cell foam center and smooth nylon pack cloth lining. Designed for pistols with lights attached, the semi-closed bottom covers the bezel of the light to protect the lens. Additionally, the open muzzle design allows debris to fall through the holster. …

The truth is that courts are not going to allow guys with bazookas to wander down Pennsylvania Avenue, and they're also not going to allow government to completely disarm the people. Because that right to bear arms is part of the American tradition.

Ruger is now retrofitting SR9 pistols and will continue to send shipping boxes to customers on a weekly basis, the company says.

The NRA's Institute for Legislative Action reports that D.C. has passed 'emergency' law and new police regulations intended to retain as much of the ban and storage requirement as possible.

The Rochester Police Department in New York State has announced the purchase of 775 Beretta Px4 Storm .45 handguns

The Nevada American Civil Liberties Union has declared its support for an individual's right to bear arms, apparently making it the first state affiliate in the nation to buck the national organization's position on the Second Amendment.

TF Acting Director ATF Michael J. Sullivan released the following statement on the recent Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia et. al. v. Heller: