Handguns

Eagle Imports, Inc., importers of the Bersa line of firearms, has announced a new Bersa Thunder .380 Combat pistol.

Sturm, Ruger's new Ruger SR22 pistol is a scaled-down version of a full-sized pistol suitable for plinking, target shooting and small game hunting.

Taurus's new 405 Revolver is the company's first revolver chambered in 40 S&W. The new 445 Ultra-Lite Revolver is chambered in the popular 44 Special round and weighs only 22 ounces.

In this installment we once more pit a classic pistol that is in high demand by collectors and shooters alike against a plain-vanilla readily available modern handgun. The Colt New Frontier single-action 22-caliber revolver commands a premium at gun shows, yet the revolver is similar to the affordable Ruger Single Six. Which one is the better performer? There is an interesting slant to the tale.The Ruger is actually the classic and the Colt the upstart, in one manner of thinking. The Ruger was introduced in 1953, and while the type has undergone various refinements, the modern Ruger would be instantly recognizable to anyone purchasing the Single Six 22 some 58 years ago. The Colt New Frontier was introduced in 1970 and discontinued in 1977, although there was a short run a few years later. The Ruger was modified to accept a spare cylinder in 22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire after the 22 Magnum was introduced, a step followed by Colt. In this test, both of our handguns featured the interchangeable Magnum cylinder, which is an important advantage in a small-game hunting revolver.

In less than six weeks, 56,000 people applied for a permit under Wisconsin's new concealed carry law and thousands more bought handguns, swamping the state agency handling the required background checks, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article.

Gun Tests magazine tested the Kel-Tec Sub Rifle 2000 9mm Carbine, ($383). Like the similar Hi-Point 995 and Ruger’s PC9 , the Kel-Tec was fed from pistol magazines. However, the Sub Rifle 2000 is a convertible. The Sub Rifle 2000 breaks down along a hinge and lock that divides the gun in half for storage. They wondered if the gun would keep its integrity after repeated openings and closings. Would it prove to be handy, or just a handful of hard luck?

Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: SWHC), parent company of Smith & Wesson Corp., has received contracts from the Massachusetts State Police and the Vermont State Police for new duty firearms from the M&P Pistol Series.

Gun Tests Magazine has named the Kel-Tec PMR-30 22 WMR as the publication’s “Best in Class Pistol” for 2011.

Eagle Imports, Inc., importers of the Bersa line of firearms, has announced Bersa’s first striker-fired, polymer pistol for the concealed carry market.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR) has announced a new Ruger SP101 five-shot revolver chambered in the venerable .357 Magnum cartridge and featuring a 4.2' barrel with improved sights.

Gun Tests magazine recently examined a .32 H&R Magnum revolver in response to a fresh interest in the snub-nosed revolver. The Ruger SP101 SP-3231X was chambered for .32 H&R Magnum. However, the six chambers of the SP101 KSP-32731X provides about one-eighth inch of additional space to accommodate .327 Federal Magnum ammunition. This is a new cartridge developed by Federal and Ruger that seats a 0.312-inch diameter bullet atop a taller, stronger case that they measured to be just less than 1.2 inches long.

What happens when a robber picks the wrong diner? Here’s R. Lee Ermey’s take.