Pistols

The 36th edition of the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show) is ongoing through Friday at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev. Here are some of the more interesting handgun introductions we’ve seen so far:

The child-proofing of guns is not just desirable, it's the law. Here are some effective, but inexpensive, locks you can make in your shop.

Steyr Arms has announced the U.S. availability of the new $560 full-size L-A1 service pistol.

European American Armory (EAA) has introduced its Pavona line of semi-auto pistols built in Italy by Tanfoglio. The entire line is cosmetically designed for women by a woman and presented with a woman's touch by EAA's Sharon Lacy.

Winchester Ammunition has created the new W Train & Defend brand of ammunition, which purportedly provides a straightforward process when choosing training and personal defense rounds.

Sturm, Ruger & Co. will extend special pricing to the athletes and teams of the Scholastic Pistol Program (SPP).

Since February 2013 we have tested four subcompact 380 ACP pistols with factory-fitted laser sights - S&W Bodyguard, Ruger LCP-LM, SIG Sauer P238, and the Walther PK380. All received good ratings, but there were features that testers liked and didnt. At a readers request, we tested another Ruger LCP, this one with a Crimson Trace laser sight. In this pistol, we think Ruger created a good combination of sidearm and laser sight.The Ruger LCP in various configurations has been reviewed by our test teams, and without a laser sight, the LCP generally gets good to excellent grades (A- to B+). With laser sights, particularly the Laser Max, the LCP received a B+. We ruled out the laser sight being a gadget early on in the testing, and the LCP with the Crimson Trace is no exception. Generally, we ask if the addition of a laser sight changes our mind about the pistol? Does the laser bulk up a pocket pistol? Is the laser an asset to the pistol?

We compared two 1911 handguns from companies not known for those pistols in the May 2012 issue. After a very long wait the staff acquired one of the Remington Model 1911 R1 Enhanced 45 ACPs ($940 MSRP). The GT team wanted a similar-priced gun to compare it to, so they went to another company not commonly known for producing 1911s, Taurus. The test Taurus PT 1911 ($900 MSRP) was stainless. Here is what we found.

Kahr’s new CT40 and CT45 are the company’s first value-priced full-frame firearm offerings. Kahr’s larger-frame CT Series is new for 2014 and shipments will be available beginning February 2014.

The newest 1911 offering from Magnum Research — the $946 MSRP DE1911U Undercover model — addresses consumer demand for smaller ultra-light concealed carry firearms chambered in .45 ACP. The DE1911U is slated to ship beginning in January 2014.

Gun Tests Magazine has named the Kimber Pro Custom Defense Package II 45 ACP as the publication’s “Best in Class Pistol” for 2013.

We mixed apples and oranges, that is, pistols and revolvers, in the July 2012 issue to see which design worked best for self-protection at close range. The three test guns were the $747 9mm Kimber Solo Carry, the $299 9mm SCCY Industries CPX-2, and the $523 Taurus 40 S&W M405 stainless-steel revolver. Heres an excerpt of that test.