Pistols

Matching the proper weight recoil spring with your ammunition can be a key element to producing consistent slide movement and smooth reliable cycling. With little else to go on, it was fair to assume that the recoil spring installed in this FNP-9 was too heavy.

There will always be a need to identify chamberings of firearms that have been inherited or bought at yard sales. The lure of buying for bottom dollar and discovering a real jewel is ingrained in most of us, so a little thing like no chambering marks on a rifle or handgun is no deterrent to a gun fancier.

The International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) announced that O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc., will be one of the major sponsors of the Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor National Championship. The 2013 Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor National Championship will take place February 21-23 on the indoor ranges of the Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.

DeSantis Gunhide Pocket Shot pocket holster now comes in a version that fits the Ruger LCP 380cal with a Crimson Trace LG-431 laser.

Smith & Wesson Corp. announced that four new models have been added to the Company’s premier line of M&P® polymer pistols based on the popular Pro Series line of competition ready firearms.

SIG Sauer, a U.S.-based leading manufacturer of law enforcement and military firearms, is pleased to announce that the Connecticut State Police has selected the SIG SAUER P220 as the agency’s next service firearm.

Colonel Jeff Cooper, one of the masters of self-defense handgun methods and training believed that the 1911 was the perfect combat handgun, writes CTD Suzanne on the Cheaper Than Dirt! blog.

During World War II, Robert L. Hillberg worked for Republic Aviation, the manufacturer of the P-47 Thunderbolt. A fighter-bomber nicknamed “Jug” by its pilots, the rugged plane could take quite a pounding and still return safely to base. The P-47 packed eight Browning 50-caliber machine guns, four mounted on each side of its somewhat elliptical wing. Hillberg was given the responsibility for fitting the big guns plus their ammo into the limited space available. He learned a great deal about lightweight aluminum alloys in the process. When he left Republic after the war, he joined High Standard Manufacturing as head of research and development. Shortly thereafter, High Standard became the first firearm company to employ aluminum alloys commercially.

Carl Walther GmbH has found that manual safeties on some PK380 pistols don’t work properly. Certain PK380 pistols may permit a round to be discharged if the trigger is pulled, despite the manual safety being engaged.

American Tactical Imports is now selling the $400 FMK 9C1 Generation 2 Pistol.

Glock, Inc. recently donated $50,000 to the Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) at a ceremony at the GLOCK booth at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) conference. This marks the sixth consecutive year that Glock has donated to C.O.P.S., bringing total Glock contributions to the organization to $300,000.

Recently, I was approached by a young soldier who wished to upgrade his 1911 pistol. The pistol in question is a Springfield Stainless 1911A1. The pistol was in good shape and had proven reliable and accurate in thousands of rounds of ammunition, but the owner felt limited by the small sights—and he’s among the few shooters genuinely good enough to feel limited by a pistol. I checked the pistol and found it to be a good solid piece well worth an upgrade. Trigger compression was a crisp and clean 4 pounds, overall an above average factory trigger. The pistol fed hollowpoints and exhibited no glaring faults, despite the embryonic sights of the 1911 GI pistol. These sights simply don’t make the grade in a modern-combat/general-purpose pistol.