Re “22-Caliber Hi-Capacity Pistols: Ruger, KelTec, and Armscor,” October 2020
I bought the original 5.7×28 pistol when it came out quite a few years ago and was very impressed by its accuracy and flat trajectory. I put 10 rounds into the nine ring on a 50-yard pistol target at 100 yards. Now that different manufacturers are going to be coming out with civilian loadings for this cartridge, I would love to see the results of your testing of Ruger’s new pistol with civilian ammunition. There isn’t that much recoil using NATO rounds in the pistol, and I haven’t tried Ruger’s yet, but I would be very happy to see the results of your test especially in penetration and how the different rounds open up. — Gordon
Re “Downrange,” October 2022
Todd, I have been a subscriber to Gun Tests for many, many years. The content has always been, and continues to be, excellent! That being said, your reporting in Downrange has now become the most important part of the publication! Congratulations! — John
Thank you, John. The 2A stuff is important to us all. Whatever happens in IL, CA, NY, and so on often gets tried elsewhere. And we have to resist politically to preserve our rights. — Todd Woodard
Re “Firing Line,” August 2022
Todd, a reader in the letters section of this issue said that there were no 9mm pocket guns. I carry a 9mm all day, every day, in my front pants pocket! I’ve found that pistols less than 6 inches in overall length, or less, works well. They aren’t obvious, and at around 20 ounces, are not too heavy to carry. Both the SIG P365 and the Springfield Hellcat are popular 9mm front runners that carry 10+ bullets as well. The DeSantis pocket holster No. 5 fits, and with practice using the “hook” on the holster while drawing, always stays in my pocket. I’m 81 and recoil is not that bad. I do use a loader to help with the magazines. The article did not explain that you can carry 9mm ammo from Underwood and others that generate 500 foot-pounds of energy, far outclassing their available 30 Super Carry. In addition, Underwood loads the 9mm with hard-cast ammo for dangerous-animal defense, and the Lehigh Xtreme Defender bullet is lighter for less recoil than normal, is more barrier blind, and produces greater wounds than available hollow points. What’s not to like about 9mm, when can you pick the pistol and ammo for different uses? —Bill
Re “Testing the 30 Super Carry Vs. 380 ACP and 9mm Pistols,” July 2022
When you indicated in the June 2022 Gun Tests that you were going to review the Smith & Wesson Shield EZ 30 Super Carry, I was excitedly awaiting it in print. I bought a Smith & Wesson Shield Plus in 30 Super Carry from Scheels, the only store that carried the 3.1-inch version unlike what is commonly sold around here, that is, the one you reviewed. I wanted to compare the ballistics data and accuracy with what I obtained from the 3.1-inch version compared to the 3.625-inch version commonly carried by stores.
Just to let you know, the firearm printed more than 6 inches to the left at 25 yards. I had a local friend who had the Sight Pro tool to bring it back to a more respectful 1 to 2 inches left at 25 yards. Then I Loctited it in place before shooting again with blue Loctite. Also, interestingly, Smith & Wesson, in the owner’s manual for this particular style, indicates that at 7 yards, one should expect 1.7-inch groups, and at 21 yards — 6.3-inch groups. This is the first time, for me, that a gun manufacturer indicates what to expect from their firearms. Kudos to them.
Anyway, I am sharing the following data, again fired at 25 yards, temperature from 73 to 86 degrees, Beta Chrono chronograph set at 10 feet, groups and velocity for five rounds from 13-round magazine:
- American Eagle 100 FMJ, 4.9 inches, 1168 fps
- CCI Blazer 115 FMJ, 4.8 inches, 1035 fps
- Federal 100 HST, 5.6 inches, 1144 fps
- Remington 100 HPR, 5.7 inches, 1139 fps
When I shot the same rounds without the chronograph and using the 16-round magazine, these were the accuracy results:
- American Eagle 100 FMJ, 2.75 inches
- CCI Blazer 115 FMJ, 4.25 inches
- Federal 100 HST, 2.75 inches
As a very long-time subscriber, I very much appreciate the information you have provided over the years, and you were spot on with the 30 Super Carry. Would I buy this in 9mm? You bet, but I like the 32 ACP for a shootable, small, semi-auto handgun and thus I am impressed with this new caliber. — Ronald
Hey Ronald: I like the 32s myself, and I often pocket-carry a 32 H&R Magnum Smith & Wesson M332 103675 AirLite Ti revolver. Buffalo Bore has some loads for the 100-grain 32 Magnum (36A/20), and I never feel undergunned with it in my pocket. Thanks for sharing your range results on the 30 SC. — tw
Re “22 Autoloader Shoot-out: Rossi, Ruger, & Winchester Compete,” September 2022
Gun Tests continues to be the best U.S. gun magazine, at least partially because it is not in bed with advertisers, unlike G&A, which always finds every gun they test to have “Fit, finish, and accuracy similar to all firearms in this price range/category.”
As a long-time subscriber, I find GT to be very informative and useful. However in this 22 LR semi-auto test, GT has high praise for the Winchester Wildcat. The rifles were marketed here in Canada starting about five years ago and were a complete disaster — failures to eject, failures to fire, etc.
I am glad to see that they have improved, and I hope it was due to a previous unbiased GT test. — Mike
Re “Special Report: FN America FNS-40 Service Bulletin,” August 2022
I wanted to thank you for informing me about the FN Service Bulletin on their FNS line of pistols. This email provides you with a different process than the one you had.
I contacted FN’s customer service, and they informed me that my pistol was part of the recall. They said to mail the pistol to them, and they would do the repair. They offered no shipping label nor offered to pay for the shipping. I then e-mailed them twice and asked if they would cover the shipping cost. I heard nothing from them, so I packaged up my weapon in a box, in which the pistol was encased with bubble wrap so it did not move in the box. I also included a magazine with the pistol, according with their instructions. I paid for the shipping cost.
When the pistol was returned, it was in a box three times bigger than the one I sent and had no wrapping paper or other safety packaging around it, so it banged against the box during its transit. I did not receive the magazine back. So now I have to buy another magazine in addition to eating the shipping costs. I believe this does not compare with your experience.
Other owners of FN products that support your great magazine might expect the same service as I received. Perhaps if I were a publisher like Gun Tests, my experience would have been better. As you might expect this will be the last FN product I will purchase. Keep up the good work. — Michael
Hey Michael: Contributing Editor Robert Sadowski didn’t identify himself as a writer for the magazine when he returned the FNS-40 pistol and package to FN. Might the company have figured out the writer’s name and gave him priority service? Perhaps, but he didn’t ask for it, and, frankly, I doubt it. The volume of correspondence the companies have to handle in returns and repairs is quite high. Anyway, I understand why FN has lost your business. Customer-service pitfalls are real problems in the gun industry. — tw
