November 2007

Cartridge and Gun Tandems In .357 Sig, .38 Super, .40 S&W
It is reasonable to expect that any pistol-evaluation piece covering "options in self defense" would focus on a range of semi-automatics that combine power with portability. For this test, we chose the $1059 Kimber Stainless Target .38 Super, Heckler & Koch’s $879 P2000 V3 .40 S&W, and a Sigarms factory certified pre-owned P226, which came with both .40 S&W and .357 Sig barrels, $699. We thought the use of the word "options" was suitable because each of our guns was distinctly different in both construction and operation...

Winchester Super X3 Posts Narrow Win Over Benelli’s M2
While many scattergun enthusiasts may prefer the classic appearance of fine-grained wood and gun-metal blue steel in many shooting situations, the fall season seems to bring out the desire for a little camouflage in their shotgun collection. These firearms are designed for rugged, dependable functioning in what can be miserable weather conditions. Like the runt of a litter of puppies, these shotguns are often so ugly that they are considered attractive. With the stress on getting the job done, the two shotguns we selected for our testing are promoted as solid shooting tools, capable of handling field conditions without punishing hunters with excessive recoil or clunky handling performance.

.338 Federal Rifles: Kimber’s Montana Is Light, and Great
When a new cartridge comes along that might be useful as an all-around one, it gets our attention. The recent .338 Federal isn’t really powerful enough to qualify as an all-’rounder, but it looked to us like a great option for those who want a versatile round with more bullet weight than is offered in the .308, while still being able to fit into the .308-size rifle action. The .338 Federal is essentially the .308 opened to accept bullets of 0.338-inch diameter, sort of a .338 OKH Short, if you will. These .338-inch-diameter bullets offer greater sectional density than similar-weight bullets out of the .358 Winchester. While there are a lot of bullets available in 0.338-inch diameter, the short actions generally used to accommodate this new round will probably dictate that the lighter bullets will be the ones of choice.

9mm Self-Defense Autoloaders: CZ’s Rami 2075 P Is a Bargain
Shooters like 9mm pistols for many reasons, chief among them being their reputation for manageable recoil with at least minimum acceptable stopping power for a self-defense cartridge. Also, 9mm guns can be made small and flat, which makes them suitable for comfortable concealed carry. Our test ammos included a mixture of self-defense ball ammo and hollowpoints. From Sellier & Bellot we chose 115-grain full metal jackets, which cost $9.95 per 50. For $21.95/20, we bought Federal Premium Personal Defense 105-grain expanding FMJs No. PD9CSP2 H. Our third round was Hornady’s 147-grain TAP FPD, which stands for Tactical Application Police For Personal Defense. It cost $27.75 per 25-round box. The TAP hollowpoints sat atop black, nickel-coated cases and used low-flash propellents to minimize muzzle flash.