Mixed Bag in Self Defense: ‘Partner’ Handguns Fight It Out

We recently read The Book of Two Guns, The Martial Art of The 1911 and AR Carbine, by Tiger McKee. McKee is the proprietor and headmaster of the Shootrite Firearms Academy (shootrite.org) located in Langston, Alabama. Printed in long hand with illustrations, McKee instructs and inspires the reader to consider

What separates the $785 Springfield Armory Mil-Spec Stainless Full Size 1911-A1, bottom, from other retro-Government models was its willingness to feed modern ammunition. That makes it a primary carry gun with style, and here it rides in a Mernickle Wild Bunch rig (mernickleholsters.com). However, modern 1911s, such as the one riding on top in a Mernickle PS6 holster, benefit from advancements such as high-visibility sights and a high-ride grip safety. So it’s hard for us to pick the old-style gun over more innovative 1911s. So, we gave the Springfield its props with an A- grade for doing what it was designed to do, but looking at the gun in a larger context, we can’t give it more than a B. Elsewhere, we liked the $699 Walther PPS 9mm, but results were admittedly mixed. We also took a big revolver and matched it to a small one. But our $836 45 Colt Ruger Redhawk was defective, in our view, and difficult to shoot. The small Smith & Wesson 32 H&R Magnum 431PD ($450) was a steady performer. But 32-caliber revolvers have been discontinued by the manufacturer. This wouldn’t prevent us from choosing a J-frame revolver in another caliber instead.

With the two-gun concept in mind, we decided to go ahead with a story we've been considering for some time—evaluating two pairs of handguns that could also be used to work effectively in tandem, in this case, two…