June 2010

380 Pocket Pistols: CZ USA, Sig Sauer, Walther Shoot It Out
One of the hottest trends in firearms sales is the resurgence of pistols chambered for 380 Auto or 9mm Browning. This cartridge is also referred to as 9mm Kurz or 9mm 'short.' However, scarcity of available ammunition remains a problem. We checked with several retailers and found they were hesitant to sell quantities of 380 ammunition unless the customer was actually buying a 380-caliber handgun. It wasn’t until our local gun shop made contact with a wholesaler by the name of Camfour (www.camfour.com) that we were able to locate the necessary quantity of ammunition to complete our tests. But with so many new 380s in the offing, supply of ammunition is bound to catch up.

Ceiner, Advantage Arms, and Tactical Solutions Shoot It Out
Recently we reported on these pages the test results of Kimber’s and CZ’s 22 conversion units. The Kimber was for any 1911 and the Kadet was for the CZ 75. We like the versatility these units give the owner. There are quite a few other conversions around, and more seem to be added every month, with all makers reporting very brisk sales. The advantages of these conversions are obvious. For a fraction of the cost of another gun, or about what you’d expect to pay for a low-priced 22 auto, you can convert your main centerfire gun to shoot inexpensive 22 LR ammo. And it’s the same trigger pull used with centerfire ammo. Within a few hundred rounds the units pay for themselves in ammo costs saved. That’s why these conversions are all flying off dealers’ shelves.

Ballistic Reticles: Bushnell and Leupold Offer More Than Nikon
Beasts usually like to keep as much woodlot, coulee, or cornfield between us and them as possible, and that may mean shooting our rifle farther than the sighted-in distance. Essentially we use old-fashioned Kentucky elevation and take our best guess at crosshair hold over. Combine a good sense of distance with shooting experience, and you could fill out your tag. If not, you’ll kick up dirt below two sets of hooves, whiz a round high, or, sadly, wound an animal. Riflescopes with ballistic reticles purportedly take the guesswork out of long-distance shooting by combining a typical crosshair with additional aiming points at set distances. The reticles are calibrated to popular hunting cartridges with muzzle velocities in the range of 2800 to 3000 fps or more. The usual suspects fall into that range—243, 6mm, 25-06, 270, 308, 30-06, 7mm Rem. Mag., 300 Win. Mag., including a slew of others. Since the aiming points are not calibrated to a specific load they, offer general approximations, which means you will need to shoot your rifle to understand how the reticle will work with your specific rifle and cartridge combination.