Concealed Carry

Back in April 2006 Gun Tests magazine tested three .380 ACP pistols, one of which was the Walther PPK, as made here in the U.S. under license by Smith & Wesson. They loved the well-built little PPK, even though it had to go back for rework before they gave it a clean bill of health. It had failed in DA shooting, but a stiffer spring gave it the equivalent of their Grade A appraisal. They recently found a gun that looked a lot like the PPK, the FireStorm by Bersa ($307 MSRP), from Argentina. Here's what they found.

We compared two full-size 1911 handguns in the June 2013 issue to see which model offered the most bang for the buck. This Personal Defense test pitted two pistols of disparate price points to see if the less expensive model offered enough to consider it versus a fully equipped modern handgun. Tested were the Rock Island Armory Standard GI No. 51421 45 ACP, $410; and the Kimber Eclipse Target II 45 ACP, $1393. Here's an excerpt of that test.

The Colt Trooper was made from 1953 to 1969. The Trooper Mark III superceded the Trooper and had a redesigned lock mechanism. It was manufactured from 1969 to 1983 in blue and nickel finish with 4-, 6-, and 8-inch barrel lengths. An owner's manual can be obtained by calling Colt at (800) 962-2658. The Trooper III in our test was made in 1974.

The Colt Trooper Mark III is for all practical purposes the working man's Python. Sound good? It features a serrated front sight pinned in place. The rear sight is fully adjustable, and it should be more durable than similar designs since the rear notch moves back and forth inside a protective frame. While adjustment for elevation is clockwise for down and counter-clockwise for up, the windage adjustment is reversed. Turn it to the right if you want the point of impact to move left, and turn left to bring the POI to the right.

Another feature is the direction in which the cylinder rotates. While other revolvers move counterclockwise, expecting a Colt to go bang requires the first round to be in the 11 o'clock position prior to cycling. Also, to release the cylinder one pulls rather than pushes on the latch.

California has argued that a provision of California Penal Code section 26820 enacted in 1923 prevents the displaying of any "handgun or imitation handgun, or placard advertising the sale or transfer thereof" anywhere in or on their store that can be seen outside their store by passersby.

Apex Tactical Specialties has announced its new Apex Flat-Faced Action Enhancement Trigger, about $45, for the popular SIG Sauer P320 series of pistols.

Smaller guns have always had a certain appeal. In some cases it was just the aspect of miniaturization that captures our imagination. In other cases it was the reassurance of a highly concealable weapon. One niche of such guns were semi-auto .380s, which have long been popular sidearms because of their flat, short footprint and sufficient, if not outstanding, power. Even in the small world of 9mm Shorts there is a pecking order in terms of size, with the Beretta 84LS being one of the largest.

Rugers $780 KRH-444 Redhawk was our top pick among three 4-inch .44 Magnum revolvers. Heres why. When Ruger engineers sought to make a more compact revolver, they did so by shortening the barrel and introducing a new grip. They left the frame alone. This meant the gun was plenty strong to take any punishment we could dish out.

Metro Arms Classic Compact Commander 1911 pistols are now available in the United States for the first time. MSRPs range between $714 and $812, and the pistols come with lifetime warranties. The American Classic Compact Commander single-action 1911 is built on the compact Officer frame with a full-size Commander slide. This combination provides a smaller carry profile without sacrificing the firepower of a traditionally full-sized 1911. …

In the August 2014 Issue, we tested a Remington R51 Pistol with three ammunition choices. Here are the results per ammunition and links to the retail source of the ammo. In all cases, velocity was recorded at 10 feet using an Oehler 35P chronograph with proof channel. Five-shot groups were fired at 15 yards from a solid two-handed rest. …

Smith & Wesson Corp. has announced that the long-awaited California-compliant models of the SD9 VE and SD40 VE pistols have commenced shipping.

Lew Horton Distributing Co. has its first runs of a special Kahr CW9 with three 24kt-gold engraved messages and icons that will appeal to 2nd Amendment defenders.

Guncrafter Industries’ new “Frag” pistol gets its checkering pattern inspiration from the MK2 Pineapple Grenade texture pattern.