Handguns

Last month we reviewed a batch of Walther .22 semiauto pistols, and we have a couple more from other makers in the works. The autos shot well enough, but some shooters will never like self-loaders. Also, some folks don't want to leave behind all that brass, which the autos fling everywhere. The solution is to get a revolver, so — in keeping with our small-gun scenario — we gathered two of Smith & Wesson's feathery-light eight-shot revolvers, one with a 2.0-inch barrel and fixed sights ($633), the other with a 3-inch barrel and adjustable "HIVIZ" sights ($691). We also got a Taurus Ultra-Lite Nine ($375), which seemed to have a mix of the S&W's features at the cost of a significant weight penalty, but with the benefit of a huge price reduction.

In this report the Smith & Wesson 1911SC will be matched head to head with Springfield Armory's Service Model 5-inch Lightweight Bi-Tone pistol. We will also reflect upon our recent test of the Kimber Tactical Custom II and bring our findings of the three pistols up to date. The ammunition used to test-fire the Springfield Armory and Smith & Wesson pistols was the same selection used in our test of the Kimber published in the November 2005 issue. The Kimber was re-chronographed along with our current two pistols to account for the change in temperature between test dates. consisted of Winchester's 230-grain FMJ and JHP rounds plus 185-grain JHP rounds from Black Hills Ammunition. Test distance was once again 25 yards from a bench rest. Since each of our guns was priced above $900 MSRP, we expected tight groups without malfunctions or breakage. If each gun came through as expected would we be able to make a clear choice? Only the shooting will tell.

The quest for a small .22 LR handgun can take one to strange places. The first place one might look is in the catalogs of today's makers, but your first surprise will be that there are not all that many small .22 LR autoloader handguns available. There are plenty of ‘em about the size of a 1911, but it seems the fine small autos of the past are almost gone. Walther offers the fine P22 in two barrel lengths. We looked hard at the longer-barrel version in January 2003, but the shorter version was something of a mystery. Both of these new Walthers had parallels in the older PP Walther, with short barrel and fixed sights, and in the adjustable-sighted, longer-barreled Walther PP Sport. We obtained both the long- and short-barrel P22 (MSRP $301 for either one) along with a copy of the all-steel Walther PP, offered recently by Southern Ohio Gun ($500). Luck was with us, because a staff member happened to own one of the fairly rare Walther PP Sports (about $1100), and made it available for testing. We put them to the test, and this is what we found.

According to a number of online dictionaries, there is no definition listed for the term, "cowboy gun." Nevertheless, the popularity of revolvers descending from the Colt Single Action Army has brought new meaning to these words. Since 1999 we have tested at least 18 different handguns that fit what we define as a cowboy gun, and now there are two more entering the market.

The Taurus Gaucho No. SA45B, $499, and the Heritage Manufacturing Big Bore Rough Rider No. RR45B5, $379, are six-shot single-action revolvers each with 5.5-inch barrels and chambered for 45 Colt. Some refer to this 1.6-inch-long straight-walled case with a 0.454-inch diameter bullet as .45 Long Colt, but in either case this caliber did not actually exist in the 19th Century. What is important is that these guns are for pleasure first, and they do not come with big price tags.

But their budget prices don't mean we're going to let them off the hook should they prove wanting in one area or another. Physically, the Gaucho and the Rough Rider could not be closer. Indeed, since they are replica guns, any variation from form, whether a positive innovation or not, would more than likely spoil their appeal. Both guns are dark-blued steel. Both guns have a tall front sight and a rear sighting notch exposed when the hammer is pulled back. Sight radius was equal. Each gun cylinder rotated clockwise, and with the loading gate open, the cylinders clicked with the indexing of each chamber. Ejector-rod movement was approximately 2.7 inches for each gun. The hammers on each gun lacked firing pins, using instead a transfer-bar system for greater safety. The Gaucho featured a plastic grip, but the grip on the Rough Rider was wood. The shape of the bell-shaped grips each started with a wide base that tapered to a 4.1-inch neck. Their weight, size, front strap and back strap height were nearly identical.

With so little to distinguish the two guns, our main concerns in this test were accuracy, fit, and function. Our test distance was 25 yards from a sandbag rest with four different choices of ammunition, two modern and two others sold in boxes decorated with Old West graphics. The modern rounds were Winchester's 225-grain Silvertip hollowpoints and Remington's 225-grain lead semi-wadcutters. The remaining ammunition brands, likely being marketed to Cowboy Action shooters, were 250-grain lead flat-point rounds from PMC and Black Hills Ammunition. We also looked back at other .45 Colt cowboy guns we have tested to see how these two newcomers stacked up within the category overall.

A lot of shooters still like a small, concealable .45, but they wonder about simplicity in operation: i.e., should they stick with the tried-and-true single-action 1911 cocked-and-locked formula, or go to a double-action trigger? In this test we will look at two competing ways to conceal and deliver the .45 ACP using a smaller-sized handgun, and also see how two new guns stack up against a previously tested gun of similar size and operation.

Our fresh test products were the Springfield Armory Micro Compact LW Bi-Tone Operator, a traditional single-action 1911 greatly reduced in size from a full-size gun, $1,247. The second gun was a Para Ordnance CCO CWX745S, $1,049, a full-time double action.

We collected using a 15-yard sandbag rest, but we also tried rapid repeat fire to gauge how the guns would work straight out of the holster, looking in particular at how the difference in the triggers would affect accuracy, rapid fire capability, and safety. To test the guns, we shot self-defense loads from Winchester (185-grain FMJ and 230-grain SXT JHP rounds) and 200-grain TAP FPD hollowpoints from Hornady.

Also, we evaluated these products from a historical perspective, gauging how they fared against a top-ranked gun we've already tested and liked. If the new guns offer performance equal to or better than what we've already seen, then they'll get our nod here. If not, we'll tell you what guns are better buys, and why.

Here's what we found:

Anyone who has a 1911 .45 ACP might well feel he has the ultimate self-defense handgun, and there is much evidence he may be right. But some will not be satisfied with that power level, never mind that it does the job most of the time.

For those shooters, more power is readily available. For instance, there are drop-in barrels that can turn your 1911 .45 into a hot .40 (.400 Cor-Bon), or a hotter .45 (.460 Rowland). How good are these? We didn't know, so we acquired some drop-in barrels from Storm Lake in .400 Cor-Bon ($130) and from Clark Custom Guns in .460 Rowland ($275).

Also, there is at least one complete gun that offers a purported step up in ballistics, the Guncrafter Industries .50 GI ($2895) Model No. 1 pistol, which is a 1911 dedicated to a .50-caliber cartridge with a rebated rim. The ammunition for all three test calibers was proprietary but easily obtained, as we discovered. Here are our findings.

HK's USP Expert 45 .45 ACP is a rugged combat pistol with accuracy and versatility. We can't recommend Kimber's Gold Match Ten II because of function problems we encountered.

Springfield Armory's Lightweight Champion GI wouldn't shoot hollowpoints, and we didn't like the laser grips on Smith & Wesson's 1911PD. The Kimber had but one easy-to-fix flaw.

Walther America's P99QA and the Smith & Wesson SW99OL offer plenty of extras, but the Walther's trigger function and the lack of a safety on the S&W gun trigger a pair of Don't Buys.

Kimber's Rimfire Target and .22 conversions by Ciener and Marvel provide three ways to save money and have fun by shooting .22 LRs in 1911 frames.

In the sport of Practical Shooting, the competitor who lands the best hits on target in the least amount of time wins. To this end competitors have found ways to wring out the most performance possible from their equipment, and many of the modifications first seen at practical matches have found their way into the design of modern production pistols. Features such as high-visibility sights, oversized control levers, and lightweight action parts are some of the innovations that were developed by competitors hungry for the winners circle.

No losers here: Ruger's KSP-821X and Smith & Wesson's 3-inch 60-15 are classics we wouldn't hesitate to buy. But Our Pick is the 5-inch S&W 60-18, a smooth, accurate, powerful gun.