Handguns

…A brief filed in the case, on which I offered some counsel, argues that the law is especially harmful to gay Americans. The brief joins a large coalition of groups, including the National Rifle Association, arguing for individual rights under the Second Amendment.

The LA Times recently speculated that rocker Ted Nugent is prepared to replace Charlton Heston as popular culture's most outspoken proponent of the 2nd Amendment.

Gun activists were upset with him earlier this year because of a brief he filed in the Second Amendment challenge of the District's handgun ban.

Maj. Mike Anti of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, Beki Snyder (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Libby Callahan (Columbia, S.C.), Jason Turner (Rochester, N.Y.) and Sgt. 1st Class Daryl Szarenski of the USAMU all qualified for spots on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team today at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Shooting (Smallbore). …

Georgians with carry licenses can tote their concealed guns on public transportation, carry in restaurants that serve alcohol, and carry in state parks

District 2 U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, believes he will be able to do even more to help gun owners in eastern Oklahoma now that he’s been named to the National Rifle Association’s Board of Directors.

The Republican National Committee is distributing a release questioning Barack Obama’s commitment to gun rights, which he said he supports in many campaign speeches.

In our recent test of three small semi-automatic pistols chambered for 32 Auto, we learned that they could be fired quickly with little recoil. In this test we upped the power to 380 ACP and tried again with three more guns that were nearly identical to our 32s in size, action, and mechanical operation. In two of three cases, we repeated our tests with guns made by the same manufacturer. These were the $573 Walther USA PPK 380 and the $419 Taurus PT138BP-12. Our third 380 was the $330 Ruger LCP. This was a very close copy of the Kel-Tec P3AT last tested in our March 2004 issue, and which we test head to head with the LCP later in this issue to see just how similar they are.The 380 ACP is also referred to as 9mm Kurz or 9mm Short. The length of a 380 Auto cartridge case is about 2mm shorter than the popular 9mm Parabellum case. Bullet diameter is the same. In fact, this same bullet diameter can be shared with more powerful ammunition such as 38 Super. By moving up to 380 ACP we hoped to gain an advantage over the 32 Auto pistols by delivering greater stopping power without significantly increasing recoil. The advantage of chambering ammunition with a short overall length kept these guns small and concealable.We had been surprised how well our 32-caliber pistols performed in our accuracy tests, so we tested our 380s from the same distance of 15 yards. Test ammunition was MagTech 95-grain FMC, Federal Premium 90-grain Hydra-Shok JHP, and Hornady 90-grain JHP/XTP rounds. We also performed the same action tests with our 380s as we did with our thirty two caliber pistols. But this time we limited all strings of fire to six rounds, shooting each gun until empty. We didnt think emptying the 12-round magazine of the Taurus pistol was necessary. However, we wanted to make sure we experienced any change in handling or reliability as each gun ran dry.The MagTech ammunition was used exclusively during the action tests. We fired at an IDPA-style target from a distance of 3 yards and the drill was completed three times. After recording total elapsed time, we subtracted the time it took to break the first shot to arrive at the split time (elapsed time between shots). We wanted to know how quickly each gun could be fired. We also checked accuracy on the cardboard targets to see how well we could group 18 shots in relation to the 8-inch circle embossed on the target, which served as our point of aim. In an effort to replicate a close-quarter situation, all shots were fired strong hand only. Aiming was achieved with a mix of sighted and point-shooting technique. Tests were performed outdoors at the Impact Zone (theimpactzonerange.com) in Monaville, Texas. Lets see how our three guns performed.

The concept of a pocket pistol is as old as handguns. In the days of percussion, and even during the 200-odd years of flintlocks, many small handguns were made that were sort-of pocketable, if you had large pockets. Through the years technology got better, and though pockets got smaller, the concept of a hand-size pistol matured until today we find some remarkably tiny handguns with relatively outstanding power available. One of the very newest and hottest of these is the Ruger LCP, a 380 introduced to an eager crowd at the SHOT Show early in 2008. Reports are Ruger received well over 100,000 orders for the gun by the end of that weekend. A gun that creates that much stir naturally interests the Gun Tests staff, and we obtained two of the very first issues of the LCP. Beginning on page 11, my colleague Roger Eckstine puts the LCP through its paces in the standard GT comparison format against guns from Walther USA and Taurus. For my part, I was curious about how the LCP would match up against the nearly identical Kel-Tec P3AT ($324), and I obtained a P3AT to investigate their similarities, differences, and relative worth.

In our recent test of three small semi-automatic pistols chambered for 32 Auto, we learned that they could be fired quickly with little recoil. In this test we upped the power to 380 ACP and tried again with three more guns that were nearly identical to our 32s in size, action, and mechanical operation. In two of three cases, we repeated our tests with guns made by the same manufacturer. These were the $573 Walther USA PPK 380 and the $419 Taurus PT138BP-12. Our third 380 was the $330 Ruger LCP. This was a very close copy of the Kel-Tec P3AT last tested in our March 2004 issue, and which we test head to head with the LCP later in this issue to see just how similar they are.The 380 ACP is also referred to as 9mm Kurz or 9mm Short. The length of a 380 Auto cartridge case is about 2mm shorter than the popular 9mm Parabellum case. Bullet diameter is the same. In fact, this same bullet diameter can be shared with more powerful ammunition such as 38 Super. By moving up to 380 ACP we hoped to gain an advantage over the 32 Auto pistols by delivering greater stopping power without significantly increasing recoil. The advantage of chambering ammunition with a short overall length kept these guns small and concealable.We had been surprised how well our 32-caliber pistols performed in our accuracy tests, so we tested our 380s from the same distance of 15 yards. Test ammunition was MagTech 95-grain FMC, Federal Premium 90-grain Hydra-Shok JHP, and Hornady 90-grain JHP/XTP rounds. We also performed the same action tests with our 380s as we did with our thirty two caliber pistols. But this time we limited all strings of fire to six rounds, shooting each gun until empty. We didnt think emptying the 12-round magazine of the Taurus pistol was necessary. However, we wanted to make sure we experienced any change in handling or reliability as each gun ran dry.The MagTech ammunition was used exclusively during the action tests. We fired at an IDPA-style target from a distance of 3 yards and the drill was completed three times. After recording total elapsed time, we subtracted the time it took to break the first shot to arrive at the split time (elapsed time between shots). We wanted to know how quickly each gun could be fired. We also checked accuracy on the cardboard targets to see how well we could group 18 shots in relation to the 8-inch circle embossed on the target, which served as our point of aim. In an effort to replicate a close-quarter situation, all shots were fired strong hand only. Aiming was achieved with a mix of sighted and point-shooting technique. Tests were performed outdoors at the Impact Zone (theimpactzonerange.com) in Monaville, Texas. Lets see how our three guns performed.

The concept of a pocket pistol is as old as handguns. In the days of percussion, and even during the 200-odd years of flintlocks, many small handguns were made that were sort-of pocketable, if you had large pockets. Through the years technology got better, and though pockets got smaller, the concept of a hand-size pistol matured until today we find some remarkably tiny handguns with relatively outstanding power available. One of the very newest and hottest of these is the Ruger LCP, a 380 introduced to an eager crowd at the SHOT Show early in 2008. Reports are Ruger received well over 100,000 orders for the gun by the end of that weekend. A gun that creates that much stir naturally interests the Gun Tests staff, and we obtained two of the very first issues of the LCP. Beginning on page 11, my colleague Roger Eckstine puts the LCP through its paces in the standard GT comparison format against guns from Walther USA and Taurus. For my part, I was curious about how the LCP would match up against the nearly identical Kel-Tec P3AT ($324), and I obtained a P3AT to investigate their similarities, differences, and relative worth.

Our session with the seven shot Smith & Wesson 686 Plus was uneventful. We loaded it, we fired it. Whatever adjustment to the sights was necessary was completed quickly and easily with a single screwdriver.

The single-action trigger was heavier than the Alfa's. But before we knew it the shot was gone. The double-action trigger was better than the action we found on the Smith & Wesson 619 in our last test. The gun was very well balanced, and despite the exposed backstrap of the rubber Hogue Monogrip the level of comfort and control was all we could ask for.