Handguns

We pitted three Glocks—the 31, 32, and 33 models—against three Sigarms products—the P229, the P239, and the 2340 Pro. One gun was so good we bought it for ourselves.

We found even the most dynamic duos from Taurus and Smith & Wesson have trouble keeping up with Glock's full-sized GL17 and the Model 26 pocket cannon.

We were caught in an alloy quandary trying to pick from Colt's classic Agent, the high-dollar S&W 342PD, and S&W's newly slimmed-down Bodyguard. Now we know which one to buy.

Taurus's $355 Model 617 and Rossi's new 461, $298, mount a lukewarm challenge to Smith & Wesson's $545 Model 66. The big edge: The S&W handgun's overall consistency.

Small semiautos that match the physical dimensions of two pistols we tested recently—the $1,695 Smith & Wesson 945 and Para-Ordnance's $740 P12-45—are usually referred to as compacts or sub-compact. But when pistols of this size class are miniaturized 1911s, the tag of "Officer's models" is hung on to them, even though they may not exactly fit the mold of the original Colt's Officer's model. In fact, the Smith & Wesson 945 stretches the designation even further by offering a variation on John Browning's action lock up. Still, the physical operation the 945 affords is decidedly 1911 in nature, since it shoots the .45 ACP and can be carried cocked and locked.

Manufacturers are taking a fresh look at the Officer's model for a number of reasons. For one, the 1911 pistol has legions of fans inside both competitive shooting and law-enforcement circles. Also, many military and ex-military personnel recognize the .45 ACP's superiority over the 9mm Parabellum, a cartridge choice often perceived as NATO's intrusion into American affairs. Once the United States government set a capacity limit for civilian handguns, the trend has been toward larger-caliber rounds, even when this means lower total capacity. Traditionally the Officer's model offered a six-round magazine, like the 945's. However, the Para Ordnance P12 integrates a double-stack or staggered-round magazine that in civilian trim will hold the full ten-round legal limit.

The SIG P220 and Smith & Wesson's 4566TSW successfully bridge the gap between single- and double-action .45s. The polymer H&K USP45 offers cocked-&-locked operation.

For 2001, Sturm, Ruger & Co. has introduced its new proprietary .480 Ruger handgun round in the firm's double-action Super Redhawk revolver, available with 7.5- or 9.5-inch barrels. Recent testing we performed on the gun head to head against two other monster revolver rounds, the .475 Linebaugh and the .500 Linebaugh, call the company's introduction of the round into question. Though we are well aware of Ruger's proven ability to make and market world-beating firearms when everyone else thinks they're nuts (the No. 1 single shot and the 10-22 rimfire rifles come to mind), we can only say we were underwhelmed with the .480 Ruger. Here's why.

Glock's GL19 fired the first shot in this niche, but the latest volley of Parabellums includes impressive pieces like Steyr's M9, Walther's P99QA, and Intrac's budget HS2000.

Picking a .45 hogleg just got easier because Cabela's Millennium is an inexpensive but excellent product, where Colt's and Ruger guns both have drawbacks.

Our test of Standard Arms of Nevada's $199 SA9, Kel-Tec's $299 P11 and Taurus' $369 PT111 shows that a little extra money can make a life-or-death difference.

The five-shot snubbed-nosed .38 Special revolver is a traditional backup gun, but recent trends have tended to favor aluminum and titanium featherweights instead of steel-framed models. But steel still has its appeal, and we wanted to go back to earlier wheelgun versions to see what first made them favorites of couriers, detectives, and regular joes fifty years ago.

For this comparison, we chose two standard steel guns in .38 Special, the Taurus 85, $286, and S&W's $539 small-frame 36LS LadySmith, marketed to women, as its name suggests. But we paid no attention to that market positioning, because we've handled the LadySmith and knew its handling was on par, or perhaps better, than other boot-size guns pitched to men. Our thinking: From the muzzle forward, a bad guy can't tell the difference.

Also, with recent memories of testing featherweight titanium revolvers in mind, we wondered how much porting would affect felt recoil, and toward that end we also acquired a Taurus 85 with a ported barrel, $305. By comparing Taurus's standard barrel to the ported model, we hoped to find if we were willing to spend more time practicing with it than not.

Ruger's shorter, easier-to-handle GP100 makes more sense in this matchup than the longest-barrel guns from Smith & Wesson and Taurus.