Handguns

GUN TESTS GRADE: A $1800 The new 6-inch Python has all the same attributes as the 4.25-inch model. No need to repeat except to say the trigger was also superb. The DA pull was 9.7 pounds, and the SA pull measured 5.8 pounds. The extra heft of the 6-incher makes it more forgiving with less […]

GUN TESTS GRADE: A $~2500 This original Python was manufactured in 1980, and the blue finish was in 85% condition. It did have aftermarket Hogue grips, which reduces the collector value, but increases shooter comfort. Regardless, the blue finish was beautifully executed. We liked having the chance to examine another original Python two decades newer […]

GUN TESTS GRADE: A $1300 The new 4.25-inch-barrel Python comes in a hard plastic box with a lock and a packet sample of oil. We wish it came with an optional rubber grip. Originals had a 4-inch barrel, but to accommodate Canadian regulations, Colt opted for a 4.25-inch barrel in the 2020 model. In hand, […]

GUN TESTS GRADE: A- $1800 Our 1964 Python was used and sure looked like it. This revolver had been rode hard and put away wet, but we wouldn’t detract points for cosmetics unless function was somehow compromised. The Royal Blue finish was worn off in areas from holster wear. The backstrap had a patina on […]

The Colt Python is back, and more than a few Gun Tests readers have requested a face-off between the new Pythons and the original...

Toward the end of each year, I survey the work R.K. Campbell, Roger Eckstine, Robert Sadowski, David Tannahill, Tracey Taylor, and John Taylor have done in Gun Tests, with an eye toward selecting guns, accessories, and ammunition the magazine’s testers have endorsed. From these evaluations I pick the best from a full year’s worth of […]

GUN TESTS GRADE: A $249 The TX22 is a full-­size grip, polymer-­frame, blowback-­operated, striker­-fire semiautomatic with a single-action trigger. That sounds like a lot, and we found the TX22 does offer a lot of plinker for the money. In the box, along with the pistol, Taurus includes two polymer magazines, a magazine loader and a […]

GUN TESTS GRADE: A- $199 The KelTec P17 was the lightest pistol tested, weighing 10.9 ounces unloaded. It came in a hard-plastic foam-lined case with three magazines and a suppressor adaptor. We appreciated the three magazines and the adapter. It has that distinct KelTec look of two polymer-frame halves sandwiched together with a handful of […]

GUN TESTS GRADE: A- $359 Our sample G44 arrived in the typical Glock hard case with two magazines, small screwdriver, cleaning rod and wire bore brush, and four modular backstraps. It incorporates Fifth Generation pistol features — Marksman Barrel, flat front grip strap, modular back straps, front slide serrations, rounded muzzle, ambidextrous slide stop, flared […]

GUN TESTS GRADE: A $800 to $1200 The Walther P38 is the most modern design of the pistols tested, a tremendously influential handgun. In most particulars, the long-serving Beretta Model 92 9mm is a modified high-capacity variant of the Walther P38. The Walther used the oscillating wedge lockup first used on the Mauser M96, setting […]

GUN TESTS GRADE: B- $1200 Browning recently discontinued the Hi-Power as a cataloged item. The only remaining Hi-Power still in production is a Turkish clone. The FN Hi-Power pistol we tested was introduced in 1935. The Hi-Power (Grand Puissance) or P35 was designed as a French military sidearm. They passed on the Hi-Power and adopted […]

GUN TESTS GRADE: D $995 For many years, the word Luger has conjured up visions of the best made, best fitted and best finished of all handguns. The pistol is intricately made, well designed and completely breathtaking to use and fire — when it functions. The Luger has been represented in the marketplace as a […]