Handguns

Finishing with a perfect points score of 1920-183x, defending champion Doug Koenig battled through his final event at the 2013 MidwayUSA/NRA Bianchi Cup Championships to win his 15th MidwayUSA & NRA Bianchi Cup overall title. But it wasn't a cakewalk. Pushed through every stage of the competition, it was exactly what competitors and fans expected to see, NRAblog reports.

We acquired two historical and technically interesting firearms for this test. The guns were the 9mm Wise Lite Arms Sterling L2A3 9mm, about $500, and the Inter Ordnance/Pioneer Arms PPS-43C Pistol chambered in 7.62x25 Tokarev, also in the $500 range. The latter is officially a pistol because its folding stock is welded in the folded position. We found the folding stocks do nothing for their handling or practical function, but in close quarters that might be a handy feature. Both designs originally fired from an open bolt, and the Sterling was originally selective fire. These two test guns are both manufactured to fire semiauto-only, and they both fire from a closed bolt. We managed to find three types of 9mm ammo and two brands of 7.62x25 Tokarev, enough to wring out both guns. Here's what we found.

Being a magazine that deals primarily with the testing and evaluation of firearms and accessories, were always looking for the next big thing. Not long ago the next big thing was the small concealment pistol chambered for 380 Auto. One such pistol was the Ruger LCP380, and it seemed like every maker was bringing out a small pistol with barrel lengths shorter than 3 inches and an overall size that could fit inside the dimensions of the average adults hand.One of the things that worked against these guns was the lack of availability of ammunition. Call it 9mm Browning, 9mm Corto, 9mm Kurz - in English, 9mm Short - 380 ACP ammunition was difficult to find. Another factor that seemed to cool enthusiasm for the little 380s was handling and recoil. While 380 Auto is not a big banger, when housed in a smaller package with limited grip space, every impulse was magnified. In addition, a lot of buyers have found these smaller guns with their necessarily taut recoil springs to be unappealing simply because they have trouble manipulating the slide.In the meantime, Ruger introduced a new pistol of similar design to the LCP, but slightly bigger, chambered for 9mm Luger, 9x19 or 9mm Parabellum, or regular-sized 9mm ammunition. This pistol was a lot easier to hold and work than the still-smaller 380 pocket guns, but the bigger powder payload also offered additional recoil. Solution: For 2013, Ruger introduced the LC9 re-chambered for 380 Auto, which addresses both the desire for less recoil and easier handling, and we were able to land one for evaluation. So that we could hurry the test into print, we didnt try to match it up against other 9mms, but rather relied on previous test notes to put the little Ruger into perspective.

A couple of months ago, a third gun showed up as we were wrapping up our test of two carry 9mm Lugers, the SIG P239 and H&K's USP Compact. This was the Springfield EMP, which has a stunning MSRP of $1345. This pistol was a little smaller than the other two, and had a very simple and familiar mechanism. It was basically a small 1911 built around the 9mm cartridge. The barrel was 3.2 inches. The side of the slide was marked with a logo of the letters EMP done in a manner that left the sides of the letters off. While that was clever, we wondered what else had been left off of this small nine that maybe ought to have been there. Frankly, boys and girls, for that price there better be exactly nothing left off.

Being a magazine that deals primarily with the testing and evaluation of firearms and accessories, were always looking for the next big thing. Not long ago the next big thing was the small concealment pistol chambered for 380 Auto. One such pistol was the Ruger LCP380, and it seemed like every maker was bringing out a small pistol with barrel lengths shorter than 3 inches and an overall size that could fit inside the dimensions of the average adults hand.One of the things that worked against these guns was the lack of availability of ammunition. Call it 9mm Browning, 9mm Corto, 9mm Kurz - in English, 9mm Short - 380 ACP ammunition was difficult to find. Another factor that seemed to cool enthusiasm for the little 380s was handling and recoil. While 380 Auto is not a big banger, when housed in a smaller package with limited grip space, every impulse was magnified. In addition, a lot of buyers have found these smaller guns with their necessarily taut recoil springs to be unappealing simply because they have trouble manipulating the slide.In the meantime, Ruger introduced a new pistol of similar design to the LCP, but slightly bigger, chambered for 9mm Luger, 9x19 or 9mm Parabellum, or regular-sized 9mm ammunition. This pistol was a lot easier to hold and work than the still-smaller 380 pocket guns, but the bigger powder payload also offered additional recoil. Solution: For 2013, Ruger introduced the LC9 re-chambered for 380 Auto, which addresses both the desire for less recoil and easier handling, and we were able to land one for evaluation. So that we could hurry the test into print, we didnt try to match it up against other 9mms, but rather relied on previous test notes to put the little Ruger into perspective.

In this report we look at S&Ws two so-called Bodyguards, one a revolver in 38 Special, the other a semiautomatic pistol in 380 ACP. Both were fitted with adjustable laser sights. The first thing we found was the lasers are useless outdoors in bright daylight, no matter what youve been led to believe by various TV shows. On an overcast day, the lasers on these two pistols might be of some value, but we much prefer to use iron sights when we can see em. With them, theres nothing to turn on, no buttons to push.If you like the idea of using a laser indoors at night, these setups might be okay for you. Weve said before we dont like giving our location away by the glow of a laser sight to anyone who might be in our house whos not supposed to be there. However, a good laser - and these seem to be excellent - is a reasonable aiming device in conditions when you just cant see your iron sights and dont - or cant - have tritium inserts. Both of these handguns have adjustments so you can put the laser dots right at the impact point of your chosen ammo. One push of a button turns on the laser. A second push puts the laser into a pulsing mode, and a third turns it off, same for both guns, though they have different button setups. We shot with the ammo available, which for the 38 Special was one handload with 158-grain lead SWC and some CCI Blazer 125-grain JHP. For the 380 we used brass-case CCI Blazer with 95-grain FMJ bullets. Heres what we found.

In this report we look at S&Ws two so-called Bodyguards, one a revolver in 38 Special, the other a semiautomatic pistol in 380 ACP. Both were fitted with adjustable laser sights. The first thing we found was the lasers are useless outdoors in bright daylight, no matter what youve been led to believe by various TV shows. On an overcast day, the lasers on these two pistols might be of some value, but we much prefer to use iron sights when we can see em. With them, theres nothing to turn on, no buttons to push.If you like the idea of using a laser indoors at night, these setups might be okay for you. Weve said before we dont like giving our location away by the glow of a laser sight to anyone who might be in our house whos not supposed to be there. However, a good laser - and these seem to be excellent - is a reasonable aiming device in conditions when you just cant see your iron sights and dont - or cant - have tritium inserts. Both of these handguns have adjustments so you can put the laser dots right at the impact point of your chosen ammo. One push of a button turns on the laser. A second push puts the laser into a pulsing mode, and a third turns it off, same for both guns, though they have different button setups. We shot with the ammo available, which for the 38 Special was one handload with 158-grain lead SWC and some CCI Blazer 125-grain JHP. For the 380 we used brass-case CCI Blazer with 95-grain FMJ bullets. Heres what we found.

A difficult question often posed to the staff concerns subjective aspects of the handgun. Is the Italian Beretta a better handgun than the U.S.-made pistol? Is the pinned and recessed Smith & Wesson revolver the better shooter than the modern slip-barrel revolver? Among those that seem to invite the most comments is the difference between GI 1911 pistols and the semi-custom factory pistols. By semi-custom we mean pistols with high-profile sights, a custom grade beavertail safety, extended controls, and claims of superior fitting in the barrel, bushing, and barrel hood. The plain old GI pistol that served without complaint in two world wars is seen as the underdog in such a match up. The GI pistol cannot possibly play on an even field with the modern enhanced 1911, can it? The answer is, it depends.It depends on what you are doing and what you expect from the pistol. How many shooters can take advantage of the advanced features, and how many of these shooters can shoot up to the pistols capabilities is the question. But there is also the bottom line, and the bottom line is often personal defense. Many shooters swear by the 1911 GI pistol and want nothing else. One of our raters is quick to point out he knows the 1911, and as much as a person can feel emotional attachment toward an inanimate object, he loves the 1911, including all its eccentricities.The 1911 is individual enough that hand-fitting can make a difference. The closer the tolerances, the less slop and the less eccentric wear on the pistol. On the other hand, the GI pistols were fitted well in the locking lugs and barrel bushing, and that was all that mattered for acceptable accuracy. One of our testers had a conversation with an importer regarding the Philippines-made pistols. The businessman did not like the raters review of a certain pistol. The importer noted that the rater liked the RIA pistols, but not another pistol brand with more advanced features. The importer noted that the pistols come off the same assembly line - or at least the same factory, and the more advanced pistol went on for special handling. Also, the more expensive pistol had more features - yet, our tester did not like it. Our tester replied that yes, the RIA was a fine GI pistol, mainly because what features were on the pistol were done well. The other pistol included more stuff, but it took more finesse and greater skill to fit a custom beavertail and ambidextrous safety, and the pistol with superior features just didnt come out as well, in the opinion of our testers.In other words, you may purchase a good GI-grade pistol on the cheap, but if you are going to obtain an advanced-grade 1911, then it may not be advisable to go cheap. So can the discriminating 1911 shooter be happy with either a bargain-basement 45 ACP or a customized factory pistol at three times the price? To answer a number of questions concerning the performance of the 1911 pistol, our South Carolina test unit obtained both a Rock Island GI pistol and a Kimber Eclipse Target II. There are plenty of other pistols that could have stood in for these choices - the High Standard GI pistol might have just as easily been selected as the baseline, or the Springfield Loaded Model as the advanced pistol. But, in the end, we wanted to know if the Kimber Eclipse II would so outshine the RIA GI that buying the more affordable handgun would seem like a waste of money. Or would the simplicity of the GI show us that spending more on the Eclipse was just spending more?

A difficult question often posed to the staff concerns subjective aspects of the handgun. Is the Italian Beretta a better handgun than the U.S.-made pistol? Is the pinned and recessed Smith & Wesson revolver the better shooter than the modern slip-barrel revolver? Among those that seem to invite the most comments is the difference between GI 1911 pistols and the semi-custom factory pistols. By semi-custom we mean pistols with high-profile sights, a custom grade beavertail safety, extended controls, and claims of superior fitting in the barrel, bushing, and barrel hood. The plain old GI pistol that served without complaint in two world wars is seen as the underdog in such a match up. The GI pistol cannot possibly play on an even field with the modern enhanced 1911, can it? The answer is, it depends.It depends on what you are doing and what you expect from the pistol. How many shooters can take advantage of the advanced features, and how many of these shooters can shoot up to the pistols capabilities is the question. But there is also the bottom line, and the bottom line is often personal defense. Many shooters swear by the 1911 GI pistol and want nothing else. One of our raters is quick to point out he knows the 1911, and as much as a person can feel emotional attachment toward an inanimate object, he loves the 1911, including all its eccentricities.The 1911 is individual enough that hand-fitting can make a difference. The closer the tolerances, the less slop and the less eccentric wear on the pistol. On the other hand, the GI pistols were fitted well in the locking lugs and barrel bushing, and that was all that mattered for acceptable accuracy. One of our testers had a conversation with an importer regarding the Philippines-made pistols. The businessman did not like the raters review of a certain pistol. The importer noted that the rater liked the RIA pistols, but not another pistol brand with more advanced features. The importer noted that the pistols come off the same assembly line - or at least the same factory, and the more advanced pistol went on for special handling. Also, the more expensive pistol had more features - yet, our tester did not like it. Our tester replied that yes, the RIA was a fine GI pistol, mainly because what features were on the pistol were done well. The other pistol included more stuff, but it took more finesse and greater skill to fit a custom beavertail and ambidextrous safety, and the pistol with superior features just didnt come out as well, in the opinion of our testers.In other words, you may purchase a good GI-grade pistol on the cheap, but if you are going to obtain an advanced-grade 1911, then it may not be advisable to go cheap. So can the discriminating 1911 shooter be happy with either a bargain-basement 45 ACP or a customized factory pistol at three times the price? To answer a number of questions concerning the performance of the 1911 pistol, our South Carolina test unit obtained both a Rock Island GI pistol and a Kimber Eclipse Target II. There are plenty of other pistols that could have stood in for these choices - the High Standard GI pistol might have just as easily been selected as the baseline, or the Springfield Loaded Model as the advanced pistol. But, in the end, we wanted to know if the Kimber Eclipse II would so outshine the RIA GI that buying the more affordable handgun would seem like a waste of money. Or would the simplicity of the GI show us that spending more on the Eclipse was just spending more?

This neat unit gives excellent performance. It is a good option for the Glock fan wishing to dedicate one of his pistols to the carbine concept. Commonality of trigger action is a strong point, as well as commonality with magazines. On the basis of affordability, it is a good choice, if you already have the Glock pistol on hand.

To answer a number of questions concerning the performance of the 1911 pistol, the Gun Tests South Carolina test unit obtained a Rock Island Armory Standard GI No. 51421 45 ACP, $410, and a Kimber Eclipse Target II 45 ACP, $1393, in what originally seemed to be a price mismatch.

For the past five years, the National Shooting Sports Foundation has surveyed federally licensed firearms retailers across the country to find out what products are the biggest sellers and who is buying. NSSF has just issued the latest version of that report from an online survey conducted last month. The data shows which types of firearms and ammunition were most popular in 2012, and at the same time allows retailers to compare their businesses to that of other gun stores across the country.