Handguns

In the course of a typical day's gunsmithing, I test fire at least three weapons for such things as inconsistent primer ignition, failure to feed properly, and sear disengagement. With the cost of commercial bullet traps somewhere in the stratosphere, I had no choice but to make my own to keep costs down. My indoor trap, which I use for pistols and rimfire rifles, cost less than $25 to build. Even if you use brand new materials, it should cost less than $100.

The SIS Custom RL came with night sights. The rear unit, windage adjustable via drift, was mounted in a dovetail aligning its rear face precisely with the back of the slide for maximum sight radius. Its forward edge presented a vertical surface reaching about 0.2 inches upwards from the top of the slide. This was to provide a catch point on one’s belt or other edge in case the slide needed to be racked without using two hands. Today’s pistols commonly feature a rear sight with a ramped profile front to back. The ramped profile is much less likely to snag clothing than a tall and sharp sight blade. But if the slide must be racked and the support hand is not available, the operator might wish for the sharp edge of the old-style rear sight. Kimber’s SIS-style rear sight meets this need without the worry of hanging up on the inside of a jacket or shirt.

The Llama's firing mechanism differs considerably in detail from the 1911. The slide is the main area of interest. For illustration purposes, I chose a rather common Commander-length Llama in 9mm Luger. This pistol is a true compact, however, rather than a short slide on a full-length frame. The extractor is of the external type. There is no extractor tunnel in the slide and no firing-pin stop. While the elimination of the firing-pin stop and internal extractor may seem a good thing, if the treatment is not of high quality, then we have a problem. I've personally never seen a broken firing pin in a Llama pistol, but my friends in the gun-parts business have sold quite a few. On the other hand, I have repaired numerous extractors. The steel seems quite soft and new replacements are not easy to come by (though Gun Parts Corporation and Bob's Gun Shop are places to start looking). I have recut and reshaped these extractors, sometimes convincing the part to last for a time.

A short while back Gun Tests magazine tested some pretty small 9mm pistols, by Kahr and by Rohrbaugh. They particularly liked the Kahr PM9's handling qualities, and the fact that it worked well as a back-up pistol. They noted Kahr produces a similar pistol in .40 S&W caliber, called the PM40. They decided it was appropriate to try one, because anyone who liked the PM9 would probably welcome more power in a package nearly as small.

Representative George Peterson and Senator Richard Moore will be filing emergency legislation to address the Massachusetts firearm licensing crisis in the next few days, says the Gun Owners' Action League (GOAL) in Massachusetts.

Matching the proper weight recoil spring with your ammunition can be a key element to producing consistent slide movement and smooth reliable cycling. With little else to go on, it was fair to assume that the recoil spring installed in this FNP-9 was too heavy.

There will always be a need to identify chamberings of firearms that have been inherited or bought at yard sales. The lure of buying for bottom dollar and discovering a real jewel is ingrained in most of us, so a little thing like no chambering marks on a rifle or handgun is no deterrent to a gun fancier.

The International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) announced that O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc., will be one of the major sponsors of the Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor National Championship. The 2013 Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor National Championship will take place February 21-23 on the indoor ranges of the Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.

DeSantis Gunhide Pocket Shot pocket holster now comes in a version that fits the Ruger LCP 380cal with a Crimson Trace LG-431 laser.

Choosing a carry sidearm is a complex task for most shooters, who must weigh power and portability, size and simplicity before spending hundreds of dollars and committing to wear a gun a good chunk of the day. Pistols usually have an edge in capacity, while revolvers have a point-and-shoot ease of use that's hard to overlook. Then there's the issue of cartridges. How much power is enough?, and how does the consumer sift the chamberings to get the most bang for his buck?

We recently tested three guns that illustrate a range of carry choices readers had inquired about, in effect pitting McIntosh and Red Delicious apples against a Valencia orange. In gun terms, our pistols were the new Springfield XD-S 45 ACP, $599, and Kahr's CM9 No. CM9093 9mm Luger, $382, going up against the Chiappa Rhino No. 200DS 357 Magnum revolver, $800. Those are counter prices from Fountain Firearms in Houston (FountainFirearms.us), where we acquired the guns.

What we wanted to find out, in particular, was whether the CCL holder had to sacrifice power (45 vs. 9mm) in order to get wear-all-day comfort, and whether a wheelgun, albeit an unusual one, could compete against subcompact pistols.

In fact, when you look at the basics other than action types, these three pretty much fit in the same box. The Rhino revolver is 6 inches long, about a half-inch longer than the Kahr (5.4 inches) and slightly shorter than the XD-S (6.3 inches). Height-wise, the Rhino checks in at 4.9 inches, a half inch taller than the XD-S (4.4 inches) and nearly an inch taller than the CM9 (4.0 inches).

But here's where power factors in. The Rhino and the XD-S clearly outdistanced the CM9 in pop, so for some shooters, having the smallest footprint in the CM9 also means shooting the weakest round, which they won't like. And, the 9mm Luger's performance is further diminished because these short handguns won't generate all the rated power of their respective rounds — there's just not enough length in the barrels. Winchester's 115-grain 9mm Luger round in the 3-inch-barrel Kahr develops average velocity/energy figures of 984 fps/247 ft.-lbs., well behind the XD-S (3.3-inch barrel, 817 fps/341 ft.-lbs.) and Rhino (2-inch barrel, 1134 fps/314 ft.-lbs.) The Fiocchi rounds showed a similar gap, except the 357 Mag was the strongest at 370 ft.-lbs., compared to 305 ft.-lbs. for the 45 ACP round and 272 ft.-lbs. for the 9mm. The power margins are little narrower for Hornady rounds because the 9mm is a +P loading, so it makes 308 ft.-lbs. of muzzle energy compared to the 45 at 360 ft.-lbs. and the 357 at 380 ft.-lbs. Also, it's worth emphasizing that the Rhino had the highest energy ratings of the trio with two of the rounds (see the accompanying accuracy/chronograph table for details).

Besides comparing the numbers, we also tested all three for accuracy at 7 yards from a benchrest. Then we tested how each would perform when drawn and fired quickly, using Hornady Critical Defense rounds for the XDS and Rhino and Hornady Critical Duty for the CM9. For this defense test we had a target 7 yards downrange on edge, programmed to turn and face the shooter for 3 seconds, then turn back to edge, with a randomized wait time before turning. Our testers had to start from low ready and fire as many shots aiming at center mass as accurately as possible in 3 seconds. The target was a Birchwood Casey silhouette splattering target with X, 10, 9, and 8 rings.

On a gun-by-gun basis, we found some things we liked and didn't like about each of the carry contestants. Here's what we thought about each one individually:

There are two primary types of concealment for which a concealed handgun licensee may be held liable. They are control via proximity of a concealed firearm and physical control of a firearm attached directly to the person. Proximity may be fixed or mobile. Fixed concealment could be in the glove box of an automobile or a desk drawer. Mobile concealment may include a briefcase, purse, or device such as a date book with false compartment.

Smith & Wesson Corp. announced that four new models have been added to the Company’s premier line of M&P® polymer pistols based on the popular Pro Series line of competition ready firearms.