Handguns

Gun Tests magazine just finished testing several 9mm carbines in the June 2012 issue. One of the test guns was a Norinco-modified UZI with a fixed stock. Here’s a look at the updated UZI SMGs in action, available as either semiautos or full auto.

The 38 snubnose revolver is a staple of murder mysteries, cop TV shows for many decades, and of real-life cops who need a good, light backup. Everyone over the age of, say, 40 has seen a snubby at one time or another. Today’s TV cops favor all manner of automatic pistols, so the snub 38 is not often seen. But that doesn’t mean it’s no good. The bottom line is, if all you have is a 38 Special snubnose with only five shots, you are a very long way from being unarmed. If you carry five more in a speed loader, well, what more could you want?

In the February 2012 issue, we tested five high-capacity semi-automatic 9mm handguns that were aimed at the Practical Shooting competitor. Practical Shooting evolved from experimentation with handguns used for self-defense. One characteristic that separates Practical Shooting from other organized pistol competition is that the scoring takes into account the amount of time it takes to deliver the required number of shots for each course of fire. So, fast-action gun handling, as well as quick, precise shots becomes an integral part of the shooter's score. In this test, we'll pay particular attention to features and components that make the guns faster and easier to operate, as well as more accurate.

Our February roster included two guns that were specifically prepared for competition by CZCustom.com of Mesa, Arizona. In this test the guns were not as specialized. But the $1108 Heckler & Koch P30L V3 is one of the guns favored by HK's official Practical Shooting team, and Smith & Wesson team shooters use the $670 M&P 9 Pro Series pistol. To date, most Glock shooters use the Gen 3 version of the G34 as tested previously. In this test we'll try using the new $649 G34 Gen 4 pistol to see what effect the Gen 4 features may have in making it a better choice for competition.

Each pistol was tested for accuracy from the 25-yard line by firing from a sandbag rest. Test ammunition was the same as used in our previous test, including new manufacture (red box) 115-grain FMJ, and 124-grain JHP rounds from Black Hills Ammunition. We also fired 147-grain flatpoint FMJ rounds from Federal American Eagle. One of our guns offered a single-action trigger, so we took advantage of this option and shot groups of record with the HK P30L single action only.

To learn more about the match potential of each pistol we set up two action tests. Our "field" course of fire was the same one used in our February test, consisting of picking the gun off a table top and firing at two IPSC Metric targets 21 feet downrange spread 15 feet apart. The shooter was centered between the two targets and the catch was that the gun was fully empty with pistol and loaded magazine lying next to each other. The shooter began with hands placed flat to either side of the gun and magazine. Upon an audible start signal from our CED8000 shot recording timer, our shooter loaded the gun, and moving from left side target to right side target, fired two shots to the center mass A-zone (a 5.9-inch-wide by 11.2-inch-tall rectangle). The shooter then reengaged from left to right but this time with only one shot to the head areas which measured about 6-inches square. Inside the head area was a 4x2-inch rectangular A-zone surrounded by B-zone values. We also carried over our "double-tap" test but with different rules. We still wanted to know how fast we could deliver a quick pair of shots, but we also wanted to know how fast the guns could be reloaded in situations where the chamber was not yet empty nor the slide locked back. We added the reload because the HK pistol utilized ambidextrous paddles rather than side-mounted buttons such as those found on our Smith & Wesson and Glock pistols. The target for this test was Caldwell's plastic-coated 8-inch Bullseye TipTop targets which overall measured 8.5x11 inches and were punched for loose-leaf storage. Figures from our double-tap test reflected the elapsed time between the first and second shot after we had raised the gun from about a 45-degree angle from the horizon. And the amount of time it took us to reload, acquire the sights and fire, then the elapsed time between the final two shots.

In addition to judging match potential, we also wanted to know how they would relate to non-competitive or beginning shooters. The good people at FortTexas.us training helped facilitate this test, and we asked them why our test guns might or might not be included in their "dirty dozen," a house collection of 12 different handguns that students are welcome to try to learn firsthand what type of pistol might fit them best. Here's what we found.

Occasionally, a curio firearm makes it through years of inattention unscathed and gets listed on GunAuction.com in amazingly good condition. Such is the case with a WWII Walther German P-38 AC45 that the seller, “Oregon Guns,” lists in Auction #11044725.

Taurus USA has acquired Heritage Manufacturing, Inc. of Opa Locka, Florida. Terms of the transaction are undisclosed.

With apologies to Chet Atkins, a guitar string makes a fine substitute when you need a replacement spring in a hurry.

Gun Tests Magazine recently tested a 9mm 1911-type pistol in the SW1911 Pro Series (No. 178017, $1683).

One reason to produce rimfire replicas of military weapons is to help familiarize the shooter with how each gun operates at a fraction of the price of buying and feeding the corresponding centerfire model. If this isnt fun enough, then consider the history and the innovation that each rifle offers the shooter ahead of simpler rimfire designs. We last tested military-replica semiautomatic rimfire rifles in the February 2010 issue (Tactical-Style 22 LR Carbines: Ruger, S&W, Legacy Duke It Out), with the majority of the roster being taken up by the AR-15 design. In this test we will evaluate only one such rifle, Mossbergs $276 715T Tactical 22. Our second replica rifle represents a bygone era and the third a modern design. Our old-timer was the $399 Citadel M-1 22 Carbine made in Italy by Chiappa. The $609 German-made ISSC MK22 Desert Tan rifle with folding stock was a replica of the SCAR (Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle). Both the MK22 and the M-1 Carbine are imported by Legacy Sports International of Reno, Nevada.For accuracy tests, we fired from the 50-yard line with support from the Caldwell Tack Driver sandbag rest. Test ammunition was the same 40-grain assortment we used the April 2012 test of more traditional semi-automatic rifles. Two rounds featured copper-plated bullets. They were CCIs Mini Mag and CCIs AR Tactical 22 ammunition. We also fired Federals Auto Match rounds, which launched a lead solid bullet. We also tried a variety of hollowpoint ammunition to assess versatility, but elected to fire shots of record with our roundnosed selections so we could compare results directly with our earlier tests.Each one of our test guns arrived with open sights. In fact, the MK22/SCAR offered two aiming solutions in one set of fold-down sights. We wanted to know how well all of these sight packages worked. In addition, each rifle offered a way to mount a scope. We wanted to know how efficiently this option could be accomplished and its effect on accuracy. We began our accuracy tests using only the supplied open sights. Then, we mounted the same variable power 1-4X power scopes used in last months rimfire rifle tests. Firing only the most accurate round per each gun, we then recorded additional 5-shot groups from the 50-yard bench. All three rifles fired at least 300 rounds over three days of testing with no more maintenance than an occasional spray of Rem Oil into the chamber and on the bolt. Lets see how they scored.

In the gun world there's no shortage of 1911-type 45 autos. However, when an old company which made a few 45s during drastic times of national need around 1918 — but has made none since — brought out a fresh, U.S.-made 1911, it got our attention. Remington-UMC made a few 1911s long ago for WWI use, as did Singer Sewing Machine Co., and a few other companies. Remington apparently made something over 21,500 copies of the 1911 for WWI, and then quit — until now. After a very long wait we acquired one of the Remington Model 1911 R1 Enhanced 45 ACPs ($940 MSRP). We wanted a similar-priced gun to compare it to, so we went to another company not commonly known for producing 1911s, Taurus. Our test Taurus PT 1911 ($900 MSRP) was stainless, the only one we could get at the time. It had a forged slide and frame. Remington claims "precision machined" slide and frame, but we don't know if they began life as castings, forgings, or bar stock. At any rate, when we wrung ‘em out, this is what we found.

Smith & Wesson’s new M&P Shield is a slim, concealable, lightweight, striker-fired polymer pistol. Available in 9mm and .40 S&W, the new M&P Shield has an easily concealed 1-inch profile and an optimized 18-degree grip angle.

Alex Zimmerman has a great idea. Gun Tests magazine first experienced it in a review of one of his Guncrafter Industries’ 50-caliber 1911s, which they found to be a well-made handgun, if a bit on the costly side. Zimmerman’s idea is to give the shooter something more without the cost of broken hands. Rather than a bang-up, hot and heavy blaster, the 50 GI is a throwback to older times when big bullets traveled at low velocities and got the job done at least as well as any small-caliber, high-velocity round.

In any case, the available calibers are not the only things I like about the EMP from Springfield, Inc. It's no larger than a compact 9mm. It's a Series-70 M1911A1, so it's not cluttered internally with a collection of additional parts dreamed up to put a firing-pin block in a pistol that can't fire unless it is gripped firmly in the hand. As this is written, the EMP is being produced in 9mm using a hard-coat aluminum-alloy frame. When it comes out in .40 S&W and .45 GAP, the frame will be of steel. Those initials behind the ".45" stand for Glock Automatic Pistol, a round developed in cooperation between the Austrian pistol maker and Speer.