Handguns

Austin Miller from GunReports.com talks with Brooks from Thompson Machine at the Silencers Are Legal Shoot at Elm Fork Shooting Range in Dallas. Thompson Machine is a Florida-based company in operation since 1991 providing rapid prototyping and design services. They offer a line of suppressors engineered for full user serviceability.

To most arms enthusiasts the stirrup-latch Webley is the quintessential British revolver, and they’re not wrong, according to a short item on NRABlog.com.

At a recent Babes with Bullets Clinic, Kay Miculek discusses the merits of the Smith & Wesson M&P22 rimfire pistol with Deb Ferns, BwB’s camp director.

Although there may not be a big selection of the more powerful 10mm rounds, the wide variety of available .40 S&W rounds makes the 610 an appealing weapon. Accuracy was exceptional.

I recently tested the Ruger LCP and later discovered it had some problems I hadn't addressed. My associate Joe Syczylo found that the Ruger's spent cases all had a tear in the rim. He also learned the cases were being ejected some twenty feet or more, straight back.

SIG Sauer's next-generation P290 RS 9mm microcompact pistol includes several new features added because of consumer feedback. The next-gen P290 RS is shipping to dealers now.

LEGO Heavy Weapons: Build Working Replicas of Four of the World’s Most Impressive Guns by Jack Streat gives instructions on how to build 1:1 LEGO replicas of “the world’s most iconic firearms.”

The shooter who wants a lot of power without too much barrel length doesn't have a lot of choices among revolvers. Most of today's bigger-bore revolvers are more commonly outfitted with barrels measuring 5 inches or longer. Instead, Gun Tests magazine wanted to find a gun with a good old fashioned "duty length" 4-inch barrel for easier carry, but that was chambered for rounds that will do everything from self-protection in the urban wilderness to self-protection in the traditional wilderness.

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.