Handguns

There is something reassuring about a big-bore pistol in the pocket or on the belt in a holster. Professionals going in harms way appreciate the design and power of a big-bore autoloader. So do armed citizens. These handguns are not for everyone, but for the shooter willing to practice and learn to control their recoil, these guns represent unprecedented levels of protection ounce for ounce. Those who purchase a light 32 ACP, 380 ACP, or 9mm often fire a magazine or two and slip the pistol in their pocket. Those who purchase the 45-caliber compacts are often serious shooters who practice diligently. For this reason, the shortcomings of the type are recognized and any problems come to light quickly.Big-bore handgunners demand reliability and a certain amount of accuracy from their choices. The most reliable are the compact handguns that had their origins in military designs. These include the Glock and the 1911. While considerable engineering was undertaken to modify the locking and unlocking sequence and spring technology is very important, in the end these handguns in all frame sizes rely upon the original design for much of their reliability and handling. The good features of the parent pistols, the Glock Model 21 and the Colt 1911, survive.We began this shootout with the premise of firing the Glock 36, the archetypical slim-frame single-column-magazine Glock against the Colt Defender, Colts smallest 1911. The matchup was deemed a classic, pitting the greatest example of downsized technology from both the blue-steel-and-walnut camp and the polymer-frame camp. However, we added a third pistol almost at the last moment because the Springfield Micro is in line with the others, but in terms of price it competes with the Glock-the Defender is by far the most expensive of the three. The new owner of the Springfield Micro protested that while he wanted a good small 45, he could not take a beating, meaning he could not take a hit to his wallet. He owns several other Springfield pistols, including a TRP, three Loaded Models, a GI, a LW Operator and a Champion Super Tuned. He knows the difference in performance between GI sights and Novak sights, but he needed a compact carry gun and Springfield quality appealed to him. The addition of the Springfield gave us another interesting dimension in comparison. We now had three compact pistols with polymer, aluminum, and steel frames. We can only say the shootout was interesting, and even our most experienced raters could not call this one until the last shots were fired.

(GunReports.com) — Responding to a movement that promotes the brash public display of firearms, California lawmakers last week moved forward legislation that would outlaw the open carrying of unloaded handguns in public places.

(GunReports.com) -- Springfield Armory has announced a Father's Day sale on the company's online web store. For a limited time, everything in the online store will be 30% off.

(GunReports.com) -- One of the things I stress to gun owners is to save the broken part so a gunsmith will at least have something to physically measure and copy, even if it is in pieces. I was fortunate in this instance as I had the same pistol and could remove and measure the part so that I could reproduce it.

Gun Tests Magazine, May 2011, Test Gun For Sale: The Kahr CW9, $500, has simple controls, with no external safety. The trigger pull is long, but breaks at only 6.2 pounds, which is lighter than the Solo’s trigger. We found the gun to be very easy to handle in all ways, once the shooter is used to the long trigger pull. The gun did what it was supposed to, with little fanfare and at a reasonable price. We liked the grip shape and feel, and thought it was much more shooter-friendly than the Kimber. Grade: A-. Contact FFL Kevin Winkle for terms at .

(GunReports.com) -- The NRA National Action Pistol Championship, also known as the MidwayUSA & NRA Bianchi Cup, returns to Green Valley Rifle & Pistol Club outside Columbia, Missouri, from May 25-28, 2011. Numerous industry sponsors contribute to the championship each year, making it one of the most prestigious shooting competitions in the world.

(GunReports.com) -- Secure Firearm Products has joined Smith & Wesson, Hogue Inc. and Brownells as a premier sponsor of the International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts' (ICORE) Annual Smith & Wesson International Revolver Championship.

(GunReports.com) -- The Glock Sport Shooting Foundation (GSSF) will hold the Palmetto Glock Girl Shootout, the first-ever ladies-only match May 28-29 at B.E.L.T. Training, in Reevesville, SC. GSSF is an organization of Glock, Inc. that stages indoor and outdoor competitions for Glock owners throughout the United States.

(GunReports.com) -- Announcement From Kel-Tec halting shipments on the PMR-30: As time has progressed, so has the PMR-30. Since the start of the year the PMR-30 has been shipping in full quantities to all of our distributors on a rotating basis (to make it fair for all distributors). Recently we have been made aware of a potential issue that we feel our customers should definitely be made aware of.

(GunReports.com) -- New GunReports.com Videos: 1: In this video from the NRA Annual Meetings in Pittsburgh, Kevin Winkle of GunReports.com interviews Angela Leslie, assistant marketing manager of long guns for Beretta. She details features on the A400 Explor, a new 3.5 inch semiauto shotgun. 2: In this video from the NRA Annual Meetings in Pittsburgh, Kevin Winkle of GunReports.com interviews Colt Marketing Manager Michael Guerra on the rebirth of the Colt Mustang PocketLite, not made since the 1990s. 3: Kevin Winkle of GunReports.com interviews Phil Schrier, senior curator of the National Firearms Museum at the NRA Annual Meeting.

More than 100 years ago, Georg Luger took the Borchardt pistol and redesigned it into one of the most famous military handguns of all time. While other handguns may have been better suited for warfare, none were better made of better material. Luger took the original pistol and changed the recoil spring, magazine, grip angle, barrel and even the caliber. But he kept the distinctive toggle action. The original toggle, we believe, was developed by Oliver Henry to give excellent leverage and operation in his Henry rifle, which later evolved into the Winchester '66. Maxim took the toggle action and adopted it to his first machinegun. It was only natural Borchardt and then Luger took the toggle action and adopted it to a self-loading handgun. The original Luger was chambered for the 30 Luger cartridge, just another of the many 30-caliber pistol rounds current at the turn of the previous century. But when the German Navy and later the Army demanded more smash, Luger developed the 9mm Luger cartridge. The 9mm Parabellum, aka 9mm Luger cartridge as it is variously known, was an immediate sensation.

In recent issues we've tested a pretty good share of the increasingly popular 9mm subcompact market. So far we've looked at the Kel-Tec PF-9, Ruger's nearly identical new LC9, the Kahr CW9, and Kimber's new Solo. So far we've rated the Kel-Tec PF-9 and Kahr's CW9 as ‘A'-grade guns. The others had problems of one sort or another that kept them off the top of our list. Now we have added the brand-new Kahr CM9 ($565) to the batch and gave it to our test team to wring out. Here is what they found.