Handguns

(GunReports.com) – The new Taurus Protector Polymer Series has a hybrid-polymer frame to make the revolver lightweight and easy to carry. MSRPs will range between $445 and $461.

(GunReports.com) -- New GunReports.com Videos: 1: Reservist John Buol Jr., editor of American Gunsmith magazine, introduces the A drill useful for handgun shooting, the Bullet Hole drill is explained by MSG George Harris. Get 3 yards away, shoot once on a blank target, use that as our aiming area. If you use the front sight on top of that hole, the shots should either group on the shot, or if the sight isn't zeroed, group together off the hole. 2: GunReports.com's Kevin Winkle interview's S&W's Jerry Miculek on coming introductions to the Performance Center line. The new AR barrel has a melonite finish on the inside, so the barrel life is almost 4X the standard AR. 3: Here's a pistol drill from Viking Tactics. The Reload Drill will be part of Viking's Pistol DVD 1.

In this test we will evaluate two 6-inch heavy-barreled revolvers and two lightweight 2-inch-barreled revolvers, each paired by manufacturers. Both the $701 Ruger GP100 revolver KGP161 and the $829 686 Smith & Wesson 164224 feature stainless-steel construction, rubber grips, single- and double-action capability and weigh about 45 ounces. Both accept six rounds of 357 Magnum and/or 38 Special ammunition. Given their adjustable rear sights and generous sight radii, these guns were suitable for target competition as well as for self defense.

The little brothers were much lighter and slim enough to fit inside a pants pocket or purse. They were the $575 Ruger LCR LCR-BGXS with Hogue boot grip, and the $509 Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 38 103038, complete with built-in laser. Both of these guns were chambered for 38 Special, but similar models capable of firing the longer-cased 357 Magnum ammunition are available. Special features that make these revolvers similar were their lightweight alloy-and-polymer construction and fully enclosed "hammerless" firing mechanism, which made them snag-free and nearly impervious to being fouled by lint or other debris.

(GunReports.com) — Southwick Associates has announced the brands hunters and shooters purchased most frequently in 2010. This list has been compiled from the 41,923 internet-based surveys completed by hunters and target shooters who volunteered to participate last year in HunterSurvey.com and ShooterSurvey.com polls.

(GunReports.com) -- International Training, Inc. (ITI), a subsidiary of Wackenhut Services Inc., and providers of benchmark security training programs to the U.S. Government, U.S. Military and corporate America, will be hosting a 3-Day Advanced Pistol Course taught by M. Anthony Marshall of LOT X CORP March 14-16, 2011 at the ITI-Texas Campus in Dilley, Texas.

(GunReports.com) -- New GunReports.com Videos: 1: Reservist John Buol Jr., editor of American Gunsmith magazine, introduces the ACOG TAO1 battle sight, and how to use it in the field. USAMU Reserve Combat Shooting Team MSG Lance Espinosa shows how he maintains data on this sight to maintain its effectiveness. 2: Kevin Winkle of GunReports.com gets the lowdown on introductions that Crimson Trace is making in 2011 handguns. Sig, S&W, Ruger, and others. Talks about G10 custom grip lasers, infrared lasers (sadly, military only), and a buncha other cool stuff. 3: GunReport.com's Kevin Winkle handles the Glock 17 25th anniversary model in this Product Minute.

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(GunReports.com) -- Certain lots of recently manufactured 45 Auto ammunition may contain an incorrect propellant charge. Use of product from these lots may result in firearm damage and possible serious injury. DO NOT USE PRODUCT FROM THE FOLLOWING LOTS:

GunReports.com aggregates important gun news of the week. Bookmark this page to check back often for new items added weekly, daily, or hourly, or on your Facebook page, search for 'GunReports.com' and click 'Like' to get the newsfeed pushed to your computer, tablet, or mobile device.

For more years than I'd care to recall I've had a gun secluded on my person somewhere. No, I didn't always have a CCW permit. During all those years I've never had to present the gun to stop a fight, but many times along the way I was mighty glad I was armed.

When it comes to 1911-type handguns, most of us think of personal defense or tactical versions of the old warhorse; however, many are used for recreational shooting and informal target shooting. Recognizing that fact, our paper-punchers wanted to burrow down into the details of target-grade 1911 pistols to see what target sights, very tight slide-to-frame fit (some Army gunsmiths weld the barrel, slide, and barrel bushing to create a new standard of tightness, an option not available to most civilian shooters), and better trigger and barrel can produce in terms of accuracy. The goal was to choose which handgun was the most accurate and best suited for informal shooting and as a base gun for upgrades to more demanding competitions.

What we learned generally is that the primary advantage of such handguns are their adjustable sights. Adjustable target-grade sights allow the shooter to adjust his sights for a wide range of bullet weights. (The 45 ACP may be useful with bullet weights of 152 to 260 grains, but the 180- to 200-grain bullets are generally the most useful for target shooting.) Also, target-grade pistols offer a fine sight picture necessary for firing good groups at longer ranges.

We tested three target-sight-equipped pistols from Colt, Kimber, and Springfield. One was the Colt Gold Cup Trophy 05070X 45 ACP, $1050 MSRP, but which we found at a counter-retail price of $963. Kimber's Eclipse Target II was the next gun, priced at $1345 MSRP and counter price of $1160. The third gun of the trio was the Springfield Loaded Model Target P19132LP, MSRP $1069 and retail price $973.

We were lucky to be able to obtain two loads especially designed for accuracy, the Federal 185-grain full-metal-jacket semi-wadcutter and the Cor-Bon 230-grain Performance Match. We also used a handload worked up just for this project, using the Oregon Trail 180-grain SWC. With these rounds we used an established method to zero a pistol with adjustable sights. If the pistol is close to the zero you want from the factory, minimal effort is required to zero the sight. If not, more work is needed. First, however, the shooter must determine click values, which will vary from sight to sight. To measure click value for each gun, we took a good benchrest position and fired a three-shot group. Next, we clicked the rear sight wedge notch five clocks to the right, then fired another group. We then measured the amount of adjustment, allowing us to precisely calculate the exact number of clicks needed to zero the piece, or the exact movement made by a single click. It doesn't matter whether you do the vertical or horizontal clicks first, but both directions need to be measured.

Also, before we get into the guts of these guns, it's worth noting at this point that some target pistols get battered to death by firing full-power ammunition—an easily avoided problem. The oft-repeated advice of fitting a full-power Government Model recoil spring to the Gold Cup is a non-sequitur. The recoil spring is full power. It is the hammer spring that is clipped and lightened to provide less resistance so that the slide will cycle with lighter loads. The Gold Cup is also supplied with a second lightweight recoil spring. Hardball or 230-grain FMJ loads usually break 830 fps. It is possible to work up a load using a 185-grain bullet at 750 fps with a proper lightweight recoil spring. Naturally, a handgun sprung in this manner would quickly batter itself into a rattling wreck with hardball loads.

(GunReports.com) -- For 2011, Uberti is offering the Cattleman in matching .357 Magnum two-gun sets. Historically, matching sets of single-action army revolvers were most often presented to high-ranking military and government officials, presidents and other heads of state. The matched sets share the same serial number, but are distinguished from each other by an R or an L preceding the serial number.