Handguns

(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.

(GunReports.com) -- Rossi's Wizard Pistol uses a break-open interchangeable barrel system chambered for 243 Win. or 22-250 Rem to make it a suitable handgun hunting, target shooting or plinking pistol. The Wizard Pistol's break-open barrel system changes quickly by unscrewing the front swivel, with no tools needed.

The Tokarev pistol replaced the old Nagant revolver in Russia in the 1930s, and what a change it was. The new semiauto zinged out an 85-grain bullet at close to 1500 fps, and was the speed king for handguns until the advent of the 357 Magnum in the 1950s, which could sometimes equal, but seldom exceed, the speed of the Mauser-designed cartridge.

The 7.62x25mm Tokarev cartridge originated before the turn of the 19th century as the 30 Borchardt, which didn't quite make the velocity of the Mauser or Tokarev cartridges, though the bullet weight was the same. It then was adopted by Mauser and was loaded hotter for his Broomhandle. The Russians copied the 1896 Mauser round essentially exactly, but put it into a much simpler handgun. While somewhat similar to the Colt 1911 design, the Tokarev was a simplification in some ways, and an advancement in others. The big thing about the Tokarev is the original design of both the TT-30 and TT-33 lacked a safety. There was a half-cock position on the hammer, but no easy way to lower the hammer once it was cocked, nor to keep it in the cocked position.

We acquired two Tokarev TT-33 variants for this test report. One was a Yugoslavian version, marked as the Model M57. It featured a well-made and cleanly installed thumb safety that permitted normal and confident cocked-and-locked carry. The other gun was from Romania and had a crude safety that had been added to permit importation into the U.S. There were other slight differences between the two that we'll get into later.

Because the takedown is identical for the two, we'll discuss that first. One of the nicer aspects of the Tokarev is a much easier takedown than that of the 1911. You don't have to wrestle the slide all the way back and hunt for a notch to get the cross pin out. And once the slide is removed toward the front, the hammer/sear group comes out as a unit for easy cleaning or replacement. The slide spring remains in the gun until you pull it out, which then permits removal of the barrel.

The Tokarev was a clean design, we thought, with an easily cocked hammer and excellent sights, though the rear one was on the high side to properly match the front blade. None of our shooters disliked the vertical grip angle of these two pistols. We all thought the grip felt natural.

The Tokarev has a barrel bushing, but turning it is not required to remove the slide. The slide spring keeps the barrel bushing in place, and once the slide spring is removed, the barrel bushing can be rotated 180 degrees to free the barrel, which comes out of the gun toward the front.

The barrels of the two guns had locking rings machined completely around their circumferences, though only the top portion locked into the slide. The benefit is much easier manufacture than that needed for a typical 1911 barrel.

Both guns exhibited a semi-gloss blued finish, and both had plastic grips that were held in place by hidden clips, accessible via the mag well. Both had lanyard rings, and both had fixed sights. The handling differences between the two were minimal, and the range results were similar. The Romanian version had a shorter grip, permitting eight rounds in the magazine instead of nine for the Yugo version. We tested them with two types of low-cost surplus ammunition, Romanian and Polish. Here's what we found.

(GunReports.com) -- Auction Arms, the official auction site of the NRA, and GunReports.Com have announced a letter of intent to establish the Auction Arms News Bureau, a weekly E-Letter that will deliver gun news, pricing trends and other information for the serious shooter.

(GunReports.com) -- Gun Tests Magazine, the 23-year-old consumer resource for the serious shooter, will partner with Auction Arms to collect and report up-to-the-minute, accurate firearms pricing.

(GunReports.com) -- Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR), is displaying the very first Ruger firearm and the recently produced 25 millionth Ruger firearm at the 2011 SHOT Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

(GunReports.com) – The latest Taurus Raging Judge fires a larger, more powerful 28-gauge shotshell than previous .410 bore chamberings of the gun. The Taurus Raging Judge in 28 gauge comes with a “Raging Bull” cushioned insert grip, steel frame, single-action/double-action trigger and fiber optic front sight.

(GunReports.com) -- Uberti's new hand-tuned Cattleman model is named The Boss, or El Patron. Uberti is now offering a new 1873 Cattleman El Patron Cowboy Mounted Shooter (CMS) in a customized, full-size single-action revolver. The El Patron is available in traditional .45 Colt or the powerhouse .357 Magnum.

(GunReports.com) — For at least the rest of the week, GunReports.com will continue to compile links to stories that document the threats being made to 2nd Amendment and other speech and property rights under the pretext of the Tucson tragedy.

(GunReports.com) -- Smith & Wesson Corp. has announced that the California Division of Parole has begun issuing its officers a new duty side arm, the Smith & Wesson M&P40 pistol. The agency took possession of the 2,300 pistols chambered in .40 S&W from Smith & Wesson in November and officers in the field are currently using the M&P40.

(GunReports.com) -- A release from the CCRKBA: The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is condemning Saturday's attempted assassination of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the murders of six people including a federal judge and a 9-year-old child, for which a 22-year-old Tucson man is now facing charges.

(GunReports.com) -- Gun Owners of America issued an email alert in response to New York Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy's call for magazine and gun show bans in the wake of shooting of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords over the weekend.