Pistols

The United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) is shooting for 20,000 members in 2008 and has enlisted the help of some of the firearms industry’s biggest leaders.

The Burner Series, $230, is a ten-VHS-tape set covering virtually every aspect of the popular run and gun sport of Practical Shooting.

We'd pay extra for refining the trigger and adding paddle-style thumb safeties.

The 'Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act of 2007' (HR 4900) legislation represents a major advance in protecting the rights of firearms dealers.

The LWD-SLIDE20 will convert a G21 to fire 10mm, 40 S&W, 357 Sig, 9x25 Dillon, bare slide only. All internal parts, barrel, sights etc. must be purchased separately.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has awarded Winchester Ammunition the single largest ammunition contract in the history of federal law enforcement worth a maximum of $54 million.

Ron Sieg, Flagstaff Regional Supervisor, will present issues associated with lead from spent ammunition.

Colt Melby has retired from the Smith & Wesson board of directors, effective January 8, 2008.

It is reasonable to expect that any pistol-evaluation piece covering "options in self defense" would focus on a range of semi-automatics that combine power with portability. For this test, we chose the $1059 Kimber Stainless Target .38 Super, Heckler & Kochs $879 P2000 V3 .40 S&W, and a Sigarms factory certified pre-owned P226, which came with both .40 S&W and .357 Sig barrels, $699.We thought the use of the word "options" was suitable because each of our guns was distinctly different in both construction and operation:The Kimber Stainless Target is a full-size 1911 built on a stainless-steel frame. The single-action trigger requires only a short press for ignition.The HK P2000 V3 is a polymer-framed weapon with both double- and single-action trigger pull. A unique feature was the placement of the decocker on the rear of the slide. Furthermore, the P2000 offered interchangeable backstraps in an attempt to customize the grip.The Sigarms P226 utilized a stainless-steel slide and an aluminum frame. The trigger system also featured both a double- and single-action pull, but the decocker was mounted on the frame. And, as mentioned above, the gun was shipped with two different barrels for firing both the .40 S&W and .357 Sig rounds.

The term "single-stack" is a popular nickname for the Browning 1911 pistol that feeds from a magazine, wherein the loaded rounds are stored directly one on top of the other. This vertical column is one of the elements that give the 1911 its narrow grip profile, a key element for stealth carry and a natural index. The flat grip provides instant feedback, telling the operator where the gun is pointing. The 1911 has been chambered for other cartridges, but the .45 ACP is by far the most popular choice. In this test we will evaluate three single-stack 45s that differ significantly from each other and in varying degrees from the original Browning design.

Of our three test guns, the $1011 Springfield Armory Loaded Champion Stainless Steel PX9142LP was the closest to the original 1911 design. But it operated with a plunger-type recoil system that, according to Dave Skinner of STI, was adapted from the patent that was used in the tiny Seecamp pistols. (Our first experience with this recoil system was our test of the STI VIP pistol in the March 2003 issue.)

The Para Ordnance Tac S DCX745E, $969, was designed in response to the perception that double-action pistols are safer than cocked-and-locked single actions. The Tac S featured the Para Ordnance LDA (light double action) trigger but still offered the advantages of 1911-style ergonomics, including a thumb-operated safety. Both the Springfield Armory and Para Ordnance pistols featured all-steel construction.

Our third gun was the Heckler & Koch USP Compact Tactical, $1179. This is an upgraded version of the $919 USP Compact that is now available to civilian as well as law enforcement personnel. Also referred to as the USP45CT, this gun may be carried as a traditional double-action pistol, wherein the first shot is double action, and subsequent shots are single action, or it can be carried cocked and locked for single-action operation. The HK USP45CT pistol was the only gun shipped with an eight-round magazine.

Weve recently had a chance to shoot handguns, handgun modifications, and accessories against products weve tested in previous issues. In several cases, weve taken guns that were flawed in some way and tried to correct the problems we found because we thought the underlying products were sound.

We've recently had a chance to shoot two guns one .22 LR pistol and a pricey over-under 12 gauge against guns we've already tested.

In the January 2007 issue, we reviewed Ruger's 22/45 Mark III KP512MKIII .22 LR, $398, and Browning's Buck Mark FLD Plus Rosewood UDX 051429490 .22LR, $417. Since then, we had a chance to shoot the Smith & Wesson 22A-1 107431 .22 LR, $427. Each of these guns featured a 5.5-inch heavy barrel. We shot the 22A-1 head to head against those other guns still in our inventory, and we wanted to update Gun Tests readers on how the third gun fit into the picture.

Likewise, we tested two midrange-price sporting-clays over/unders in the November 2006 issue: the Blaser F3 Competition Sporting, $5195; and Beretta's 687 EL Gold Pigeon II Sporting No. J687526, $5495. Against the two original test guns we pitted the Caesar Guerini Maxum Sporting, $4950, to see how it stood up.

Here's what we found: