Pistols

Back in April 2006 we tested three .380 ACP pistols, one of which was the Walther PPK, as made here in the U.S. under license by Smith & Wesson. We loved the well-built little PPK, even though it had to go back for rework before we gave it a clean bill of health. It had failed in DA shooting, but a stiffer spring gave it the equivalent of our Grade A appraisal. We recently found a gun that looked a lot like the PPK, the FireStorm by Bersa ($307 MSRP), from Argentina. We thought it would be interesting to see how it fared against the PPK (MSRP $566). A sweep through our dealers shelves also gave us one of the always interesting U.S.-made Hi-Point handguns in .380, the Model CF ($135 MSRP). Could the FireStorm hold its own against the classic PPK? And did the Hi-Point again get our highest marks, as has been common for that make over the years? Heres what we found.

Ed Brown Products has introduced a light rail frame for 2008. This new light rail frame will initially be available on the Special Forces pistol.

Kathy Adkins moved from target to target, using a .38 revolver and a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol with deadly efficiency, putting holes in the dead center of paper targets meant to look like people. Adkins, 48, owns a real estate firm in Jackson and has been taking firearms training since March. Instructor Cliff Cargill said he has had many new students since the Legislature passed a bill last year giving residents expanded legal rights to protect…

A lot of Americans who believe in the right to own guns were very disappointed this weekend. On Friday, the Bush administration's Justice Department entered into the fray over the District of Columbia's 1976 handgun ban by filing a brief to the Supreme Court that effectively supports the ban. The administration pays lip service to the notion that the Second Amendment protects gun ownership as an individual right, but their brief leaves the term essentially meaningless.

Smith & Wesson Corp., announced today that after 10 years of successfully hosting the Smith & Wesson International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) Winter Championships, the company will now hold the first IDPA Indoor National Championships February 21-23, 2008.

The 2008 season began for the Team GLOCK Shooting Squad with victories at the Georgia Steel Challenge Championship. The 3rd Annual steel tournament took place January 3-5 at the Griffin Gun Club in Griffin, Georgia and drew more than 120 entries including GLOCK's Dave Sevigny, Jessie Abbate and Randi Rogers. At this event competitors were required to draw and hit five steel targets at ranges from 7-35 yards. Competitors receive five separate start commands in succession…

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.

The legislation requires federal agencies to provide relevant data for use in the NICS system, a database that stores the names of individuals prohibited by federal law from purchasing or possessing firearms.

A new agreement between NSSF's ranges division, the National Association of Shooting Ranges (NASR), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows shooting ranges to submit Environmental Stewardship Plans anonymously.

Forty million Americans today are active in shooting sports and hunting. During their lifetimes, the total retail value of their recreational activities will top $4 trillion, projects the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), a nonprofit trade association for the firearm industry.

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