Pistols40

In the July 2009 issue of Gun Tests, we evaluated three small revolvers chambered for 38 Special. These guns were chosen specifically as candidates for concealment inside a holster strapped to the ankle. In this test we will look at three semiautomatic pistols suitable for ankle carry or other deep concealment. Each of the guns in this test are chambered for 9mm or 40 S&W, but we went with the bigger round here. Our test guns are the $786 Kahr PM40 No. 4043 40 S&W, Walther PPS No. WAP10002 40 S&W, $713; and the Springfield Armory Enhanced Micro Pistol No. PI9240LP, $1329. Despite their small sizes, these guns are as pricey as many popular full-size models. But if it comes down to drawing a gun from deep concealment, at least you can take comfort in knowing you're not about to depend on a cheap pistol. In fact, all three guns completed our tests without malfunction.

For testing in the summer heat we arrived at Phil Oxley's Impact Zone, located in Monaville, Texas, at daybreak (theimpactzonerange.com). The shade of a cypress tree and a steady breeze helped us keep cool as we practiced firing each gun standing offhand and from the bench before attempting shots of record. Then we fired five-shot groups from sandbag support to establish accuracy from the 10-yard line. We also engaged two different action tests that we hoped would tell us more about each gun's capability when fired standing without support.

First, we tried our familiar test of delivering two shots to the center of an IPSC metric target followed by a single shot to the head area of its humanoid silhouette. Center mass on the target consisted of an A-zone measuring 6.0 inches wide and 11.0 inches tall. The head area measured 6.25 inches by 6.75 inches overall, with another A-zone measuring 4.0 inches by 2.0 inches to designate a preferred area of impact. After an audible start signal, the elapsed time of each shot was displayed by an electronic timer. Ten separate strings of fire were recorded. Test distance was 7 yards.

Our second action test also required three shots per draw but only to the center of the target. Instead of holding the gun in both hands, the shooter utilized only his strong hand (right hand only for a right-handed shooter or left hand only for the left-handed shooter). In each case the start position was holding the gun pulled back toward the chest with little more than the muzzle at the bottom of the shooter's vision. Upon start signal, the gun was thrust toward the target.

Our list of test ammunition consisted of four different loads. For our bench session we fired Winchester USA's 165-grain FMJ rounds and two choices from Black Hills. They were remanufactured loads (sold in blue boxes) topped with a 180-grain FMJ bullet and Black Hills new manufacture 180-grain jacketed hollowpoints packed in red boxes. For our action test, we relied upon Black Hills new manufacture 155-grain JHP rounds to help us paint a picture of how each gun might perform filled with defensive ammunition when rapid fire was called for. Here is what we learned.

Ported guns are loud, and some say they are dangerous. But porting makes it possible for the shooter to practice more often and fire more rounds with more comfort, especially if the caliber of the weapon is big and bad. The concept of porting is simple. The expanding gases that drive a bullet out of the barrel can also be redirected at such an angle that it fights muzzle flip and reduces felt recoil. Some guns are designed to weigh more, specifically to absorb recoil. But in the case of polymer-framed guns such as the Springfield Armory XD, this is not the case. The use of polymer construction created an all-weather lightweight carry gun, but when faced with the pressure and power of 40 S&W caliber ammunition, making the gun more comfortable meant porting was a desirable option. Weve tested the XD several times in several sizes and caliber. But we had to know if adding holes to the barrel would be a plus or a minus to the XDs performance, so we got an XD Service Model 4-inch V-10 Ported XD9702HCSP06 in 40 S&W. The V-10s barrel was perforated with 10 holes, five on each side of the bore centerline. The first hole (approximately 0.1 inch in diameter) was drilled just less than 0.9 inch from the muzzle and there was about .08 inch between each hole. What effect did it have on performance?

Ported guns are loud, and some say they are dangerous. But porting makes it possible for the shooter to practice more often and fire more rounds with more comfort, especially if the caliber of the weapon is big and bad. The concept of porting is simple. The expanding gases that drive a bullet out of the barrel can also be redirected at such an angle that it fights muzzle flip and reduces felt recoil. Some guns are designed to weigh more, specifically to absorb recoil. But in the case of polymer-framed guns such as the Springfield Armory XD, this is not the case. The use of polymer construction created an all-weather lightweight carry gun, but when faced with the pressure and power of 40 S&W caliber ammunition, making the gun more comfortable meant porting was a desirable option. Weve tested the XD several times in several sizes and caliber. But we had to know if adding holes to the barrel would be a plus or a minus to the XDs performance, so we got an XD Service Model 4-inch V-10 Ported XD9702HCSP06 in 40 S&W. The V-10s barrel was perforated with 10 holes, five on each side of the bore centerline. The first hole (approximately 0.1 inch in diameter) was drilled just less than 0.9 inch from the muzzle and there was about .08 inch between each hole. What effect did it have on performance?

The ammo development program at Winchester had been a closely guarded secret. The goal: to make a suped-down version of the 10mm Auto.When the FBI began testing the 10mm, the agency found that a 180-grain bullet with velocities between 950 to 1,000 fps had great defensive potential. But the 10mm Auto, introduced in 1983, was too hot and dealt the shooter too much recoil for practical law enforcement use. What was needed, essentially, was a shortened 10mm cartridge that would fit in a smaller pistol platform-that is, S&Ws 9mm frames. Also, the cartridge needed to deliver a 180-grain payload at 950 to 1,000 fps with chamber pressures under [IMGCAP(1)]35,000 psi, the established ceiling for the 9mm.The result was the .40 S&W, which Smith & Wesson and Winchester teamed up to introduce in 1990. Though big-bore critics of the time derided it at the time as "Short & Weak" or "Short & Wimpy," the .40 came along as law enforcement was beginning to switch from revolvers to autoloaders.Still, its a curious choice for the average LE or concealed shooter, because the .40 S&W cartridge is a high-pressure round that delivers a sharp recoil pulse. It pushes a medium to heavy projectile at high velocity, and this in turn pushes the slide back sharply. While it is supposed to occupy the middle ground between the 9mm and the .45, it is a much more difficult cartridge to shoot well than either of those rounds.So we were curious how the .40 S&W would fare when packaged in concealable 4-inch-barrel guns.

Recently we received a letter from a subscriber who asked us to compare a small .45 ACP 1911 pistol to some of today's more popular options in the category of subcompact pistols. Keynotes of comparison were action design, similar size, and similar stopping power. Also, our reader wanted us to compare the speed and integrity of fundamental controls other than the trigger. A concealed-carry gun may never be reloaded during a confrontation, but you wouldn't want to drop the magazine by accident or fumble releasing the slide.

Your competition or hunting gun may be the love of your life but a powerful subcompact pistol is the one you are likely to spend the most time with. In this test we'll get up close and personal with three pistols small enough to blend in with your lifestyle and powerful enough to preserve it. The Springfield Armory Ultra Compact 1911A1 PX9161L, $952, represents the traditional .45 ACP single-action single-stack pistol. The Glock polymer pistol is another very popular option. The Glock 33 No. PI3350201, $599, is chambered for .357 SIG, which offers .357 Magnum power in a controllable high-capacity platform. Smith & Wesson's SW990L in .40 S&W is also a polymer pistol with a double-column magazine, but distinguishes itself from the Glock pistol by utilizing a Walther design. Our SW990L No. 120233, $729, like the others, employed approximately a 3.5-inch barrel, and all three were specifically designed for concealed carry.

Two recent pistol introductions have been much-ballyhooed in the gun press and firearms industry: Springfield's XD 45 and the Smith & Wesson M&P 40. At the NRA annual meetings in Milwaukee May 19-21, the new XD pistol in .45 ACP won Handgun of the Year notice from NRA's American Rifleman magazine, and it won Handgun of the Year at the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence awards. The S&W M&P .40 was likewise nominated for the Shooting Industry award, and another NRA publication, Shooting Illustrated, named the M&P as its 2006 Handgun of the Year.

Because interest seems high, we wanted to weigh in on which pistol we thought was the best, so we acquired a $559 Springfield Armory XD (Extreme Duty), and a $624 Smith & Wesson M&P (Military and Police) pistol. Of course, both were designed to provide an effective weapon for law enforcement and military use, but they certainly will serve as personal defense guns for civilians that are durable, easy to maintain and within most budgets.

The XD is based on the Croatian police sidearm that Springfield Armory has adapted to the American market. Chambering the XD for .45 ACP is the latest volley aimed at landing the XD in the holster of every policeman. The XD is a proven design, but we wondered how the power and size of .45 ACP ammunition would affect the integrity of the machine as well as the friendly ergonomics that have attracted so many buyers in other chamberings. The Smith & Wesson M&P 40 S&W is the result of research and development that included consultation with the law enforcement and military training community. Starting with a clean slate, Smith & Wesson has risked much more than Springfield Armory by having to spend money on tooling up. Was it worth the investment?

Most shooters don't get too worked up about new polymer-framed auto pistols; they don't have the charm of a well-built 1911 .45 ACP or the character of an old Chiefs Special .38. Instead, what plastic guns do well is protect their owners, and in this defensive role, they excel. If you doubt this statement, simply check out what gun is riding on the hip of today's law-enforcement personnel. More often than not, it will be a polymer-framed high-cap 9mm or .40 S&W, and quite often, it will be a Glock.

Glock introduced the first successful plastic-framed pistol more than twenty years ago, and it is still the most popular polymer by a large margin. But several other manufacturers make comparable polymer pistols, and we recently tested two of such guns against the mainstay .40 S&W Glock Model 23.

Our first test product was the Heckler & Koch USP 40 Variant 9 .40 S&W USPLEM, $769. This design adds a manual thumb safety to the hinged-trigger USP pistol. Sigarms's latest polymer pistol, the SP2022 .40 S&W (No. E2022-40-BSS, $715), offers a decocker. Our Glock 23 .40 S&W No. HXL616 cost $670. All three guns came with night sights, and barrel length was approximately 4 inches.

In these guns we shot Winchester's 155-grain JHP Ranger loads, 180-grain hollowpoints from Black Hills Ammunition, and 165-grain FMJ rounds loaded to USPSA major caliber specifications by Georgia Arms (770-459-5117). This meant these rounds were expected to travel at an average velocity of at least 1000 fps from a 5-inch barrel.

For the testing, our shooters visited the comfortable confines of Top Gun of Texas (www.topgunrange.com), where we took advantage of the opportunity to adjust lighting conditions to test the effectiveness of each gun's night sights. Using the Black Hills rounds exclusively in this portion of our tests, we fired standing unsupported from a distance of 7 yards. We adjusted backlighting to provide just enough illumination to allow us to see a 3-inch circle on a Hoffners ABC16 target (www.hoffners.com). We recorded the first 10-round group we shot. Accuracy data from the bench was recorded at 15 yards, and we fired single action only from the Sigarms and HK pistols.

Our first question was whether or not the Glock SafeAction trigger, a full-time double-action system, would put the Model 23 gun at a disadvantage. Second, we asked if the addition of an active safety on the Heckler & Koch pistol or, the decocker on the Sigarms SP2022, added safety, or did these mechanisms hinder operation. Though we formed definite likes and dislikes about each gun, we found that they all ran trouble free with a variety of ammunition. Otherwise, let's get a detailed look at how well they shot in the text below:

Walther America's P99QA and the Smith & Wesson SW99OL offer plenty of extras, but the Walther's trigger function and the lack of a safety on the S&W gun trigger a pair of Don't Buys.

Kahr's P40 shot fast, and Sig's new Sig Pro 2340 worked, but Smith & Wesson's SW40SV required a strong trigger finger.

You can't go wrong with the sexy Italian $875 Beretta Cougar Inox or the all-American $940 S&W 4013TSW. But our first pick is the slightly larger $758 Beretta 96 Vertec.

For self-defense, we liked the PM40 better than the heavier, bulkier Springfield Sub-Compact XD and CZ's new Rami.

Glock's new $640 Model 37 excels with a brand-new round. Smith & Wesson's titanium $812 4040PD opens new doors, but the $550 FN P9 comes up short.