Specialty Handguns

Our first impression of the $679 S&W M&P 9mm was that it felt extremely comfortable in the hand. It was well balanced, not too heavy—at least without a magazine full of 17 heavy-bullet loads—and was pleasantly devoid of extraneous controls and levers. We note S&W also sells a version with a thumb safety, along with a host of variants in 9mm, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP, and with longer or shorter barrels or grips, and in a variety of colors. One even has a pink grip insert.Our test gun came in a large case with two different grip inserts to make the handle larger or smaller. We liked it as it was, so we left it alone.

(GunReports.com) -- The 9mm pistol was the breakthrough sidearm that ushered in today's massive popularity of the self-loading pistols. One of the ways in which the semi-auto has evolved is its variation in size, making it possible to conceal a smaller version of a full-size carry gun. One pistol with these assets is Glock's $599 Model 26.

The SW1911 operates with two functional variations on traditional 1911 design. The first variation is an externally mounted extractor. John Browning himself saw the extractor as the one weak point in the 1911 system and developed the external design to enhance reliability and maintenance.

What about carrying your pistol so that no one can see it? After all, it is a concealed handgun license. Texas does not have a statute which allows the open carry of a handgun and for a CHL holder, it is an offense to carry a handgun in a manner where it is not concealed. Failing to conceal is a crime set forth in Texas Penal Code 46.035, writes attorney Michael D. Wisdom, president of the Texas Law Shield, a firearms legal defense retainer program developed by Houston-based Walker, Rice & Wisdom, P.C., Attorneys at Law. The key to this crime is that a CHL holder must INTENTIONALLY fail to conceal their handgun.

The .380 cartridge has been around since early in the last century. It was another of John Browning’s designs, and has been known as the 9mm Kurz, 9x17, 9mm Browning Short, and .380 ACP. We also know it as the .380 Automatic, or simply the .380 Auto. It’s been chambered in a host of small autoloading pistols, some of them quite famous, such as Walther’s PPK.

The .380 is not a cartridge many of us would pick for all-around use. It’s hardly a plinking cartridge, because of the relatively high cost of ammunition, and because the pistols that chamber it are generally not all that accurate. Reloaders don’t exactly flock to the diminutive cartridge, for a variety of reasons. Ammunition manufacturers have produced some excellent fodder in recent years for the tiny guns, but none of it can make a mountain-size “stopper” out of the molehill .380 Auto.

This Gun Test-evaluated pistol is chambered for shooter-friendly 9mm ammunition. It offers single-action fire and a thumb-operated safety to simplify operation. Matching short slides to the proper-strength recoil spring can be challenging. The tested Springfield Armory EMP (Enhanced Micro Pistol), $1253, sprang from the Browning 1911 design.Matching short slides to the proper-strength recoil spring can be challenging. All four of our test guns utilized a two-spring plunger-style guide-rod system that seems to be the answer to providing the proper balance of compression and rebound. Despite this operational similarity all four pistols offered their own unique features. Our test pistol, the Springfield Armory EMP (Enhanced Micro Pistol), $1253, sprang from the Browning 1911 design.

The Pro Carry version of the XD pistol is a Springfield Armory Custom Shop pistol with a specified set of modifications. The Pro Carry package is the most basic of three available levels, providing a 4.5- to 5-pound trigger job, optional sights, the application of a national match barrel, a slick Armory Kote of all internal metal parts, and extension of the magazine release to one side as specified by the customer.

You have your gun to protect yourself, your loved ones and your property from murderers, rapists, car jackers, and home invaders. You may believe that the chances of anyone having any real legal issues regarding the killing of an animal in self-defense were remote. You would be wrong.

We recently tested guns with factory-fitted lasersights in the February 2013 issue. Here's an excerpt of that report.

Lasersights on handguns are common today. Scan the used-handgun case at a gun shop, and more than likely you'll find a rig that the former owner customized with a laser sight. In the new-pistol case, you will also see factory-fitted laser sights on handguns.

Finishing with a perfect points score of 1920-183x, defending champion Doug Koenig battled through his final event at the 2013 MidwayUSA/NRA Bianchi Cup Championships to win his 15th MidwayUSA & NRA Bianchi Cup overall title. But it wasn't a cakewalk. Pushed through every stage of the competition, it was exactly what competitors and fans expected to see, NRAblog reports.

This neat unit gives excellent performance. It is a good option for the Glock fan wishing to dedicate one of his pistols to the carbine concept. Commonality of trigger action is a strong point, as well as commonality with magazines. On the basis of affordability, it is a good choice, if you already have the Glock pistol on hand.

Long ago someone put a shoulder stock on a handgun so he could do a better job of shooting it without becoming a skilled pistolero. The shoulder stock holds the gun steadier than the hands alone can hold it, thus some immediate handgunning success was possible. Some early examples were the shoulder-stocked Third Model Colt Dragoons and 1860 Army Colts of the Civil War era, and there were some earlier uses. We've seen examples of percussion firearms dating to the mid 1830s, and would bet a nickel there exist examples of shoulder-stocked flintlock pistols going back a hundred years earlier.

For this test report the Gun Tests staff looked at a gun from the early 20th century which saw plenty of wartime and civilian use. The magazine's test gun was an Inglis Hi-Power w/Stock 9mm, $1650, supplied by Collectors Firearms in Houston (www.collectorsfirearms.com). The Browning was a Hi-Power made by Inglis in Canada ($1650 with stock, also Collectors's counter price). It had a walnut stock and tangent sights with a narrow V-notch combined with a sharpened post front blade, which gave relatively poor sight pictures. The GT staff tested the 9mm Hi-Power with Black Hills 147-gr and Winchester BEB 115-gr ammunition. Here is what the GT staff found.