Editorial

You have to have a suitable handgun for personal defense - one that fits your hand, is reliable and effective, and that fits your needs. The same is true of a holster. The primary reason permit holders do not carry on a 24-hour basis is because of comfort. A handgun and the load-bearing holster should be comforting and as comfortable as possible. We tend to go through a number of holsters before finding the right fit. That can get expensive!Recently, a reader took us to task over our extensive coverage of IWB holsters. He said that not everyone can tolerate an inside-the-waistband holster. Despite the advantages in concealed carry, the IWB requires the trousers be purchased an inch larger in size, and most shooters are not willing to revamp their entire wardrobe when obtaining their CWP, he says. Others simply cannot acclimate to the design.The outside-the-waistband holster has many advantages, including speed and security. Some will wear a high-riding OWB and a pulled-out sports shirt and have the same concealment with the OWB as the IWB but with greater comfort. While we believe the IWB has advantages when maximum concealment is needed, there are times when the OWB can be concealed. If you can do that, you are ahead of the game in speed and comfort.In this two-part installment, we cover more than 20 holsters of the OWB type including specialized alternatives to the IWB. As always, we gauged them on a few important attributes. The handgun cannot shift in the holster. The holster cannot sag on the belt, so it must be properly fitted to the belt. The holster must be tight against the body for concealed carry, but it cannot give you a punch in the kidney when you hit a speed bump in the road or step off of a curb. The gun must present the proper grip angle for a rapid presentation from concealment. The trigger guard must be covered. The holster must be well made of good material.While most of our testers prefer a concealment holster without retention straps, we included some with thumb-break retention or other devices. Quite a few experienced raters are adamant about their choices. One deemed the thumb break a suicide strap and another would not use a holster without a thumb break of some type. The majority prefer the open top holster.

In the past we have remarked on these pages that the Ruger No. 1 has a few problems. In fact, it has had no further development since its introduction back in 1967. Bill Ruger copied the graceful Alexander Henry single-shot falling-block design of the 1870s and also the look of the opening lever, and internal hammer of the Farquharson. The Henry stock, of course, was the inspiration for the notch in the forend on Ruger's Tropical No. 1. The new Ruger single shot was a huge success, yet for some reason neither Bill Ruger nor anyone in charge of the company has taken it upon himself to do anything more with the fine No. 1 except to continue producing it, flaws and all, ever since its introduction. There have most likely been production changes along the way to either improve the rifle's strength or its manufacturing ease, but as to its finer points, there has been exactly no progress. Until now.

We decided to wring out a Ruger No. 1 Tropical in 400 Jeffery caliber (aka 450/400 3"), and make whatever improvements we could on it, things that long ago we think Ruger ought to have addressed. We were not able to do all the things we wanted, as you'll see, but we did make some improvements. Here, then, is our report.

The Winchester Model 1873 is billed as the gun that won the West, and rightfully so - there are few rifles that have had such a dramatic impact on the history of the United States. In 2013, Winchester reintroduced the Model 1873 into production for the first time since 1919, offering it in 357/38 special and now also in 44-40 Win and 45 Colt. In the October 2012 issue, we tested a Henry, Cimarron, and Chiappa in 357/38 Special, with the Henry Big Boy rifle winning, closely followed by the Cimarron. So with Winchesters re-entry available, we wanted to see if the new model 1873 would be the gun that won the Test.To ensure a level playing field, we tested the Winchester with the same brands and lots of 38 Special and 357 Magnum ammunition we used for the other three rifles: a designated Cowboy Action load from Black Hills Ammunition, the 158-grain 38 Special CNL (Conical Nose Lead) DCB38N1; some bulk-priced ammunition from Brownells, Winchester USAs 130-grain Q4171 Full Metal Jackets, and Winchester USA 110-grain WINQ4204 357 Magnum Jacketed Hollow Points. As in the earlier test, we shot accuracy from sandbags on a bench at 50 yards. Heres how the gun performed:

I just finished reading a ground-breaking book on African-American men and women who have used firearms, when necessary, to defend their families and communities.

Another big-name firearms manufacturer - Colt - is moving at least some of its operations out of an anti-gun-rights northeastern state to a gun-friendly Southern state. In 2011, Florida Gov. Rick Scott offered Hartford, Ct.-based Colt Manufacturing more than $1 million in incentives to open a new plant at a county-owned building in Kissimmee. Colt has not commented about its plans, but the company has confirmed with local officials that it wants to build military weapons at the Osceola County facility. The move has been delayed because of a merger between two companies operating under the Colt name. With the merger resolved, Colts Manufacturing Company LLC plans to move into its Florida building this year.

Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger have announced they will stop selling their pistols in California rather than manufacturing those firearms to comply with the state’s new microstamping law. Both companies announced these moves after the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for firearms manufacturers, filed suit against California for requiring that all new semi-automatic handguns that are not already on the state’s approved gun roster have the microstamping technology.

Magpul Industries used its website on Jan. 2 to announce that the company is relocating its operations to Wyoming and Texas. The company is relocating manufacturing, distribution and shipping operations to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Magpul is leasing a 58,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution facility during the construction of a 100,000-square-foot build-to-suit facility in the Cheyenne Business Parkway. The Wyoming relocation is being completed with support from Governor Matt Mead, the Wyoming Business Council and Cheyenne LEADS.

I like the first month of the year. It means Ill soon be headed to the SHOT Show, where tons of new and interesting stuff gets introduced. But some companies are already busy getting new products in the pipeline, and here are a few interesting ones I think are worth noting:

Editor, seemingly believed that regulation isn't an infringement of the 2nd Amendment, and it got him in hot water with his readers. The columnist wrote in his December G&A "Backstop" column that "way too many gun owners still seem to believe that any regulation of the right to keep and bear arms is an infringement. The fact is, all constitutional rights are regulated, always have been, and need to be.

I recently set up a trust and bought my first suppressor — an $1100 decision spurred in part by President Obama's August 29 announcements of two new executive actions on firearms.

In the August 2013 issue, Ray Ordorica compared two full-size 9mm pistols, a surplus CZ 75 (about $350) and a new Tokarev M70A, made in Serbia by Zastava (about $330). The CZ, designed in 1975 and with more than a million having been built, is one of very few DA/SA pistols that can be carried cocked and locked. The CZ is big and stout enough that even the hottest 9mm ammo with the heaviest bullets would hardly kick enough to disturb the composure of the weakest-handed shooter.

It is said that in Hollywood, an initial movie pitch has to be made in 25 words or fewer. When I enjoy a movie as a guilty pleasure, I try to imagine what the original pitch sounded like — such as these action movies in which guns play a big role, either as tools or metaphors.