Re 5.7×28 Tests
There is a proliferation of this caliber handgun: FN, Ruger, S&W, Palmetto State, and now Tisas. How about a shoot-out? I’d also like to see an assessment of different ammo manufacturers. Thanks and regards. — John
Hey John: We’ve done three of the five, some of them on multiple occasions. In the April 2024 issue, we evaluated the Smith & Wesson M&P 5.7 Series 13348 5.7x28mm. Of it, we said, “We like the Smith & Wesson M&P 5.7x28mm pistol. It is reliable, easy to load, easy to field-strip and service, and doesn’t demand a great deal of maintenance. It would make a good choice for anyone who has difficulty loading a pistol magazine (by virtue of a praiseworthy magazine loader), racking a slide, or handling recoil. Accuracy is pedestrian for such a large handgun perhaps, but adequate.” In the October 2020 issue, we tested the Sturm, Ruger & Co. Ruger-57 16401, saying, “Reliability was 100% throughout our testing, and delivered energy was substantial for such a small cartridge. Muzzle blast was very noticeable on all three of our test pistols, but, subjectively, we agreed that the Ruger had the least muzzle flash of the three. We liked the controls and how easily they could be reached. As with the other two pistols, recoil was minimal. We like that the 57 comes drilled and tapped for a red-dot base.” In the December 2014 issue, we tested an FNH USA FiveseveN IOM Pistol: “The FNH is a good pistol, but it is one with several faults for personal defense, in our view. The safety is in a poor location for rapid manipulation. The pistol is bulky. Another factor that can’t be dismissed is the price. We chose to shoot an original IOM ($2000) here because we hadn’t tested it head to head when it was released, and we tested an FDE USG model in December 2011.”
But adding those new guns from Palmetto State and Tisas sounds good. — Todd Woodard
Talking Turkey
I am interested to see a poll somewhere to find out how many gun buyers out there are willing to buy a gun made in Turkey, and how many people are not willing to buy a gun from Turkey.
I am not personally willing to buy a gun made in Turkey. I have actually never seen a poll anywhere online for this question. I definitely prefer made in America, but I wonder whether other shooters share my opinion. Would be interesting to see.
— GAR
I haven’t seen a poll on that topic either, but I’m not sure how useful it would be. What people say in a poll doesn’t always reflect what they’ll do with their own money. I can say that the proliferation of Turkish models suggests that a lot of folks are willing to talk Turkey with their guns. If they weren’t, the number of Turkish models would be decreasing, rather than increasing. — tw
Re “Welcome Back, President Trump,” Downrange, January 2025
With major pro-gun guy Sebastian Gorka coming back as a White House advisor, this may be a good time to try for the proposal brought up in the first Trump term; move the “antique 1898” date up to 1918. It would clear a lot of manually-operated five-shot bolt rifles into the “no paperwork” slot. Seb is quite hawkish about gun rights, but his comment to “do away with the Tax Stamp” and okay short-barreled rifles is not going anywhere, I’d think. He also commented about doing away with the 1985 machine gun limitations, but that’s dream-world. Thanks. Can’t wait to hear when the ATF head guy will be replaced. — Art
Hey Art, I’ll take any advancement of gunowners’ rights I can get. I agree that your modest proposal probably wouldn’t scare the squishes. More worrisome, while a Trump Administration is probably better than a Harris Administration would have been for gun rights, I’ve read a lot bad about the AG designate Pam Bondi, whose gun-rights record in Florida was horrible. Also, there’s a lot of soft in the Republican Senate, with one of the weakest being Texas Sen. John Cornyn. Maybe Gorka can supply some badly needed spine amongst the GOP. — tw
Re “To Comp, or Not to Comp, That Is The Question with Hellcats,” December 2024
I would appreciate if you would discuss the pros as well as the possible cons of having to use a ported pistol in situations other than at a gun range. Take, for example, a combat situation where it is fired inside an enclosed space. Would it be louder, and if so, how much? In another situation, the shooter might have to hold the gun close to his body, and also possibly his head. Would there be any dangerous issues with the vented gas and his eyes? — Colin
Hey Colin: You’ve identified the major issues already. Firing a compensated handgun in a car or hallway will be uncomfortably loud, and perhaps damage your hearing. You would weigh that against better control of the firearm for the shots you’d fire. Also, you’d need to train with the compensated handgun enough to learn to keep it away from your body to fire, because the ejecta from the port can damage your eyes and ears and skin. Probably, a suppressor is a better choice for most shooters, to tone down the sound and particulate exiting the muzzle. But suppressors have their own trade-offs in increased length and weight. As Robert Heinlein said, Tanstaafl. — tw
Re “Special Report: Chiappa LA322 Follow Up,” Gun Tests+
I have two of them; one shoots perfectly every time, so I bought another one, and it’s been nothing but trouble. So I am going to take it back and see about another one. I love the Chiappa guns, but it’s a little frustrating when you buy a gun brand new and have ejection issues with it. — Craig
