.41 Magnum: Is The Middle Magnum Still Viable?
IN 1964, the .41 Magnum was introduced to the shooting world with predictions that it was destined to…
BROWNING AMMUNITION – Winchester and Browning, Together Again
Born in 1855 in Ogden, Utah, John Moses Browning is arguably the most influential gun designer in human…
Beretta 71: Wet-Work Wonder
The Beretta 71 was a fairly common plinker in the 1950s and well regarded. The Model 71 is a fixed-barrel, open-slide blowback .22 Long Rifle pistol. The little 17-ounce Italian single-action autos dried up when the Gun Control Act of 1968 made little guns into “bad guns” and ceased importation of many small handgun models. The 71 essentially became a secondhand-market curiosity for Beretta fans.
Nine Inches of .30-Cal Thumpery: Bravo Company Mfg Recce-9 KMR-A Pistol
I’ve spent most of the year shooting the BCM AR pistol, monkeying with different holds and techniques and generally seeing what the gun could do. I compared it head-to-head with a new, box-stock Glock 17 across pages of pistol drills. I stretched it out to carbine applications and compared it to a ROBAR PolymAR-15L I’ve been running. After a healthy pile of brass and a stack of data, I’ve got some idea of what it will and won’t do.
Cabot Vintage Classic Commander
In the vast realm of 1911-style pistol production, Cabot is not a household name among average shooters. Nor…
QUALITY QUARTET – Four New Ruger Pistols
Ruger has become noted for not sitting on their laurels but instead listening to what their customers want—and…
Wheelgun Wisdom: Running Double-Action Revolvers
Recently I had the privilege of instructing the "revolver day" of a New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy's Firearms Instructor Course. Fourteen cops were in the class, and experience ranged from a few years to one gent with 27 years in the bag...
Rediscovering the Wheel: Revolver Drills To Improve Shooting
Many shooters who have come into the community in the last decade view the service revolver as a throwback one-half step ahead of cowboy action shooting. Others view it very specifically as a pocket and/or ankle gun à la the five-shot J-Frame.
The .380 for Self-Defense: Modern Marvel or Passing Fad?
In the last few years, a lot of people have accepted that the police, no matter how good, are really historians. When they arrive, they ask, “What happened here?” in the past tense. When an attack is happening here, the police are usually way over there. That makes you your own first responder.
Modular Marvels: SIG Sauer P320 and P320 Compact Pistols
When I read through the FBI’s October 2015 Request for Proposal for a new 9x19mm pistol, I was intrigued by how closely the P320 seemed to fit the FBI’s list of criteria. I’ve been testing the P320 and P320 Compact for the last several weeks and have found they combine SIG’s usual reliability and accuracy with contemporary design.